I’ve heard/seen all sorts of epithets for black conservatives, but porch ni***er is a new one. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review columnist Mike Seate was castigated for committing the crime of publicly criticizing blacks in a column titled, “Brothers, Don’t Go Messing Downtown.” In the column he wrote:
There are few times when I can recall actually being embarrassed to be black. One was when political writer Ward Connerly embarked on a campaign to end affirmative action (ah, the selflessness). Another came a few years later, when XFL running back Rod Smart jogged onto the field in the short-lived football league’s opening game wearing a grammatically challenged shirt reading “He Hate Me.”
Those infractions were relatively easy to recover from. But not shooting people in downtown Pittsburgh. That’s a screw-up this city and I might never fully get over.
If you brothers hadn’t noticed, Downtown isn’t exactly looking like floss city these days. Bums use abandoned storefronts for bedrooms, toilets and everything else. We lose new stores faster than shoplifters lose security guards. If y’all hadn’t noticed, a good bit of the city’s economic decline is your fault.
Yup. We have met the enemy, and he’s wearing corn rows, a Lakers jersey and a 9mm Glock shoved into his waistband. We can’t blame this one on the white man, an unfair economic system, or 400 years of slavery and oppression. This is our mess.
That’s some bold talk, Mike. Embarrassed by your brothers and sisters for their unruly and uncivilized behavior? And in the presence of whites who might be reading your column? And you say the enemies of black America are blacks killing other blacks and not rich, white Republicans from Texas?
How refreshing!
In today’s column, Seate writes:
People, don’t blame the messenger. Neither Bill Cosby nor I ever shot anyone Downtown. While I can’t speak for Mr. Cosby, I have not intentionally influenced black kids to drop out of school, dress like gangsters, carry guns or hang out on street corners instead of educating themselves and seeking jobs.
According to our critics, any crime or anti-social act committed by a black man is not his responsibility: “Africans were a peaceful people until the evil white man came and stole us away and remade our minds in his savage image,” one reader railed. “If we kill or rob, it’s not our fault. We’re only reacting to what the white man has taught us.”
If black people are this uncomfortable about staring our problems in the face or even discussing them, we’re in big trouble.
Excuses and scapegoats will always be easier than painful self-examination. Even Fat Albert could tell you that.
“Self-examination? What about white racists doing a little self-examination,” I can almost hear liberals whine.
Just a few minutes ago, I got an e-mail from a race preferences proponent who shared what he considered evidence of racism. An employer instructed a receptionist to mark job applications by race. Based on this episode, the e-mailer implied that applications filled out by blacks and Hispanics went in the garbage, though he couldn’t say so because he has no proof. For all he knew, the employer was marking applications to make sure he stuck to his race quota so he wouldn’t get sued.
The e-mailer concludes: “I realize affirmative action is not the perfect solution. But until we can wipe out the entrenched racism that is rampant in this country, or until someone can come up with a better solution (I’m all ears) it is a necessary imperfect solution.”
Here’s your answer, so lean in closer. Until people stop blaming others for their failures and accept some good old-fashioned responsibility, we can’t begin to address the problem of “racism.” Dealing with race discrimination, perceived or otherwise, is secondary to individual accountability.
If and when certain people engage in a little self-examination, per Seate’s advice, that’s all the answer you’ll get from me.
