Some Things Never Change
BY CLARENCE BARR, II
Allow me to let everyone in on what I imagine is supposed to be a little secret. Whenever there are no Black people around or when a Black person becomes the focus of a white person’s anger, white people seldom have a problem with peppering their conversations with the infamous “N-word.”
Oh. This isn’t news to you huh? And this information doesn’t come as some astonishing revelation that sends shock waves throughout your body? Then why is the media playing with our intelligence by attempting to convince us that Riley Cooper, the NFL wide receiver who was recently caught on camera telling a Black concert security guard that he would kick his “nigger ass,” did something so incredibly out of the norm happen?
I get that the story is newsworthy because the statement was made by a professional football player who makes a living working around a majority of Blacks. But the idea that everyone is so appalled and surprised by what they saw and heard on the video, to me, seems somewhat disingenuous.
I say that because I don’t think there’s a Black person reading this who doesn’t already believe that Cooper’s rant couldn’t have been vocalized by any of a number of white guys they’ve encountered over the years. Including the talking heads on television pretending to act offended.
If everyone, Black and white, would be honest with themselves they would admit that it really isn’t that uncommon to hear derogatory comments made in reference to members of ethnic groups outside of their own on a regular basis. Especially when there’s a moment of frustration involved. Cooper just had his moment recorded and played for the entire world to witness.
Personally, I wasn’t mad at Cooper for what he said. As far as I was concerned, it was just him finally taking off his helmet and revealing his true self. And how can you be angry with a snake who taps you on the shoulder to let you know he’s there?
I was more upset about how he handled the situation afterwards. His apology by the numbers might as well have included the obligatory “I can’t be a racist because..” qualifiers like, “my dog is black,” “my car is black,” “even my neighbor is Black.” Everything bigots usually say when, well, they’re caught being bigots.
When it all boils down, I think it was a good thing that this happened. As a people, we have a tendency to allow ourselves to be rocked to sleep believing that it’s all good because we’re able to afford a certain lifestyle or find ourselves romantically linked to members of an opposite race.
But it takes people like Cooper, liquored up and in their rawest form, to shake us from our slumber and remind us that just beneath the surface, we’re still America’s most hated.
Anyone wanting to contact Clarence Barr can reach him at: Clarence Barr, II, 43110-018; P. O. Box 7007; Marianna, FL 32447-7007. Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bulletin Publishing Company.
