Ethnically Speaking by Larry Meeks

Why did the citizens of Harlem not stand up to this group? Well, Larry's right, of course...and generally spot-on like he usually is.

However, I happen to think that eventually groups like the NBP will find themselves and their ideology as unwelcome in most black communities, as the KKK already is in most white communities. As the years continue to go by, and as the generations continue to unfold, I think people will care less about race and racial issues, not more. Already there are many biracial people in American society whose blood is a mix of not two races, but half a dozen or more. These people are going to become more common and they're going to identify more as "human" and less as some particular color. They're not going to care as much about old race-based grievances, victimology and identify politics as some do today. Even those who don't have a mixed heritage are going to see themselves as individuals - or simply part of the human race.

Why do I say this? Because that's already been the trend for some time. Think. Two or three generations ago, it was the norm to have separate bathrooms and drinking fountains. (The Pentagon building which houses the Dept of Defense, has twice as many bathrooms as is necessary because when it was built in the 1940s, segregation laws still existed.) This was the norm and integration between races was unthinkable.

Today, it's segregation which is unthinkable. Can you imagine anyone suggesting in 2011 that society was better off in the old days - with the buses and the lunch counters and all the other things our grandparents' generation had to contend with? Such a proposition would be laughed out of town.

Most people that I encounter today - at least in real life - don't seem to care much about color, regardless of which one they are. I personally am more inclined to ask whether a person is of good character, what he believes, and how he behaves.

There's no reason to think this trend will stop. Also, consider that in America, there are more than just two colors now. Many more. Black and white don't mean what they used to - seriously, where would Hispanics, Arabs, South Asians, Pacific Islanders, Native Americans, and East Asians fit in that discussion? They wouldn't. Eastern Europeans also - they look white but are from a completely different culture than other Caucasians and speak different languages. They're liable to look at you funny if you talked to them about race.

People might continue to divide themselves along political or religious lines, but racial ones? Not so much in the future. The NPB will become a relic, a footnote of history, a throwback to some other time...just like the KKK already is.

But that's just my opinion.

I think Harlem's Black residents didn't speak out against the NBPP because they were afraid to, or they're not comfortable denouncing their own kind. Cornel West wrote about this problem in his book RACE MATTERS. He devoted a whole chapter to Clarence Thomas, particularly how disappointed he was in that no prominent Black man or woman objected to his appointment. Even Harry Belefonte publicly stated that he despises Clarence Thomas, but he didn't go on the airwaves and say anything when Judge Thomas was appointed.

Dr West also writes, in his book BROTHER WEST: LIVING OUT LOUD that as a college student he publicly questioned and criticized the Nation of Islam. He was immediately threatened by these men for criticizing them, and his fellow Black students were saying "what were you doing quareling with our brothers?"

''This problem exists with President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder. They believe it is acceptable to have one standard for blacks and another one for whites''.

The more I read your column, the more I think you are a bigot.

Oh, he's a bigot, all right, and also mysogynistic, and I would be willing to bet...homophobic, and perhaps even xenophobic..but a bigot, for sure. The sad part is that poster No.1 said he was "spot on, as usual"...

@ Ann: Didn't I suggest a couple of weeks ago that you ought to move along? Why do you keep coming back here if you think Larry is a bigot?

@n: I said he was "spot on as usual" because he *is* "spot on as usual." I would be willing to bet you and your friend Ann here are upset with Larry because he refuses to buy into the victim mentality which is sported by so many these days. Deep down, you know he's right.

PLEASE, by all means, show me some examples of his "hate" or his "bigotry" or his "sexism" or his "misogynistic tendencies" or his "homophobia." Can you show me any examples? Disagreeing with progressives isn't "hate." It's just that - disagreement. You're going to have to do better than that.

The left....seldom right, but never in doubt.

Awwww, that's such a cute little slogan, Matt. Did you think of it all by yourself. . . or did you have help from someone even dumber than you?

Every once in a while, you get an opportunity to stand up for something in your life. I am asking you to help me in standing up for people with Down syndrome, something that is personal to me, since I have a wonderful nephew who has DS. Please friend a Facebook page called Notokay DSALA. It stands for Not Okay Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles. A group of parents of children with DS has started this grass roots effort to ask the DSALA to change their fundraising tactics. Last year, the DSALA held a fundraiser called TwentyWonder. It featured Sarah Silverman and Dana Gould—two entertainers who make a practice of making fun of people with intellectual disabilities in their comedy routines. The parents protested but the DSALA paid them no mind. This year, the DSALA is advertising that Sarah Silverman and Dana Gould are merely Friends of the event, but their headliner is Patton Oswalt, a minor comedian who also has to resort to making fun of those with disabilities in his act.

Can you imagine this? It is as if the Teaparty asked filmmaker Michael Moore to headline their fundraiser—or if the Democratic Party asked Rush Limbaugh—or even worse, a Veteran's Group asked the Westboro Baptist Church (the people who picket the funerals of our War Heroes).

Gail Williamson, the director of outreach at DSALA has used this excuse to continue asking this type of entertainer to work the fund raiser: “This event goes hand in hand with the “Spread the Word” campaign, allowing entertainers who are “guilty” to have the personal experience with the community, something we all know changes hearts and minds without preaching or boycotting.”

Obviously, this tactic does not work. Sarah Silverman is still making jokes about “retards.”
In a recent article Silverman stated, “I love retarded people,” she says. “A lot of the time, networks resist dealing with retardation at all in television, and I think it's so much more insulting to not have them be a part of the world we're reflecting than to risk offending not them, but advocates of them. They [people who are mentally challenged] are not offended.”

But, the truth is, people with disabilities ARE offended and so are their families and friends. How would you like to be categorized as a joke, an unwanted part of society, a disposable human being, a thing so awful that the worst thing you can call someone is a “retard.”

The parent's group is asking only that the DSALA seek out other entertainers for their event—that they replace Patton Oswalt and drop Sarah Silverman and Dana Gould as friends, so these comedians cannot say that what they do is ok with the DS community. The Notokay DSALA groups wants nothing more than that—no cancelling of the event, not stopping fundraising or giving programs—just not partnering and giving cover to those who mock our friends and family members with intellectual disabilities.

One of the most ridiculous government decisions was to criminalize hatred. Hatred is a MOTIVE, not a crime. Certainly it is to be discouraged, argued against, and condemned, but to say that it is a crime is as ridiculous as saying that love is a crime. If someone stood in the street and shouted, I hate stupid people, could that person be arrested? Certainly not! If one is killed out of hatred, greed, jealousy, pride, or any other reason, is the person less dead than he who is killed out of hate?