America's Racists

MensNewsDaily.com ^ | 10SEP03 | Burt Prelutsky

[familyop]

America's Racists

September 10, 2003

by Burt Prelutsky

Two seemingly unrelated thoughts keep running through my brain, and I'm wondering if there is a connection that my subconscious is trying to make.

The first of these notions is that most of the racists in America are black, and that until we all recognize and acknowledge this fact, we're not going to get anywhere so far as resolving the race question. For, way too often when blacks insist they want to have a dialogue with whites, what they really mean is that they get a free pass to bitch and moan and demand reparations for things done to people they never knew by people none of us ever knew!

The second notion is that in any conflict between people, in order to know which side to root for, you only need to know which leader insists on donning a uniform every chance he gets.

Now, regarding the first issue, I'm aware that there are those -- mainly blacks and patronizing white liberals -- who insist that only those in the majority, those who have power, those, in short, who govern, can ever be labeled racists. That is totally absurd. By that standard, not the Aryan Brotherhood and not even the Ku Klux Klan -- neither of which can boast of power, numbers or influence -- could ever be condemned as racist.

What we do have in this country is a hypocritical double standard. On the one hand, movie director Spike Lee's career rolls merrily along in spite of his saying that he so hates bi-racial couples that he stares daggers at them if he encounters them on the street; and Jesse Jackson, who has raised corporate extortion to an art form, can not only get away with calling New York City "Hymietown," but with admitting that when he hears a group of young guys walking behind him at night, he's relieved to find they're white and not black.

I dare you to show me a single high-profile Caucasian who could survive such gaffes. You can't. But I can readily point to Sen. Trent Lott and the late baseball executive Al Campanis, who had their lives wrecked because of a couple of ill-chosen remarks. In Campanis's case, any number of black athletes came forward to defend him as a decent man and a loyal friend, but nothing could save him from falling victim to America's double standard.

People such as Al Sharpton, Maxine Waters, and Johnnie Cochran, who have made careers out of race-baiting, are esteemed in the black community. But I can't think of a single white racist who has enjoyed success and esteem among white Americans. Only blacks are permitted, even encouraged, to view all issues and, worse yet, all people in terms of black and white.

There are, I will readily admit, things that should be regarded that way. Good and evil, for instance, come to mind. Which brings us back to the matter of uniforms. When it comes to national leaders, one should always be wary of siding with the guy out of mufti. Whether his name is Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Castro, Idi Amin, Yasir Arafat, or Saddam Hussein, bloody tyrants enjoy nothing better than an excuse to slap on the medals and dress up like a toy soldier. In a democracy, even when ex-generals assume high office -- men such as George Washington, Ulysses S. Grant, and Dwight D. Eisenhower -- they put their uniforms in mothballs. The lone exception who comes to mind is Charles de Gaulle. But, then, he was French. So, what else would you expect?

Come to think of it, perhaps the message my subconscious was trying so hard to communicate was that, sadly, so far as black racists are concerned, skin color is the same as a uniform.

Burt Prelutsky
Burt Prelutsky

Burt Prelutsky has been a humor columnist for the L.A. Times and the movie critic for Los Angeles Magazine. In addition to freelancing for everything from the N.Y. Times and TV Guide to Playgirl and Sports Illustrated, he has written several award-winning TV movies, along with episodes of Dragnet, McMillan & Wife, MASH, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, Rhoda, Family Ties, Dr. Quinn and Diagnosis Murder. Visit his website at http://BurtPrelutsky.com.

                        

[familyop]

"Well, we'll see how long THIS post is kept up."

Why? Do you think Barbara Boxer or maybe even the ghost of Huey P. will come and tear it down?

[familyop]

My point in posting it is to show where all of the
negative talk of race is going. We need to stop racial
politics while promoting love and respect. Many who are
told that they are being cheated--white people included--
will cause trouble. If we remove race from politics, there
will be little incentive for anyone to stir others into
thinking they are cheated.

[familyop]

"This guy is generalizing a bit I would say."

I agree.

