[em-bee]

it does negate people are free to have red flags that cause them to cut ties with other people because you are not free to have whatever red flags you want. if you see red flags you should evaluate them and make sure they are not just prejudice.

[lamontcg]

you're actually free to be racist in your personal life. nobody will imprison you.

[em-bee]

at home, sure, but not in public.

remember that joke about a someone in an airplane sitting next to a black person, complaining loudly that they want to sit somewhere else. the stewardess comes over and says: "my apologies, it is of course unacceptable that you should have to sit next to such an obnoxious person". and then invites the black person into first class to everyones applause.

[lamontcg]

you can actually be racist in public as well.

get out of a swimming pool if a black person shows up and nobody can or will force you back into it.

[em-bee]

you can leave, but if you complain you should probably be kicked out.

i don't know why we are having such a stupid argument. it should be clear that racism is unacceptable and that it doesn't give you any right to show disrespect.

[lamontcg]

I said "people are free to have red flags that cause them to cut ties with other people" and you continue to twist what was a statement about free association into statements (that you want to argue about) regarding active discrimination. If you'd stop doing that, the argument would end pretty quickly.

[em-bee]

that's because i have always only been concerned about active discrimination. and your statement is too generic to exclude that. let me repeat what i said:

innocent until proven guilty should apply to every interaction we have with any human being

as individuals we need to be careful to not allow prejudice to control our actions

if you see red flags you should evaluate them and make sure they are not just prejudice

you seem to be claiming that the right to free association should allow people to remain to be racist. no, it shouldn't.

i not twisting anything, especially not since this thread started with your criticism of my first statement, and this whole argument looks like you seemingly trying to use the right of free association to excuse people being racist.

what if a person was asking for help? but they couldn't because you turned away? can you see how an action that according to you is just your expression of free association turns into active discrimination?