"Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards," - Eric Holder, nation's first black attorney general. - Source.
Locally, Rainbow, a supermarket chain owned by Roundy's, ran a print ad promoting black history month offering specials on collard greens and chicken, and other foods traditionally associated with African American culture. A small outcry ensued. Many white people and a black minister or two were offended, claiming the ad was racist.
.
Supposedly it promoted racial stereotypes. This is bad because the African Americans at one time were an oppressed minority. Unlike Asians and Hispanics, African Americans were enslaved, terrorized by segregation and vigilante rule that included lynchings, tar and feathering, and so on. I get that. But black folk I know love greens and fried chicken and all sorts of good Southern style food. (Me too!) Just ask Oprah or Patti Labelle, or Betty Lou - a cook I happened to have worked with at one time.
.
Jews eat Kosher. Mexicans eat tacos. They say the Irish eat corned beef and cabbage, but an Irish nun told me that is not true. Polish people eat pirogi. Italians eat pasta. Slap my butt and call me Galdys, grocery stores even have ethnic food sections for all sorts of people - colored or not.
.
Holder claims "we, as average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race." Really? So how can we talk about it if we are continually censored?
.
I'm so tired of their double standards - we should be more worried about honesty in politics, business, finance, and society - as well as not exterminating unwanted children. These matters are the real injustice afflicting the country.
.
We have a black administration now - let's move on to more important business. Quit playing the race card - and do not talk race for 4 more years.
.
Photo: Cast of the hugely popular 1950's sit-com, "Amos and Andy" - now considered racially offensive. It was funny.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find slightly disconcerting is the amount of hyphenated terminologies that describe a racial background: African-American; Cuban-American; Chinese-Americans; etc. Literarily speaking, I think it might be useful to use those terminologies when you want to describe someone’s racial composition using the least amount of words. But in this day and age, it’s applied from a politically correct perspective and, truth be told, it’s getting a little out of hand.
ReplyDeleteThere seems to be a pervading "culture of offense" in America. I'm Black (African-American, whatever), and I don't care for collard greens (though the rest of my family likes them). And I go for fried chicken about three or four times a year, then I'm good. The race card may still get played because it works--but not in the way people who use it hope it will. I think it's meant to shame people into changing their views and attitudes; what it does instead is widen the breach by producing insincere apologies. On the other hand, there are people who truly believe that every injustice, bad deal, negative word or newspaper cartoon is, indeed, a racist jab.
ReplyDeletenicwalker - I appretiate your comment - I couldn't agree more regarding the culture of offense and shame tactics to effect cultural change. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI get embarassed every time when blacks play the race card, when there's no need to play it (me being black as well)...You're not the only one sick of the double standards. As I like to tell people, yeah, it sucks that people were enslaved and all that, but the people who did it are dead, don't hold someone else accountable for something someone else did.
ReplyDeleteI get embarrased too when the race card is pulled because it's a sure sign that the person pulling it is losing their argument and has to resort to threats of racism to win.
ReplyDelete