Post-racism was the buzz word of the century as we went into the 2008 elections; it was then trumpeted throughout the country when Barack Obama took the highest office an African American has ever held in this country. Well the idiot that coined the term, "post-racism" has to be the same idiot that told The Rock that pretending to be a tooth fairy was a good career move. Taking stock of the of the smash hit and Oscar hopeful, Avatar and the recent headlines with Senate majority leader Harry Reid D-NV, any sane person would draw the conclusion that racism is as rampant as it was when the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.
In The Washington Post last year, a psychology professor, Richard Eibach theorized that white and black people use different yardsticks to measure racial equality. With this theory, maybe we can explain why there is an overwhelming majority of white Americans who live in la-la land and think that just because a black president was elected we are living in a post-racial America. Eiback claimed that whites use the yardstick of how far we have come from the nation we used to be. Blacks use the yardstick of how far we have yet to go to be the nation we ought to be. Let's see how far we really have to go.
There are a shocking number of white people in this country who are quick to cry out that this is the era of post racism. According to a 2008 gallup poll, as much as 46 percent of white Americans hold that sentiment. This past week it was revealed that Senator Harry Reid, while behind closed doors, voiced the undercurrent of racism that few white people are even aware they have. He is quoted as saying, "Obama would have an easier time of winning the election because he is ‘light-skinned' and does not speak with a Negro dialect."
Reid thought he was paying President Obama, who he ardently supports, and black people a compliment. However, Senator Reid took us all the way back to slavery where black slaves were separated, treated different, and given different jobs based on their degree of "blackness." In general, the lighter the slave, the easier the life. Perhaps, like many, he is utterly shocked when a person of color opens their mouth and is able to converse in the English language. I mean after all we should throwing around the "foshizzle my nizzle," everywhere we go. Right?
The new James Cameron film, Avatar was sure to brighten up my holidays, and like millions of other around the country I crowded into the warm theater, popcorn in one hand and 3D glasses in the other, and settled down for what was sure to be a great movie. What I got was a great white hope movie filled with racial slurs and undertones. We've seen this before in the films Dangerous Minds, The Last Samurai and Oscar-favorite, Dances with Wolves. But all we, as black people get, is Lean on Me; and most important thing that we were supposed to take away from that movie was that through it all us blacks can still come up with a great song to capture the moment. After all, if we can't even colonize ourselves why would we be able to protect and rescue ourselves?
Back to Avatar, I know I wasn't the only person of color that cringed when the character played by the talented Giovanni Ribisi called the Na'Vi a bunch of blue monkeys. That was the icing on the cake for me.
Am I pulling my Negro card right now? Yes, I am. Am I being overly sensitive? Maybe to a non person of color, but as a person of color who is bombarded by "White America" everywhere I turn I think I am being highly tamed and civilized. Do I honestly believe we will ever reach that utopia of a post racism America? No, I do not think so, but are there steps we can take to bring this country as close to Shangri-La as possible? Yes, but both sides have to be willing to come to the table and realize that yes, we have come a long way and that is a great thing, but we aren't there yet.
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