This is a definitive statement which states that there is no racist anywhere within the Federal system according to Mr. Howerton's experience. That may have been his experience.
He states "A large number of Federal employees are members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the Military Order of the Stars and Bars." That also may be so. But lets see if one of these gentlemen will openly admit to being so if they are employed in a United State Post Office in Atlanta, Georgia for example. A good friend of mine had to relocate because of this very association.
He then states "Overt racism certainly has adverse consequences" and "Whatever other fears you may have about going public are best known to you, but retaliation on the job in the Federal service is not a legitimate concern. If you have some anecdotal example of such retaliation, you can bet that there something else involved."
Well, I will assure you that my friend in this case is certainly not prejudice as he, being white, has two bi-racial grandsons, who he thinks the world of, and who themselves are also members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. The problem to his supervisor, who was a member of the N.A.A.C.P., was that my friend WAS a member of the Sons of CONFEDERATE Veterans. Nothing more and nothing less. That equated him as being the same as the K.K.K. That assumption was on her part not his. His Job preformance was rated excellant and had no complaints against his records, but he was still harrassed to the point that the atmosphere on his job was unbearable. I am happy to say that he applied for a transfer, to relieve this situtaion, to another postal zone, which he recieved, along with a promotion, and is now the Postmaster of of his own office.
I am sure that there are many others on this board that have had simular experiences, hidden their associations, or curb their tongue from expressing their true beliefs, in order to avoid such encounters.
I can not conclude anything else from Mr. Howertons last statement "you can bet that there (is) something else involved." but that he believes that racism, if it occurs, only occurs on the part of White against Blacks. If that is the case, then I am a racist, because only I can commit racism. That is geometric logic.
I will say that not all Federal or State employees are as professional as Mr Howerton evidently has encountered. I can not tell you the number of applications for employment, food stamp assistance, welfare, Social Security, or other public benefits that I have seen thrown in a waste basket simply because the applicant wasn't the right color. And I am talking about 2008 and not 1958. Somehow the applications have always been misfiled, gotten overlooked on the desk, or just plain lost, when the people check back on why they haven't heard anything.
I don't have to go on. It is just too common a practise to be as idealistic as Mr. Howerton describes.