For a very long time there have been double standards in this society and I’ve said before, like I’ll say now, it’s preposterous to hold someone else to a standard that we won’t meet. In the most recent example of gross ignorance and foolishness, Harry Reid was subjected to the ire of those who cried foul over a comment he made. Certainly some have ‘given him a pass’ due to his voting history and political legacy. However, why is a pass necessary? Ok, for those who aren’t familiar with what I’m saying, in a conversation he was having Reid was asked about the likelihood of [then senator] Obama becoming president of the US. His response, in part, was, ‘…a good chance of winning acceptance among white voters because he was a "light skinned" African-American who had "no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one." Many f9lks have issue with him making this statement for a veritable cornucopia of reasons. Let’s look at some of them.First, some folks say this is a racist statement because Reid says that Obama is light skinnded (you know that’s how some of y’all say it). Then there are those who have issue with him saying that he’s trying to win acceptance among white voters. Others have issue with him saying that he had no ‘negro dialect’ [unless he wanted to have one]. Still others are miffed because he used the word negro. The list goes on, one idiotic reason to be angry after another. Not to mention the fuel being poured on the fires by the republican party relegating this statement to the statements made by Trent Lott back in the day.
To judge a person’s racial feelings/stance based on one statement is even more moronic than actually being a racist. For white folk, they have to walk on eggshells around black folks. They don’t want to call us the wrong thing…some black folk like to be called African American…others Negro…others Black…other Afro-American…still others call each other Nigger/Niggah/Nigga/Nicca and think it’s ok. Hell, they make one wrong statement and they’re labeled a racist. Just dumb as hell! We need to stop having such thin skin and look at the whole situation before making rash, emotional decisions and judgments. Why is it okay for a hip hop performer to use the word nigger (or any derivative thereof) in a song, but black folks look at a white person sideways if they’re singing a song and they don’t skip that word. Man, DAMN YOU!!! If they like the song and they want to sing along then they have just as much right to do so as you do. The issue ain’t with them winging along with a song, it’s with the word being in the song in the first place. I’m one of those black folks who will correct you in a heartbeat (regardless of race) if I’m called nigger (or any derivative thereof) or African/Afro American. The reasons behind my feelings about the label nigger go without saying. On the other hand, I’m an American who happens to be black (or negro). I believe I’m perpetrating when I call myself African American like someone who purports to be a Sigma and hasn’t crossed the burning sands. Why, you ask? I believe if you can’t name a person in your family that actually lived in Africa (or even visited the continent) you have no business claiming the country. Especially if you count back three generations and all were born in the US. Omini, Martin, and Barack Obama are all African Americans because they were born in America, but their fathers were born in Africa [mothers as well-except Obama]. Besides, when I traced my family history, my lineage is Portuguese on one side and Haitian on the other [hence the last name with French implications]. Too many folks have bled, sweat and cried for me to have the right to call myself an American. I disrespect their struggle when I insist on diluting that with anything else.
All of that being said, how many readers of this offering had the same conversation about Pres. Obama’s candidacy, complexion and diction? I know I did. We all know that if he had run with the complexion of Djimon Hounsou and the diction of 50 Cent he wouldn’t have made it to the senate, much less the White House. So what was the real issue with the statement he made? Rather than looking at the statement and trying to figure out if it was racist or not, why not look at it, assess its validity and evaluate it properly. It’s a more damning commentary on the reality of black folks in America than a statement that’s derogatory of black folks. Now, on one hand, I won’t hire anyone to work for me who can’t have a conversation without saying ‘umm’, ‘ya feel me’, and ‘know what I’m sayin’ like they just made a rap video. Therefore I definitely wouldn’t want to have them as president and representing me throughout the world. On the other hand, I believe it’s true that he wouldn’t have been as successful [or not at all] if his mother wasn’t white, therefore making his complexion lighter than had his mother been the same hue as his father. Therefore this gives the inference that the lighter the complexion the better the person. This divisive notion has been implanted in the minds of black America for years (circa Willie Lynch). We have to learn to see past it and for the most part many of us have. However, it does still exist.
We must stop allowing our buttons to be pushed for foolishness. I’m neither republican nor democrat, but I know a sham when I see one. This statement, made in a private conversation (I didn’t even address that part of it) needed no apology, public or private, and is an opinion shared by most. Go back and listen to Pres. Obama’s speech on race, he said the same thing himself. It was blown out of proportion by media outlets looking for a story and the republican party seeking to get Reid out of office and a republican in there. Sen. Reid should have responded to this report like he did in the photo. Followed by the question, “Who gon’ check me boo?’
It’s Just My Opinion, but I’m Not Wrong!!
