Our attorney general is calling us out.
Said newly minted Eric Holder recently….
“Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial, we have always been, and we, I believe, continue to be, in too many ways, a nation of cowards,” Holder said in remarks to his staff in honor of Black History Month.
By “we” I’m not sure exactly who that includes.
Surely it can’t include Al Sharpton. He seems pretty comfortable talking about race, and profiting from it. Your average white dude? Well, he’s probably scared shitless. After all, he can only lose his job by saying one wrong word to one wrong person, in one wrong email.
I have presided over many a topic on sports radio that had either overt or subtle racial tones. The discussion is almost always unproductive. Even something that should be universally repulsive like say…. Oh… DOGFIGHTING…. Turns into a call-in racial proxy-war.
Seriously, you have to just remember the callers (usually black) who went through tortured justifications of Vick to realize that meaningful dialog was basically hopeless.
CALLER: “You have to understand the culture of …..”
ME: “No I don’t. That crap is just sick and barbaric.”
So much for courage.
I’ve had similar dead end “discussions” about Allen Iverson, the TV show “Playmakers”, tattoos, and plenty of other sports issues that grazed upon race.
It’s just not worth it.
And for gods sake, don’t ever try to say anything funny that’s race related. See the Don Imus fiasco. Did he deserve a suspension for the infamous “nappy headed ho’s” comment? Of course. Did he deserve to get fired? Of course not.
Especially given Imus’ track record for charity to cancer victims of all races through his ranch program, and his genuine contrition in the wake of the comments.
Even some well respected black leaders like Bill Cosby get smacked down when they say something that doesn’t fit the existing “victim template” of racial discussion.
Bryant Gumbel calls Gene Upshaw a “lapdog.” No consequence.
Michael Irvin speculates that Tony Romo’s must have some slave blood in him because he’s so athletic. No consequence.
Cowards? You bet, Mr. Attorney General. Now, maybe you should ask why.
http://torreyspears.blogspot.com/2009/02/eric-holder-thinks-youre-coward.html
ReplyDeleteBeing a Black American: I blogged about this same thing.
Eric Holder is the coward.
- TMS
First, let me start by saying that I am BLACK, so form your opinion or stereotype now Mr. Czaban. I'm going to make this very short. If it's "not worth it" talking about the injustices that you or anyone face bringing up something that could be taken as remotely racist. Why did you bring this up? This is the very definition of hypocrisy.
ReplyDeleteCzabe, I agree with your post. We have to walk such a tightrope whenever the topic of race comes up, there is nothing but downside. I bet Eric Holder finds Jason Whitlock to be some sort of traitor whenever he addresses issues of race. As far as our country has come in the last 40 years with regards to race, it's time to either allow meaningful discussion to occur (see Whitlock, Cosby, etc.) or else it's time to move on to something more productive.
ReplyDeleteyes, all the injustice...a black president, black superstars in every field of endeavor and in evey aspect of our culture....where are the black political leaders in europe and where are the black cultural icons who come from all of these other countries that succeed where the US fails?
ReplyDeletethe country that gave the world ali, jordan, mays, aaron, obama, stevie wonder, dizzy gilespie, oscar peterson, denzel washington, wynton marsalis, louis armstrong, alvin ailey, thomas sowell, clarence thomas (need i name more) has a problem? please...
The post is spot on. In today's racially charged atmosphere the only person it's OK to stereotype and bigot against is the white male. And for the record, with a black man as President, it's officially time to put affirmative action on the clock.
ReplyDelete