Out Of Context

Here we go again, another incident of racism dominating the news. This time, the controversy centers around comments made by Shirley Sherrod, an official with the Department of Agriculture.

Basically, Sherrod was addressing a group at a NAACP meeting in March when she told the story of an interaction she had with a white farmer twenty-four years ago. She, more or less, said that she initially didn’t give him the help he needed because he was white. Part of her reasoning was due to the fact that many black famers were hurting too. How could she justify helping a white man while “her own people” weren’t getting the help they needed?

But her story unfolded, Sherrod explained that her eyes were opened. She discovered that getting help has less to do with skin color and more to do with how much money you have. As she says, “It’s the haves versus the have-nots.” When faced with poverty, skin color makes no difference. That was Sherrod’s point.

After sound bites and edited video clips made their way around the talk circuit, the pressure was building for some kind of action. Before long, Sherrod was fired.

I have to admit, when I first heard the sounds bites and about the subsequent disciplinary action again against Sherrod, I said “Good. She got what she deserved.” However, when it was discovered that only a small part of Sherrod’s speech was shown and her comments appeared to be taken out of context, my attitude took a turn.

First off, people make mistakes. Sherrod used her “mistake” to make a broader point. She should not have been fired for this. Plus, the old white farmer came to Sherrod’s defense and said that she actually helped him keep his farm. That's good enough for me.

There is no reason to launch a character assassination of someone in order to push your political agenda. And although I believe the liberal media sources are far more guilty of it, the conservatives (talk radio, Fox News, etc.) were mostly to blame for giving this particular story legs. I would expect something like this from Jesse Jackson but reputable news sources should stay out of the race baiting game. America deserves to have the news presented to them in an unbiased manner. Just give us all the facts and we'll decide how we feel about it. But I’m afraid that will never happen…..

Meanwhile, after Sherrod’s full speech was examined, she was abruptly offered another job by the Agriculture Secretary. She’s still thinking about it. I can’t say that I blame her.

And then the apologies came rolling in………

And although I think an apology in this case was justified, I have to wonder about the racial overtones. If the tables were turned and Sherrod was a white woman talking about not helping a poor black farmer, would the outcome have been the same?

When President Obama accused a white cop in Massachusetts of “acting stupidly” for arresting a black professor, was there an immediate apology? (Beer summits don’t count). And was there ever an apology to those infamous Duke lacrosse players from a few years ago?

And while we’re on the subject of taking things out of context, let’s look at a few other causalities: radio host Don Imus, legendary sports announcer Howard Cosell, and former Senate Majority leader Trent Lott, just to name a few. One could make a valid argument that all of these people (and many more) have had their careers derailed for something that was taken mostly out of context.

I think the Shirley Sherrod incident exposes a much bigger problem in our society. In an era of ten-second sound bites, we are often quick to rush to judgment. Even the Obama administration, in a half-assed attempt to appear concerned about the racial implications, rushed to judgment of Shirley Sherrod. (On a side note, I had to laugh when Press Secretary Robert Gibbs tried to defend the administration’s quick decision to fire Sherrod. He explained that America wanted a quick response. Hmmm, if only they had that same attitude towards the BP oil spill.)

Yes, racism does indeed exist in our society. And make no mistake; it comes from the black community just as well as the white one. And even though I think that most people think racism as a whole is wrong, there seems to be a glaring double standard. Most whites are reluctant to talk about racial issues for fear of having their words twisted. And being labeled a racist (even if it’s unwarranted) can be the kiss of death.

People like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have made a nice living at race hustling. I really don’t know how anyone can take these jerks seriously anymore. They have done far more harm than good with their race baiting tactics through the years.

If we’re ever going to mend racial tensions in the country, we need to be able to have an open dialogue. We shouldn’t feel intimidated about talking about racially sensitive topics. If we can’t talk about it, how can we possibly expect things to get better? Should we just pretend that they don’t exist? Perhaps they’ll mend themselves?

Barrack Obama had a golden opportunity, as the nation’s first black President, to make strides along racial lines in America. But he continues to squander it. Just look at how he dropped the voter intimidation lawsuit against the New Black Panther Party. There is no way that this type of blatant racist behavior should be tolerated (especially at a polling place!). But, I’m not really surprised at the administration’s cavalier attitude towards it. After all, didn’t Obama spend twenty years listening to Reverend Wright preach about black theology? Can someone explain to me how this isn’t a racist movement purely by definition?

By incompetence and/or inexperience, Obama has failed miserably in advancing race relations in our country. Sadly, the racial divide is probably is as bad as it’s been since the civil rights movement. In an ironic twist, if you're white and disagree with the President, (on anything!) you might be called a racist. Just look at what's been happening with the Tea Party movement.

The sad thing is that when cries of racism are brought up today, most people just roll their eyes. They realize it's probably a bunch of bullshit and someone has gotten so desparate that thier only option was to play the race card. (Anyone remember the OJ Simpson trial?)

Personally, I find it amazing that we’re in the 21^st century and we’re still dealing with these kinds of things. It just seems like a total waste of time to me. But I guess as long as there’s money to be made and political agendas to be met, the race card will contiue to be dealt. And unfortunately, everyone loses.

KW