Let's have a REAL conversation about Racism

Let’s ruffle some feathers… It appears to be mostly white people complaining about racism. It’s almost like they’re guilted into making a public scene about it in an attempt to show people that they’re not racist. The truly non-racist, the people who don’t feel as though they need to prove something, heard the Sterling comments (or Ferguson Police or Baltimore Police or whatever is the latest "racist" event that's taken place) and thought, “He’s a racist POS. I’m glad people are finally finding out about him and, especially, that he’s losing some of his influence.” And THEN they moved on with their lives. Not so with predominantly white news organizations.

If they’re going to go on and on about racism, then let’s have a real conversation. How many Asian families want their daughters marrying non-Asian men? How many times have you talked to a Hispanic person and they faked that they don’t understand English? (It’s happened more times than you think.) And black people are more racist than any other group. Black women are brutal to white women dating/married to a black man. They speak of different levels of “blackness” – favoring or not favoring someone depending on how dark or not dark their skin is. Most black or Hispanic comedians joke almost exclusively about racial issues.

On the other hand, sometimes what people are calling racism is really just a cultural stereotype. We pre-judge Irish people to have quick tempers and favor a little drinking. Italians are hairy and have very close (to a fault) large families. What percentage of black children have both a mother and father still together in the same household? Jewish mothers are overbearing and their sons are a bit dependent on them. French people have body odor. Japanese (Asian) women are subservient. The list goes on and on.

The Sterling thing, that guy was a racist. But apparently, the NAACP didn’t care all that much about his racism until all the news organizations and white people started jumping all over his statements. NOW, the NAACP is refusing his money, but in the back of their minds, I guarantee you they’re thinking, “Oh crap, we can no longer take advantage of this racist POS and guilt him into giving us all that money.”

Yes, it’s good to point out racism when we see it, and it sucks that people are judged only on the color of their skin. But we need to recognize the difference between racism and a cultural stereotype. Rev. Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and, yes, Obama, all need to stop trying to make everything into a racial issue. And white people need to get over themselves.

Here are the models we should mirror…

Watch kids play. Check out musicians, and athletes. They treat skin color just like anything else that sets people apart; I pick the tall, skinny kid. Put the big one on the front line. The bald guy can play some badass drums. I want the redhead, the blond, the geek, the Indian, and the black guy.

Modeling ourselves after kids on the playground is the only true way we’ll get beyond skin color and start seeing people for who they truly are.

And don’t make a big deal every time someone shows their racist true colors. Ignore them and just pass me the ball.