America In Black, White, And Gray.

I'm a black man living in America. This shouldn't come as any shock to my longtime readers. And being a black man living in America, my personal life experiences are often going to color (pun intended) the way I view and perceive certain situations. I can't help this, my conditioning makes it necessary. Three such stories that made the news cycles over the weekend are really gnawing at me, and I'm wondering if these three situations say something about the way race is perceived in America, or simply I'm personally looking for race where it doesn't exist. Ya'll tell me.

The White House "Party Crashers" - Let's keep it one hunned: these folks are on the verge of inking a six figure deal, rather than fighting off fellow inmates at 1901 D Street because, and simply because, the wife is blond, tall, thin, and what many folks perceived as "cute". I doubt a black couple could have eluded multiple layers of WH security, hammed it up with Barry, Rahmbo, Joe Biden, and Co. without someone asking "uhhhmm, who the hell are those Negroes, and where is their invitation?" Naturally, this couple is about to cash in on their hijinx, which only means the next round of copycats will have the up the stakes even more ("crashing" the upcoming primetime Afghanistan press conference, maybe)? These folks don't deserve to profit from what's likely a felony, they deserve to be made a very public example of. They aren't "party crashers", let's quit being politically correct and call them what they are. Terrorists.

Tiger Woods Done Messed Up - Boy, have you ever thought about just how lovely it is to be rich and famous in America? Tiger Woods has the Orlando PD on lock so much that he can tell them three straight days "he's resting, I'll call you when I feel better", instead of being hauled out of his house for questioning. As for his wife, I'll steal a train of thought from my homegirl The Black Snob and use this opportunity to debunk a myth: white women ain't pushovers either. I don't have any personal experience, but those (ie: me) who seem to paint black women as deranged women scorned need to fall back: I doubt any race of women is any more accepting of alleged extramarital affairs. So, his wife chose a 9 iron as opposed to a whole pot of pipin' hot grits. The effect is the same: dude messed up, and his lady won't havin' it. But I can't help but wonder if the cops would be so hands off if his wife was named Tamika instead of Elin. Would they allow her to make up such an obvious lie to cover for herself when she's essentially committed domestic abuse? You tell me.

Affirmative Action In The NFL - So, I tuned in to the Skins/Eagles game in the 4th quarter yesterday, and lo and behold, the Skins had a lead. Common sense and a basic awareness of recentr history would tell you the Skins would lose the lead, and the game, and of course they did, when QB Jason Campbell's last minute drive ended in a terribly underthrown incompletion. After 5 seasons as the primary starter, one thing is abundantly clear: Campbell is NOT a starting caliber NFL QB. Period. But if you ask fans, they'll make all sorts of excuses for him. He has no offensive line. They keep changing coaches. They keep changing offensive coordinators. The wide receivers are too small. They don't have a running game. All these things may be true on some level, but the two constants all along have been "Campbell", and "losses".



I hate to get all Rush Limbaugh-ish on ya'll, but I gotta call a spade a spade here. This guy just isn't good. Never has been, never will be. It's not a stretch to say that a black QB at the helm of the only sports team that matters in a majority black city is good for marketing, civic pride, and prolly ticket sales. Given the fact that the Skins were the last NFL team to allow black players (which is partly why there are more Dallas Cowboys fans here than anywhere outside Texas), and the way the team unceremoniously dumped Doug Williams after he won a Super Bowl, I think it's fair to say fans black, white, and other want to see the guy succeed. But at what point do they stop making excuses for him and admit the obvious: he sucks.

Question: Should "The WH Party Crashers" be allowed to cash in on their ill-gotten fame, or should they be practicing soap-holding right now? What's up with Tiger Woods telling the cops what to do, and when to do it? Is Jason Campbell getting a free pass "cause he Black"?!?