How He Got Here

Many will say that it took too long for a minority to become the president of the United States of America. But it’s better late than never, as others will say.

President-Elect Barack Obama will become the first bi-racial black and white man to hold the office of Commander-in-Chief.

Many black, and even white, Americans suffered from the racial injustices of evil men of both colors. Many black Americans dared to dream of a better life and some, like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., paid with their lives for having such dreams of freedom.

And in so many ways, Obama is the embodiment of that dream of Dr. King’s. His mother was white and his father was black and many Americans voted for him because of his character. Dr. King would have been so proud.

And now, Obama is one of the few Americans who has the power to become a racial bridge of equality and will hopefully establish a more color-blinded society. A growing society that will live up to the dream that Dr. King envision:

That people are judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

Riots If Obama Wins?

I have heard a few disheartening things about black Americans recently. Because Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama has the support of a good number of black voters, allegedly they will riot in celebration if Obama wins the White House.

I've heard this a few times already and even on some talk radio shows and I have to say that I have more faith in my fellow Americans. I don't want to believe that my fellow Americans would resort to becoming drunken college football fans and start to smash cars and loot stores simply because Obama would become the first American, with a strong black heritage, to be president of the United States.

I want to think that black American voters will walk a bit taller if Obama wins the election and rightly so. But I hate to imagine that they would become drunk with jubilation and trash a city or start a riot out of spite because GOP Presidential Candidate John McCain won the election and not Obama.

After all, Obama surely would not want any American to behave in such a disgraceful manner in his name or anyone else's for that matter.

Obama: McCain Will
Use Racial Tactics

In a speech yesterday, Sen. Barack Obama said his opponent Sen. John McCain and his fellow Republicans will use scare tactics on voters to persuade them not to vote for him, including racial ones.

“So what (President Bush and McCain are) going to try to do is make you scared of me,” said the presumed Democratic presidential nominee to a crowd in Springfield, Mo., Wednesday, as reported by the Associated Press. “You know, he’s not patriotic enough, he’s got a funny name, you know, he doesn’t look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills.”

It is extremely disgraceful that Obama would make a false claim that McCain and our own President would use racial fear during the campaign even though there has been no evidence of either one of them, or other elected Republican officials, of doing that.

And if they did do that, it would be all over the news and right here. Does anyone honestly think that McCain or Bush, or any other type of politician, would commit political suicide by even barely mentioning Obama’s mixed heritage as a reason for not voting for him?

And what’s hypocritical is that while Obama is allegedly saying that McCain will be using race to his own advantage, Obama is doing the same thing by saying these false allegations.

This is a disgusting display of dirty politics at one of its lowest forms. How can Obama even say such a thing and he does not even bat an eye when he’s doing the same thing himself?

The Times Observer has written many editorials and columns in defense of Obama when he has been racially attacked. So there is a good record of sticking up for him when it was just, however, this time there is no defense for him when he accuses our President and his fellow presumed presidential opponent of racial attacks while there is no proof of either of them doing so.

It’s common for politicians during an election to flip-flop on positions, to make false allegations against their political foes and use just about every clean and dirty trick in the book to win votes.

However, to actually accuse an opponent and the President of the United States of America of saying that they are going to use a person’s race against him is extremely low.

It makes one wonder why politicians even bother to make such repulsive, groundless statements to begin with, since they are usually called on them and shown them to be a lie or untrue. Perhaps they do it just to win over voters and make a grand impression on them and in this case, get a pity vote.

For someone who keeps saying that “change” is needed for D.C., Obama again shows that he’s acting like a typical politician out for votes and it would be hard for his supporters to refute his shameful attack on McCain and President Bush without real evidence of them using race against the Senator.

And what’s more important, how can Obama bridge the racial divide in this country when his false attacks like this further spread it?

Obama Tells Blacks
To Be More Responsible

Just like comedian Bill Cosby and Superior Court Judge Marvin Arrington, presumed Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is telling black Americans to be more responsible for themselves at the annual NAACP convention.

And this is why the Rev. Jesse Jackson said that he wanted to cut off Obama’s male anatomy. But these are some hard truths that need to be heard, especially coming from a black presidential candidate who is trying to bridge the racial divide in this country.

And Obama is one out of many shining examples of a minority working hard to get where he or she is at.

