#6 Blacks and Tipping

I have always heard people, numerous Blacks and some Whites, say that Black patrons are poor tippers. I have witnessed this as well, but never thought my personal sample was valid on the entire group. I have even called out a few poor tippers in my day, and they always say they are bad at math, or the service was poor/racist, or they were distracted, and this is why they tipped poorly, to which I mutter BS. So are Blacks really bad tippers? Also, does the race of the participants affect the tip? Check your seat belts and air bags folks.

A little bit of robust research at Cornell (here) presents that not only do Blacks tip 20% less than Whites, Black servers get smaller tips all around, including from Blacks, AND Blacks tip Black servers lesser amounts than do Whites. Wow! There's that Black-on-Black racism question again. A few more facts: tip disparities remain despite comparable service; Blacks are less familiar with the 15-20% tipping norm than Whites; socio-economic status of tippers or servers does not seem to matter; Blacks stiff (fail to tip at all) at 3-7 times the rate of Whites.

So the question remains. Why are Blacks such poor tippers? We have one answer, in general terms – Blacks are less knowledgeable about tipping. The good professors at Cornell, the leading school in hospitality, would say that the service industry needs to educate folks on tipping. Accurate tipping is also a mathematical exercise, so education attainment plays a big role. I would add, critically, that a variation on oppositional culture (resistance) bleeds into tipping consideration, regardless of the race of the server, with non-black owned businesses portrayed, in the mind of the tipper, as ‘the man’. I wonder about results for black patrons in Black-owned establishments?

Lastly, the researchers go to great lengths to avoid stating why White and Black patrons tip Black servers less than equivalent Whites. However, I will say the answer for both that Cornell avoided – racism. Once all other influences are accounted for, both Whites and Blacks are negatively influenced by the race of the server, even when the service is measured as better from the Black server (taxi study). But, the research stops here unfortunately. Until academics can study these conclusions completely and openly, without taboo violation and reprisal, the toughest questions will remain as mysteries.

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: #6 Blacks and Tipping, Oppositional Culture, Stiffing, Black Racism, Gratuities, Acting White

Whupped Oakland Black Man Gets Radio Interview

OK, OK, the Oakland AC Transit brouhaha is done (skip it if you must), but in the interest of fairness the Black man who got whupped (Michael) deserves some air time. BTW, Tommy Slick's Old White man story is getting crazier by the day, and where the hell is this 'Bob' character (a voice in Tom's head?). I frankly don't know who is telling the truth. So the moral of this saga is, 'don't drink and ride (AC Transit) or expect to get your butt kicked and show up on You Tube!'

H/T: Soulfinger

James C. Collier

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California Students Sue To Restore Affirmative Action In Universities

Both friends and foes of Affirmative Action (AA) need to be aware of what is going on here in California. The friends have an unlikely benefactor, California Attorney General Jerry Brown, the man running for governor of the state (again), come this November. When asked for an opinion by the State Supreme Court on Prop 209, which banned Affirmative Action, Brown's brief offered, "ironically, by effectively disadvantaging racial minorities and women in the political process, without an evident compelling governmental reason for doing so, [the amendment] seems to accomplish the very evil it purported to eliminate...racial and gender discrimination."

The lawyers for the students are claiming violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution (story here). Recall that it was equal protection violation that brought down segregation in Brown v. Board of Education. The students would say that Prop 209 wrongly blocks them, base on race and gender, from seeking remedies allowed under the 14th Amendment. In effect, they are barred from presenting exclusionary results, as evidence of prejudice-based, rather than race and gender-based, discrimination.

The exclusionary results they present are as follows: UC has the same number of minority students as the leading universities in the Deep South and therefore is suffering from the same racism that can only be driving these results in those southern schools. The second exclusion states that UC’s minority student percentages do not match the percentages of minorities graduating from California high schools, thereby proving racism. These are erroneous arguments for sure, but illustrative, nonetheless, of the overly broad nature of 209.

I don’t blame the students for their faulty logic. They are victims of bad schooling that would rather give them back-end bonus points for ethnicity, rather than their proper and deserved K-12 education. They are using the only lever they feel they have. And, I’m not saying that some of what is driving that poor K-12 experience is not racism, but it is also much more, starting with the teacher’s union, poor curricula, and abdicating parents.

