Jason Whitlock has it right. The columnist for Fox Sports chimed in on the Riley Cooper controversy by saying we are all bias when it comes to color, whether we want to admit it or not.
And Whitlock, whose column can be Googled, says it doesn’t matter if the color is white, black, brown or yellow, we are all in denial when it comes to the issue. Whitlock, who is black, admits when in the past he’s been drunk and surrounded by a sea of black he’s said things he’s not proud of.
Our racial thoughts, our biases, just won’t magically disappear, although as we age, and Whitlock points this out, we become more aware of them and are not as fast to announce them in public.
The problem in today’s age is there is rampant social media where virtually everything gets aired. You can go to a party, get drunk, and say things you would not normally say and within minutes it spins out of control around the world, pictures and all.
We are living in a very transparent age and you have to be careful or your biases, your prejudices will throw you life for a loop. I know if social media had been available while I was young and crazy and reckless, I probably would have been caught doing or saying something I shouldn’t.
I was going to school in Alfred, N.Y. in 1958-60 and I vividly remember one night playing pinochle. Me and a black football player teamed to play against two not-very-nice guys from New York City who thought all of us small town guys were hicks that could, and should be fleeced, of all our money by any means possible, including cheating.
But it wasn’t me catching them cheating that I remember the most. It was what I said after several beers. I got a hand that was almost entirely black – spades and clubs – and I was so stunned, and upset and feeling the effects of the beer, I blurted out, “I’m as black as a (blank).”
Our two opponents, as crass and experienced with the big city life as they were, were shocked nearly speechless. One of them stammered something and nodded toward my black partner, who was a real nice guy.
I quickly apologized and my black friend shrugged it off as if it was no big deal. But it’s about 55 years later and I’m still ashamed and feel guilty about it. It was stupid and showed my lack of maturity. But it also showed my prejudice.
A few years ago I wrote a column about my grandparents on my father’s side. They lived in their latter years in the black section of Olean, N.Y. and my grandmother was not very happy or very nice toward the black neighbors, and that is saying it as nice as I can.
She was an extreme racist, there is no doubt about that. So I learned some of that from her by osmosis. I remember she warned me never to walk around in the neighborhood for fear I would get hurt or even killed.
Of course, that instilled in me just the opposite of what she intended. I vowed one day to get up the courage to walk down the several blocks of the black neighborhood, and I finally did. I was about 10 and I quietly slipped out of my grandparent’s home, walked out to the sidewalk and nervous as all-get-out started walking.
I made it all the way to the end and nothing happened. I felt so liberated that I walked all the way back. And that walk led me to question my grandmother’s beliefs – not that I questioned her directly – but after that I just let her words roll off my back, because I knew her prejudice had no basis in fact.
There is still an undercurrent of racism in this country that probably will take another hundred years before it’s finally eradicated. Actually, in another 30-40 years the white majority in this country will be in the minority, based on studies. That should be interesting.
In the meantime, that racism will rear its ugly head from time to time. I believe that our black president faces obstruction from parts of Congress because he is black. There is a certain segment that just doesn’t want a black man to succeed just because he is black.
Look at the last presidential election and notice what states voted for Mitt Romney. You will see all the southern states except Florida went for him. It’s as if the Civil War never happened and the Confederate Flag is still flapping in the breeze.
You, of course, will probably never hear uttered in public the prejudice that seems to suggest might come from any elected official from those states. Their lips are sealed even if their heart sings a different tune.
Every once in a while, though, lips will be loosen by alcohol and, as happened with Cooper, a word will slip through the booze, it will go viral and the conversation will again be the main topic.
Or a white man will stalk a black man just because he is black and a terrible crime will hold the nation spellbound for months.
I wish it were different. I wish we all loved each other regardless of color or nationality or religion. I wish I could wave a wane and we would have a perfect world full of love. But it’s not to be. We are what we are, and it’s going to take a lot more time for it to change – hopefully.
Be well pal
Be careful out there.
Have a great day.
You are loved.
