Racism is Dead.............about time too

I’m so happy. In just a few weeks now we in the United States will celebrate the inauguration of a new President. Once more, we Americans will take it all for granted while many in other parts of the world will be shocked at the way we transfer government control by the power of the ballot instead of at the tip of a spear.

And this time it’s even more exciting than ever. Barack Obama truly is the first black President. Yeah……….I know, another President once held that title and some people took that seriously but it turned out to be a joke. That’s what I said it was all along.

And yeah………..I know, Barack Obama is just as much white as he is black. But he’s darker than Michael Jackson, right? That does count………I think.

Yes. It does count. I did not support Barack Obama but I must admit that this is a moment in history we can be proud of………all of us. Here is why:

A people lived on a different continent, Africa, way across the ocean from here. At a point in time some idiot came up with the brilliant idea to buy people and hold them as slaves and make them do work for free. Not only is it abhorrent to think of, it also turned out to be a patently stupid concept.

Some of those slaves were brought here. Not all that many really………by most estimates, somewhere between 4% and 6% of the total number of slaves that were sold ended up in the United States. But still, a part of our national heritage is as a slave owning nation.

Slavery was eventually abolished but the descendants of those slaves still suffered. They suffered because they were viewed by some as less than human. That meant it was okay to mistreat them. There were even laws that made it okay to mistreat those people. Restaurants didn’t have to serve them. They had no chance at being elected to public office. Hell, they couldn’t even go to the bathroom unless they could find one marked ‘Colored’.

But these people, these strong people, endured and overcame. And here we find ourselves with a new President with dark skin. Do you understand the import of this moment?

It means that racism is officially dead. I mean, there may still be a green tooth somewhere here or there who is a dyed in the wool racist but nobody pays any attention to them. No, racism as a way of life is now officially dead. On the 20th we’ll hold its funeral.

Face facts………..Barack Obama was elected as President and was elected predominantly by white people. To think otherwise would simply prove that you’re exceptionally bad at math. If every black man and woman in America had voted for Barack and no other races had joined them……….he would have received about 14.5% of the vote and would have lost………….laughably lost.

Nope. In order for Barack Obama to be President he had to have the support of white people in this country. And those blue eyed devils came through for him………big time. And the only way that could POSSIBLY occur is…………racism is dead.

When I think of it……….it just sends chills all over my body. No more white guilt. I just love it when a plan comes together.

Pass the bubble up.

A Special Resort …………… they deserve it.

Last week I went a bit ballistic on Good Morning UpCountry about a planned resort in Pickens County. It is to be a posh, waterfront retreat…………a place set aside for some very special people. A place they can go to unwind because they’re overworked and under appreciated.

I’m speaking of teachers of course. And, yes, this proposed resort is posh. It comes with a price tag of about $25 Million. They hope that a lot of that price tag will be covered by private donations but acknowledge that state funds may have to be involved as well.

And, why would I be upset about that? Why would I begrudge the poor teachers having a resort to call their own?

The short answer is………….I don’t. I know the job can be stressful. I know that some teachers care deeply about their students. They work very hard to impart knowledge and to also teach life lessons.

But……….when I think of stress, real stress, I don’t usually think of a teacher. I suppose it all depends on how you define stress.

Put yourself in the position of a police officer. She’s been dispatched to a home where she’s told a domestic violence incident is underway. She steps up on the porch and knocks on the door. It opens. It wasn’t even fully closed. And then she hears the unmistakable sound of the hammer of a pistol being cocked. That’s stress.

Or there’s the medic who arrives on the scene of an accident and moments later finds himself in a fight against death……..trying to keep a badly injured four year old alive. Everything thing he’s tried is failing. The child is dying before his eyes and in his arms. Out of the corner of his ear he hears the child's Mother calling for her baby. Yeah…………that’s stress.

Or how about one of your young soldiers in the National Guard. We, as a state, dressed them up and sent them off to Afghanistan. Some of them never came back. I know…….I was at their funerals. Some who did come back have seen too much violence and too much death. Some have spent hours gripped by terror, hiding behind a rock that wasn’t quite wide enough as bullets whizzed by on either side. Big time stress.

So, where is the posh resort we built for those soldiers who protect us from enemies we cannot begin to imagine?

Where’s the retreat for the paramedic, the firefighter, the police officer, the soldier?

No. We don’t have one. And nobody is out trying to raise funds for one. Maybe we’ll get to that once we have a resort built for teachers.

I value teachers and I know that some are asked to perform miracles……….and somehow do it. I also know that some of them never know stress unless the heated seats in the BMW don’t work one morning.

No, don’t ask for my contribution and do not even think about using tax dollars. Not unless and until you have cared for those who risk their lives. Until then, the idea of a resort set aside only for teachers is insulting.