HARRY REID'S 'NEGRO DIALECT' COMMENT, NOT RACIST?

Senate majority leader, Harry Mason Reid is just another white-man and so what, if he used such epithet or something even worst? Icheoku says, the problem in America is that what people are usually really thinking is often times sacrificed on the alter of political correctness; and that is the single reason why Rush Limbaugh appears to be out of whack. Rush Limbaugh is standing very tall in the broadcast/talk-radio industry today because he says what he thinks, and is not beholden to any-one's sense of being politically correct. It is a given that from top to bottom of American society, are many people who hold white superiority-complex views; but because they are not allowed to utter such out without the attendant consequences, they bottle them up but it periodically finds its way out such as the present "negro dialect' hullabaloo of the senate leader.

Honestly, Icheoku would rather we discuss it more often, talk about it more openly with passion and with a view to finding a common meeting grounds for the phobias we hold against each other's race to dissipate, rather than to pretend that everything is honky dory and look for someone to crucify each time the tongue sabotages one's thought. This approach is not solution-driven but politically geared towards playing ping-pong with such sensitive issue as racism which is the underpinning problem of today's America. People not given a chance because of their skin pigmentation or being told to know their place because their skin is not pale enough? It is the truth about America and we have a very long road to get to Eldorado assuming we are honest with finding a solution to an age-long problem which is hindering our greater essence and being.

Particularly of interest is that no one in America, including Icheoku, gave President Barack Obama any chance of succeeding with his presidential run; not because he is not eminently qualified but for the simple fact of the society which we find ourselves in - a society which gives white-men extended leeway which no other person including their women enjoy. A society that will see something good in a third-rate white male before they could acknowledge a first grade minority especially a black-male stellar quality. So the then Senator Barack Obama's presidential candidacy was dead on arrival simply because he was a "negro", period and Harry Reid was not alone but one out of hundreds of millions who hitherto rightly thought that a black president is an impossibility in America? Yes, that is the reality of life in America and one wonders what the seeming outrage is, that Senate majority leader Harry Reid voiced out what 99.9% of white Americans are thinking? Icheoku says, it is not a big deal and should be a none issue since this is America and everyone understands the unspoken code of a presumed white superiority within the land. It is somewhat of an internal social contradiction and societal conflict which has been hounding America since slavery days and continues till today. Our solution is to talk more about our differences to galvanize us the more; but not the lipstick approach of do not disturb the bee-hives and let matters remain as is. Such disposition is not an acceptable road-map to an America where people would be solely judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin, which currently underlies everything.

Who in America is not a racist - whites, blacks, Hispanics and Asians etc as everyone is in a hell-raiser of a struggle to keep and maintain what they think is rightfully theirs; and are prepared to keep the other guys out no matter what it takes, including in-your-face racism! What would make one presidential candidate to refer to another presidential candidate as "that one" if not to send a subliminal message to his constituency that 'he is not one of us'; a racism comment? Icheoku would rather Harry Reid be properly contexed as thinking out loud the main challenge which then candidate Obama faced and not in any other way to portray it as a mean utterance of a vindictive racist 'niggerphobe'.

It is an American thing to always look down on and think low of black people, and the earlier we bring this problem to the fore-front of our discussion tables the better; but to pretend otherwise and act surprised whenever a Harry Reid's comment is heard is deceitful. Look at all the network televisions in America and tell Icheoku how many black-people anchor or present anything there, from CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, MSNBC to FOX etc? Their argument is that their audience will not feel comfortable watching the face of a black-man on their television sets and such 'going out of the norm' will make them lose their audiences? This 'they are too black for our television audience', only succeeds in maintaining and fostering a stereotype which would have been broken were these television executives willing to forcibly break these mindsets by keeping black-faces on their televisions, whether or not their racist white audience want it or not? But they are in television business to make money and advertisers take their products where the audience is and there goes the vicious unending circle of racial conundrum in America. Some of black folks that periodically get hired to fill some slots or to fulfil a racial content quota are always as white if not whiter than a normally sun-tanned white person. Still maintaining the talking point that lighter is better, paler is preferred in a multi-mixed society of ours, America!

