That Tattered Race Card

Mere weeks after African-American Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates played the race card when he was arrested by a white Cambridge police officer, African-American New York Governor David Paterson has played it again. However, Paterson has played it as broadly as possible. He accuses all his critics, including African-American critics, of being racially motivated when they criticize him.

President Obama came to the defense of Gates but not Paterson. Though Paterson says that the same thing is going to happen to Obama, the President said he expected to be criticized and didn’t think it had anything to do with his race. That’s good to know, since the Obama honeymoon period is coming to an end, and criticism of him will only increase.

Paterson has been under a lot of pressure after several missteps. New York Democrats are increasingly worried that if he’s the party’s nominee in the next gubernatorial election, he’ll be trounced. That’s not racism. That’s politics. Racism still exists. It always will. But the race card has become so tattered that it needs to be packed away before it disintegrates. That’s essentially what New York City’s first African-American Mayor David Dinkins told Paterson a day or two ago.

If any employee, including a governor, believes he’s being discriminated against because of his race, he should file a charge of discrimination or lawsuit, not go on talk radio. If an employer discovers race discrimination in the workplace, everything possible should be done to end it. On the other hand, if an employee, regardless of his race, isn’t doing a good job, an employer should deal with him the way any employee would be dealt with. Discipline him. Suspend him. Fire him.

1. 

   Dr_Vee says:

   August 26, 2009 at 2:49 pm

   I can tell you from experience even when it is really real, and in the workplace, and, you have proof, it still does not matter if you scream race is the issue from near and far. I don’t believe it can be tattered, because it has already been shred by head nods and hypocrisy on both sides, black and white. After my experiences I don’t even bother to mention what is before my eyes, I just go about doing what I can to get around it, above it, beyond it, or in between it. You see, John the problem is that no one wants to discuss the issues of race in this country. This angers those whose life experiences show that it is real, it is painful, it is expensive, and after one lives to be my age, it is quite tiresome. Yet, John, I cannot just say oh well, I won’t put on my black skin suit today; no John, I cannot do that; therefore when I go to work in my government job and face it daily, I have to DEAL with REALITY. My reality is that I have to swallow my pain, my anger, my pride, on a daily basis until I can leave. So, whether it is me, you, a disabled person, a gay person, discrimination is painful and I do agree it is called on far too much; but I also agree it is practiced in this country far too much. So, maybe when this country becomes color blind, like Stevie Wonder, maybe then we can celebrate never having to hear someone play the race card. Even when it is not played, many of us still feel it daily. I sat at work in a meeting minding my own business in my government job when my boss, who just happened to be a white gentleman, violently hit me on my back with no explanation. Now, the room was filled with folks that looked like him, not me; yet, no one saw a thing. Did I dare call the police and say Hate Crime in the house? no, I would have been carted off to the mental hospital or to jail for false accusations. So, you see, John, I have a problem feeling sorry for those who get tired of hearing the race card called because far too often it is not called like in my case, because it won’t be heard anyway.
2. 

   John Phillips says:

   August 26, 2009 at 8:59 pm

   Dr._Vree,

   Thanks for your heartfelt and personal comment.

   Your point on the difficulty of talking about race or perhaps the unwillingness to talk about race is something I have repeatedly discussed on this blog. Although this isn’t an exhaustive list, see Racial Language, 1-20-08; The Race Issue, 3-20-08; Race Talk, 3-21-08; Difficult Conversations in the Workplace, 4-10-08; Different Answers to the Race Divide, 7-23-08; The End of Race Discrimination, 9-15-08; Why Is There Still Racisim, 10-27-08; The Issue of Race After Obama’s Election, 11-17-08; The Race Card: Still Playable? 1-7-09; Race Cowards and the Risk of Race Talk, 2-19-09; Talking About Race, 3-11-09; Talking About Race, 7-14-09.

   Despite my propensity to discuss the subject, I don’t pretent to have all, even many, of the answers. I also realize that I couldn’t possibly approach the subject like you do, as I’m white, and you’re black.

   I don’t get tired of seeing the race card called or played. It’s fascinating, and it gives me something to blog about. I simply think it’s served its purpose, and it no longer does any good, particularly when it’s played by an African-American in a position of power. They’re free to do it, of course, but it’s counterproductive, in my opinion.

   As I said in my above post, racism is still with us and always will be. It’s present in every society or culture of which I’m aware. Despite its ubiquity, it helps to talk about it honestly and to challenage each other’s views on the subject. That’s what I try to do in the posts I do on the subject. Sometimes, I succeed, and sometimes I don’t.

   Thanks again for your comment.

   John