re: Fergusons famed and reliable "witness 40"--

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I view that as a big part of "the problem."

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I agree that distorting the language and defining down racism is a part of the problem, but it's not a part of the problem we can solve first. First we have to prove we aren't racist. We can't do that when we hold up a dictionary while using words that black people think are racist code words.
When you say "thug", they stop listening to you.

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There is no scenario in which "the problem" is truly solved where all parties aren't required to think and speak honestly, as adults.

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That's correct. We will know the problem is fully solved when we are given the benefit of the doubt that we are using words as they are defined and not in a racist manner. We are a long way from that point. Part of the reason we are a long way from that point is that a lot of people that use those terms actually are racist.
About that "speaking honestly as adults" thing. Do you think Al Sharpton speaks honestly as an adult? Do you think Michael Brown was really capable of speaking honestly as an adult? We're not there yet, man. Let's start on the road to getting there. First step: wherever possible, stop giving black people reason to think you are racist, even if their reasoning is nonsense.