Good morning all. An issue has stuck its head up this morning that I feel like I need to weigh in on, at least in part. Please pardon me as I do my best Danny Tanner voice over here: Kids, we need to have a little talk about racism.
Before I begin this post I'd like to say thank you to two people for content ideas. First, thank you to Meghan Kelly for her link to the racist reactions to the Hunger Games movie. Secondly, thank you to Jimmy Pruitt for carrying on a thoughtful and insight filled discussion on racism over Facebook this morning. I should note that I haven't spoken to Jimmy since high school with the exception of the odd 'Like' button press here and there but after reading his discussion this morning I have to take a moment to say well said, sir!
Folks, I know right now before I begin that this is a tenuous topic at best, hence the title. I'm probably going to upset a few folks along the way here but I hope, I truly do hope, that if what I have to say upsets you it's because you realize that there is actually a grain of truth in here somewhere that bothers you more than the fact that some overgrown asshole had to voice his opinion on the subject.
In deciding where to begin on this topic I felt like the right thing to do is to state my feelings on the subject of race. Put very simply, I could care less. The color of someone's skin rates so far below my radar on reasons to ridicule, harass, harangue, or otherwise belittle that it doesn't really register. Stupidity, idiocy, and entitlement are much easier targets and let's face it, I'm not exactly a creature known for taking the road less travelled when it comes to those I choose to verbally and otherwise skewer. If anything, I have more of a problem with those of my own race than I do with those of another one, but that's completely a topic for another day. Damn Crackers!
With that being said I want to front load the rest of this discussion with the horrible truth. There are two truths about racism that no one really wants to talk about but they are not only present but they are very, very real. The first is that racism still exists in a good portion of its original glory. The second is that racism is a Constitutionally protected right, whether you like it or not!
Since I'm quite sure that last line rankled quite a few feathers, let's deal with that portion first. The same Bill of Rights that gives me the right to blather away at this keyboard on whatever topic I wish, whether its praying to Bob the Head of Lettuce or gay marriage rights or the blatant moronicism of the random fast food worker, protects racist thought and speech. I have just as much Constitutional right to use the N word in public as I do the F word, so long as I do no harm to others in the process of exercising that right, and sadly the Supreme Court has yet to recognize hate speech as harmful when all it does is upset someone. Folks, as much as it personally galls me to say it, the Bedsheet and Bullshit Brigade (aka the KKK) has just as much right to gather and rant about whatever they feel appropriate as I do to get a bunch of friends together and mock them from a safe distance in the woods. Personally, I treasure the freedoms that allow me to say and think what I'd like. Part of that comes down to being willing to defend the freedoms of others to say and think what they will as well, no matter how I feel about it or how it affects me personally within the limits of the law.
Now to my earlier point: racism still exists. Racism is not going anywhere kids and its not because it just refuses to go away. It's staying around because the racist fires are continually stoked on a national stage. Let's use the Trayvon Martin incident as an example. First of all I have a simple question: why is this national news? I have all sympathy for the Martin family in this issue but let's get real for a moment. This is a case of a moron community watch member overreacting and using a weapon when he shouldn't have that resulted in the death of a kid. It's tragic, definitely. National news worthy, not in the slightest UNTIL you throw in remarks about the color of the kid's skin. There might be a race issue involved you say? Well shit fire and save matches! Somebody wake Dan Rather out of his coma, toss his ass in a suit, and get him down there STAT! Now suddenly this moron's grievous error is national news and his victim is getting drug through the mud by his defense attorneys by publicly posting the kid's Twitter account and posing him as a thug for all to see. I mean, fuck people, really? Then let's just for good measure get Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton in the mix and really fan the racism flames. I'm sorry folks but I think these two men have done more to advance racism in this country than anyone else by a landslide. I also refuse to refer to either man as Reverend. That is a title for a religious leader who has a congregation and does God's work, not a jackass whos self indulgent media whorishness finds him clamoring for a photo op just AFTER an issue becomes national news, not before. You know what, just for good measure, fuck both Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, you bass-ackwards hate mongerers. Dr. King is sitting in heaven right now ashamed of both of you and I personally hope God has him waiting on you when you get to the pearly gates just so he can bitch slap both of you to the hell you so richly deserve you backwards pompous arrogant pricks.
[If you'd like proof and statistics to back up my feelings on the good Mr. Jackson and Mr. Sharpton, consider that both routinely spout rhetoric about the crimes committed on the black man by the whites when FBI crime statistics actually prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the actual inverse is true by a ratio of over 3 to 1. If only the failure to back social commentary with reality was a convictable offense...]
Let's also address this little issue of racist comments about The Hunger Games casting choices. To each side of this debate I have the same message. Shut up and sit down. It's a book series and a movie. So what if a casting director doesn't follow the book exactly? It's not like that's never been done before, believe me. So what if someone has an issue with it and chooses to express themselves? Deal. It's as much their right to disagree publicly as it is yours to believe that shirt really matches those pants. Everyone just settle the hell down a little and all will be okay.
