I'm a Gringo, and my Parents did have "The Talk"

By Rick Eichhorn

2016

The George Zimmerman case was recently in the news again when the government decided not to pursue federal civil rights violations, so I’m taking a moment to look back. To me, the whole Zimmerman case was a tragic affair that never should have received national attention. But of course, Obama has to play the race card any chance he can. As much as I felt Obama was extremely unqualified, I remember thinking during the heady day of his inauguration that at least this should be good for race relations. Nothing could’ve been further from the truth. I remember thinking the same thing when OJ was acquitted. The LA Police had been horrible, and maybe this would help clean house and get a fresh start. And even though I knew in my heart that injustice doesn’t cure injustice, I thought maybe...

Led by the future founders of Black Lives Matter, people fought for a year for Zimmerman to be brought to so-called justice. Yes, he was arrested that night, but released, because it was determined, correctly, that there was no provable crime. We now know that Zimmerman is something of delusional oaf. We don’t know a lot about Martin, and it’s not fair to bring up his past indiscretions; however, we know, from witnesses that Martin, instead of ignoring Zimmerman, confronted him. While we’ll never know exactly what happened, it is a reasonable conclusion that the pansy Zimmerman feared for his life.

So out comes the President of fanning all flames first saying the Zimmerman could have been his son, then doubling down and saying he could have been me. Kind of like “Chinatown” when Faye Dunaway’s going “sister, mother… sister, mother,” except no one was dare slapping the President into reality. But what really got me is all the African-American leaders ruing about the unique black experience of having to have “the talk” with their children. I surmised that “the talk” was about reliving the past and how you’ll be lynched if you date a white girl, that every time you step out on the street your life’s in danger, that the white man must be feared, that the world is stacked against you. Isn’t this talk counterproductive? Doesn’t this create a chip on black children’s shoulders that, ironically, makes them more confrontational? What ever happened to telling a child in today’s world that anyone can achieve their dreams? Before he was Trayvon Martin, wasn’t the President himself saying just that?

Further, isn’t the first thing that most parents of gay children say is that the world is going to beat them up? Don’t parents of girls tell them they’re going to have to do everything twice as good as men? Don’t parents of fat kids tell them that they’re going to be brutally teased and bullied?

I am not trying to diminish the black American experience. Or the half-black Hawaiian experience. We cannot forget the past, and we cannot forget the future. Both must receive equal attention of forgiveness, hope, and resolution.

Yes, in words and example, my parents did have a “talk” with me. They told me when a crazed flabby man, jumps out of his car and comes plodding toward me incoherently yelling something, to run for my life. They told me not to talk to strangers. Don’t go near slow-to-stopping vehicles. And, most importantly, avoid confrontation with strange-looking strangers at all cost.

One last thing. If totally honest, how many people living in a nice neighborhood with a recent rash of robberies, would not be suspicious of someone, anyone, wearing a hooded sweatshirt hovering up around windows and doors of condominiums? This was an American Tragedy and it is shameful to exploit it for political reasons.

But I rehash all of this also because last weekend the 50th anniversary of Selma was commemorated, and last week the Justice department released its findings on Ferguson. The Justice department concluded that Darren Wilson committed no prosecutable offense, but that the police department is mired in a culture of racism. The police were accused of targeting blacks for offenses such as jaywalking. Corrupt police are inexcusable and should be dealt with in a quick and severe manner. Where has Holder been?

And what is a racist? If a racist is someone that believes in segregation or believes that blacks should be shipped back to where they came from—whatever that means—or believes they don’t deserve the same exact rights as everybody else, then I’ve actually never met one. I’ve seen them on TV, in documentaries, but I’ve never ever actually met one in person. Now, if a racist is someone that cracks the occasional off-color joke, or thinks there are too many people—including blacks—on the government dole, or thinks that some people are having too many babies they can’t support and without two parents, but still believes in equal rights… Well, then I’ve met a lot of racists. If a racist is someone that occasionally says, “They’re not like us,” then my family is full of racists because all my sisters say that about their in-laws. If a racist is someone that thinks there is too much black-on-black crime, or if rap music is too foul, then I’ve met a lot of racists. If a racist is someone that gets scared when alone on a street and sees a group of black kids in hoodies, pants half down their ass, and all tattooed and blinged, then I’ve met a lot of racists.

Now the flip side of that is the fact that most people I know are enamored with black people. Most people I know that crack jokes about ghetto blacks, also crack jokes about fat people, the gays, Asians, Latinos, the Jews, your mother. And did I mention queers, faggots, and lesbos? Truth be told, Jay Z isn’t the only one that thinks blacks are the superior race. A lot of my white friends and acquaintances think that too. How else do you think that Obama got elected? Why else do you think he milks His Halfness that is black? Believe me, I work in bars, and I can see how interested white people become when a black walks in the place. And I mean interested in a good way. When white people aren’t in a part of town where they’ve never been before, they absolutely love coming in contact with blacks. They fall all over themselves trying to be friendly. White Democrats and white Republicans alike get a Chris Matthews tingle and go all gooey. Indeed, it’s come full circle. It’s literally like when Eddie Murphy pretended to be white on the old skit on SNL. Now Eddie doesn’t have to pretend.

Getting back to Ferguson. Holder released a number of jokes circulating in the police department that were labeled racist. Most of the jokes, foul-mouthed comic Lisa Lampanelli would have thrown out because they were too tame. Not that I approve, and if they were circulating through company computers, and not via Hillary mail, then again, offenders should be fired. But on the flip side, according to Queen Whoopi, only Joan Rivers can tell off color jokes. And Joan, conveniently, is dead. I remember one time during the 2012 campaign when Obama made his regular stop at “The View” for his weekly press conference. Barbara cusped her hand on her chin, fluttered her eyelashes, leaned in close to him, and cooed, “Last night was the Summer Solstice, how did you and Michelle celebrate?”

When Mitt accepted his one invitation to the View, they put him in a separate chair off the couch, and Whoopi, while shaking her head and staring at the floor, barked, “I heard you dodged the draft because of your religion.” As he tried to answer, she could be heard softly muttering in-between her tsk-tsking, head toward the floor, “Mitt, Mitt, Mitt…”

So is Whoopi a reverse racist? A Mormonphobe? We’ll never know. But whenever the mainstream media introduces Thomas Sowell (who’s quoted on my home page) they always add, “a black conservative.” Isn’t that some sorta reverse racism? They never say Jesse Jackson, a "black liberal." It’s like a black conservative is so rare that it needs to be pointed out. That’s the nice version. Why don’t they just say, Uncle Tom Sowell?

Oh, they probably do.