This is 2010. At this point in our country's brief history, we should be above a lot of things. Two years ago, we voted in our very first African American president. A few years before that, we had the first ever Super Bowl between two African American coaches. We've been blessed to have a lot of things happen to one of the most oppressed groups of people in history. African Americans have been the subject to a lot of ridicule and strife. Far more than I will ever know since I haven't lived in the harsh parts. However it's a fact that racism still plays a part in a lot more than we're willing to admit. This new law in Arizona that basically said that "if you look hispanic, your immigration status will be verified." That's racism in it's purest form really.
That's not really what I want to talk about. I want to talk about this thing going on in Miami. Recently, LeBron James and his business manager have both said that race played a role in the backlash LeBron got for leaving Cleveland and going to Miami to play basketball. Notice he said that "it played a role" not that it was the underlying reason. I'm sure he understood that making a television show about which team he was going to play for was kind of over the top. I'm sure he gets the fact that he broke the heart of all of Cleveland, Ohio that night. However I don't think he expected this much flack for it. Seems like it's a pretty valid idea. If you look at the Q scores, LeBron is now one of the six most hated athletes. Along with Michael Vick, Tiger Woods, Terrell Owens, Chad Ochocinco, and Kobe Bryant. Notice that the six most hated athletes are all African Americans. Three of them have NEVER been accosted for crimes at all. One was in prison, so I get that. One was accused of rape but never saw trial. What baffles me is that Brett Favre (who is still my favorite athlete despite playing for the worst team ever) has done what LeBron has done 3 times in three years, waffling between playing and not playing for a certain team. What baffles me is that Ben Roethlisberger has put himself in harm's way with women twice and isn't in the top 6. Roger Clemens, who pretty much cheated at baseball isn't among the top 6, but LeBron is? It makes no sense to me. Terrell Owens' biggest crime was answering a question the media asks of him about his quarterback, yet he's more hated than an alleged rapist? Tiger Woods' biggest crime was cheating on his wife, is that worse than cheating at in a sport that values integrity and honesty over statistics (see Pete Rose)? Look, I know that racism is somewhat fading away, but it's still very prevalent. Always has been, and always will be. I have seen multiple people on my facebook friends list join the group: "Dear Lord, This year you took my favorite actor, Patrick Swayze. You took my favorite actress, Farrah Fawcett. You took my favorite singer, Michael Jackson. I just wanted to let you know, my favorite president is Barack Obama. Amen." I don't think there has ever been this much backlash for a president, not even George W. Bush. That's not a coincidence, my friends. Like I said, I'm not saying that everyone hates Obama simply because he's black. There are a lot more groups opposing a president than ever before. And racism isn't just delegated to politics and negatives. There are a lot of people that commit reverse racism. That is to basically assume that because something is said or done, a person has to be offended by it and they must stop the injustice. I think of that situation with Don Imus and the Rutgers women's basketball team. Now I'm not condoning what Imus did, but people took his comment way out of proportion. Honestly, when I first heard it, he delivered it in a pretty funny way. People jumped all over him and called him the worst racist ever. I don't think he was trying to be racist. He just said a line that was more crude than racist. Basically, people are telling other people that they should be offended by what other says. Don't tell me how to feel. If I want to be offended, I'll do it myself. Point being, we have a long way before we can consider our country enlightened and intelligent. If you really want racism to stop, go about it scientifically. Science proves that there is only one color, just the amount of melanin added to that color. It's Kool-Aid and sugar. The more sugar that's in it, the sweeter it is. The more melanin in a person, the darker they are. Or you can look at it biblically, God loves all and wants all in Heaven. Just look at each other as people who need love, care, guidance. Not people who need protection, special rights, and facebook groups wishing death upon them.
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