In essence, the State Supreme Court, should they choose, is likely to take a similar position to what the highest court did in Michigan and pare back 209 to a point where CA schools are allowed to consider race in admissions and contracting, as long as it is not the overriding factor. Unfortunately, this will seem like a victory, but the net impact will be that our K-12 schooling will remain poor; stranding the bulk of needy students long before any last-ditch rescue from AA.

James C. Collier

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White Sorority Girls Get To Steppin' For $100K Prize

I don’t know if I call this acting Black or what, but the ladies of Zeta Tau Alpha at the University of Arkansas weren’t playing when they showed up at the Sprite Step-Off Challenge 2010. BAM! $100,000. See Ya! (Next year should be interesting, and Oh Yeah, if you look close some of them Matrix ladies are sistas, so all the betta' ZTA).

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: White Sorority Girls Get To Steppin' For $100K Prize, Zeta Tau Alpha, Sprite Step-Off Challenge, University of Arkansas, Acting Black, Acting White

Tiger, The Damned

My first reaction to the Tiger Woods public apology was that he needs to shut up and play golf. It’s is clear that neither he, nor those counseling him, are as smart as the demons chasing him. This is evident in the double root-canal press conference the other day. The Buddhism reference was most painful, in that it conjured up the classic celebrity-as-god conundrum, personified in the late Michael Jackson as a Jehovah’s Witness child-molester. God and religion are the Pandora’s Box of celebrities. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

Stepping back, Tiger’s life is in a tough spot, and I feel for him. His near deity status in golf is what encouraged/facilitated his excessive pursuit of outside women, especially what earthly rules applied to him. He lightly touched upon this in his apology, but he does not yet get it. He can’t get it because, now more than ever, the golfing world is begging for the return of their god, while he struggles mortal.

The industry (of golf), which he heads literally and figuratively, is hurting like it has never hurt before. Golfers, courses, tournaments, sponsors, retailers, and manufacturers alike, are missing billions of dollars. They need this guy back on the links in the worst way. But, they want him to be a man and their god at the same time, and this demand is quite impossible for him to sustain. Until he figures out who he is and what he really wants, he is Tiger, the damned.

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Tiger, The Damned, Golf, Apology, Buddhism, Sex Addiction, Acting White

Oakland's Whup-ass Old White Man Gets His Say

James C. Collier

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#5 Blacks And Not Swimming

This post is about keeping kids alive. Yesterday, I saw an old friend taking her three year old daughter to a swim lesson.

I swim a mile three times a week, so I’m a magnet for questions like why so few Black folks swim – even from Black people. These kinds of questions frequent the time of the winter Olympics because so few Blacks compete at the highest level in the winter games. I, for one, don’t need to ask why fewer Whites compete in the traditional Olympics, given the latitude of Greece and the running nature of events of the summer games. No rocket science here.

So why can only 30% of Black people swim? How about, ‘they ain’t supposed to be swimming in the first place’. This is what you would hear on comedian Dave Chappelles, “I Know Black People”. You don’t see Africans swimming do you? Not with all those crocodiles and pythons just waiting months for some silly fool who thinks a little dip would be refreshing’. And it’s got nothing to do with buoyancy. Not swimming is embedded in 150,000 years of genetic survival coding. Swimming is the lunch bell for Crocs.

Fast-forward to recent times, there are two ways to learn to swim. Either from a relative, who already knows, or you learn at a local public pool. Blacks had no evolved base of swimming-ready relatives to teach them, and Jim Crow did not locate pools and programs near Blacks, therefore fewer Black swimmers. There is also the embarrassment factor driving current adult-age folks to deny or ignore this inability and treat pools as purely social settings, where getting wet is optional. And let’s not forget how swimming jacks-up Black hair.

These obstacles, whichever you like, have created a situation where Black kids in the US drown at 3X the national average. But we are in America, not Africa, where jumping into bodies of water can be relatively safe and commonplace. So the next time you see someone you care about lacing-up for a little round ball or putting on their dancing shoes, take some time to emphasize how important, and fun, swimming is and offer to sponsor them at the nearest YMCA. This just might save their life too.

