New Racism

I was watching The View on Monday, my day off. I was feeding the baby and complying with the TV viewing patterns of the house. In fairness, I do find it interesting to watch such shows because they seem to be popular with women. It gives me a window into their interests and values.

The special guest was "The Mayflower Madam" and she was that day's "Where are they now?" person of interest. Apparently each day some famous sex scandal person made an appearance. A few things hit me watching the show. One was the response she received, which seemed very positive. This is, after all, a woman who ran an escort service. Even the token "conservative" woman seemed to give her a ride. The first question Whoopie Goldberg asked was even more stunning, "Is it true you did not use Black and Hispanic women?" A real 'gotchya' moment.The Madam seemed taken aback, and denied the charges. She even mentioned by name a couple of women. Whoopie seemed very relieved. Really? Advocating for Minority representation to be a prostitute?

The night before there was a news story about a legislator trying to pass a law which would outlaw sagging pants. The story explained the origination of the practice and showed several young men, pants at mid thigh, underwear showing. There was also a young woman imitating the boys from her neighborhood and describing how distracting it was. The shock moment, though, was an elderly Black man decrying the legislation as racist. He was concerned that a clothing style was being criminalized. I thought at that moment about Martin Luther King's dream...

Racism is one of the results of fallen humanity. Conservative White people rarely face the race issue squarely. We have a tendency to ignore aspects of the debate. I have worked in numerous education and mental health facilities with integrated populations. For many years I had numerous co-workers who were different races. [One of the biggest jokes about the Progressive Episcopal Church, which talks incessantly about being a diverse church, is that I am surrounded by White people here. It is the least integrated place I have ever worked.] The years of interaction with Blacks helped give me insight into their needs and concerns. I came to understand their frustration with racism. I also got insight into my own.

That said, the Black leadership often times confuses me. The obsession with racism leads to some silly statements. Advocating for Black prostitutes and pants hanging down to the knees seems to be foolish. It would seem to give 'racism' a good name. I do not know what Dr. King would say about these two stories. I am not sure how he would respond to the challenges which impact the Black community today. Certainly there is a need in the White community to continue to help raise up brothers and sisters of all races. But the nonsense that I see among those who push for equality makes me think that there is need for some soul searching there as well.