In the aftermath of the Oscar Grant verdict last week I became upset over the degree to which frivolous conversations about racism dominate the conversation on race in this country. As evidence, consider that the New Black Panther Case and the tanning tax were the other two big race-related items last week.
[[ANOTHER TRANSITION LIKE, “ALSO IN THE NEWS. . . Then you have a situation like]] the dispute over LeBron James leaving Cleveland, in which race and class obviously factor in but which plainly doesn’t involve the kind of outright racism that say, black soccer players in Europe face. In response to Cavaliers’ owner Dan Gilbert‘s odd sense of entitlement and unhinged rant against James for leaving, Jesse Jackson displayed his hallmark talent for turning something that has nothing to do with him into a story all about him by accusing Gilbert of treating James like a “runaway slave.” Now instead of discussing the complex cultural/economic tension underlying the relationship between the predominantly black NBA and their predominantly white fan base [[AND OWNERSHIP, RIGHT?]], we’re discussing the latest outrageous thing Jesse Jackson said.
Conservatives bear the responsibility for their history of race-baiting, but I’m not sure our conversation about race would be as dumb as it is if certain people didn’t have a habit of blowing things entirely out of proportion, giving the impression that racism these days really is just a frivolous matter.