And working hard is a key thing, because if black Americans do not pull themselves by their bootstraps than no amount of government programs will help them.

“Because I believe that in the end, it doesn’t matter how much money we invest in our communities, or how many 10-point plans we propose, or how many government programs we launch — none of it will make any difference if we don’t seize more responsibility in our own lives,” Obama said, as reported by the Associated Press.

This is great advice for all Americans and things that needed to be heard. Because even the most well-intentioned white man who said these same things would unjustly be called a racist and quickly ignored. Obama is wisely using his presidential political status to good use. Maybe if Jackson took more initiative like this years ago, the black community would be in a better place than it is today.

It cannot be denied that white Americans for far too long have kept the black man down, but since the Civil Rights Act was created, many whites have worked hard to correct the evil that their kind have done against their fellow Americans. Sadly, many whites still do not see blacks as equal or deserving of basic rights that all Americans should have and enjoy.

Yet, Obama is at least trying hard to correct past mistakes made by some in the black community. He is certainly a new member of a growing choir conducted by Cosby.

If elected president, Obama would force many whites to look differently at blacks and it would force many black Americans to look differently at themselves.

Oversensitivity Over Race
Will Cause More Problems

It’s another case that our society is going to hell in a hand basket because of oversensitive people.

By now most of you have heard that in Dallas County, Texas, white Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield said, “It sounds like Central Collections has become a black hole.”

Right after Mayfield said this at the Monday county commissioners’ meeting black Commissioner John Wiley Price shot back “white hole” and a black county official wanted an apology.

“So if it’s ‘angel food cake,’ it’s white. If it’s ‘devil’s food cake,’ it’s black. If you’re the ‘black sheep of the family,’ then you gotta be bad, you know. ‘White sheep,’ you’re okay. You know?” Price said later in a FOX News interview.

As most rational people know, a black hole is an astronomy term to describe a hole that allegedly sucks in matter and nothing can escape from it, not even light.

But Price and others have become too oversensitive to racial terms like this. And Mayfield rightly shouted back at the black official who wanted an apology for using the term.

Too much sensitivity is going to blow up in our collective faces. It’s like the popular scenario where a jealous girlfriend will accuse her faithful boyfriend of cheating on her repeatedly. The boyfriend gets tired of the accusations and starts to think to himself, “Well, if she thinks I’m cheating on her, I might as well.”

The same thing will happen to non-racist white people. If a white man is going to be accused of being a racist and a member of the KKK because he honestly used a common term like “black hole,” than he’s going to start thinking negatively about black people. It’s doubtful that this example white man will join the KKK for being falsely accused of being a racist, but those negative seeds have been planted.

Granted, many black people have become a bit unhinged in a sense because of the horrible misdeeds of many white people. That’s certainly understandable. But that does not give them the right to wrongfully call a white man a racist for using a common term.

It’s a shame that our society has become so sensitive to general terms that people have to start censoring themselves so they won’t offend anyone. The fact is, people will always be offended over something that is unintentional.

We should not bend over and edit ourselves for anyone who dissects every single word to see if there is some racial undertone to it. We are all adults and it’s time to stop acting like children or the racial divide in this country will just get wider.

Obama’s Other Reverend Problem

It’s not the first time that some in the black community thought that presumed Democratic nominee Barack Obama was not white enough and the Rev. Jesse Jackson just added some fuel to that quiet fire.

Jackson thought his microphone was off while he was on a FOX News program when he answered UnitedHealth Group executive Dr. Reed V. Tuckson’s question about the Democratic senator’s speeches on faith-based programs.

“See, Barack’s been talking down to black people ... I want to cut his nuts off,” he whispered to Tuckson and ultimately to the nation as well.

Of course Jackson quickly apologized to Obama once he learned that his comments were recorded and were going to be aired. And of course Obama accepted Jackson’s apology. After all, whatever hard feelings the two may have for each other, Obama is still a politician and he realizes that Jackson will help him carry the black vote.

But this is not the first time that Jackson attacked Obama. Jackson said in an interview last September that Obama was “acting like he’s white” for not bringing more attention to the Jena 6 case.

Will these recent racial attacks from Jackson hurt Obama’s run for the Oval Office? Since he weathered the Rev. Wright controversy basically unscathed, this should not damage his chances for the White House.

