Last time here, I wondered why white folks can't have the equivalent of Al or Jesse. You know, someone to raise hell and scream racist every time some white guy is attacked by a black guy. A friend, I'll call him the godfather, because he likes that, dropped me an e-mail and pointed out that we white people do, indeed, have such big mouths in our corner. They're the Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh guys. My problem is that I never pay much attention to either. I'm just a normal guy who happens to be white. I certainly don't consider either of these gents my mouthpiece. Anyone who knows me knows that I can speak my mind without the help of Bill or Rush.
What I didn't take into consideration is that folks like my friend, the godfather, probably feel the same way about Al and Jesse. My friend is black, by the way. And, as a white guy who does not consider himself a racist, I looked at the entire black race in a racist way when I noted that Al and Jesse were their spokes-people. Thank goodness the errors of my ways and my thoughts were pointed out.
I'm going to venture to speciualte that Jesse and Al only represent a small number of black folks, just as Bill and Rush represent the views of a small number of whites. The problem is that all four people get a lot of attention when they open their mouths. And, too often, their "followers" believe all of their rhetoric, and those believers are what I will now call the Noisy Minority. They picket, they make great sound bites, not because they say something compelling, but because they say something radical, often racist. They seldom, if ever, say or do something inspiring, but they almost always rattle off gibberish that can incite a crowd to follow them anywhere.
They're not the first people to do this. Nor will they be the last.
By the way, I know where Bill and Rush get their money. They earn it by getting a lot of viewers to watch and listen to them. Those viewers are what equates to ratings in the television world, and ratings means advertising dollars. Something like a great quarterback on a football team. People pay big bucks to see him play, and television networks pay big bucks to carry the games, and advertisers pay lotsa money to get their product before a lot of viewers.
But, pray tell, where does Jesse and Al get their money? They wear fine clothes, drive great cars, and they don't stay at Motel 6, even if the light is left on for them. Haven't you wondered the same thing? I wonder what their income tax returns look like? Folks like Al and Jesse are always screaming about the tax returns of our public officials. What's fair is fair. Wonder why the IRS hasn't audited them?
Summing up, I can conclude: Bill and Rush act as the mouthpiece of some white people, and Al and Jesse are considered the mouthpiece for some, not all, black people.
I stand, partially, corrected and somewhat enlightened.
What I didn't take into consideration is that folks like my friend, the godfather, probably feel the same way about Al and Jesse. My friend is black, by the way. And, as a white guy who does not consider himself a racist, I looked at the entire black race in a racist way when I noted that Al and Jesse were their spokes-people. Thank goodness the errors of my ways and my thoughts were pointed out.
I'm going to venture to speciualte that Jesse and Al only represent a small number of black folks, just as Bill and Rush represent the views of a small number of whites. The problem is that all four people get a lot of attention when they open their mouths. And, too often, their "followers" believe all of their rhetoric, and those believers are what I will now call the Noisy Minority. They picket, they make great sound bites, not because they say something compelling, but because they say something radical, often racist. They seldom, if ever, say or do something inspiring, but they almost always rattle off gibberish that can incite a crowd to follow them anywhere.
They're not the first people to do this. Nor will they be the last.
By the way, I know where Bill and Rush get their money. They earn it by getting a lot of viewers to watch and listen to them. Those viewers are what equates to ratings in the television world, and ratings means advertising dollars. Something like a great quarterback on a football team. People pay big bucks to see him play, and television networks pay big bucks to carry the games, and advertisers pay lotsa money to get their product before a lot of viewers.
But, pray tell, where does Jesse and Al get their money? They wear fine clothes, drive great cars, and they don't stay at Motel 6, even if the light is left on for them. Haven't you wondered the same thing? I wonder what their income tax returns look like? Folks like Al and Jesse are always screaming about the tax returns of our public officials. What's fair is fair. Wonder why the IRS hasn't audited them?
Summing up, I can conclude: Bill and Rush act as the mouthpiece of some white people, and Al and Jesse are considered the mouthpiece for some, not all, black people.
I stand, partially, corrected and somewhat enlightened.
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