Brian Shelton is from Cape Girardeau. He graduated from Southeast Missouri State University in 1992 with a degree in business.

Judging by some of the questions that were asked by callers at the NAACP forum June 7, there were many watching who were as discouraged as I was by the endless stream of nonsense that flowed forth from the panel. What was even more discouraging was that except for the calls from the people without names or faces, even the most ridiculous statements went unchallenged.

Let's revisit a few of the things that were said by members of the panel, organized by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. First, I find it interesting that Debra Willis, community action chairperson for the NAACP, feels that she has the authority to insist that local educators use the term "African-American" rather than "black" or "Negro." Ms. Willis stated that the term "Negro" has been "unacceptable since the seventies." Local NAACP President Michael Sterling quickly concurred, adding that the term "black" is also unacceptable because "you can't track black," whereas the term "African-American ties us to Africa."

It's true that in the early seventies black "leaders" decided that the term "Negro" was derogatory. This was in large part because "Negro" is also used to refer to the peoples of Africa south of the Sahara. They reasoned that "black" was more appropriate because it made no reference to African ancestry, and because whites are usually referred to as "white" rather than "Anglo." So now we have the NAACP saying that the term "Negro" is unacceptable because it refers to African ancestry, and that "black" is also unacceptable because it doesn't refer to African ancestry. Figure that one out!

Furthermore, all the empirical data I've seen indicate that the overwhelming majority of blacks prefer to be called "black."

Another statement made by Mr. Sterling was that one of the major problems blacks face here in employment opportunities is that most business owners in this community tend to hire their friends and family.

Is this really surprising, though, that most business owners, especially of small businesses, hire those people they already know and trust rather than those they do not? I would imagine that black business owners do likewise.

Admittedly, this practice does tend to have a disparate impact on blacks, since far more whites own businesses than blacks. But is the answer, as Mr. Sterling seems to suggest, to make white business owners stop hiring their friends and family? A better solution would be to encourage more blacks to start their own businesses. This would create a winning solution for all those involved, not to mention the community as a whole. Of course, in hiring, color of skin should never in itself be an issue.

I would also like to address education department chairperson Linda Michael's definition of racism. Ms. Michael said that to be racist requires power, and that since the majority (whites) have all the power, only whites can be racist. Now wait just a minute! My dictionary defines a racist as one who "practices discrimination, segregation, etc." It mentions nothing of the requirement of power.

So where did she get this definition? Straight out of the liberal handbook, that's where.

Ms. Michael has introduced Cape Girardeau to the newly-created "politically correct" definition of racist. By this definition, people like New York City College's Leonard Jeffries who says that warm sun people (what he calls black people) should destroy by whatever means necessary the cold ice people (white people) are not racists. Neither are people like the black Milwaukee City Councilman who has threatened to lead his army of angry black militants in a full-scale armed attack on the white citizens of Milwaukee if blacks haven't achieved equality by 1995. Nor are the blacks, presumably, who torched block after block of Korean businesses in Los Angeles last month.

Meanwhile, white people who complain when business owners are harassed by the do-gooders at the NAACP are racists, as was pointed out for us by panelist Juanita Spicer. How convenient it must be to simply change the definitions of words one wishes didn't apply to oneself, rather than to change one's behavior to avoid fitting the definition.

I realize that the tone of this column will raise some eyebrows, as well as some tempers. But we've heard time and time again from the NAACP, the media, and others on the political left that my generation must bear the cross for the sins of the racists who preceded us, even though collectively we have done little, if anything, to hinder the progress of blacks. And quite frankly, I'm tired of it.

I've become weary of hearing black national "leaders" blame racism for everything from AIDS to drug abuse to poor academic performance to teen pregnancy only to see government officials respond by groveling and pandering. And while there is little I can do nationally, I refuse to sit idly by while a group of malcontents points the finger of shame at the good-hearted people of Cape Girardeau.

Finally, isn't it interesting that panelist and honor graduate William Campbell, who was quite impressive, said in response to a caller's question that he had not personally been treated any differently by his teachers from his white peers.

This would seem to indicate that perhaps the perceived unequal treatment stems not from racism but from educational differences among individual students. Perhaps white students who try hard in school and excel academically are treated better than their white peers also.

Indeed, I would suggest that students like William Campbell will have no trouble getting a job in Cape Girardeau, or any other community for that matter. To William, I say, continue in your pursuit of excellence. And for the rest of us, let's quit using racism as an excuse for mediocrity, and start trying to remedy the mediocrity.