Let me preface this by saying a lot of people consider me to be white. I’m fine with this label. I am proceeding as a white person who is criticizing white people. I know, it’s really rare!
Now, why is it that "my people" always feel the need to use the "R" word for the most ridiculous reasons? Do we think that calling other people "racist" absolves us of our own secret fear and/or hate of anything non-white?
Case in point:
Monday was St. Patrick’s Day. I made a comment on the air to M2 saying "People just use St. Patrick’s Day as an excuse to drink beer". The next day, I received a two-minute voicemail from an angry Irish mother who called me a racist for saying "People just use St. Patrick’s Day as an excuse to drink beer". Now, if one of you can explain to me how exactly that is racist, I’d be happy to hear you out and admit my subconscious hatred for Irish people that I had no clue I was carrying around with me on the daily. Can you even be racist against Irish people in 2008? I mean, I get the historical bastardization of the Irish, but they were soon assimilated into the "white zone" and now receive all the benefits of being white in America. Not only that, but I didn’t say "Irish people use St. Patrick’s Day as an excuse to drink beer". I said "people". I would include all Americans in the term "people" here. The three major "drinking holidays" in the U.S. are St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo and New Year’s Eve/Day. Please tell me I’m lying.
I was also called a racist over that New Times article where I labeled the Blunt Club scene as "white". Now, if I’m white and recognize there are a lot of white people somewhere, how exactly is that "racist"? White people were coming out of the woodworks with these allegations about how I’m a racist for seeing what is right in front of my face. Under this infrastructure, I would also be racist if I said that when I go to Food City I see a lot of Mexicans? Can we fairly say that a lot of Mexicans shop at Food City without it being an inflammatory front-page racial clusterfuck?
I’m Armenian. A lot of us are hairy and we tend to have big noses. If someone non-Armenian said this, I’d have a good look at my last family reunion portrait and be forced to agree. There’s a reason why I wax my upper lip, folks.
Now we have this giant racial mess over Barack Obama’s reverend saying "racist" things about white people. Of course, you can’t have a black guy running for president without looking for reasons to find him secretly hating the white devil. Well, I’ll say this. If I were a black male in America, I’d probably hate a lot of white people not in secrecy, but out loud. I see how uncultured white people behave around minorities and if it makes me want to slap the shit out of them, I can only imagine how they feel.
Here are some quotes from Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Jr., the head of Barack’s church:
"Who cares about what I’m going through? Who cares about what poor people have to put up with? Who cares about what a poor black man has to face every day in a country and a culture controlled by rich white people?"
"Hillary fits the mold. Europeans fit the mold. Giuliani fits the mold. Rich white men fit the mold."
"Hillary ain’t never had her own people say she wasn’t white enough!"
How exactly are these quotes "racist"? Is this not a country that is run by rich, white people? Is this not a country that reminds minorities that they don’t fit the mold and has women like Pepa and Lil’ Kim looking like aliens in an effort to do so? Has Hillary ever been told she wasn’t "white enough" by white people? [Sidenote: I have.]
White people are all up in arms about a black man speaking the truth as he sees it, from a zone that they will never comprehend because they have they luxury of not having to. So because Barack’s reverend says certain things, white people shouldn’t vote for him because he might be racist against white people and his mother is white? Help me out here, because the logic is escaping me.
In closing, I’d like to say that all of us Americans need to chill out on the racist volleyball game we’ve been playing since the beginning of time. Yes, racism exists, but please, whatever your race or ethnicity, only use the word when the situation truly deems it appropriate. We’re playing out the word "racist". It’s becoming worse than the word "bling".
Now, why is it that "my people" always feel the need to use the "R" word for the most ridiculous reasons? Do we think that calling other people "racist" absolves us of our own secret fear and/or hate of anything non-white?
Case in point:
Monday was St. Patrick’s Day. I made a comment on the air to M2 saying "People just use St. Patrick’s Day as an excuse to drink beer". The next day, I received a two-minute voicemail from an angry Irish mother who called me a racist for saying "People just use St. Patrick’s Day as an excuse to drink beer". Now, if one of you can explain to me how exactly that is racist, I’d be happy to hear you out and admit my subconscious hatred for Irish people that I had no clue I was carrying around with me on the daily. Can you even be racist against Irish people in 2008? I mean, I get the historical bastardization of the Irish, but they were soon assimilated into the "white zone" and now receive all the benefits of being white in America. Not only that, but I didn’t say "Irish people use St. Patrick’s Day as an excuse to drink beer". I said "people". I would include all Americans in the term "people" here. The three major "drinking holidays" in the U.S. are St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo and New Year’s Eve/Day. Please tell me I’m lying.
I was also called a racist over that New Times article where I labeled the Blunt Club scene as "white". Now, if I’m white and recognize there are a lot of white people somewhere, how exactly is that "racist"? White people were coming out of the woodworks with these allegations about how I’m a racist for seeing what is right in front of my face. Under this infrastructure, I would also be racist if I said that when I go to Food City I see a lot of Mexicans? Can we fairly say that a lot of Mexicans shop at Food City without it being an inflammatory front-page racial clusterfuck?
I’m Armenian. A lot of us are hairy and we tend to have big noses. If someone non-Armenian said this, I’d have a good look at my last family reunion portrait and be forced to agree. There’s a reason why I wax my upper lip, folks.
Now we have this giant racial mess over Barack Obama’s reverend saying "racist" things about white people. Of course, you can’t have a black guy running for president without looking for reasons to find him secretly hating the white devil. Well, I’ll say this. If I were a black male in America, I’d probably hate a lot of white people not in secrecy, but out loud. I see how uncultured white people behave around minorities and if it makes me want to slap the shit out of them, I can only imagine how they feel.
Here are some quotes from Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Jr., the head of Barack’s church:
"Who cares about what I’m going through? Who cares about what poor people have to put up with? Who cares about what a poor black man has to face every day in a country and a culture controlled by rich white people?"
"Hillary fits the mold. Europeans fit the mold. Giuliani fits the mold. Rich white men fit the mold."
"Hillary ain’t never had her own people say she wasn’t white enough!"
How exactly are these quotes "racist"? Is this not a country that is run by rich, white people? Is this not a country that reminds minorities that they don’t fit the mold and has women like Pepa and Lil’ Kim looking like aliens in an effort to do so? Has Hillary ever been told she wasn’t "white enough" by white people? [Sidenote: I have.]
White people are all up in arms about a black man speaking the truth as he sees it, from a zone that they will never comprehend because they have they luxury of not having to. So because Barack’s reverend says certain things, white people shouldn’t vote for him because he might be racist against white people and his mother is white? Help me out here, because the logic is escaping me.
In closing, I’d like to say that all of us Americans need to chill out on the racist volleyball game we’ve been playing since the beginning of time. Yes, racism exists, but please, whatever your race or ethnicity, only use the word when the situation truly deems it appropriate. We’re playing out the word "racist". It’s becoming worse than the word "bling".