From Where I Stand
Play the game without the 'race card'
Brian C. Browley
Managing Editor
Issue date: 9/17/07 Section: Forum
- Page 1 of 1
It seems that whenever an issue comes to the public attention in which race is involved it brings the absolute worse out in people.
Rarely can a conversation on race be held without name calling and finger pointing. Tempers will flare and harsh words soon follow and, in the end, nothing is resolved.
Controversies ranging from the idiotic case of Don Imus' boneheaded and bigoted comments, to the criminal in the case of the Duke Lacrosse scandal and the Jena 6 have been instances highlighting racial divisions in the country.
Inevitably ,when issues of race come out, accusations of African American's playing the race card are soon to follow.
The "playing the race card" phrase is easily one of the most overused, dismissive and idiotic clichés to come into use in recent years.
It seems the term gained popularity during the double homicide trial of former football great OJ Simpson. The trial proved to be one of the most racially divisive trials in American history.
After the acquittal of Simpson, people, who were outraged by what they perceived to be a travesty of justice, accused his legal team of using racial scare tactics to win the case.
It now seems the term is used with impunity whenever a racial issue occurred in the nation.
While there are people who profit from controversy and racial politics any time a person mentions race as a factor in society, it does not mean they are playing the race card.
Too often those who say blacks are playing the race card won't see racism in anything barring a cross burning in someone's yard.
In a column I wrote several weeks ago addressing the media firestorm of controversy surrounding Michael Vick, someone posed the question to me "is this what Martin Luther King died for?"
In a word, yes.
While King didn't die so black men could break the law with impunity, he did die so that when they did break the law they would face justice in a fair and impartial trial where their race was not the issue, but their criminal activity.
King, I hope, would be appalled that a black person who commits a crime could face years where a white person, who commits the same or even greater crime, faces little or no punishment.
This seems to certainly be the case of the Jena 6.
While the students should be punished for their crime, which seems tantamount to a misdemeanor, it seems insane that these students are facing more years than they have lived for what essentially was a school yard fight.
One recurring problem is that some individuals, both black and white, think that constitutional rights and equal treatment under the law only extends to the most upstanding citizens.
Sorry, but the constitution applies to everyone not just those who are model citizens be they black or white.
Of course, part of the being accused with "playing the race card" comes with pointing out such disparities, but that doesn't mean I'm defending their actions. The irony is now that when someone points out an instance of racism they are just as likely to be called a racist as a blatant noose-hanging junior Klansman.
This seems often to me to be a case of sour grapes.
Some people, both black and white, feel threatened and angered that African Americans have a voice to affect change.
It's disconcerting to some that the jokes and statements that once would go unchallenged will not only, now, be answered, but could potentially have ramifications on them and their standing in society. The fact that someone is of African descent is not the Big Joker in a game of spades called racism.
Somewhere down the line some individuals got the idea that Blacks somehow enjoy discrimination because it gives them an opportunity to shame whites.
There seems to be a fundamental difference in the way some blacks and some whites see racism in this nation.
When some see racism they see it as an isolated incident that in no way reflects the nature or spirit of the nation as a whole.
Others, however, see it as a systemic and imbedded set of rules and standards put in action to prevent specific groups from reaching their potential.
Understanding this disconnect is simple: no matter how much they may empathize it's virtually impossible for a member of a majority to understand the plight and views of a minority.
One of my favorite lines in a film was delivered by Andre Baugher portraying Benjamin O. Davis Jr., the first African American general in the Air Force and a member of the Tuskegee Airmen:
"All we asked for was a chance to prove ourselves. A fair and impartial opportunity. We thought we had that chance. But you invite us to a poker game, hand us a fixed deck, and then wonder why we can't win?"
Racism was not a construct of African-Americans.
Whatever this "card" is which Black people allegedly continue to use, it's being used in a game we never had any choice in playing.•
Contact Managing editor Brian Browley at bbrowley@tsumeter.com
Rarely can a conversation on race be held without name calling and finger pointing. Tempers will flare and harsh words soon follow and, in the end, nothing is resolved.
Controversies ranging from the idiotic case of Don Imus' boneheaded and bigoted comments, to the criminal in the case of the Duke Lacrosse scandal and the Jena 6 have been instances highlighting racial divisions in the country.
Inevitably ,when issues of race come out, accusations of African American's playing the race card are soon to follow.
The "playing the race card" phrase is easily one of the most overused, dismissive and idiotic clichés to come into use in recent years.
It seems the term gained popularity during the double homicide trial of former football great OJ Simpson. The trial proved to be one of the most racially divisive trials in American history.
After the acquittal of Simpson, people, who were outraged by what they perceived to be a travesty of justice, accused his legal team of using racial scare tactics to win the case.
It now seems the term is used with impunity whenever a racial issue occurred in the nation.
While there are people who profit from controversy and racial politics any time a person mentions race as a factor in society, it does not mean they are playing the race card.
Too often those who say blacks are playing the race card won't see racism in anything barring a cross burning in someone's yard.
In a column I wrote several weeks ago addressing the media firestorm of controversy surrounding Michael Vick, someone posed the question to me "is this what Martin Luther King died for?"
In a word, yes.
While King didn't die so black men could break the law with impunity, he did die so that when they did break the law they would face justice in a fair and impartial trial where their race was not the issue, but their criminal activity.
King, I hope, would be appalled that a black person who commits a crime could face years where a white person, who commits the same or even greater crime, faces little or no punishment.
This seems to certainly be the case of the Jena 6.
While the students should be punished for their crime, which seems tantamount to a misdemeanor, it seems insane that these students are facing more years than they have lived for what essentially was a school yard fight.
One recurring problem is that some individuals, both black and white, think that constitutional rights and equal treatment under the law only extends to the most upstanding citizens.
Sorry, but the constitution applies to everyone not just those who are model citizens be they black or white.
Of course, part of the being accused with "playing the race card" comes with pointing out such disparities, but that doesn't mean I'm defending their actions. The irony is now that when someone points out an instance of racism they are just as likely to be called a racist as a blatant noose-hanging junior Klansman.
This seems often to me to be a case of sour grapes.
Some people, both black and white, feel threatened and angered that African Americans have a voice to affect change.
It's disconcerting to some that the jokes and statements that once would go unchallenged will not only, now, be answered, but could potentially have ramifications on them and their standing in society. The fact that someone is of African descent is not the Big Joker in a game of spades called racism.
Somewhere down the line some individuals got the idea that Blacks somehow enjoy discrimination because it gives them an opportunity to shame whites.
There seems to be a fundamental difference in the way some blacks and some whites see racism in this nation.
When some see racism they see it as an isolated incident that in no way reflects the nature or spirit of the nation as a whole.
Others, however, see it as a systemic and imbedded set of rules and standards put in action to prevent specific groups from reaching their potential.
Understanding this disconnect is simple: no matter how much they may empathize it's virtually impossible for a member of a majority to understand the plight and views of a minority.
One of my favorite lines in a film was delivered by Andre Baugher portraying Benjamin O. Davis Jr., the first African American general in the Air Force and a member of the Tuskegee Airmen:
"All we asked for was a chance to prove ourselves. A fair and impartial opportunity. We thought we had that chance. But you invite us to a poker game, hand us a fixed deck, and then wonder why we can't win?"
Racism was not a construct of African-Americans.
Whatever this "card" is which Black people allegedly continue to use, it's being used in a game we never had any choice in playing.•
Contact Managing editor Brian Browley at bbrowley@tsumeter.com
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Shelton Tucker
posted 9/19/07 @ 7:14 AM CST
Enjoyed you're article. My response has always been if it is in the deck then I'm playing it!
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