AOTL SERIES ON THAT RACE DISCUSSION PART I: INTRODUCTION

Saying things that sound good, but mean nothing is part of the job of president. People with the drive to lead tend to get windy at times and as a result they say more than what they need to say from their bully pulpit. So amid the ado and aftermath of Henry Louis (Skip) Gates arrest by a white police officer in 2009 President Obama announced a need for a national discussion on race. I have no idea what Obama had in mind. The only thing I could imagine was that he thought it was a good moment to say something that sounded good but meant nothing.

A year later, a group of once-starry-eyed liberals are now becoming jaded as if they ran out and bought the textbooks immediately following Obama’s suggestion. They are losing their faith waiting for this discussion to begin. In Obama’s defense, he never said that he would begin this discussion. He simply threw the hot potato out there and no one picked it up. Dumb people are too dumb to lead a discussion on race and smart people are too smart to want to take on that responsibility.

Smart people know in order for there to be a discussion there has to be a more than a topic. There has to be a question. The problem here is not that there is no one question, but many questions people have.

-“Why are black people today being so picky?”

-“Why are white people oblivious to just how racist they are?”

-“Why am I a racist if I just want my kids to stay within their own race?”

-“Why are black people complaining about racism when they have all the power?”

-“Why do people only talk about black and white when racism comes up?”

-“How can I be racist when my cousin adopted a Black?”

-“Okay, if I don’t say ‘nigger’ what word am I supposed to use?”

-“Racism is when your boss touches your butt, right?”

-“Is it racist if I don’t like Puerto Ricans but I’m cool with everyone else?”

I, of course have an answer for these questions and other questions like them and I will address them in this special AOTL series which will constitute MY discussion on race. It won’t really be a dialog, but I don’t need a dialog. I know I’m right.

So please feel enjoy this series of rehashed pain and suffering that we’ve all heard before, but perhaps without such clarity and definition. Don’t let the half-assed graphic above fool you. This will be a quality offering. It won’t be pretty and there may be hurt feelings, but I promise one thing; I will enjoy it.

Next installment: “A Forensic Display Of Modern Racism”

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