Are We All Hopelessly Racist?

Some recent events involving race that have ticked me off:

1) The lauding of Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith being two Black coaches in the Super Bowl...why is it that everything these days seems to be a multicultural landmark (except in the case of Condoleeza Rice being the first Black woman Secretary of State - nobody cares about that)? Look at the boatload of stories on this non-issue:

Via CNN, Vibe, the Washington Post, CBS, the LA Times, and, above all, this gem from the Denver Post (entitled "Black Power"), among others...

Check out how Debbie Schlussel tries to put the issue to rest on CNN recently - she says it much better than I could. Here's a long segment of the transcript, worth quoting at length (my emphasis added):

SCHLUSSEL: Well, I think that this whole focus on racism, racism, racism -- we are the most unracist country in the world. Black coaches get this chance to be in the Super Bowl. There isn't a white coach in the Super Bowl. They made it on merit alone, not because of the Rooney rule. Neither of those guys got hired because of the Rooney rule. Nobody has ever been hired because of that rule.
(ESPN analyst Stephen A.) SMITH: How would you know that?
SCHLUSSEL: Because the teams usually know who they want to hire. And they interview somebody and waste that person's time.
(CROSSTALK)
SMITH: For decades, there was never anybody else. For decades, there was never anybody of African-American descent that they wanted.
SCHLUSSEL: Name one person you know was hired because of the Rooney rule. The Rooney rule is silly...
(CROSSTALK)
SCHLUSSEL: ... because what it does is, it wastes a black candidate's time, when the team probably already decided who they wanted to interview.
(CROSSTALK)
SCHLUSSEL: Now Mike Singletary has been interviewed by the Dallas Cowboys. Do you think he's going to be hired because of the Rooney rule or based on merit?
(CROSSTALK)
SCHLUSSEL: An owner wants to hire somebody...
(CROSSTALK)
SMITH: You ask a question that you don't want answers to. You are obviously asking questions that you don't want answers to.
(Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Karen) HUNTER: This is about affirmative action. And, as a person who has benefited from affirmative action, I can tell you, it's absolutely necessary. People will not hire people who don't look like them, who they're not comfortable with, unless they're forced to.
(CROSSTALK)
SCHLUSSEL: Everyone in America is a racist?
(CROSSTALK)
HUNTER: No, everyone in America is not a racist.
SCHLUSSEL: Exactly.
HUNTER: But this country has a racial foundation that we do not...
(CROSSTALK)
SCHLUSSEL: It's time to move on.
(CROSSTALK)
HUNTER: Is it time to move on?
SCHLUSSEL: Yes.
HUNTER: It's time to move on when we stop being racist.
(CROSSTALK)
(host Paula) ZAHN: Let me move on to another question. Do you think blacks have been held to a different standard?
HUNTER: Absolutely. I have to be twice as good at what I do.
ZAHN: Not even you...
HUNTER: Yes. No, exactly.
ZAHN: ... but specifically when it comes to the NFL?
HUNTER: Both of these coaches, that they are both in the Super Bowl right now says a lot about...
(CROSSTALK)
SCHLUSSEL: If you were twice as good, you wouldn't need affirmative action.
HUNTER: Really?
SCHLUSSEL: Yes. You don't need it.
(CROSSTALK)
SMITH: There is not a black person in America that would tell you differently than what she just said. Of course we're held to a different standard. We're always held to a different standard. That's why, even more significant than Tony Dungy -- or just as significant as Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith going to the Super Bowl, is the fact that Tomlin was hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers, because his resume is not impeccable. Yet, at the age of 34, he was given an opportunity to be a head coach in the NFL. That's something that simply never, ever happened in this sport's history.
SCHLUSSEL: Why should he get that opportunity just because of color?
SMITH: Because white folks get that opportunity all the time.
(CROSSTALK)
SMITH: And, if you're talking about fairness, how about being fair and making sure that black people are afforded the same opportunity as white people?
SCHLUSSEL: OK. Fine.Do you think that there should be -- do you think there should be Samoan and Latino coaches, because there are Samoan and Latino players? And there hasn't been one of those coaches yet.
(CROSSTALK)
HUNTER: Deborah (ph), the NFL is 70 percent black, right? The NFL is 70 percent black.
SCHLUSSEL: Over 75 percent.
HUNTER: OK. Well, I -- right, 70 percent.
ZAHN: But does that necessarily mean that 75 percent of the coaches should be black?(CROSSTALK)
HUNTER: You make -- you make a point.
SCHLUSSEL: Well, then maybe we should have affirmative action for white players on the field. Why does there need to be a correlation between the 75 percent on the field?
HUNTER: It is about opportunity. The fact that Smith is the lowest paid coach in the NFL. SMITH: $135,000.
(INAUDIBLE)
SCHLUSSEL: He had a very bad agent. He had a bag agent
ZAHN: What evidence is that that that's relevant? You know, racism and not bad agent? SMITH: I'll give you a perfect example, Lane Kipman (ph), new coach of the Oakland Raiders. He was at USC. You got a guy like Norm Chow (ph) who led USC to two national championships as an offensive coordinator, plus he took them to a third. He did a fantastic job at Tennessee. He couldn't get a head coach job. You got Ron Rivera (ph)
(INAUDIBLE)
Let me just say. The man is 31 years old with no experience whatsoever coaching on the NFL level, but he was given a head coaching job. That simply does not happen for black people in America.
SCHLUSSEL: There are 32 jobs, 32. There are a lot of good coaches of all races that want to be coaches.
SMITH: Let me address my issue. The man is 31 years old with no coaching experience, any NFL and got a head coaching job for the Oakland Raiders. Does that happen for a black man in the United States of America?
SCHLUSSEL: Everybody gets a chance.
SMITH: Does that happen?
SCHLUSSEL: The fact is that
(INAUDIBLE) .
Why did Art Shell (ph) and Dennis Green (ph) get hired over and over and over again?
SMITH: What are you talking about? What are you talking about over and over again? HUNTER: Here's the problem I have. When you hire unqualified people and you say, ha, see, blacks can't do it.
(INAUDIBLE)
SCHLUSSEL: I think blacks are very qualified.
HUNTER: The Rooney rule works. Affirmative action works
(INAUDIBLE).
(CROSSTALK)
SCHLUSSEL: These are two great coaches, not black coaches. They're great coaches of any race. They are great coaches in their own right, not because they're black and it's time to move on.

