Racism: Alive and Well in Nashville

Some on the conservative end of the spectrum claim that racism is dead, that we now live in a post-racial society.

We suspect otherwise. In fact, there's plenty of racism to go around, much of it directed toward the president and his wife.

Here's the latest example: 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - After accusations of racism and calls for him to step down, a prominent local businessman says he's sorry for forwarding a controversial email.
Walt Baker, the CEO of the Tennessee Hospitality Association, is at the center of controversy after forwarding an e-mail that compared First Lady Michelle Obama to a chimpanzee.

Metro Councilman Walter Hunt said he started to get phone calls about the e-mail on Friday.

"I don't know what he was thinking," Hunt told News 2, "and the people who got [the e-mail] said I don't think it's funny."

"It was demeaning, insulting, racist -- not only to her, but to every citizen in the city of Nashville and the state of Tennessee," said Hunt.

Walt Baker initially brushed off the e-mail controversy, telling the Nashville Scene on Friday it was in good fun, but on Saturday he apologized.

"It was wrong, my initial reaction to the story was wrong," Baker told News 2. "It was stupid and I am alone the responsible party in this."

Given the long and sorted history of racism and intolerance in human history, this is hardly a surprise. But we'd like to think that people were smarter and more enlightened than this.