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: #5 Blacks And Not Swimming, Olympics, Drowning, Dave Chappelle, I Know Black People, Acting White

Old White Man Whups Young Black On City Bus

WARNING: LANGUAGE AND VIOLENCE



This happened yesterday here in Alameda County. Unbelievable! There is a whole lot going on in the video, but mostly a young Black man let's his mouth write a check that his behind returns, NSF. You don't really hear how the beef got started, something about shining shoes, but the White man retreated (wisely) to the front of the bus, with Black guy following. The girls near the Black guy, including the one with the camera, were clearly egging him on. Listening to them was a bad move for him. Black guy taps old White guy, who BTW is wearing an "I'm a M-F" t-shirt, and the rest is You Tube history.

So what do we think about this, and keep it clean please?

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Old White Guy Whups Young Black On City Bus, AC Transit, Oakland, Fight, Violence, Acting White

Malaria, Africa, And The Old/New World Order

The NYTimes just reported on a study and discovery that Egyptian King Tut (Tutankhamen) most likely died from malaria (p. falciparum)(here). I know, I know, you are saying, so what. However, beyond the amazing fact that researchers were able to pinpoint a cause of a death so long ago (1324 BC), the idea that the most well-known African King died from malaria, perhaps the oldest human disease of record, is clear invite into the reach of the disease, and impact on the evolution of Africa and humanity, and across the ocean.

We know from statistics and the work of organizations like the Gates Foundation, that malaria kills one million Africans, mostly children, per year. Until most recently, the disease has taken the second chair behind HIV, estimated to have killed 22 million Africans. While taking nothing away from HIV, malaria’s death total is reasonably up wards of 5 billion (100,000 avg. deaths/year x 50,000 years: assuming 100 billion total births). So what happens to a continent and a people who evolve under such harsh conditions, not to mention tropical challenges – heat, drought, famine, wild animals, poor agriculture, etc.?

The great African brain drain of the best and brightest. Everyone who could leave did leave – not to return. Still do. Societies develop at a relatively slower pace (hundredths/year), because a disproportionate share of resources is sucked away by a disease that has no craftier equal. The slower pace of development increases vulnerability to hostile and advanced outsiders. Viola! Colonization, slavery, exploitation, etc. It is amazing (at least to me) that something so simple as what killed King Tut so long ago, can so readily begin to explain so much today.

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Malaria, Africa, And The Old/New World Order, King Tut, LA, Egypt, Disparity, Brain Drain, Acting White

No Charge In La. Police Killing of Black Man, SPLC Sues

Let's see...no warrant, no evidence, no vetted suspicion, leads to police shooting death of Bernard Monroe, Black resident of Homer LA. Just reported - grand jury declines to indict officers. Southern Poverty Law Center (Morris Dees) files wrongful death lawsuit against city and officers.

From the top...two White officers arrive at the Monroe home with the interest of friendly afternoon chat with Monroe senior. During the chat Monroe junior, with a drug prior, arrives and runs around and into the house ‘suspiciously with black bag’, while pursued by officer one. Monroe junior exits the front of house and is tassered by officer two. First officer then shoots Monroe senior seven (7) times in the front, side, and back, in response to the belief that he is pointing a gun at officer. Witnesses report seeing no gun or black bag.

Witnesses also report seeing officer one place a weapon near the fatally wounded Monroe senior. Officer one reports that the gun was moved away, during the action, and he later ‘returned it’ near the body.

I smell a rat. Story (here).

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: No Charge In La. Police Killing of Black Man, SPLC Sues, Homer, LA, SPLC, Morris Dees, Bernard Monroe, Acting White

2/15 Self-Detonation Award: John Mayer

...for his use of the N-word and kissing-and-telling for a Playboy magazine article.

James C. Collier

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Japanese Olympic Snowboarder In Hot-water Over Not 'Acting Asian'

Let's see...dreadlocks, sagging pants, untucked shirt, and loosened tie...yep, this kid - Kasu Kokubo - definitely forgot who he was (and wasn't), if you read between the tea leaves. The Japanese Olympic Committee sat him out of the opening ceremony as punishment, and to give him some quiet time to consider his choices. His bad attitude and forced apology should send his stock back home soaring, big time. He's already scored his gold medal, without touching his rig. Nice. And he didn't even have to drop the N-word, either! Way nice! 素晴らしい方法!