But quiet rumblings about how black Obama is and where his loyalties should be have plagued him for a long time. In November 2006, black columnist Stanley Crouch wrote a piece called “What Obama Isn’t: Black Like Me.” He said that because Obama’s black father was from Kenya and his mother was white, the senator does not understand the struggles the typical black American has faced since the days of slavery.

What many do not understand, especially Jackson, is that Obama’s parental background will help bridge the differences between the two races. If one thought that being black in America was hard than imagine how tough it is for a biracial man trying to find his identity and not wholeheartedly accepted by either community. Jackson’s attacks are evidence of that.

And while it’s typical for a candidate to cater to one particular group to gain votes that does not mean that candidate has to exclude other groups, which is something that Jackson does not understand. This country is a rainbow of people that needs to be addressed and recognized by anyone running for president.

Obama has his many faults but he cannot help his background anymore than we can. The question shouldn’t be: “Is Obama black enough?” The question needs to be: “Is he right enough for this country as a whole?”

Because if the former question is given more importance than the latter, than that is a racist question that will further divide this country no matter who says it.

Obama Trying To Cool A Fiery Wright

One has to feel sorry for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Once considered a Golden Boy of the Democratic Party, he now finds that his image is being tarnished and his campaign falling apart by the hurricane known as Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr.

Association can be a blessing and a curse and Obama has discovered the latter is true time and time again. Wright is constantly putting his bigoted fire and brimstone sermons on national TV.

Sure, he told the National Press Club recently that the media didn’t report his message of hope when he also told his congregation on the Sunday after the 9/11 attacks that the U.S. government is responsible for inventing the HIV virus to be used against people of color or that America’s policies brought on the terror attacks.

Now, of course the media is going to cover Wright’s controversial sermon. After all, a pastor is supposed to be preaching about hope and peace; he isn’t supposed to be shooting off wild, non-factual theories.

Obama did the right thing by giving his strongest criticism yet of Wright yesterday, by calling the pastor’s remarks “appalling” and that he was “angered” by them.

Since Wright’s racial and anti-American sermons were brought to light last month, Obama had to distance himself greatly. Now, he’s doing it more so. Hopefully, this alone won’t hurt his chances.

Should Obama be ostracized for being a member of Wright’s congregation? At the moment, there is no solid evidence that the Illinois senator knew about Wright’s best known rant before it was reported to the nation last month, which seems a little hard to believe, but anything is possible. And Obama himself said he wasn’t present that Sunday.

They say you can pick your friends, but not your parents. However in this case, you can pick your friends, but you can’t pick the time they decide to go into a racial tirade. And since there isn’t any solid evidence that Obama has ever agreed with what Wright said, then in an ideal world, this shouldn’t hurt him. But it will.

Because some people, especially supporters of Obama’s political rivals, can’t or won’t separate these two men. One man is a religious leader to a certain group of people and his messages are separating and damaging this country, not unlike those who share the beliefs of the American National Socialist Workers Party or even Indiana congressional candidate Republican Tony Zirkle.

The other is a man who aspires to be the leader of every single person that this country represents and he offers true hope and unity for all.

Obama, like any politician, has his faults. If he is to be criticized, it should only be for his policies or his own political blunders. But Obama's association with Wright shouldn’t be his downfall.

Happy Birthday Dear Hitler … Oops!

We have seen many candidates commit political suicide during an election year, from Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain singing his own version of the Beach Boys’ song, called “Bomb Iran,” to his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton saying if there is a terror attack before the election, the Republicans would win the White House.

But what Indiana congressional candidate Republican Tony Zirkle did really takes the cake.

Zirkle not only gave a speech in Chicago about the targeting of young white women and pornography and prostitution to a group of neo-Nazis, but he stood in front of a picture of Adolf Hitler on Sunday, April 20, the day of the Führer’s birthday, reported the Northwest Indiana Times.

Is it important to mention that those who attended this closing-of-the-minds birthday bash were wearing swastika armbands and that there was a swastika flag in the background? (And yes, it was a birthday party, since there were letters stringed together to say “Happy Birthday” on main table in front of Zirkle as he was giving his speech.)

Now, in his defense, Zirkle said he gave the speech because he was invited by the American National Socialist Workers Party and to prove he isn’t a racist, he mentioned that he spoke on a black radio station in Atlanta.

