The left wing blog, Huffington Post, published this letter in response to the racist who shouted a racial epithet at civil rights hero John Lewis during a health care protest in DC:

I imagine this will come off a bit corny — please indulge me. When I heard what happened on Saturday outside the Capitol building, I was brought to tears. And now I feel compelled to apologize for the behavior of my fellow citizens. When I heard that some of the tea party protestors called you “ni**er” and verbally berated you for your support of health care reform, I initially assumed they didn’t realize who you were. Then I realized: they probably just don’t care.

That you’ve spent most of your life working for the cause of civil rights, often at great personal risk and alongside such icons as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rev. James Lawson is completely irrelevant to the self-named “tea party patriots.” They aren’t interested in the fact that were it not for the work of brave pioneers like you, many of them would not enjoy the extensive rights and liberties they have today.

And I doubt that more than a few will take the time to reflect on the deep shame their behavior brings to the United States and its citizens, and that how in their fear-whipped frenzy of verbal violence, they reveal a sad truth: that American racism is still very much alive and well, with its newest forms hiding behind mostly-contrived grievances like taxes and “questionable” birth certificates.

In a way, it’s a relief to have my suspicions confirmed. At least now we “anti-racists” don’t have to continue wringing our hands wondering if there is something to the accusation that we “see racism everywhere.” And although it’s a stretch to say that all tea party protesters are patent racists, Saturday’s incidents pretty much sealed the deal — fear of racial difference animates a portion, if not the entire “Tea Party Movement.” These people claim to be about the notion of “freedom,” but they not only do not seem to support the concept for those different from them, but the individuals they single out for their most vitriolic attacks are often those who have done the most for the cause of freedom for all. I would say it’s ironic, but that would imply that tea partiers understand the term “freedom.” So instead, I’ll say it’s surreal. Read More…