First of all, you are making an allegation that I resent. I don't know everything about Biden, and I asked you to present evidence. To say I am willfully ignoring something is an accusation of dishonesty, and frankly I would appreciate an apology. I did not know anything about it, so I looked into it. Here's what I found.

By the time of this eulogy, Byrd's involvement in the KKK was 60-70 years in the past. He had publicly denounced them. Byrd claims to have been involved in the KKK leadership from 1942-1943 and was a dues paying member for much of the 40s. Joe Biden was born in 1943. Presumably Joe Biden met him at the earliest in 1973 when he was elected to the Senate, about 30 years after his membership in the clan, and after he had supported key civil rights acts.

“The greatest mistake I ever made was joining the Ku Klux Klan,” Byrd said in a 1993 interview with CNN’s Bernard Shaw, according to Slate. “And I’ve said that many times. But one cannot erase what he has done. He can only change his ways and his thoughts. That was an albatross around my neck that I will always wear. You will read it in my obituary that I was a member of the Ku Klux Klan.”

The NAACP has forgiven him for his role in the KKK. "Senator Byrd reflects the transformative power of this nation," then-NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous said in a press release after Byrd died. "Senator Byrd went from being an active member of the KKK to a being a stalwart supporter of the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act and many other pieces of seminal legislation that advanced the civil rights and liberties of our country.” President Obama also spoke at his funeral. 

That being said, the NAACP also objected to Roberts' use of the N-word in 2005. 

“I think we try to have good will. My old mom told me, ‘Robert, you can’t go to heaven if you hate anybody.’ We practice that. There are white niggers. I’ve seen a lot of white niggers in my time; I’m going to use that word.

“We just need to work together to make our country a better country, and I’d just as soon quit talking about it so much.”

As a Senator Byrd did fight against the civil rights act of 1964 but since then was an advocate supporter of many civil rights laws since.

I just learned about this, so I'll withhold judgment for now. To be transparent my gut reaction is that I don't particularly case, but your gut reaction will typically reconfirm your beliefs.

As someone who has asked me to give them the benefit of the doubt in judging their views on race, I pose this question to you to help me think this over.

Do you think it's fair to say that Byrd was a racist at the time that Joe Biden knew him? Would Joe Biden have been justified in believing he was a racist? For his abominable decision to join and promote the KKK, should Byrd have been ostracized from society? Should he have been cancelled? Should we consider anyone praising him or calling him a mentor in 2010 as endorsing his views from the 1940s? Is anyone who called him praised him at any point in the 70 years or so since he first joined the clan a racist by default?

I'm withholding judgment for now. What's your take on those questions?

Yeah, the way I wrote that was dumb. So I do apologize. Didnt mean to accuse you of anything.

I dont know if he was a racist or not during the time Biden knew him. Im absolutely sure Biden knew he was a former KKK member though. I mean its a pretty hard secret to keep from someone. Especially public figures. 

Ostracized from society? No, I wouldnt go that far. I would just never call him a mentor and a guide, no matter what good things he did later in his life.

No, I dont think everyone who praised him should be called a racist. I would just rather they didnt become leader of the free world though.

Also you say that Trump says something racist, then comes out days later in a controlled environment and says the opposite. Yet a guy who started out as a recruiter for the KKK, meaning more members thanks to him, then was overwhelmingly voted the leader of his local clan, comes out 50 years later and says "Oops, my bad. Dont join the KKK" Thats ok? I would give you some of his quotes as well, but they are so disgusting and vile that I would rather not. 

Also you say that Trump says something racist, then comes out days later in a controlled environment and says the opposite. Yet a guy who started out as a recruiter for the KKK, meaning more members thanks to him, then was overwhelmingly voted the leader of his local clan, comes out 50 years later and says "Oops, my bad. Dont join the KKK" Thats ok? I would give you some of his quotes as well, but they are so disgusting and vile that I would rather not. 

"Also you say that Trump says something racist, then comes out days later in a controlled environment and says the opposite. Yet a guy who started out as a recruiter for the KKK, meaning more members thanks to him, then was overwhelmingly voted the leader of his local clan, comes out 50 years later and says "Oops, my bad. Dont join the KKK" Thats ok?"