It’s just a shame that this paper-thin excuse of an explanation doesn’t stand up to the fact that back in March of this year, Zirkle suggested that segregation between blacks and whites might solve a lot of problems.

Of course, many Republicans rightly denounced Zirkle. Sure, many candidates try to carry certain groups. For example, Sen. Barack Obama is trying to sway black voters in the South, while Clinton is trying to woo women voters. And McCain is trying to entice conservatives.

That’s normal for politicians to do and it doesn’t smack of being prejudice because they don’t normally speak to a group of people like the American National Socialist Workers Party.

But to actually have the nerve and speak to a small bunch of ignorant people who worship a ruthless, genocidal madman in the year 2008 has to be the biggest political mistake ever made.

Zirkle should be given the political equivalent of the Darwin Award, because he just did this country a great service by committing political suicide. Stick a swastika-embroidered fork in Zirkle, he’s done!

Only They Can Save A
Troubled Black Community

Some of the easiest solutions to some of the toughest problems are saying some hard truths that no one really wants to hear, or so it would seem.

Comedian Bill Cosby and Superior Court Judge Marvin Arrington, who told whites to leave his courtroom as he lectured to young, troubled black defendants to change their ways, held a forum on Thursday, in Atlanta, Ga., reported CNN.

It should come to no surprise as to what the topic was about or who it was directed to: How the black community can help themselves and at-risk teenagers.

The Dynamic Duo told the 500-member, invitation-only audience that black adults have to start behaving like adults and offer real guidance to black youths. Arrington said he sees the same type of cases before him that are committed by blacks: Drug charges, murder and even incest. Cosby told the audience about young black girls having children and condemning rap, among other things.

Cosby in recent years has been known for airing out the black community’s dirty laundry and has received both praised and criticism for it. He says that the inner-city black culture of glorifying rap and gangster life is deteriorating not only the youth, but young adults. And sadly, it is just not the black community that has succumbed to this type of degenerate lifestyle: Other communities have too.

It is because of this culture that stylizes drugs and crime that ended the life of 17-year-old Jamiel Shaw Jr., a young black high school student in Los Angeles, who was murdered because he refused to answer a gang-themed question as he was walking home. Shaw was a bright student who had colleges and universities interested in his football skills and he was not involved with gangs, according to his family and the police.

The shame of it is, is that there are thousands of Jamiel Shaws out there and they don’t get the recognition or the credit that they deserve. Too often, hard work and dedication in the community, in school and in the home go unnoticed and underappreciated. Only obtaining “street cred” is more important or getting involved in other unsavory behavior is what really matters for too many.

That’s why real black leaders like Cosby and Arrington are some of the few who have decided to speak out against what they and many other see is the needless corrosion of the pillar in the black community. They are saying: Stop blaming somebody else for your problems and fix them yourselves.

And Cosby and Arrington have earned the right to say it. They worked hard and had nothing and look what they became of themselves: One is a successful comedian who holds a doctorate in education and the other is a respected superior court judge.

And only they can say it. The most well-intentioned white man can say the same things and he would be quickly and unfairly be labeled a racist, accused of being a member of the white separatist group Nationalist Movement and quickly discarded. But what can be said if a growing number of black men who worked their way up from nothing and through hard work achieved a respectable career? Sadly, they are called “sellouts” or “Uncle Toms” by their own race, which is even more perplexing. However, it is still harder to write them off.

Of course, Cosby and Arrington’s message to young and adult blacks of bettering themselves and taking responsibility for their own actions shouldn’t be restricted to their own race: Many can benefit from their old-fashion words of wisdom, despite their skin color or background.

It can be easy to see why many blacks have condemned Cosby for his frankness of the plight of the black community. After all, any group, either whites, Hispanics or Asians, would not want a member from their own community to tell the world of their own wrong doings or how it’s their own fault.

But maybe it’s time to stop worrying about what others are thinking and start caring more about the crumbling of our society and owning up to our mistakes and responsibilities. Clearly, these are hard truths that anyone can appreciate.

A Rally For Convicted Killer Mumia

Today will be a beautiful spring day and many will enjoy the outdoors. But a few individuals will hold a protest rally in Philadelphia, New York and St. Denis, France, for convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal.

Mumia, birth name Wesley Cook, has been convicted for the shooting death of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner in 1982. And despite his numerous appeals for various reasons over the years, he has been denied a new trial. But what he has mysteriously won are many supporters who profess that he is innocent of the hideous crime that he has been found guilty of.

