Playing the race card

Race relations in America are in a quagmire and, until African-Americans leaders stop looking for racism in every and any situation that arises, it will stay that way.

Here in Houston, we have our racial advocates just like every other metropolitan area. Ours are a self-appointed "racism under every bush" Sharpton wanne-be named "Quannel X" and the United States Congresswoman from the 18th Congressional District, Sheila Jackson-Lee.

Quannel goes by X in the tradition of Malcolm X, who ostensibly started the trend by rejecting his "slave name" and adopting "X" as his surname as a tribute to his unknown ancestors. I actually understood Malcolm X and why he did what he did. He lived in turbulent times and the creation of a squeaky wheel was necessary and just in his day and time. His autobiography was a fascinating read and a book I'd highly recommend to anyone who seeks deeper understanding of race relations in America. I'd like to say that Quannel has similar reasons for his transformation, but I think his motives are more sinister and selfish than that. He never saw a camera that he doesn't like and he seldom fails to find that camera in any situtation where he can be seen as the savior of black causes here in Houston. Almost without exception, wherever you find Quannel, you'll find that other camera hound, Sheila Jackson Lee.

Lee is the Congresswoman from the 18th Congressional District here in Houston. Anybody got a Congressional district map out there? A look at the 18th will supress any question you may have about how it is Ms. Lee continually gets re-elected. Its more gerrymandered than the famous Tom Delay district - a ploy that was brought under constant scrutiny and harrasment by those opposed to Delay and one which is seldom mentioned when connected to Lee. Jackson Lee has done more, in my opinion, to keep her constituents shackled by the chains of "charity" than any slavemaster ever did. There is now no more independent effort going on in that district for the betterment of its citizens than there was during reconstruction; perhaps less. Yes, as long as Lee keeps them dependent on the largesse of government for their sustenance, they will keep her in office. In any case, Lee shows up just about any time Quannel does and the cry is always the same - "Racism!" Of course, it's the cry of the boy shouting "Wolf!" and its not to be listened to by any sane person within hearing.

What am I talking about? Here's a couple of examples. Not long ago, an HISD Elementary campus was having trouble with indoor air pollution, probably because of black mold. Many of the children and faculty were getting sick and had to leave the school. As fortune would have it, the population of the school is predominantly African-American, so Quannel and Sheila promptly jumped on the opportunity to grab a camera and declare that the school needed to be demolished and rebuilt so that the poor children of that school could attend in a healthy environment. Uhhh....what? Doesn't Clorox work as well in black schools as it does in hispanic or white schools? Don't certain environmental remediation companies make a good living cleaning up black mold? When did black mold become a race issue, anyway? Where was Sheila and Quannel when I had black mold in MY room last year? Yes, that's right, boys and girls, last year, every time it rained, I had a waterfall down the back wall of my very own classroom and the constant moisture led to a black mold problem which, by the way, was handled by removing the sheet rock and treating the underlying structure with bleach - problem solved! I guess the Sheila and Quannel show only perform when a black school is at risk. Hmmmm....who's the racist in THIS picture?

The other event occured recently as well. A homeowner, charged with watching his neighbor's house while away, called 911 and requested police assistance, stating emphatically that several African-american intruders were burglarizing the home and he was going to take his shotgun and solve the problem. The 911 dispatcher implored the man to NOT take matters into his own hands and wait for police, but he went next door, exercising his right to keep and bear arms and protect his charge from harm, and quickly dispatched the men who were invading his neighbor's home. In the aftermath, Sheila and Quannel incorporated announced that it was the most blatant form or racism they'd ever seen AND that these were basically good men who were gunned down in cold blood by a racist gun-toting mobster. Uhhh....what? Excuse me, but GOOD men don't go around breaking into other people's homes looking to steal their possessions! That's the sort of thing that BAD men do and, like a lot of guys before them, someone caught them in the act and they paid the ultimate price.

Now, was that something I would have done? I don't think so. I mean, who's to know until you fact that situation. But I DO know this; if they had awoken ME while breaking into MY house, they would surely have met the same end as the fellows in that sordid tale and no one, and I mean NO ONE, had better call me racist because of it.

Look - There are bad people of all races, just like there are good people of every race. Bad does not know color, nor does good. Was it a racist act to gun those guys down? Frankly, I think he'd have shot them if they had been white just the same. He was protecting the property he'd sworn to protect and THAT is the bottom line here - not the race of the perpetrators.

Here's the moral of this story. STOP looking for racism in every case! Racism, white against black AND black against white DOES EXIST, but it's no different than any other form of hate that rises from the human heart AND it's no less stupid! In the immortal words of Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?"