You know what really grinds my gears? People who say racism is no longer a problem in this country. People who say this usually reason it with, "We have a black president", as if his election instantly abolished racism when, in fact, it may have exacerbated the problem. Think back and try to remember the last time a president was so questioned about every little thing, from his birthplace to whether or not he should be taking a day off. Try and recall the last time a president was fought so hardcore on literally EVERY decision he made, no matter how big or small. I'm sure Republicans would raise holy hell if he wanted to change the brand of napkins used in the cafeteria on Capitol Hill. Why? I'd venture to say it's because he's black and a lot of people, most of them likely Republicans, don't like taking orders from a black man. Saying, "Oh, you got your black president so all your race problems are solved" is like telling a morbidly obese person, "Oh, you got your gastric bypass so you're skinny now". It's not that simple. And it's simply not true.
Nothing works me up quite like the subject of racism and I got an early start today when Agent W texted me about a post a friend of hers made on Facebook. In this post her friend, a white guy, asks why minorities are so quick to pull the discrimination card and bitches about how white men have it the worst because there's no such card for them to pull. Really? White people, particularly white men, have it easier than anyone, even on their worst day. They're paid more than anyone else and they face basically no discrimination because of their skin color. Also, it's laughable that all in one breath the dude is accusing others of playing the race card all the time, while wishing he could play the same card. Hypocritical much? I don't understand this obsession some white folks have with talking about how hard it is to be them. Apparently he's getting all kindsa backlash about the post, as he should be since it was a dumb thing to say in the first place.
Listen, as a minority and the father of a bi-racial girl, I'd love to be able to say that racism is dead and my child will have it far easier than I did growing up. But we're not there yet, not even close. I was taunted and teased as a kid for being this dark kid with green eyes in an environment where everyone else was a dark kid with dark eyes. My ethnicity was questioned, by kids and adults alike, because of something as stupid as eye color. In high school, Y and I visited a mall in the nicer part of town and while she was able to wander around stores without being given a second look (she's mixed but can pass for white), I was followed through them and kept under the watchful eye of store associates, as if I were some kind of threat. Some minorities do needlessly play the race card, but there are others, myself and most minority folk I know included, who don't even think like that. Yes, we're aware when a slight or a joke or something may have racial undertones to it, but that's no reason to whip out the race card and make it a federal case. Because it happens more than white folks probably believe it does and, frankly, it's not always worth the effort to make a big deal out of it. You get used to it, sadly. It's interesting how the white folks didn't get their panties all in a bunch about how hard it is to be white until Obama was elected. Maybe they think that if they're the opposite skin color of the person in office, they're the ones who are minorities? It's disturbing how this, "woe is me, I'm white" thing seems to be catching on. Let's hope it's just a phase. After all, they wouldn't want to be accused of playing the race card, now would they?
