I am greatly appreciative of your effort to be articulate. I hear three different issues in your comments.

The first is about the media. It is certainly important to have a robust critique of the media on this issue but it’s not really part of this discussion so I will wait to you or I write such a critique to comment further.

The second is your stipulation that we fixed everything 50 years ago. We did not. The killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile are rooted in slavery and lynching. A side by side image of the two would make this clear but I can’t bring my self to do it. I certainly can’t make you see that oppression and exploitation of blacks is alive and well and I assume you will disagree with the fact that it is but your position here is so far detached from reality that it disqualifies you from having a useful opinion on race in America. It’s worth noting that both Newt Gingrich and Paul Ryan disagree with you which I say simply to point out that it is not an opinion held only on the left.

Finally, the third is the issue of your humanity. In your comments you seem to hold out the possibility, even the inevitability, that you and I, two white men, could be friends. However, you completely discount the opinions of Chaédria LaBouvier because she writes from a black woman’s perspective. This is worth you taking a hard look at — Man in the Mirror kinda thing. Again, I understand you intended to be as articulate as possible so I will take you at your word when you say:

“The problem with this well written and thought provoking piece is it lacks scope and is written from a black women’s perspective that seems to indict all white america..That is total nonsense and terribly unfair…”

I am sure you would agree that, in general, a black woman’s perspective is exactly as valid as a white man’s perspective. To believe otherwise would by overtly racist. It also stands to reason that on this topic — the killing of her brother and the experience of being black in America — this black woman’s perspective is better informed than your white man’s perspective. This is true simply because you don’t know her brother and you are not black (which is a requirement to know what it is like to be black in in America). So, it makes no sense to say that it is a problem that this was written by a black woman and from a black woman’s perspective — that is actually what makes it valuable. The problem, and it is a startling and troubling problem, is that you think it is a problem. And not just a problem but in a strange a juvenile assertion you declare that it is actually unfair for her to have an informed opinion.

For total clarity, even though you grant that Chaédria LaBouvier is articulate you dismiss her opinions as valuable and you do this because she is black. David, your logic is racist which makes it reasonable to describe you as a racist. I doubt you are a member of the KKK or even wish harm to any person of color but those things are not prerequisites.

Your job here is not to be right. As I have described, there is not context in which your opinion has any value relative to what was written. However, your humanity does. You were able to appreciate Chaédria LaBouvier’s skill as a writer and it would not diminish you in the slightest (in fact you would grow) to recognize her humanity. Please sit with what makes you feel uncomfortable and wonder how you might change that we could all be better.