I think she put that "issue" to rest... wonder if CNN will ever have her on again after she smoked those two...

Here's what should be emphasized, via the Miami Herald. Fantastic piece.

2) Barack Obama is articulate...

Racism!!!

Read this via the New York Times:

"That is the core of the issue. When whites use the word in reference to blacks, it often carries a subtext of amazement, even bewilderment. It is similar to praising a female executive or politician by calling her 'tough' or 'a rational decision-maker.'
"'When people say it, what they are really saying is that someone is articulate ... for a black person,' Ms. Perez said.
"Such a subtext is inherently offensive because it suggests that the recipient of the 'compliment' is notably different from other black people.
"'Historically, it was meant to signal the exceptional Negro,' Mr. Dyson said. 'The implication is that most black people do not have the capacity to engage in articulate speech, when white people are automatically assumed to be articulate.'"

...and the piece has the GALL to point out how to use the word!

"But here is a pointer. Do not use it as the primary attribute of note for a black person if you would not use it for a similarly talented, skilled or eloquent white person. Do not make it an outsized distinction for Brown University’s president, Ruth Simmons, if you would not for the University of Michigan’s president, Mary Sue Coleman. Do not make it the sole basis for your praise of the actor Forest Whitaker if it would never cross your mind to utter it about the expressive Peter O’Toole."

This is beyond comprehension. Barack Obama IS articulate. Condoleeza Rice IS articulate. Thomas Sowell IS articulate. LaShawn Barber IS articulate. Star Parker IS articulate. Oprah Winfrey IS articulate.

And they're all black. IT'S A GOOD THING.

3) LaShawn Barber's piece entitled "Slavery Apologies and Diversity Pledges" is spot on, per usual. She highlights two resolutions in the Virginia legislature which call for the state to apologize to blacks for its role in slavery.

Of course, blacks were slaveowners too - disproportionately so, according to some statistics. But you never hear this. Anywhere.

Here's the simple point Barber makes: "Raise your hand if you or anyone you know was a slave. Raise your hand if you or anyone you know owned slaves."

As Debbie Schlussel was saying, it's time to move on.

The second racial issue Barber notes is this diversity pledge from the University of Virginia.

Excerpts from Barber:

"The student council proposed a so-called diversity pledge to…who knows? Someone tell me what is a “diversity pledge?” A promise to always consider the skin color of fellow students? Hmm…content of character, and all that, doesn’t apply. Is it a promise not to notice differences like skin color? Wait a minute. You can notice differences if doing so is beneficial but not detrimental, right? Isn’t that inconsistent and a bit…hypocritical?...

"...If you need a 'diversity pledge' to act like a responsible, courteous adult, no matter what color skin someone is born with or who they have sex with (besides a child), a diversity pledge ain’t going to help you."

Naturally, she's right. Certain blacks, it seems, don't want racism to go away, and in fact perpetuate it, when it benefits them. All three of these cases illustrate that point. Be it the need for "diversity" among NFL coaches, the "proper" use of certain words towards minority groups, or "diversity pledges" on college campuses, it's ALL a part of the victimhood culture which permeates our society.

Certain blacks (and white liberals, come to think of it) need to see Tony Dungy, Lovie Smith, Barack Obama, and LaShawn Barber for who they are, and get past the "Rooney rule" obsession that blacks need help because of oppression.

These people are proof positive that you don't. See beyond their race.