Yes. And... I'm honestly shocked that you can't see the difference. But if you need it, I'll spell it out.

I don't want to shift between Biden and Trump, because to me racism is not a relative thing. I'm not looking for the "less racist" candidate. If a candidate endorses and promotes racist views, again beyond the basic level of bias we all struggle against imo, I won't vote for them even if they're better than the other option. I'm already convinced that this applies to Trump, and you did nothing to disabuse me of that notion, and instead shifted to Biden. If Biden also does those things, I won't vote for him either. I don't find your evidence for that compelling.

But this is why I think "it's ok". Consistency and time. I don't believe someone's views on race will change within a day. I also don't believe in change if it is not consistent. In my view, Trump has been inconsistent and shown a pattern of making extremist comments and walking them back. If you want to talk about Trump, we can. But I thought you brought up Biden. 

With Byrd, it seems that he was definitely very racist. I would assume his distancing from the clan was initially for purely political reason. However, his actions and words since at least the mid 60s seem to demonstrate consistently that he no longer supported the clan's extreme views. From what I can see, his views became consistently less racist over the course of his life as demonstrated by both his words and his actions.

I believe that people can change. As I mentioned, I myself held some fairly racist views, although none as disgusting as Byrd's. If I believe, based on the evidence, that they have indeed changed, I see no issue forgiving them. There are actually quite a few white supremacists who have become outspoken critics of the movement. And they're alright with me. 

To make me think Biden shouldn't be president based on this, you'd have to convince me that Biden still believed Byrd to be a racist and still supported him. I see absolutely no reason to believe this is the case.

"No, I dont think everyone who praised him should be called a racist. I would just rather they didnt become leader of the free world though."

Why? If you're saying this doesn't implicate Biden as a racist or imply he supports white supremacism, then why should I consider this in deciding whether to vote for him? What does it tell me about their views that would make him ineligible for the office? I really don't get it.

I like how you twist things.  First you show some video of Biden commending someone who use to be within the KKK clan and use that as your argument, then when confronted with information that shows you was gaslighting because you did not know the whole history, you come with this argument.  What I mean by that is that your tactics is the same as most tired political tactics.  You only present a part of the story to try and justify your argument leaving out very important parts hoping no one would actually do any research.  Then when you find your ploy blown up, you go back to strawman tactics to cover your tail.  You seem to totally dismiss the part where Byrd went from KKK to an active stalwart to civil rights.  Its not that he just opps and changed but he also proved his transformation by actually doing something.  See that is the difference between someone who says something and do nothing to someone who says they have changed and actually work their entire career later to prove that point. You see action is the biggest thing you can do to show how you have changed and evolved over the year.  In the President situation, he has done nothing.  He is all over the place and during the debate he has a softball question no teleprompter needed to give a concise answer.

You give Biden the benefit of the doubt every time and never for Trump. Trump has done several good things for minorities, but its always Obama who actually did it or Trump did it in his own interest or whatever. Vote for whoever you want. If you can get past Bidens history and truly think he is the better choice, then Ill respect that. Im just tired of arguing for a man Im not really that fond of. I just cant stand the left atm. I hoped they would come up with at least a few decent candidates in the past 4 years, but they seemed to be way too busy complaining about the President... 

Sorry. Ill be sure to include their entire life story the next time I argue.

Look. Honestly, fuck this bullshit right here at this point.

I brought up the reasons why I believe Trump is racist and why I did not believe his statements against white supremacy. You offered nothing as a counterargument. Instead, you suggested that Biden was as bad. So, I gave you a chance to back that up, and I looked at your evidence and evaluated it with an open mind.

I actually did the research, and presented a position backed by facts and logic. I asked a very reasonable question as to why I should not vote for Biden based on your evidence. 

Instead of giving a valid answer to that question, you accuse me of bias and rant against the left.

I have at no point accused you of bias or dishonesty, and this is the second time you're doing so to me. I expect to be shown the same courtesy as I'm showing you.