They asked: "Do you think Trump is a racist?"

"Do you think Trump is a racist?" I was asked twice last week. Several others engaged me in conversation about the president's "racism."

The short answer is no. I do not believe the president is a racist any more than the celebs who were in love with him and tried to get in his good graces before he ran for office as a Republican believed he was a racist.

The slightly longer answer is I don't know his heart, so I can't answer definitively one way or the other. But I can use common sense.

I believe Trump is an equal opportunity insulter. When he has something to say, he says it, and he doesn't discriminate. If he feels he's being attacked, he retaliates. He insults -- woman, man, politician, whomever. He just fights. Is that always appropriate? Nope. While I do believe a certain measure of fighting back against ridicule and rancor is a good thing, some things do cross the line and demean the office. Some responses are over the top. Some people don't deserve a response. Sometimes, silence is golden. There is such a thing as punching down, as I've discussed before. The president, no doubt, could benefit from exercising some self-control. So, yes, we can all agree Trump is not always "nice," but there's a world of difference between being a meanie and being a racist. I don't always like his methods, but that doesn't make him a racist.

This discussion isn't a new one. People have been talking about his purported racism since the day he announced he was running for president. But it reached a new high, of course, during his recent Twitter spanking of the "Squad," as the four agitators in Congress -- Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley -- have been coined.

Trump wrote, "So interesting to see 'Progressive' Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all), now loudly and viciously telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful Nation on earth, how our government is to be run. Why don't they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how it is done. These places need your help badly, you can't leave fast enough. I'm sure that Nancy Pelosi would be very happy to quickly work out free travel arrangements!"

"'Go back?' Adrienne, doesn't that make him a racist?" Again, I say no. Look, most racists do a good job hiding it. They weigh their words and their deeds so as not to appear to be the evil people they are. Trump, on the other hand, says what he says regardless of race. He doesn't tippy-toe around people. We could make a list of the folks he's come out hard against, and we'll see they are wide-ranging. Look, if you're big and bad enough to run your mouth, be big and bad enough to take it when someone comes back at you. All these people complaining because he dared speak sharply to "women of color" may need to self-check. I find that people who think "minorities" (I can't stand that word!) need to be handled with kids' gloves are usually the ones harboring prejudice, often without even realizing it. These congresswomen don't need protecting just because they're "minorities." They can each stand on their own two feet. Feeling sorry for them because of race is Exhibit A of one's own prejudice. To me, Trump exemplifies the antithesis of that, whether we like his methods or not: He's going to treat them like he treats everyone else -- again, even if it's unpresidential.

It's often the racist who watches every word, dots every "i," crosses every "t" -- so careful he is not to reveal his true intentions. It's the Trumps of the world who are the opposite; they speak off the cuff -- unscripted, untethered and, often, uncouth -- which, unwittingly, is what gets them into trouble. It's the accusers who are often the racists. Their view of everything through the lens of race speaks more about them than it does about him. Some people, of course, are just playing the race card--which is not only wrong, but downright dangerous and may cause real racism to be doubted because...you know, "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." Let's reserve outrage for actual racism. This isn't a game.

Then there are those who disagree with me and feel it's their duty to educate me about racism -- you know, school the black chick, as if the black chick doesn't comprehend racism. That's annoying, and ridiculously naive, coming from black folks, but -- and don't get offended by what I'm about to say -- it's especially ballsy coming from my brothers and sisters of the Caucasian persuasion. Y'all might just wanna back on up and think this thing through. Give it a sec; it'll come to you.

This will annoy some, which I'm OK with: Not only do I not believe Trump is a racist; I agree with what he said. If you're not happy here, if your experience in America is so negative, why stay? To me, it's like a person who is unhappy with her living arrangements. I take her in, and all she does is complain. Finally, I have to say it: "If you're not happy here and all you do is complain, go back where you came from; no one is making you stay." But she doesn't go anywhere. Just like I wrote recently, where are all those public figures who were going to flee the country if Trump got elected? Still here.

So instead of the "squad," maybe they should be called the "squatters" because for all that complaining they're doing, they ain't going nowhere -- and that doesn't make Trump a racist; it just makes him right.

Adrienne Ross is owner of Adrienne Ross Communications and a former Southeast Missourian editorial board member.