[drhogan]

i agree with you guys. the writer seems to be into stirring up anger at black people, most of whom are no more racist than whites. it is the white-owned liberal media who choose phony black "leaders" like Jackson and Sharpton. i think it makes more sense to de-legitimize all racist leaders, white or black, rather than focus on which racial group is more racist. i'm not into giving a pass to black racists like spike lee, but this writer isn't helping to solve anything, he is only sowing discord.

[familyop]

Yes. In my experiences, there are virtually no more black
people who are racist than white people. Most in either
group are racist in their assumptions of superiority and stubbornness against trusting people of the other color.
I've lived in neighborhoods completely one, then the
other color for years at a time. The prevalences of
attitudes are about the same in either.

Some say there is more violence per person in black
neighborhoods. What should we expect with more inflicted
(by middle class white feminists in Women's Studies
departments at universities) feminism causing more
cohabitation/divorce? More of the kids don't have
fathers. Most criminals were fatherless as children.
Many of the most honorable men I've done difficult duty
with were black. Many of them were white. We all have
the potential.

There's no good in anyone, black or white, blaming most
of any problem on people of the other race (except for
well rounded discussions of History for History's sake).
That's why, IMO, Prop. 54 is a good idea for California.
When people of one race have fewer excuses to eye people
of the other race with presumed suspicions, all can begin
to see the samenesses more than the differences.

There is one demographic that applies to prevalence of
racism, though. I've known more liberals than conservatives
who were racists. ...closet or know-it-all fearful
racists but racists just the same.

Who's Lying to You About Early Feminism?
Susan B. Anthony: Racist Manipulator
http://mensnewsdaily.com/archive/l/lemasters/lemasters082103.htm

[Susannah]

Would anyone like to explain what the term "Hymietown" refers to?

[familyop]

It's a slur against Jews.

[sauropod]

In a perfect world I would agree with you.

Obviously, the world is not perfect.

[mhking]

This issue is as simple as the writer makes it one one hand, yet far more complex on the other.

The Jackson-Sharpton Unholy Cabal continues to use race as a bludgeon, not for any misbeotten measure of nobility, but simply for their own self-aggrandizement.

Certainly, some have bought into the rhetoric, but not because of any notion of "black racism," but due to the machinations and manipulations of Liberal apologists who get their jollies and feel-goods from patting "the disadvantaged" on the head.Black conservative ping

If you want on (or off) of my black conservative ping list, please let me know via FREEPmail. (And no, you don't have to be black to be on the list!)

Extra warning: this is a high-volume ping list.

[TopQuark]

If one can infer his age from the work attributed to him, he can probably afford retirement. At least that is what I hope he sad to himself before publishing this piece.

[stand watie]

bump.

[new cruelty]

What we do have in this country is a hypocritical double standard. On the one hand, movie director Spike Lee's career rolls merrily along in spite of his saying that he so hates bi-racial couples that he stares daggers at them if he encounters them on the street; and Jesse Jackson, who has raised corporate extortion to an art form, can not only get away with calling New York City "Hymietown," but with admitting that when he hears a group of young guys walking behind him at night, he's relieved to find they're white and not black.

I dare you to show me a single high-profile Caucasian who could survive such gaffes. You can't.

[At _War_With_Liberals]

"To deny blacks the responsibility for their own racism is to deny them their humanity."

The problem is that they will not get out of this while being brainwashed and oppressed by Dims and activists. It is a fact.

Only a media campaign that honestly takes on this issue and exposes it for what it is will serve to right this situation. It would be a war, but a noble one.

We propagandize blatant lies in this culture and wonder why we have issues.

[satchmodog9]

King warned of the race hustlers. The people like Jackson and Farrakhan have done more harm than good. More white people see their faces as representing racism and are tired of being blamed for the plight of the worlds dowtrodden. We are all human beings and we should get used to that idea.

[Susannah]

"It's a slur against Jews"

Thank you for clearing that up. I was thinking Hymietown, in terms of hymens (female virigins), was directed toward lesbians.

[WaterDragon]

Wow! This guy is great! I especially liked this line....

"...insist that only those in the majority, those who have power, those, in short, who govern, can ever be labeled racists. That is totally absurd. By that standard, not the Aryan Brotherhood and not even the Ku Klux Klan -- neither of which can boast of power, numbers or influence -- could ever be condemned as racist.

I never thought about it that way, but he's absolutely right.