What should really baffle the mind is that this convicted cop killer — who while in jail has become an honorary citizen of many countries, was given an award for human rights, and he even had streets named after him, just to name a few — is how people can rally for this man.

In all the years Mumia has tried to overturn his conviction — and back in March 2008 the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Mumia’s conviction but overturned his death sentence — he still has not produced one, solid, credible eyewitness who can clear his name. The prosecution, however, had four witnesses to the murder of Faulkner who all said that Mumia shot Philadelphia’s Finest in cold blood.

Standing up for truly innocent men, like Alton Logan who was locked away for 26 years for a murder he allegedly didn’t commit, are worthwhile causes.

But having rallies and giving awards to a convicted murderer, who has not been able to produce a credible witness, much less been able to get another trial, not only tarnishes the life he took away, but also the lives of those who loved and care about Daniel Faulkner.

To read the 1982 court case, please click here.

What Wasn’t Needed On MLK Day

This nation is suffering greatly of not being able to connect with one another. While the relationship between blacks and whites are far better now then when it was on April 4, 1968 when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, there is still those who create unrest between the races for their personal agendas.

While the Rev. Al Sharpton would rather see Golf Channel anchor Kelly Tilghman fired for a very foolish foot-in-the-mouth moment regarding her lynch comment than to have a far more sensible solution, say taking an educational stroll in a civil rights museum, his way of causing unrest among the two races are nothing compared to what happened today.

The white separatist group Nationalist Movement held a protest in Jena, La., a town that has seen its recent share of racial drama in the form of the Jena Six incident, where six black youths were accused of beating a white boy that sparked a controversial firestorm. Not only was Richard Barrett, the leader of the Nationalist Movement, and his group protesting the Jena Six incident but also the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, reported the Associated Press.

And the New Black Panthers Party were also there with other counter-demonstrators who were protesting the Nationalist Movement, reported the Associated Press. A riot didn’t break out between the two extremist groups but it would almost be poetic if it did. But thankfully that fateful confrontation did not happen on a day set aside to appreciate the honest efforts of Martin Luther King Jr.

While many things have improved since King’s death there is much work that needs to be done but too many groups have their personal agendas. For example, Sharpton’s call for Tilghman to lose her job over her slip of the tongue. He is not helping race relations. Tilghman’s words did not have the intentions of racism. What the members of the Nationalist Movement said today at Jena did. That is true racism and that is the type of prejudice that needs to be attacked.

It’s that type of racism and prejudice that is holding back this great country of ours. Any type of racism, either from white separatists or black separatists are counterproductive and their views greatly clash with that mountain that was in a dream of equality for all.

And true racist white people like Barrett and his followers will never understand that this is our country, a country for everyone. And the black extremists need to understand that not all whites are racists. In their warped, twisted way, the two misguided groups who are preaching their hate fail to realize they are hurting the very people they have sworn to protect.

While these groups have the freedom and the right to speak and preach their hate, we also have the right to come together and protest that vile hate in the peaceful way that Martin Luther King Jr. called for.

And what’s more important is that while both the whites and the blacks peacefully protest these groups it is equally, if not far more important, that each race faces off against the radicals of their own race. The most critical blow to members of the Nationalist Movement is if whites stand up against them and tell them that their brand of help is not wanted.

And it would be a devastating upset to the New Black Panthers Party if black people told them that their militant beliefs are not for them.

The extreme views of these organizations have to be brought to light and fight the injustices they cause. They are eroding what this nation is supposed to stand for. And what is also chipping away at this nation’s pillar are the petty attacks and making a spectacle of someone who innocently used the wrong choice of words.

Fighting all forms of real prejudice is what the man who is honored today would have wanted. Let us not forget what Martin Luther King Jr. stood for and died trying to teach us how to accept one another.

Not A Cinderella Story

I don’t normally write about sports but I thought this really goes outside the arena of athletes and goes into the heart of journalism.

As a few might have heard, Golf Channel anchor Kelly Tilghman was suspended for jokingly saying that Tiger Woods’ opponents should lynch the golf star in a back alley if they hoped to beat him on the green. Obviously, it got a lot of backlash and understandably so. Was there hate in her comment? No but it was a foolish joke and she was dealt with properly.