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Japanese Olympic Snowboarder In Hot-water Over Not 'Acting Asian', Dreadlocks, Sagging Pants, Apology, Acting Black, Acting White

#4 Blacks and Ask/Axe

The only thing worse than being ignorant about others, is being ignorant about self. In California, most Blacks come from families that migrated directly from the mid-southern US; Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. So one does not have to go far to hear a Black person substitute ‘axe’ for ‘ask’. As a native Coloradan, and without much forethought, I just assumed that these ‘axing’ folks lacked phonetic sophistication. Of course, I was wrong. Mea Culpa.

How usage passes for ‘good’ English is based on what part of the country we are talking about. Everyone has an accent and many of us speak in English dialects, particular to specific geographical regions. Accents are defined as a unique ways of pronouncing the same words, while dialects are regional accents plus unique grammar and/or unique words. So it should surprise no one that any American, including Blacks, who as a group were forced to ‘home-grow’ their English, might have leftover speech attributes that may be different.

So why does the word ‘ask’, and the way it comes out of Black mouths, get so much attention? The knee-jerk answer for this is White racism. Singling out Blacks who say ‘axe’ is just another way of putting people down for not educating themselves to a higher standard of English. But hold on a second, there may also be another, more benign, reason. Axing/Asking someone is a phonetic double entendre (same sound, different meanings) that conjures up a visual of a person hacking another to death with an axe, ala’ the infamous Lizzy Borden, who was alleged to have killed her parents by axe in 1892, in Massachusetts.

So the next time you hear a Black person say ‘axe’ in place of ask, and it strikes someone's funny-bone, take a second to educate them on accents, dialects, double-entendre’s, and Lizzy Borden. But also know that the influence of their rude interest may not be a case of slam-dunk racism, but rather just simple regional ignorance egged-on by a whacky visual. And one last thing, White southerners say axe, I'm told, for all the same reasons.

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: #4 Blacks and Ask/Axe, Dialect, Accent, Southern, Lizzy Borden, Acting White

Seattle Girl Beaten For Acting White?

It was reported that the 15 year-old girl being beaten in this video, while security guards standby and watch, had run afoul of her attackers by having nice things and 'acting White'. The behavior of the guards, at minimum, shows a disconnect to violence and the harm being done. They make no attempt to shield the victim from her attacker, and assume no defensive posture to protect her. Very sad. This video stands in evidence to the law suit discussed in a previous post Black-on-Black Racism: Part II (here).

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Seattle Girl Beaten For Acting White?, Security Guards, Black Racism, Violence, Hate, Acting White

Was Pepsi Out of Bounds?

I missed this Superbowl commercial, but found the replay disturbing. Thoughts?

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Was Pepsi Out Of Bounds?, Doritos, Violence, Superbowl, Racism, Acting White

Is Hewlett-Packard Racist?

There is no doubt that this video is comical, and the Black man’s disbelief seems well-founded. The participants illustrate a half-baked face-tracking technology, using HP’s embedded camera in their PC. The engineers at HP responsible for such poor effort should be fired, because they are incompetent at a level far below what Bill Hewlett or Dave Packard could have ever stomached. This I know, as a former HP’r.

My first job out of college was working for HP, as a programmer. At that time, nearly 30 years ago, the company routinely over-engineered its products such that the face-tracking program in question would have not only accurately followed White and Black faces, but also Wookies, E.T.’s, and all the Disney characters ever made. Such an obvious flaw weighs heavily on the quality of all HP products and services.

What’s left is whether or not this product and the company that made it is racist. I would say not. Unfortunately some Black people yell racism like a ball park vendor hawking peanuts – often and to whoever has ears. Computers are not sentient (yet), and no one at HP would purposely make such an obvious goof, given the career-limiting consequences.

In the old days at HP, poor engineers didn’t get fired, they just were not given new projects to work on. Engineer 1: Hey, what are you working on? Engineer 2: Nothing. Engineer 1: Ok - so how’s the job search going? But, what I really want to know is why I should care about face tracking at all? I don’t want people stalking me, if I can help it. Seems like a technology in search of a home. Bill and Dave are undoubtedly shaking their after-life heads and wondering what the hell is going on with their wonder baby.

