“What’s More Scary: A Bleak Economy or a Black President?” (not my words, just quoting)

There I was, watching Rick Sanchez on CNN.  He gave a report on a couple of things he encountered in Georgia lately.  He told of a sign in front of a church that read “When the Wicked Beareth Rule the People Mourn” (from Proverbs).  Maybe the church was addressing a bear market.  You know, the Beareth Market as opposed to a Bulleth Market.

 

He saw flags at half staff.  Were those confederate flags? (ouch)

 

He then told of the Statesville Record, a newspaper in Statesville, NC, that printed an article back in October (he made it sound as though it were just yesterday) with the headline “Analysis: Some whites fear an Obama presidency” and the first lines that read “What’s more scary: a bleak economy or a black president?”  It created a bit of a stir.  I’m not sure who was upset, people who might be “afraid” of a black president, people who were offended by the sentiment, or someone else.  Nevertheless, the paper had to issue an apology.  First, I can’t find the article in the Statesville Record on line, but it’s available here.  Second, the article was written by Jesse Washington, AP Race & Ethnicity writer.  It’s syndicated.  Sanchez made it sound as though it were written by a Statesville writer.  Third, did the paper owe an apology?  From what I can tell, Washington was making an observation.  It wasn’t his opinion. From the evidence he gave, it sounds like a pretty fair observation.   

 

Bottom line, though, Sanchez should’ve been more careful about his 2-minute semi-sensational report.  Shame on him.

Woo Hoo! Race No Longer Matters!

Maybe Cornel West, who wrote Race Matters, would have something to say about that.  Seriously, in Kathleen Parker’s latest column she tells her story of living in a divided south.  Dorothy, the woman who took care of her, was biracial.  Parker’s story is very touching, but she ends it this way:

The day after the election, an African American woman and I were marveling about events and trying to put our finger on what had changed.

That thing. The little speck of difference that kept us imperceptibly apart had been dissolved in a lovely instant of national consensus that race no longer matters.

Really?  Race no longer matters?  CNN sure is devoting a lot of time to something that doesn’t matter.  Oh, and don’t forget what happened at Baylor.  Someone thought it would be fun to hang a rope from a tree and burn Obama/Biden signs. 

Right.  Race no longer matters.

A Little Myth-Making?

I’ve heard more than one person (included in that list is Bill Bennett, former Secretary of Education, former Drug Czar) indicate that now that Barack Obama has won the election, that indicates the playing field has now been leveled and that the business about minorities not having the same opportunities as whites can be slid to the back burner.  “Mission Accomplished” as George W. might say.  Obama proved that anyone can accomplish anything. 

I understand the “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” and the “if you work hard enough you can do anything” mentality, but it’s often inaccurate, and at times, downright dangerous.   It seems to me that it backfires.  There are going to be lots of folks who lose their jobs and homes–heck! There already are with unemployment and foreclosure numbers as high as they are–does it mean that they aren’t working hard enough?  Were people who lost everything during the Great Depression not working hard enough?  Is the single parent who has just lost her job after 15 years witht the same company not working hard enough?  What about the kid who goes to a high school that is underfunded, and where learning how to survive is more important than learning how to write a complete sentence?  Upon graduation, if that even happens, I can see a potential employer, complete with arched eyebrow and wagging finger saying, “You haven’t learned the necessary communication skills.  Clearly, you haven’t worked hard enough!” 

Yes.  Barack Obama overcame some of the biggest obstacles possible in order to accomplish what he has.  He’s been resourceful and smart.  He’s worked hard.  So did Clinton and McCain.  Sometimes hard work gets us where we want to be.  Sometimes it doesn’t.  But I think every time we utter the words “you can do anything you want if you just work hard enough,” it suggests that those who didn’t accomplish their goals didn’t work hard enough.

As for the leveled playing field?  I don’t think so.