However, Vice President and Editor of Golfweek Dave Seanor was not. Apparently, he and the golf magazine’s editorial staff thought it would be a good idea to do a feature article about Tilghman’s poor choice of words and used a picture of a swinging noose as the cover art to highlight the feature.

And that is when the problems really started. According to CBSSports.com, Jack Peter, an official with the PGA Tour, considered to pull $50,000 worth of advertising, even though a spokesman for the tour said that Peter did not speak for the organization and that advertising was not threatened to be pulled, according to the Associated Press.

With that hanging over the publication’s head and with PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem calling the choice of cover art “outrageous and irresponsible” and tabloid journalism, Golfweek apparently felt it had to take action and fired Seanor yesterday. And shame on Golfweek for breaking down and firing Seanor for doing his job.

But instead of standing behind Seanor for his editorial decision to run the image, Golfweek thought it had to show “responsibility” for this situation and to probably counter potential future attacks from certain civil rights leaders and others. Because the Rev. Al Sharpton demanded that Tilghman be fired, but the Golf Channel had the wisdom to just suspend her for two weeks.

Now as a former professional layout editor for newspapers and magazines, I can see why Seanor decided to use a swinging noose because of its powerful image and it would certainly draw in readers to the feature and columns about the cover story. And I can only imagine it was not a decision taken lightly. It isn’t a stretch of the imagination that the editorial board, and certainly Terry Olson, the vice president and publisher of Golfweek, had a say in this and agreed that the picture should appear on the cover.

As a society, we have become too sensitive to certain issues and that sensitivity has created an extreme that is costing people their careers. Instead of creating dialogue and talking about an issue, too many people would rather have someone fired and then sweep the topic under a dusty old rug to be forgotten.

Dave Seanor should not have been fired for that cover art. Granted, an apology to those who found the controversial image offensive was correctly given out. But to fire someone who was just doing his job as a journalist is crossing the line.

And this is Golfweek we are talking about. Sure, any intelligent person can say it was a stupid call to approve an image of a swinging noose. But this is a publication about golf and golf-related stories. This isn’t a magazine by Richard Barrett, the founder of the white supremacist group the Nationalist Movement, who would have probably had Tiger Woods’ face around that noose. If that was the case, then I’ll be the first in line to attack Barrett as I have before.

This bloodlust of firing someone because it may hurt a company’s wallet or to appease the crowds that are calling for heads to roll has to stop. Instead, let’s have a real discussion about the issue at hand.

The great Martin Luther King Jr. once said that he had a dream that his children would “not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” I doubt that he would agree with the cover art but I would sincerely doubt he would call for Seanor’s firing. I would like to think that the civil rights leader would rather talk about the situation then to jump to extremes.

So let’s take that important leaf from King’s book and use it wisely. Because the extreme actions that are being taken are not solving any problems.

A Lesson In Stupidity

Teachers at the Alma J. Brown Elementary School decided that the only way for kindergarten and first grade students’ to truly understand racism is to have a noose around their little necks.

On Sept. 20, 2007, the same day of the national protest march for the Jena Six, teachers decided to hold their own march to support the six black males accused of beating a white male by having the young students circle their playground.

Alma J. Brown Elementary School is located on the campus of Grambling State University, in Grambling, La. Pictures of the event were taken by the university’s newspaper, The Gramblinite.

“(One picture shows) a young girl in a school uniform being held up by a woman while someone else, mostly hidden by a tree, holds a noose around her neck and up to a branch,” reported FOX News.

Thankfully, these teachers had enough sense to not tie the noose to the tree itself. The president of the university is having a full investigation into the matter. But the point is, why would anyone in his or hers right mind think it would be a great way to teach young children about racism by placing a noose around their necks?

Heaven forbid if one of these kids gets the idea of doing the same thing when there are no adults around. After all, these are little kids who really don’t understand the concept of mortality. These teachers should be fired over this.

We should all be grateful the teachers didn’t tie two baseball bats together to form a cross and set them on fire.

