Jim Follis and I talked on the phone earlier and discussed my post which brought up race.

He did not agree with my posting it and gave reason for it. My post was not what he objected to but that it opened the door for (potential) racist comments in replies to my post. He did not want to see the door opened for that. I understand his concern. People reading my post and the replies indicate that it did with Skip’s reply which was a bit racist (where race actually had no bearing on the situation). Other replies where piling on Jim for his response. I and others, I believe, misinterpreted his post and what he was saying. I am not racist and he was not slamming my post, only that my post had opened the door for (again potential) racist comments and discussion to enter the discussion board. I fully understand that.

Jim is a good guy, and his intentions were good, so please don’t think otherwise. We (as a people) are very sensitized to race, particularly the black race and often walk on eggshells when discussing topics involving black people. The same holds true for other races but not to the same degree. I have been raised in a multi-cultural environment and am very comfortable talking about race. Many recoil when a racial topic comes up, just as we have seen on topics of politics, religion and other sensitive subjects. Greg Susong made a point of having the Chipboard a discussion board about chips but not to the exclusion of ANY other topics, only that the posters be civil and respectful of others (and control their language). From time to time I have seen topics get out of hand. Politics and slabbing are the top two. I understand Jim’s concern when I noted race in my post. It was an important detail (not because they were black, only because they were DIFFERENT races) so I defended my comment. It was not WHAT I posted but that I (again) opened the door. Racism will be alive along as we are afraid to discuss it openly and call it what it is, especially in a mixed racial audience.
I don’t know if I will post and opening salvo for racial comments again, but I will try not to. It did not occur to me I had (potentially) when I posted my last post.

THANK YOU very much Jim Follis for calling me and clearing the air. HAPPY THANKGIVING to you and your family!

ANY RESPONSES to this post- PLEASE limit it to the discussion about my post and no racial comments, for both Jim and I (and Coco).
{& No comments about old farts who live in New Jersey}