So let's swing this thing back around full circle for a moment. Racism exists. It's a fact. Is it wrong? I believe so, definitely. What can we do about it? A lot of that depends on your tolerance for reality. It's kind of like a bad joke I made the other day while discussing this issue with a friend. Their assertion was that if the African-American community has the NAACP, why isn't there a group dedicated to the advancement of white people. I stated that there was: corporate America. He didn't get the joke, but sadly a lot of us don't either. Let's play a quick game of Reality-Themed-Follow-The-Bouncing-Ball. Ready?
Everyone has the same opportunities in this country.
--> Why is a college education so expensive, and why do the top 33% paying jobs require at minimum a Bachelor's degree.
Equal Employment Opportunities laws require color (and other protected classes)-blind hiring practices from every employer in the country.
--> The best positions require the best education and the best backgrounds and connections. Period.
Equal Housing Laws require that anyone can live anywhere without discrimination.
--> As long as they can afford to buy the property. By the way, what were those stats on the racial breakdowns in Federally assisted housing once again? 78% racial minority as of 2009?
Federal assistance programs, such as unemployment, welfare, and medicaid are designed to help those in dire financial straits in times of need.
--> Tell that to those people who refuse to take the easy road and have more than one job to keep a roof over their heads and the bills paid but can't get help to take a child to the doctor because they make $75 too much a year over an arbitrary standard.
Folks, I hate to tell you but racism, in a lot of ways, has just found a means to morph itself into a more socially pleasing platform called classism. Granted it's just my less than humble opinion but think about it for a second. When was the last time you went to a free clinic? Did you happen to look at the faces around you? Did you see a lot of BMW's in the parking lot that didn't belong to doctors? How about the last time you filled out an application for a mortgage or an apartment lease. Did they ask for your credit report? Why do you think it's so important for a bank to know how you pay your bills outside of the obvious reasons? Why were minority families the hardest hit group in the sub-prime mortgage crisis when all the foreclosures came raining down? I find it funny that the upper 5% of wealth in this country remains under 10% minority, no matter how many advances we make.
Maybe I'm right or maybe I'm wrong but there is no denying that racism still exists in this country. I can't in good conscience condemn those who actively harbor racist thoughts, it is their right after all, but I can vehemently disagree all day long. Is there a solution for classism, racism's newest mask? I don't know. If there is I don't have the overreaching and all encompassing knowledge and perspective to solve it from a blog page. Is the dumbass that shot Trayvon Martin in need of being hung out to dry? Most likely, but only as long as it is done for the right reasons of his stupidity and not under some racial banner. Would I still shoot a person in a hoodie that I found breaking into my home and trying to get past my dogs?
Read North Carolina's castle doctrine. Abso-freakin-lutely.
So let's swing this thing back around full circle for a moment. Racism exists. It's a fact. Is it wrong? I believe so, definitely. What can we do about it? A lot of that depends on your tolerance for reality. It's kind of like a bad joke I made the other day while discussing this issue with a friend. Their assertion was that if the African-American community has the NAACP, why isn't there a group dedicated to the advancement of white people. I stated that there was: corporate America. He didn't get the joke, but sadly a lot of us don't either. Let's play a quick game of Reality-Themed-Follow-The-Bouncing-Ball. Ready?
Everyone has the same opportunities in this country.
--> Why is a college education so expensive, and why do the top 33% paying jobs require at minimum a Bachelor's degree.
Equal Employment Opportunities laws require color (and other protected classes)-blind hiring practices from every employer in the country.
--> The best positions require the best education and the best backgrounds and connections. Period.
Equal Housing Laws require that anyone can live anywhere without discrimination.
--> As long as they can afford to buy the property. By the way, what were those stats on the racial breakdowns in Federally assisted housing once again? 78% racial minority as of 2009?
Federal assistance programs, such as unemployment, welfare, and medicaid are designed to help those in dire financial straits in times of need.
--> Tell that to those people who refuse to take the easy road and have more than one job to keep a roof over their heads and the bills paid but can't get help to take a child to the doctor because they make $75 too much a year over an arbitrary standard.
Folks, I hate to tell you but racism, in a lot of ways, has just found a means to morph itself into a more socially pleasing platform called classism. Granted it's just my less than humble opinion but think about it for a second. When was the last time you went to a free clinic? Did you happen to look at the faces around you? Did you see a lot of BMW's in the parking lot that didn't belong to doctors? How about the last time you filled out an application for a mortgage or an apartment lease. Did they ask for your credit report? Why do you think it's so important for a bank to know how you pay your bills outside of the obvious reasons? Why were minority families the hardest hit group in the sub-prime mortgage crisis when all the foreclosures came raining down? I find it funny that the upper 5% of wealth in this country remains under 10% minority, no matter how many advances we make.
Maybe I'm right or maybe I'm wrong but there is no denying that racism still exists in this country. I can't in good conscience condemn those who actively harbor racist thoughts, it is their right after all, but I can vehemently disagree all day long. Is there a solution for classism, racism's newest mask? I don't know. If there is I don't have the overreaching and all encompassing knowledge and perspective to solve it from a blog page. Is the dumbass that shot Trayvon Martin in need of being hung out to dry? Most likely, but only as long as it is done for the right reasons of his stupidity and not under some racial banner. Would I still shoot a person in a hoodie that I found breaking into my home and trying to get past my dogs?
Read North Carolina's castle doctrine. Abso-freakin-lutely.
Well said Brian!
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