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Is Hewlett-Packard Racist?, HP, Face-Tracking, Camera, Technology, Acting White

Tim Wise – Most Hated White Man in America

A few nights ago, I was invited to hear Tim Wise speak here in Oakland. For those who do not know him, the Nashville-born author/speaker is perhaps the most vociferous anti-racist you may ever get to hear. He has written numerous books on the subject of White privilege, and has more to say on the subject than I could ever do justice in a posting. Nevertheless, I offer up my summary of a man who undoubtedly competes with Morris Dees, of the Southern Poverty Law Center, for the title of ‘most hated White man in America’.

Why is he so hate-worthy? Well, like Dee’s, Wise has lost his mind, and his whiteness, when it comes to what he sees as unequal justice toward Blacks in America. His overarching platform is a willingness to speak openly about White America’s racist past and present dealings, akin to a White Nashville preacher who suddenly woke up Black. In fact, one of his books is titled, White Like Me. Like Dees, and the most recent President Jimmy Carter, a southern White man speaking openly about race carries heightened credibility with Black folks, inasmuch as he can be characterized as, ‘a White boy tellin’ all they business!’

I will first clarify that I am not 100% aligned with his argument on the White-man’s recent history of exploiting people of color. Nevertheless, his delivery of facts sure beats the hell out of whoever would call him a liar. Unfortunately, he makes the grave mistake of many before him, with shallow analysis of the plight of Blacks limited to the last 400 years of White dominance, against thousands of prior years of development. This limitation allows Whites and others to easily turn a deaf ear to him. In ignoring earlier times of human history and evolution, including that of race itself, he lessens his power and influence, except for the people in his 'choir', mostly Blacks and guilt-sensitive Whites. To the contrary, and aided by many external factors over a much greater time period, Whites and Blacks are complicit in the race dynamic and plights we reflect today. In any event, I agree with Mr. Wise that talking about race is the only way for things to get better. I would simply lengthen the period of review to 5,000 years.

This leads to my second mention. Wise is on the money when he criticizes Obama for being race-neutral. He postulates that in order to get elected Obama had to be palatable to a large number of racist Whites – I assume he means ‘soft’ racists - who were willing to vote for an exceptional Black man, the same way they have one Black friend as proof they are not racist. However – and I throw in my own Amen – a President who continually ducks racism, under the cover of political expedience, is actually doing great harm to any long-term goal of uniting disparate people. Wise offers that Obama, by example of his refusal to recognize racism, thrown at his presidency, Harry Reid-style, is pushing it into the closet and closing the door.

Even with the shortcomings of his macro-lens view on America, Wise is a strong and intelligent voice for bringing race discussions to the foreground. Some will like him, others will hate him, but you will know where he stands. My greatest concern with his presentation is that it implicitly encourages Whites to feel guilty and Blacks to feel like victims – not a recipe for success. In doing this he ignores duality. Balance is lost, as he does not challenge Blacks, or validate Whites. His words aptly encourage people to confront the ‘system’ of White privilege, but he hardly pushes on Blacks to embrace advancing avenues before them, rather than simply pointing out White obstruction. This makes him the flip-side of his accusation of Obama’s mono-focus on self-responsibility and the White majority. Wise desperately seeks/protects a palatable status with Black America, which limits what he is willing to say. In his world, Black salvation is forever dependent on White redemption – the status quo solution too concerned with the souls of White folk, quite biased, and quite impossible.

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Tim Wise – Most Hated White Man in America, Morris Dees, White Like Me, Race-Neutral, Post-Racial, Acting White

#3 Blacks and Combs

Just a few days ago an older Black person asked me, “What is up with Black people walking around with combs in their hair?” They had just watched a musician performing on television for Haiti earthquake relief; wearing a comb-head they thought was unattractive. It’s easy to say this is just a style, but maybe it goes further than this. I said I’d look into it.

