Yes, there is racism in the world. Yes, there is racism in our country. Yes, many of the teabaggers are on some level racist. Yes, these people aren't going to be public racists. Yes, a small percentage of these people can become violent due to their racism.
And yes, you can call these people out in public for the ignorance they still hold. Yes, it feels good to do.
You can't however do the following when you are busy doing that.
No, calling out racists doesn't help us pass health care reform. No, calling out racism doesn't help us end our dependence on foreign oil or oil for that matter. And no, calling out racists doesn't help saving the environment, put kids through school, get jobs for people, or any of the things we want to happen. Nobody wins when we yell racism.
Of all the pressing issues currently affecting our communities, our nation, and our world; rooting out racism where we already know racism exists makes no earthly sense. Publicly outing someone who is a racist isn't going to stop them from being a racist and isn't going to help whatever we were arguing for. There will always be racism, bigotry, and just plain ignorance in our communities. It resides in the minds of people who wish to ignore the reality and the facts it bears. There are people who's job it is to track the violent ones. It is our job to make sure that our communities are better in other ways.
Our communities are more then just the mentally weakest among us. There are children that need a 21st century education. People needlessly going broke and dying from a outdated health insurance system. Open space lost to needless sprawl due to lax zoning laws. The list is nearly endless. Our communities also lack leaders to deal with these problems and save the issue of ignorance to the only thing that has destroyed it in the past.
Education.
Leadership for the future is the charge of our time. We have the responsibility to look beyond the challenges of racism, political and religious differences to help our communities and our nation be the shinning beckon of world that it can be and deserves to be.