black enough

“Scout,” said Atticus, “nigger-lover is just one of those terms that don’t mean anything—like snot-nose. It’s hard to explain—ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody’s favoring Negroes over and above themselves. It’s slipped into usage with some people like ourselves, when they want a common, ugly term to label somebody.”

“You aren’t really a nigger-lover, then, are you?”

“I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody… I’m hard put, sometimes—baby, it’s never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesn’t hurt you.”

So much truth so often overflows from fiction’s pages, as noted above in the poignant dialogue between To Kill a Mockingbird’s “Scout” Finch, the tomboy teen that perceives the goodness in others while not negating societal evils, and her father, Atticus Finch, a widowed lawyer with an undeniable, solid moral compass. Racist persons used the phrase “nigger-lover” to damage or demean; Atticus wisely shares that the term tells us more about the user than about the one the user attempts to describe, showing us “how poor” the user actually is.

Let’s face it. Racism is unfortunately alive and well on planet Earth. Sometimes it’s real; sometimes it’s more a repeated accusation. The Intramuralist wishes it weren’t real. I wish no man, woman, child, etc. were measured by the color of their skin. All men were created equal, regardless of color or creed, yet too many of us still justify judging by the color of one’s skin.

Too many people voted against Barack Obama because he is black. Too many people voted for Barack Obama because he is black. Too many people oppose or support him now for potentially the same reason (… see his approval ratings broken down by race). The point is that both positions are motivated by skin color. A judgment based on skin color fits the definition of racism.

It seems, however, racism accusations are more quickly prevalent when it’s one color posed against another. But what happens when it’s one color against itself, so-to-speak?

For example… in the 2014 Super Bowl, the Seattle Seahawks dominated the opposition; they won handily. In fact, they were so exceptional, many spoke of a potential dynasty for years to come. How could they not repeat?

Yet this year the Seahawks are not dominant; they have already lost three times — still winning but not consistently; each week their status has seemed shaky. Hence, with expectations different than reality, the questions and finger pointing have begun, as the dynasty potential has dissipated. Last week there were even reports from the Seattle locker room that their quarterback, Russell Wilson, the man who led them to Super Bowl victory was not “black enough.” You heard me correctly.

As first shared by the Bleacher Report’s Mike Freeman and then on ESPN, “There is also an element of race that needs to be discussed… it’s backed up by several interviews with Seahawks players — is that some of the black players think Wilson isn’t black enough.” Let me be clear… black players think a black quarterback may not be black enough. What exactly is “black enough”? … and is that not a judgment based on the color of one’s skin?

Racism is alive and well on planet Earth… and it’s not always one race juxtaposed against another. It’s also not always handled as wisely as in fiction by Atticus Finch.

Respectfully…

AR