Opinion: False Cries of Racism Belittle the Actual Evil

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It's getting out of hand, people.

Today, Senate Majority Leader (I hope not for much longer) Harry Reid made the following statement regarding Barack Obama, former Fannie Mae exec and Obama campaign adviser Franklin Raines, and KXNT radio host Casey Hendrickson, the last of whom he implied was a racist:

[Franklin] Raines, who you're talking about, worked for Fannie Mae, was there for a while. The only connection that people could bring up about Raines and Barack Obama is they both are African-American, other than that there is nothing."

So, in other words, our Dear Senate Leader implies it is racism to talk about Barack Obama and Franklin Raines in the same breath. Or is it that he thinks we're just stupid enough to believe him?

Obviously, he hasn't been checking his poll numbers lately. But I digress.

Where, I ask you, is the racism in associating presidential candidate Barack Obama with former Fannie Mae CEO and recent Obama campaign adviser Franklin Raines, who advised the campaign on housing and mortgage matters of all things? Where?

Is this not a valid political issue? If Obama is having the former chief of Fannie Mae advising him on housing matters, is that not a relevant political subject? Perhaps even reflect poorly on Obama's judgment to some of the voting electorate? It's all true. Why is it racist?

The Washington Post believes the story of Obama and Raines is a non-issue, but that's the Washington Post. At least they refrained from accusing those who made the association of racism. This time, anyway.

RealClearPolitics is with me on this one, though. And though RCP may be Republican in sentiment, I'm pretty sure they're not affiliated with the Klan.

Speaking of which, Slate Magazine believes any reason for Obama possibly losing is racist by default. They covered all their bets.

Next up in playing the Race Card, vis-a-vis Fannie Mae no less, is none other than Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, whom the Wall Street Journal called 'Fannie Mae's Patron Saint'. Shortly before Frank made his own implication of racism regarding the Fannie Mae imbroglio he engaged in a real flamethrowing contretemps with Bill O'Reilly that was a smash YouTube hit.

Shortly after that heated debate, Frank made the following public statement regarding those like O'Reilly who were making a big stink about him and his extensive personal involvement in the Fannie Mae scandal:

"They get to take things out on poor people," Frank said at a mortgage foreclosure symposium in Boston. "Let's be honest: The fact that some of the poor people are black doesn't hurt them either, from their standpoint. This is an effort, I believe, to appeal to a kind of anger in people."

Frank also dismissed charges the Democrats failed on their own or blocked Republican efforts to rein in the mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The federal government recently took control of both entities.

Okay, so Republican criticism of Frank's neck-deep involvement in the Fannie Mae mess is racism? Hatred of poor people? Does he also, like Harry Reid, think that we are that stupid?

"Oh yeah, Barney! GOP Racism! Karl Rove! Ku Klux Klan! Go get 'em!"

Yeah. Nothing to do with you, Barney. It's Big Bad Republicans being racists again. As usual.

If the situation weren't so serious, it'd be laughable. But some moron over at Democratic Underground even called Sarah Palin a "cheering to the white crowds" racist for wearing a white blouse. I mean, come on.

What next, we're racist because of our skin color?

Oh, yeah. Never mind.

The real problem here is that every false cry of "Wolf!" vis-a-vis racism belittles the suffering and struggles of those who have experienced the worst of it up close in very personal and violent terms, and also begins to jade those whom are constantly accused of it, like the skeptical villagers in the Wolf tale.

First, let us all agree that racism and inhumanity to man is real. It happens to people of every stripe and color every day around the world. It has even resulted in genocide.

Now let us settle on the matter that racism consists of the following:

1. An unreasoning hatred or intense dislike of others based on skin color, ethnicity, appearance or dialect.

2. The intent of trying to deny others dignity and even basic human treatment (jobs, housing, education, etc.) based on skin color, ethnicity, appearance or dialect.

3. Verbal or physical abuse based on skin color, ethnicity, appearance or dialect.

It does not consist of challenging individuals of any race on valid political and social issues, as PBS host Ray Suarez seems to think:

"What makes John McCain plausible is Barack Obama," news anchor Ray Suarez told a local crowd Wednesday.

The "pseudo controversies" about Obama's background are symbols for a "racial calculus" hard at work in U.S. politics.

Opinions about Obama's inexperience, his childhood in Indonesia, and the persistent but untrue rumors of him being Muslim are stand-ins for something his detractors cannot admit, Suarez said.

Particularly, "religion has become a proxy for race," he said.

No, Ray, it hasn't. Everything has become a proxy for race.

And it has to end.

Real racism sucks, and it can happen to anyone on this planet at any time. I've experienced it violently twice in my life, once at knifepoint, once at gunpoint. Took a whole lot of verbal crap too. Was the nature of the beast where I grew up, and it ain't no fun.

And for far too many people like Reid, Frank, Suarez or anyone else to cry 'Racism!" when nothing could be further from the truth (or worse, to cover up an uncomfortable truth) diminishes the actual evil and even the impact of infinitely ugly real-life racism when it really happens.

If you're watching TV or surfing the Internet and see the tenth accusation of racism in a week, you may just be skeptical enough to skip over the real thing, minimizing the impact it should really have on you in its violence, inhumanity and real stripping of dignity from human beings.

Why should you stop, when you've heard it all before and keep hearing it repeatedly, even in the most inane and unrelated instances like those I've highlighted above?

In many ways, it is like repeatedly and falsely crying "rape!" Eventually, you just may not get the response you need when you really need it.

Capiche, Barney? Harry? Ray?

I hope it isn't racist for me to say all this.

Not sure what the rules are anymore.

Even Hillary doesn't know.

They sure as hell don't seem to be what they should be.