Another concern that is just as dangerous, but certainly nowhere as deadly, is the lesson these educators were trying to teach the children about the Jena Six case. It hasn’t been reported on what exactly was taught to them but there has been a lot of unreported information about the Jena Six that many adults are not even aware of. For example:

• There was an all white jury for Mychal Bell’s trial. But what you will have a hard time discovering is that out of the 150 people summoned for jury duty, only 50 people showed up, none of them were black, however.
• And Bell's court-appointed black public defender, Blane Williams, really dropped the ball by not challenging the jury pool, or for not calling any defense witnesses and he urged the teenager to take a plea deal.
• And both black and white students were playing with the three nooses on a tree in Jena High School, which many have stated started the recent racial tensions.

These facts, and others, certainly paint a very different picture than what has been reported. Of course, that doesn’t excuse the nooses placed on the tree and hateful people like Richard Barrett, the founder for the white supremacist group the Nationalist Movement, doesn’t help matters by having a counter demonstration during the Jena Six march.

If the children really need to be taught racism at such a young age, even though they may not fully understand it, let’s hope they learn the most important lesson of all: There are both good and bad people out there in all colors and sexes.

Black Community: Obama Has The Wrong Background

Poor Sen. Barack Obama, long before it was announced yesterday that he filed papers for a presidential exploratory committee, thus joining the long list of his fellow Democrats running or plan on running for the presidency in 2008, his racial background was already an issue. But not from whites but from those who share the same skin color as the Illinois senator.

Stanley Crouch, an African-American newspaper columnist, wrote in November, 2006, an article entitled “Barack Obama — Not Black Like Me.” Crouch claims that because Obama’s parents were a black Kenyan father and a white American mother, he does not share in or understand the struggles of black Americans who had ancestors that were slaves in this country.

Even radio host George Wilson says that his black audience listeners have been very cool to the idea that Obama is planning on running for the White House.

"He's not getting as much of an enthusiastic send-off from black people as he is from whites. There's a feeling that if white folks like him so much he must not be good for us. For some blacks, it's a turn-off, " Wilson said in an AFP story, published Jan. 17, 2007.

This is certainly unfair that Obama is already suffering racism from the black community, but if he should be attacked, it should be because of his politics and record. And if Obama is not going to be the “champion” for the black community in this political race, then who, the Rev. Al Sharpton? The same man who is known for making outlandish claims and making false accusations? Many will remember the Tawana Brawley incident and how he falsely accused the assistant district attorney in the case of being involved in the alleged rape.

Political background and voting record aside, if the black community really want or need someone to be their champion, they can find no better person than Obama. Unlike Sharpton or former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, Obama has not only held office but has a good, respectable political background. And since former Secretary of State Colin Powell is not running, or planning on it, Obama is the only responsible black leader currently in the national headlines. Besides the black community, the whole state of Illinois should be proud that a political leader of Obama’s standing has thrown his hat in the ring.

However, Obama is not the first Democrat who had to endure prejudices while trying to run for the White House. Many claimed that if Roman Catholic John F. Kennedy won the highest seat in the land, that he would take orders from the Pope or make reports to the Vatican. Of course, these accusations were untrue.

But the point is that despite one’s background, it will always be attacked, either from the opposition or from within their own ranks. Candidates and the voters must understand that when someone runs for the president of the United States of America, that person has a responsibility to one group and one group only: all the citizens of the country, not those from selected ethnic or religious backgrounds.

Originally posted on Friday, July 11, 2008

Voting Goes To The Dogs

Do you know what burns my bacon? Idiot voters who only support a candidate for stupid reasons.

For example, an AP-Yahoo! News poll found that pet owners support presumed Republican Presidential candidate John McCain because he has two dogs, a cat, two turtles, a ferret, three parakeets and a lot of fish. I believe this is known as the Noah Complex.

But on the other side, the poll said that non-pet owners, or also known as “liberators” according to PETA, favor the assumed Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama because of his lack of fuzzy beasts.

What really burns my bacon is what Janet Taylor of Plymouth, Mass., said about this issue.

“I think a person who owns a pet is a more compassionate person ―­­­­ caring, giving, trustworthy. I like pet owners,” she stated.

Who can make that giant leap of illogic? McCain has seven children. In my book, having children trumps having pets. You would think that caring for small human beings would make you more trustworthy and compassionate.

Besides, I don’t have any pets and I would like to get some, but I already have two children. That should count for something. Sure, they don’t go on the carpet or keep me awake at night baying at the moon, but they do make messes and I have to take them for walks. And I just can’t give them to the animal shelter if I get tired of them. Trust me, I’ve tried.

