Elvis Was A Hero to Most...

Alright I need a boring set up- It's a bit disingenuous for Alito to say he doesn't remember anything about his membership with CAP. Back in the 80's he proudly claimed membership in the organization to get a job. Remember he was applying to work in an administration that began its candidacy in Philadelphia, Mississippi all a flutter with "state's rights" (read: "outside agitators can't tell us how to treat our coloreds"). Oh if you don't know, Philadelphia, Miss is where three civil rights workers were murdered and buried in an earthen dam with impunity. That's all Philadelphia is known for. It's only historic significance is as the place where Southerners took a bold stand against the over-reaching federal government by killing three college kids who were registering people to vote. That's the place Reagan announced his presidential candidacy.

I doubt Alito's a hood-wearing racist (he couldn't be even if he wanted to, he's Catholic), but back in the day he was glad to be in an organization that thought women and minorities would ruin Princeton and gay Princeton students should be used as experiment subjects. Other people did the same thing, but other people (Bill Bradley for example) realized it was a mistake and repudiated their involvement with the group.

It was worth something to the Meese DOJ to be this type of "conservative." Maybe Alito thinks better of it now, maybe he doesn't, but his unwillingness to confront this element of his past says as much or maybe even more than simply belonging to the group does.

Anyway that's not what this is about. This is about being inspired to categorize types of racism and racists. I think it's going to be a work in progress. I've seen other people have typological quizzes for this kind of thing, like "Which Sponge Bob character are you?" I'm too lazy to come up with something like that right now, but maybe later when it's more developed I'll have a way for you to see just what kind of racist you are. Because, believe me, you are some kind of racist. And won't it be nice when someone says, "Geez, what kind of racist are you?!" -you can answer, "Oh, well I'm a Federline racist. Thanks for asking."?

First things first-
First, some people say it's only possible for white people to be racist. In a nutshell, they say this because they think power is a necessary element of racism and only white people have power. That is, you need to have the power to implement your bigoted views. I tend to think that's wrong because a.) we all have power to affect other people b.) Latinos are among some of the most racist people I have ever encountered (but that's probably because my family tends to be Latino and my family is whom I have encountered for most of my life- ahh Cha Cha and her stories of Los Negritos) and c.) racism is sin and as sin it is a power that destroys the self even if you are powerless to inflict it upon anyone else. So I guess power is a necessary element but it doesn't only have to do with political power.

Second, race doesn't even exist. Colors and cultures exist, sure. There are differences among people. But the idea of categorizing race is not the same as categorizing vertebrates and invertebrates. Race as a biological descriptor is about as meaningful as phrenology. That being said I am going to categorize racists, but understand that I will be categorizing people by their response to color and culture rather than their perception of some imagined invisible genetic traits. Though how someone sees those created traits will play into what type of racist they are. Phew.

Obviously I won't be finishing this now, but just for starters, I'll give you what I've got. Without any explanation here's some categories- "Sleep With the Help" racist, "They're Just Good at It" racist, the "Would You Want to Live Next to Them?" racist, "You Know- The Tall Guy With Curly Hair Wearing the Red Shirt Standing By the Door" racist, "She's Very Articulate" racist, and the "I'm Just Sayin' They Should Learn English" racist.

What Color Is The Playlist?
Teach Your Children- Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young
7 Sixes- Hieroglyphics
Toreador Song- Carmen
Step Behind- Tripping Daisy
Turn Your LIghts Down Low- Bob Marley
Life During Wartime- Talking Heads
Mr. Day- John Coltrane