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Rant #246
(published September 29, 2005)
Evening the Score When Playing the Race Card
by Milton Gray
Some of you have heard this before from me, but the recent news about charges of racism in the wake of Hurricane Katrina really make me mad. Quote from CNN:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Black members of Congress expressed anger Friday at what they said was a slow federal response to Hurricane Katrina."It looks dysfunctional to me right now," said Rep. Diane Watson, D-California.She and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus, along with members of the Black Leadership Forum, National Conference of State Legislators, National Urban League and the NAACP, held a news conference and charged that the response was slow because those most affected are poor

The politicians fell just short of making charges of racism because they're politicians and they know pulling out the race card is dangerous. However, the NAACP has not been so tactful. and then this:

The poll found that six in 10 blacks interviewed said the federal government was slow in rescuing those stranded in New Orleans after Katrina because many of the people in the Louisiana city were black.

Now whether or not you think the government did all it could at all levels to help the residents of New Orleans, does anyone REALLY think that the failure was due to the fact that the affected people were black? I mean the south has not been known for it's enlightened ideals and fair treatment of black people but c'mon, I seriously doubt that Micheal Brown and a bunch of other white dudes sat in a room and said "we've got buses and helicopters but we're not going to use them because those people are mostly black." I just don't believe that happened. I think that FEMA and the officials in charge were worried about federal regulations and lawsuits to the extent that they failed to get the job done. Or that maybe they were just really incompetent but not that they're a bunch of racists whose plan was to let as many black people die as possible before sending help. A lot of the officials in charge ARE black. A lot of the people in trouble WERE white (okay so not a majority but it's not like zero white people were trapped on their roofs. I saw them on CNN, there were at least a few rednecks who didn't leave). What about the black mayor who failed to use the hundreds of school busses at his disposal to get people out before the storm? Does he hate black people too? I'm gonna bet the answer is no.

Furthermore, why in the hell do we tolerate racist organizations like the Congressional Black Caucus and the Black Leadership Forum in our midst? Replace the word black with white in either of those and you'll see how racist it sounds all of a sudden. Where's my Congressional White Caucus, huh? How about the White Leadership Forum? I think it's ridiculous that in this day and age we're still allowing segments of the population to self-segregate. It only leads to bigotry, hatred, and irrational fears. Even the Freemasons, who had an embarrassing unspoken policy of segregation via "separate-but-equal" lodges for far too long in this country, have got on the bandwagon and officially allowed people of any race to join any lodge. Jesus, if an "old-boys" club like the Masons can do it, what's wrong with the rest of our society? Have we given up on just being Americans? Why do we need to be African-American or Asian-American or whatever-american? Having not a single racist bone in my body, I have begun to resent the constant charges of racism from which I, as a caucasian, must defend myself. My white guilt is really starting to wear thin.

In conclusion, we really just need to start encouraging mixed race couples until we can't tell the blacks from the whites from the asians anymore because I believe with all of my soul that half-black half-asian chicks are hot and no one is going to convince me otherwise.


Editor's Note: Astute readers will recall that Milt Gray was the frontman for the Parka Kings, and a generous chap, to boot.

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