Holder on a minute!

Holder: US is nation of cowards on racial matters

By DEVLIN BARRETT Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Attorney General Eric Holder described the United States Wednesday as a nation of cowards on matters of race, saying most Americans avoid discussing unresolved racial issues.

In a speech to Justice Department employees marking Black History Month, Holder said the workplace is largely integrated but Americans still self-segregate on the weekends and in their private lives.

"Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards," said Holder, nation's first black attorney general.

Oh come on seriously? -- a nation of cowards regarding race -- as if. Did Holder miss some reality while he was busy pardoning Mark Rich or something? Anyone checked the news on a recent presidential election, not to mention an Illinois Senator appointment and a recent Attorney general appointment? Not to mention the advance of civil rights in this country? Damn cowards all, must be.

Race issues continue to be a topic of political discussion, Holder said, but "we, as average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race."

He urged people of all races to use Black History Month as a chance for frank talk about racial matters.

Around the fire with a guitarist strumming Kumbaya in the background no doubt. Newsflash, unlike the political class, race is not the all-consuming burning issue of the day. Most of us get on just fine with friends who happen to be of other races, thank you very much, and we typically don't start every conersation with them about race relations in America - we generally start with "Hey howzit going?", move on to how our favorite sport team did or didn't do last night, maybe chat about the hole this economy keeps slipping into, and then move on to productive and enjoyable conversation.

"It is an issue we have never been at ease with and, given our nation's history, this is in some ways understandable," Holder said. "If we are to make progress in this area, we must feel comfortable enough with one another and tolerant enough of each other to have frank conversations about the racial matters that continue to divide us."

Yet another Newsflash, most people don't talk about race because Democrats like Holder have been so busy making the conversation so fraught with taboo and risk of being called a racist if you don't buy the party line, that honest conversation can be hard to come by.

He told Justice Department employees they have a special responsibility to advance racial understanding.

One would think they have a special responsibility in not so much racial understanding but how about (gasp) enforcement of the law (maybe start with going after some notables who have failed to pay their taxes as of late), after all its the Department of Justice, not the Department of Racial Grievances and Hand-Holding.

Not yet at least.