The first thing to note is that you must have kinky hair to wear a comb. In other words, Whites, Asians, Latinos, do not pass go, do not collect $200 style dollars. Black folks love to come up with something cool that White folks can’t copy. No Elvis interlopers, or M&M’s, pimp-walking in the back door. Okay, some Jews (aka He-bros) can pull it off, but they were slaves too, so they’s coo’.

Back in the day, the more practical reason for sticking combs in your hair was to keep a brother from going to jail. The black-jack-looking afro and cake-cutter combs of the sixties and seventies could be purposefully mistaken for concealed weapons by the local or school authorities. If the comb was in a dude’s hair, this was proof that it was indeed a comb and not a weapon. Of course, everyone knew that a legit comb that puffed-out the ‘fro one moment could be whacking a cat the next, but hey…don’t profile me bro!

The other reason for keeping the comb in your hair was that putting it in a pocket was either painful or costly, due to poking holes in your clothes (aka threads) and ruining them. In the back pocket, the combs could be accidentally sat upon, either breaking it or sending the owner to the emergency room for stitches (aka thug tattoos). Also, the combs were not cheap, costing between $3-10, rather than the $.25 that Arthur ‘The Fonz’ Fonzarelli paid for that wimpy thing he pushed through his greasy hair on Happy Days.

Finally, wearing a comb in your head is one way of telling the world that no matter how jacked-up your head looks, you meant for it to look this way – saying, in effect, the world can kiss-MBA. Remember what Sinatra said, attitude baby. Frankly, I would not mind my fourteen year old wearing a comb, since this might increase the chance that he would accidentally use it on himself, or maybe I’m just being wishful – as uncombed is also a style, I have been told.

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: #3 Blacks and Combs, Afro, Cakecutters, Hair, Attitude, Acting White

Gun-People Play the Race Card to the Supreme Court

We are talking professional race-card playing here.

In March, the Supreme Court will hear arguments for why local governments should not enact gun control laws that infringe on the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms. The lead case the high-court will consider is that of Otis McDonald, a 76 year-old Black man from the Morgan Parks section of Chicago, who is suing the city because he says he needs a gun to defend himself in his crime-infested neighborhood. However, McDonald’s lawyers are not arguing the 2nd Amendment, as the National Rifle Association would hope, but rather a violation of 14th Amendment, whereby constitutionally backed "privileges and immunities” offered the citizenry of (several) states are denied in another state.

The NRA is a respondent and supporter of the petitioner, Mr. McDonald, but it seems like they agree more with Mr. McDonald’s skin color, than with his argument for why he should get his gun. In fact, McDonald lawyer, Alan Gura, and the NRA do not agree upon which Amendment battle to hang their respective hats. But what they do both seem to agree upon is the promise that changing the gun advocacy argument from one of rural, conservative, White males onto the plight of an aging Black man, is a winner. So who, I ask, is playing the race card in McDonald v. Chicago?

Some full-metal jacket spin-doctors are even going so far as to liken Mr. McDonald’s plight to that of freed slaves whose rights as new citizens were protected from similar attempts to block individual states from passing laws to selectively strip them of constitutional rights, particularly gun ownership. Other charlatans have the nerve to compare this strategy to Thurgood Marshall’s approach in Brown v. Topeka Kansas (Board of Education). BS! Finding a compelling, sympathetic example of a wrong, as Marshall did, within a similar offended group is quite different than slight-of-hand re-framing of an argument across demographic lines, to play on the racial and political sensitivities of the justices and the public.

As much as I feel for Mr. McDonald’s desire to protect himself in his home, I cannot sanction this trickery in order that more White men (and women) can strap on 9 millimeters to watch their kids play soccer, or buy legal AK-47’s for ‘sport hunting’, or running around the woods target shooting in preparation for an upcoming race war. The number of potential fatal accidents involving registered guns in dense urban places far outweighs the approach of arming everyone to the teeth. I don't like it, but McDonald should stash his unregistered shotgun at the ready, knowing that no jury will ever convict him of ridding the world on one more B&E thug operating beyond the law. And honestly, he stands a bigger statistical chance of having the weapon used against him, rather than protecting him.

James C. Collier

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Technorati Tags: Gun-People Play the Race Card to the Supreme Court, Otis McDonald, NRA, Constitution, Alan Gura, Acting White