Boycott Al Sharpton
Fight the important battles
By Kelvin Wade | | January 23, 2008 22:16
My buddy Dan Gray and I go back 32 years to when we both moved to Fairfield as grade-school kids.
On the surface, the white, red-haired, pickup-driving, Republican Dan is as different from me as can be. But actually we have a lot in common. One of the things we share is a politically incorrect sense of humor. So it wouldn't surprise me if someone misconstrued something Dan says and was offended by it.
I thought of him when I read Tiger Woods' recent comments about his friend Kelly Tilghman.
Recently, Golf Channel anchor Kelly Tilghman said on the air that the only way to stop Tiger Woods from winning every tournament was if today's young players 'lynch him in a back alley.' Tilghman apologized to Tiger Woods, to fans and was suspended for two weeks for her offensive remarks. Tiger Woods, who has known her for 12 years, accepted her apology and wants to move on.
It is disturbing because it's hard to imagine Tilghman using the same word if Woods were white. You can imagine the outrage if a commentator said young players should gang up on a Jewish player and send them to a concentration camp.
Golfweek Magazine featured a noose on the cover of its magazine coverage of the incident. The reaction from fans was so severe, the editor was fired.
While I understand the sensibilities involved in this dust up, it's difficult for me to work up the requisite outrage. Why? When I look at the issues Dr. King and the civil rights movement were focused on: equal access to public transportation and public accommodations. Voting rights, social and economic justice, war and militarism and poverty, it just seems trite that in present day America too often our focus is on who slighted us last.
What I'm saying is that in 2008, African-Americans still have some real battles to fight. The sub-prime mortgage scandal hits us disproportionately because blacks are far more likely to have risky subprime loans. Black unemployment is double that of whites. We've got to close the test score gap and reduce high school drop outs. We've got to continue to lower HIV infection rates and the illegitimacy rate.
In 2008, our biggest problem isn't when some idiot says some stupid, mindless, racist thing and goes on the Al Sharpton self-flagellation tour of woe. Believe me, it's going to happen again.
This brings me back to my rough-around-the-edges friend Dan. If he made an offensive remark, I could see those who didn't know him wanting to throw him under the bus. Whereas, I know him as someone who has had my back like my fifth brother for three decades. I'd understand going to his defense like Woods went to the defense of his rather inarticulate friend.
I'm not saying people shouldn't be held responsible for what they say, but our civil rights organizations, our moral outrage, sweat and elbow grease should be focused on the things that really hurt us as a people. Peace.
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This is an issue that has been rattling around inside my brain for a long while. Long before Dog the Bounty Hunter was caught using the N word. Long before Michael Richards' on stage meltdown. Long before Don Imus' nappy headed hoes. I'm not saying episodes like that aren't offensive. They clearly are. But the amount of time and energy we focus on them seems silly given the serious issues that can't seem to raise public outrage.
Morons who say racist things should be confronted. Depending on the circumstances, they should be suspended or even fired. But when someone says something outrageous like this, the damage they've inflicted upon themselves is already done. They will certainly feel the repercussions from their outburst in the future when they seek other employment. They will feel that social stigma without having to go drop their pants on Al Sharpton's radio program in anticipation of their public flogging.
You've heard the reports that nearly half of black students drop out of school. That's outrageous. That's frightening. You can't have a viable society for long with a drop out rate that high. To me, that's mindnumbing. It worries me way more than someone's racist remark. How many of those kids are ending up in the criminal justice system? How many are fathering children that they're not taking care of? And what's to become of those children? I want to fix that problem. The guy calling me a nigger can be dealt with by a quick right hand.
My buddy Dan went on vacation with his folks years ago. All around the country. They spent some time in the South, where his folks are from. When he got back, he slapped a Confederate flag sticker on his truck. Now I'm going to tell you when I see the stars and bars, I'm thinking it says, "I hate niggers." That's what goes through my mind when I see it. But knowing Dan was my close friend, who'd been with me through thick and thin, I knew when he slapped that sticker on there, it was just a symbol of his heritage. But what do I do about it? I can imagine some blacks angrily confronting him about it. I can imagine some blacks who would never be caught in a truck with such a symbol on it. But I had a different idea. I didn't say anything. I continued on like nothing was wrong. I rode in that truck all the time. I figured that my presence alone in the truck with Dan told anyone who saw the flag that this guy was not a bigot. That's how I chose to handle it.
