Conversations with Racists

Paraphrased for brevity and clarity, and due to unacceptable language:
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Me: So, let me see if I understand this correctly. Your assertion that everyone should be separated by skin color, and that people of certain skin colors should be given preferential treatment because of some injustice committed in no living person’s lifetime, to someone to whom they may or may not be related, means that you are not a racist.

But my assertion that everyone should be equal before the law, regardless of the amount of melanin in their skin or any action committed by anyone other than themselves, means that I am a racist.

Them: “Yes. That’s why nobody reads your blog, you racist!”
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Me: So, you believe that United States of America owes ‘reparations’ to ‘black’ people?

Them: “Yes. And stop using scare quotes!”

Me: Those aren’t scare quotes. I’m just wondering how you detemine who really qualifies for payments? How many generations removed from a slave ancestor still qualifies? What about ‘blacks’ with no slave ancestors? What about ‘blacks’ who are also the descendents of slave owners, while I am not? Any why not reparations to Native Americans and Chinese? And why should I be paying you for something I didn’t do, and wasn’t done to you? And that no one in any part of my family was involved in?

And what about the fact that the United States of America actually fought a war to free the slaves from the Confederate States of America, which no longer exists? That may not be why we went to war, but that’s what the war was about by the end, and we have a million Americans who died to make it happen.

Them: “Shut up, racist!”