Somebody Forgot to Tell Us

I just heard Pat Buchanan, one of the more useless talking heads in the talking head industry, say that being black was "an advantage" in Barack Obama's rise to the presidency. This was mixed with other thoughts like "he won because he's black" and being a woman is an advantage as well. Now, Buchanan's word isn't worth the oxygen he uses to say it, but the significance of this comment can't be taken lightly.

This is exactly the type of thought that I believe was thrown around kitchen tables, neighborhood bars and other informal gathering places before Obama was elected. For the most part, the professional pundits refrained from saying the exact same thing, because for some reason we expect them to be more eloquent and insightful in their comments; otherwise why have these idiots on radio and TV to begin with? But now that there is a Barack Obama in office, it's even MORE unprofessional and tacky for somebody like Buchanan to say what everybody already thought, two years ago. Buchanan is still expected to take the high road, be thoughtul and give us the insight and point of view of somebody who supposedly knows what he talks about.

Here's why: comments suggesting that being a minority is an advantage skips over the entire history and process by which minorities became disadvantage and disenfranchised. Buchanan like so many other people, look at the African Americans, woman and minorities they know in their lives, however casually, see that they appear to be well fed, healthy and happy and instantly presume that racism, prejudice and general player-hating are figments of the imagination. Yes it's wonderful that Americans can no longer get away with lynching blacks and assaulting women with impunity; that is indeed progress. But the measure of progress in America's efforts to be one country with hundreds of participating subgroups is way more sophisticated than "hell, they seem to be doing alright to me. what else do they want?"

Buchanan can be as backward and conservative as he wants to be. Living, like the rest of them, in a world that only exists in their collective imaginations where if you just act like you're always correct and righteous then you will be correct and righteous, is certainly his right. But I would appreciate it if he would stick to loftier conservative rhetoric that doesn't mention, touch on, deal with, affect, regard or otherwise bother real people and real minorities out there in the world trying to live their lives. It's too important a struggle for wayward, careless comments from somebody like Buchanan.

Hey Pat, stick to trying to steal the New World Order, hating Europe and worrying about Michael Steele. Shut your mouth when it comes to boots-on-the-ground real life struggles that have to succeed because that's where the species is headed.