Anyway, just some things to think about it.
On the surface, the white, red-haired, pickup-driving, Republican Dan is as different from me as can be. But actually we have a lot in common. One of the things we share is a politically incorrect sense of humor. So it wouldn't surprise me if someone misconstrued something Dan says and was offended by it.
I thought of him when I read Tiger Woods' recent comments about his friend Kelly Tilghman.
Recently, Golf Channel anchor Kelly Tilghman said on the air that the only way to stop Tiger Woods from winning every tournament was if today's young players 'lynch him in a back alley.' Tilghman apologized to Tiger Woods, to fans and was suspended for two weeks for her offensive remarks. Tiger Woods, who has known her for 12 years, accepted her apology and wants to move on.
It is disturbing because it's hard to imagine Tilghman using the same word if Woods were white. You can imagine the outrage if a commentator said young players should gang up on a Jewish player and send them to a concentration camp.
Golfweek Magazine featured a noose on the cover of its magazine coverage of the incident. The reaction from fans was so severe, the editor was fired.
While I understand the sensibilities involved in this dust up, it's difficult for me to work up the requisite outrage. Why? When I look at the issues Dr. King and the civil rights movement were focused on: equal access to public transportation and public accommodations. Voting rights, social and economic justice, war and militarism and poverty, it just seems trite that in present day America too often our focus is on who slighted us last.
What I'm saying is that in 2008, African-Americans still have some real battles to fight. The sub-prime mortgage scandal hits us disproportionately because blacks are far more likely to have risky subprime loans. Black unemployment is double that of whites. We've got to close the test score gap and reduce high school drop outs. We've got to continue to lower HIV infection rates and the illegitimacy rate.
In 2008, our biggest problem isn't when some idiot says some stupid, mindless, racist thing and goes on the Al Sharpton self-flagellation tour of woe. Believe me, it's going to happen again.
This brings me back to my rough-around-the-edges friend Dan. If he made an offensive remark, I could see those who didn't know him wanting to throw him under the bus. Whereas, I know him as someone who has had my back like my fifth brother for three decades. I'd understand going to his defense like Woods went to the defense of his rather inarticulate friend.
I'm not saying people shouldn't be held responsible for what they say, but our civil rights organizations, our moral outrage, sweat and elbow grease should be focused on the things that really hurt us as a people. Peace.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
This is an issue that has been rattling around inside my brain for a long while. Long before Dog the Bounty Hunter was caught using the N word. Long before Michael Richards' on stage meltdown. Long before Don Imus' nappy headed hoes. I'm not saying episodes like that aren't offensive. They clearly are. But the amount of time and energy we focus on them seems silly given the serious issues that can't seem to raise public outrage.
Morons who say racist things should be confronted. Depending on the circumstances, they should be suspended or even fired. But when someone says something outrageous like this, the damage they've inflicted upon themselves is already done. They will certainly feel the repercussions from their outburst in the future when they seek other employment. They will feel that social stigma without having to go drop their pants on Al Sharpton's radio program in anticipation of their public flogging.
You've heard the reports that nearly half of black students drop out of school. That's outrageous. That's frightening. You can't have a viable society for long with a drop out rate that high. To me, that's mindnumbing. It worries me way more than someone's racist remark. How many of those kids are ending up in the criminal justice system? How many are fathering children that they're not taking care of? And what's to become of those children? I want to fix that problem. The guy calling me a nigger can be dealt with by a quick right hand.
My buddy Dan went on vacation with his folks years ago. All around the country. They spent some time in the South, where his folks are from. When he got back, he slapped a Confederate flag sticker on his truck. Now I'm going to tell you when I see the stars and bars, I'm thinking it says, "I hate niggers." That's what goes through my mind when I see it. But knowing Dan was my close friend, who'd been with me through thick and thin, I knew when he slapped that sticker on there, it was just a symbol of his heritage. But what do I do about it? I can imagine some blacks angrily confronting him about it. I can imagine some blacks who would never be caught in a truck with such a symbol on it. But I had a different idea. I didn't say anything. I continued on like nothing was wrong. I rode in that truck all the time. I figured that my presence alone in the truck with Dan told anyone who saw the flag that this guy was not a bigot. That's how I chose to handle it.
Anyway, just some things to think about it.
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