Here Now the News

The past month has been baffling when it comes to what passes as news nowadays. The public has been besieged with sound bites and celebrity meltdowns over the past few weeks. These incidents have been presented to us as not only the news of the day but as barometers of race relations! Have I missed something here?

Former Seinfeld star Michael Richards seemingly lost his mind on stage at the Laugh Factory a few nights ago, at a couple of hecklers who happened to be African American. The term he decided to use in his tirade was nigger. After several un-inspired apologies so called Black activists have taken it upon themselves to call for a ban on the use of the word. Jesse Jackson had Richards on his radio show to apologize. The most baffling part of this entire incident are the questions "what made him do this", and "how could this happen?" Here's an idea...his own racism made him do it. That's how it happened. We don't need an investigation or forensic experts to explain this. I didn't need Richards (or Mel Gibson for that matter)to commit career suicide to tell me racism still exists in America, and to have so called Black leaders hit the streets to create a boycott of this word is just plain silly. In the first place the word has become more popular than ever in urban African American settings thanks to gangsta rap. You are more likely to hear this word tumble out of the mouth of someone Black (or Latino for that matter) than someone white. Add to this the fact that the inner city Black community has a multitude of issues that register higher than the use of this epithet and the call for a ban just seems like a misguided use of time. Richards is a racist and he sabotoged his own career. That's it and that's all. The fact that this was breaking news seems to say a lot about our society and our priorities than about race relations in America.

The other issue that has caused quite a stir is the O.J. Simpson book "If I Did It". Just when you thought it was safe to turn on cable TV O.J. was back in the news. Mr. Simpson signed a book deal and was about to go on FOX cable to talk about his book and how he would have done it if he had in fact, "did it". The fact that FOX had the audacity to book this interview and that a book publisher (who has recently been fired) was ready to publish this little read should make more than a few people scratch their heads. Thankfully neither of these things came to pass. The book was not released (to the chagrin of everyone who pre-ordered it at amazon.com.) and the interview was never televised. For many this was just another instance of Simpson wanting to be in the spotlight. The man is a media hound and will gladly do whatever he can to get his face on camera. Again, a few so called left of center activists have claimed that the book and the show were canceled because O.J. is Black. Some went even further to state that "White America" still can't stand to see a Black man beat them at their own system". I find these assumptions ludicrous and in many instances just down right dangerous. Again race (or is it fools) seem to be rushing in where wise men and women fear to tread. Simpson is a media whore who had the money to sidestep the law. Whether he writes a book or does an interview has no bearing at all on where this country is when it comes to race relations. He was able to beat the system and now is trying to make some money. Again, that's it and that's all.

The saddest part in all of this is that these seem to be the breaking stories on our news channels. With so many 24- hour news channels I guess the idea is, "hey, we have to report something!!" The so called Black leaders who illuminate these issues in the media do not help this situation. Make no mistake, when it comes to race America has indeed come along way. Civil Rights movements and legislation have truly pushed this country to live up to its doctrine hammered out by the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence. Having said that, there are a myriad of issues facing African Americans in the inner city and none of them have to do with Michael Richards, O.J. or white folk's use of the "N" word. As stated earlier Jesse Jackson and Maxine Waters held a press conference to announce their "boycott" of the "N" word. Why not announce that you want inner city residents to come together and boycott illiteracy? How about boycotting teenage pregnancy and the destruction of the Black family unit, or better yet boycott violence in the inner city? These are the issues REAL Black leaders (or in many cases just real leaders) need to deal with and there are a cadre of people doing so day in and day out. You just don't see them on the news giving sound bites and cheeky slogans. They are too busy working to stop for the cameras! This is indeed a two way street. The media loves tabloid fodder like O.J. and Richards because they know the public loves it. The general public may like it but leaders should no better and when they don't they do a dis-service to the people they claim to represent. Here is the news sound bite I hope to see in the very near future: Our top story tonight, thousands gather in protest to demand equal access to an excellent education in an effort to close the achievement gap. There goal it seems is to hold schools and school officials accountable in inner city and rural areas across the country. Across town police and residents pledged to work together in order to keep streets safe from crime and violence. Black leaders on Tuesday opened frank, honest and sometimes painful discussions on the Aids epidemic. Later on this evening in our insipid/entertainment minute, Madonna adopts a child, a comedian goes nuts and an ex-jock writes a book! Here now the news, indeed.