Over-Played?

Has the race card been played too many times? In Obama's own words in his book Audacity of Hope, even Obama admits that: "...white guilt has largely exhausted itself in America; even the most fair-minded of whites, those who would genuinely like to see racial inequality ended and poverty relieved, tend to push back against suggestions of racial victimization—or race-specific claims based on the history of race discrimination in this country." And there is good reason for his view. Time and time again, the race card has been played to excuse bad or even criminal behavior of minorities. By doing this, it ensures that minorities will continue to be relegated to the margins of society, where the benefits of the true American Dream are unattainable. They will be kept in the slavery of the welfare "plantation." They will not study to get a legitimate education. The "race card" mentality encourages minorities to cross the line into criminal behavior, and condemns them to a life on the fringes of society. They will not develop the good habits of polite society, and will thus never be admitted into polite society. Some will not learn to speak good, gramatically-proper English, which reduces minorities to the appearance of ignorance and incompetence. Make no mistake, true racism does exist in American society. However, like the boy who cried "wolf," the over-use of the race card could cause the dismissal of true cases of racial injustice. It also encourages reverse racism, where persons of the White majority are abused unjustly for reasons of race. This week, an incident occurred on a school bus in Belleville, Illlinois, where a white student was severely beaten by black students for trying to sit next to a black student. This incident was not considered a racial hate crime. If the situation had been reversed, where a group of white students beat up a black student, the cries of "hate crime" would be plastered across national headlines. Incidentally, in the same week, a small white boy was also beat up by a group of black students in Hazelton Missouri. What must be remembered is that these black students will now have criminal records for these unconscionable acts. What did their parents and their community do to discourage this sort of behavior? Incidents like this will continue as long as historical injustices continue to be dredged up by the black communities and black leaders to justify this sort of behavior. In Obama's own comments: "I can’t help but view the American experience through the lens of a black man of mixed heritage, forever mindful of how generations of people who looked like me were subjugated and stigmatized, and the subtle and not so subtle ways that race and class continue to shape our lives." Does Obama encourage socially acceptable behavior among minorities? He also describes how difficult it is for minorites to conform to American society: "In general, members of every minority group continue to be measured largely by the degree of our assimilation—how closely speech patterns, dress, or demeanor conform to the dominant white culture—and the more that a minority strays from these external markers, the more he or she is subject to negative assumptions." He dismisses normal, polite behavior accepted as the standard in America as "white culture." The ability to speak clearly and accurately is a part of "white culture." The accepted standards of good order and law within society is "white culture." He expects that American society should accept rude, offensive. and disorderly behavior if it comes from minorities. The majority of Americans voted for a black man as President, but apparently this show of color-blindness is not good enough. Is it any wonder that the race card has been over-played?