But they will hire anything that is white irrespective of how dumb, unintelligent, uneducated and uninformed he or she is and the ratings continues their southern trend. Imagine the beauty queen, airhead of Alaska, now also hired to show-off her beautiful face on Fox television; and you tell Icheoku Sarah Palin is the brightest bulb in the chandelier of possible applicants, including some 'Negroes' that probably applied for the position, assuming it was not a 'no-bid' position simply created to accommodate one of their own? Watching our television programs and shows today, it would appear America is a mono-racial white society, which it is certainly not; except that certain people would rather it is. They try too hard to keep it that way - the heritage way, the founding fathers way, the Mayflowers pilgrims way etc, but they failed to realise that before them were the native Indians who owned and occupied the then territory known as north America. It is somewhat clannish, as effort are made to keep the pie always within the family, making sure that no minority ever gets to enjoy the fat paychecks which some of these positions command? Icheoku says without much gainsaying, that it is only Lady Oprah that succeeded on network television, being as black as she is; others must be half cast, quarter cast or as light as daylight before they are ever given a hearing chance or attempt succeeding on that platform. The same goes with Hollywood and the vicious circle goes on and on and forever.

Now a Harry Reid said something, and all the people who institutionalized and defend 'whiteness' in America are opening their loud-mouth, beating their chests that an 'abomination' has been committed? One way to start making 'dark-complexioned' people more acceptable in America would be to start allowing them to show up on televisions as anchor and presenters? That way opportunity will be given to them to prove that they are not just the crack-heads, robbers, muggers and debit-dads they are made out on our televisions to be? They will have the chance to their ten-cent thought and opinion on issues and also display their uncanny ability to read a teleprompter correctly just like any other white man out there pretending on our televisions to be both smart and a genius?

But not in today's America when the only time a black-man's face shows up on television is when he is being handcuffed or chased through the streets of America for one alleged crime or the other. So many black men have realised that there are only two ways to get extended-television coverage on our televisions - kill a white woman like OJ Simpson or screw so many white bimbos like Tiger Woods? As always, it must be for an infra-dig that a black-man is remembered and aired on television without let or hindrance? Tyler Perry aka 'Madea' was on Larry King the other night bemoaning how the opening of his multi-million dollar 'Tyler Perry Studio' in Atlanta did not get any mention on any of the network televisions; albeit were he being arrested for some trumped crime? They completely ignored and treated such a huge feat by a black-man as a none issue worthy of their air-time. Icheoku hopes you get the drift here, we are not condoning what Harry Reid said or did not say; no, all we are saying is that he is not alone and represents 99.9 of white Americans from top to bottom of the food chain. Like Jesus Christ said, he who is without sin should throw the first stone, and we are surprised that some white Americans are throwing stones at Harry Reid for his comment when virtually all of them have the monkey of thinking less of black people?

Apology or no apology, it does not matter as what we should spend our energies on is the mindset that thinks this way; which unfortunately are in the majority. The only reason Harry Reid is tendering an apology now is because he got caught for a statement which he made since 2008? If he was contrite enough and not driven by political correctness and possible survival, why did he not on his own accord, bring the matter up when it happened and since apologised for same? It is all a game which many of them play and his is not worst than any other white guy's, who may have made uncomplimentary, derogatory or demeaning remarks concerning black-men in America? Icheoku asks, what is wrong after-all with a "light-skinned African-American with no Negro dialect" comment, when that seems to be the requirement of many American establishments before they can look at a black-man's resume, while intending to fill a position with a none white American? If in doubt look at the faces on your television or the minor characters on shows or programs; better still look around your office or work environment or your neighborhood and let the incontrovertible fact stare right back at you!

But for the book, aptly titled "Game Change," no one would have heard anything about what Harry Reid was thinking about then presidential candidate, 'African-American Negro' Barack Obama? And so are millions of other Harry Reids of America who see first the blackness of a person and makes up his mind about him; before proceeding later to find out the content of his character if time still permits? Let us as Americans move on and stop haranguing Harry Reid, his apologies accepted, but Icheoku would rather we talk more about our differences and fears in order that we may find a more acceptable and coalescing common grounds to forge a better society of men and not just disparity black-men, white-men, Hispanic-men, Asian men, Native Indian-men, Arab-men etc? We are all children of God and if God intended for only white people to populate this land, maybe the evil slave-dealers that profited from slave trade would never have entertained the idea of forcibly conscripting their fellow human-beings and selling them off to plantation owners for profit? Like the biblical story of a Joseph sold into slavery in Egypt by his brothers, who later rescued them and their kindred from famine; may be there is a reason why slavery happened and with it a mixed-race American society. Let us wait and see if the divine intention will manifest now that a black-man is in the White House, an American president! To Harry Reid, Icheoku says, your sins are forgiven, go and sin no more, just pass the health care reform bill now!