What is racism and when did it become a crime?

                     

            What exactly are we fighting for?  There's this old guy (even older than me) by the name of Sterling who apparently has earned a lot of money over the years.  He's got a thing going with a MUCH younger lady of African extraction as I understand it.  Anyway, if I understand this right, he told her he didn't want her posing for photos with some black athletes that he had a problem with (I believe it was a former basketball player) and also that he didn't want her bringing some black people to ballgames.  As I understand it he told her these things in what he believed to be privacy.  Anyway, somehow the press got hold of these statements and branded Mr. Sterling as a rascist.  Now I don't think anyone knows exactly what this means (and I know I don't) but apparently it has become a crime in this country. 

            Now we need to look closely at this.  We have reached a point where a person can be fined millions of dollars for what he apparently believes.  I don't care what the belief is, I was under the impression that a man could hold any opinion or belief he wanted in this country of ours.  I'm pretty sure I killed a few people to protect this right.  Now the first amendment has been deemed to protect all kinds of nonsense like flag burnings and picketing the funerals of fallen soldiers but it's illegal to hold "racist" view?  Don't create a phoney misunderstanding here, I'm not defending Mr. Sterling's views.  In fact, his views - whatever they may be - don't require defending any more than anyone else's.  My point is simply that when it's no longer safe to express our views we have already lost the basis this country was formed on.