But it’s just not pet owners who may vote for a candidate because they share a need to get licked in the face by an animal that cleans its own testicles with its tongue. My grandmother remembers watching on TV that a woman was going to vote for Dwight Eisenhower just because he had the same operation as her husband.

In fact, columnist Gary Kamiya said he is going to vote for Obama simply because he’s half black.

“I admit it: I’m voting for Barack Obama because he’s black,” Kamiya wrote. “… But if he weren’t black, and Hillary had opposed the war, I’d probably vote for her because of her greater experience.”

Kamiya isn’t the only one who will vote for Obama because of his skin color. And sadly, the opposite is true because many white voters support McCain because of his race. All pretty racist stuff, but interesting how the former seems to be more acceptable than the latter. But that’s a different topic for another day. But it’s not OK to vote for Obama just because he’s black or McCain because he’s white. That’s racist no matter how you slice it.

The point here is that people who vote for a candidate because they have a pet, or have the same operation or even skin color, not to mention being in the same political party, should scare everyone. Because these are not thinking, rational people.

These are people who probably shouldn’t be allowed to vote if they are choosing a candidate to be the most powerful person of the world over trivial things.

It makes you wonder where this country is heading if a voter’s only decision about how qualified a candidate might be is if he carries a pooper scooper. Although, since a candidate is a politician in D.C. with a pooper scooper, it doesn’t necessarily mean he owns a dog.

Originally published on Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Stereotypes And Hypocrisy

Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II wrote a great little column today about race and misunderstandings in The Politico today. He says that there should be more open discussion about something that is quite taboo in not only political circles, but in most of our professional lives.

Because for the most part, when we talk about race, we talk about stereotyping. And we all know that stereotyping is wrong, but there is truth to it. Yes, it’s a generalization that has some truth to it.

Here’s a popular stereotype: The Mafia. There. It’s said. Now, how many of you thought of Tony Soprano? The movies “Godfather” or “Goodfellas” pop into anyone’s heads? Sure they did. It’s a popular stereotype that Italians and the Mafia go hand-in-hand like olive oil and wine, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra or a snitch and cement shoes.

It’s ingrained in us to think of Italians when we heard “mafia.” If we’re forced to think of any other nationality, we always hear: The Russian Mafia or the Chinese Mafia. Because the fact is, when we hear “Mafia,” no one thinks of Eskimos.

And to those sensitive Italians out there who think it’s a slur to their heritage, as ¾ guinea myself (OK, according to my father, I’m ¼ Italian and ½ Sicilian. Yeah, it can be a big deal.) I say to you: Suck it up and deal with it!

Yeah, so Italians are associated with a criminal organization that has been glorified by Hollywood. That’s because it’s mostly true. Italians are famous for organized crime. We’re not famous for organized bake sales. Go ask Sammy “The Bull” Gravano or John Gotti.

Does it mean that all Italians are Mafia members? Of course not. Take me for example. Because I’m ½ English on my mother’s side, I wasn’t allowed to join The Family. Sure, I’m glad I don’t have to kill or whack off anyone, but who can beat that tax-free money they make?

And Italians aren’t highlighted well in entertainment media. Take a look at black people: In movies or TV shows, they’re either drug dealers or presidents of big companies.

For Italians in the entertainment industry, we’re either pushing a tomato cart down the street, with a little monkey next to our organ grinder or we’re a Godfather. Not once have we heard Captain James T. Kirk turn to Mr. Spock and say, “Get me geographic specialist Giovanni “Fat Tony” Barbarino.” There is simply no in-between for us.

And speaking of blacks and organs, outside of movies or TV shows the African-American community have a long history of suffering from hideous forms of stereotyping. We hear how black men are involved with crime or being stupid and they rightfully complain about these awful stereotypes.

But it’s also very hypocritical. Not once in all my years have I ever heard a black man complain about the popular stereotype that they have huge penises.

No, not once have I ever heard a black man say, “No, no that’s an awful lie. My penis is so small I could have sex with a Cheerio.”

So, when it comes to race, I think many of us are overly sensitive. Many of us have to accept that some stereotypes are true about our heritage. But more importantly, we shouldn’t judge anyone based on stereotypes, but on the individuals themselves.

Because that sensitivity to non-hateful comments or jokes is not going to help anyone deal and get over race relations.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have stromboli in the oven.