Brutally Honest

Cornball brother, Take II

Rob Parker is at it again:

Sunday morning, hours before the Redskins playoff game, the suspended ESPN host talked exclusively with WDIV-TV’s  Devin Scillian on the station’s weekly community affairs program ‘Flashpoint.’

Parker said his ‘cornball brother’ comments were taken out of context and admits he was “shocked” it received national attention:

“It was never to condemn the young man,” Parker told Scillian. “RGIII is a great young man with  a bright future. It was more about concerns not condemning.”

Parker continued:

“It was just a conversation that’s had in the black community when athletes, or famous entertainers or whatever, push away from their people. And that’s really what it’s about. You saw it with O.J. Simpson, and some other people, where they say, ‘Well I’m not black, I’m O.J.’ So it’s more about that, not about RGIII and what’s going on. It’s more about this thing that we’ve battled for years and why people have pushed away from their people. It’s more about that.”

Parker was sharply criticized by several sports blogs and media outlets for what many perceived as nothing more than cheap shots to a bright young star. Last month, after RGIII said he didn’t want to solely be defined by his race — Parker responded on ESPN 2′s First Take:

“But my question, which is just a straight honest question: Is he a brother, or is he a cornball brother?”

I called Parker’s comments “irresponsible.” Plenty of informal conversations ‘exist’ in barbershops, dinner tables and at the workplace. But if you’re just going to ‘put it out there,’ then you need to do it carefully and responsibly. And certainly not be shocked when your ‘I heard in the barbershop details’ attract criticism.

It’s ESPN. It’s a giant platform.

Parker was suspended six days later.

Many asked a simple question: “Why would Parker question RGIII’s blackness?’

Parker insists that was not his intent or overall point.

“I wasn’t saying that he wasn’t black enough,” Parker said. “And so when people say that…it’s just not true…I was saying these are the conversations that take place once a guy pushes away. So, it was never aimed at him or I was calling him that. I’m saying these are the conversations that take place.”

Someone should have the temerity to ask Parker how exactly RGIII is 'pushing away' from 'his people'.

Is it because he refuses to tie his identity to the color of his skin?  Is it because he wants to be measured by the content of his character?

I think I would advise folks to push away from Rob Parker.  We could start with ESPN.

'After all, being intelligent, respectful, funny, smart and well-spoken is still not a “black thing”.'

Alfonzo Porter is the author of “More Like Barack, Less Like Tupac: Eradicating the Academic Achievement Gap by Countering Decades of the Hip Hop Hoax.” 

He is also now likely to be pummeled by the race baiters and bigoted haters after writing this, in the Washington Post no less:

If Robert Griffin III is a “cornball”, then clearly cornball is compatible with aptitude, proficiency, talent and intelligence. Frankly, I’d like every young black man in America to be defined that way.

While the recent commentary by ESPN reporter, Rob Parker regarding the young Washington Redskins phenomenon may have caught others off guard--I could see it coming from ten miles away.

As an educator, I have had the privilege to work with African American male students in a number of capacities: as a teacher, principal, counselor, coach, and mentor. The level of raw potential that I have witnessed has been nothing less than astonishing. And what hurts so bad is so much of it goes to waste because so many young black men are trying hard not be labeled “cornballs” and are living down to the stereotype of what black men are supposed to be.

I have worked with students with natural academic proclivities in virtually every academic content area. I’ve seen the brilliant, yet undeveloped scientist; the astute, but unfocused mathematician; the prolific yet nonetheless intemperate writer. They all seemed tortured and tried to hide their natural, intrinsic interests in lieu of dumbing down, in order to “keep it real”. After all, being intelligent, respectful, funny, smart and well-spoken is still not a “black thing”.

All these young, aforementioned potential, groundbreaking, trailblazers, who I’ve known and taught, are now dead; two were shot, one was stabbed — all caught in the vortex of pre-determined behaviors that allegedly communicate what authentic blackness is supposed to look like. In the end, so many of our kids are convinced that they need to display disrespectful, oppositional attitudes towards any form of adult authority.

This reverse stereotyping has led to a wholesale march of our black boys to the cemetery and prison — sacrificing the futures of far too many of our sons.

“He’s not one of us,” Parker exclaimed.

Time and again, when African Americans don’t follow the prescribed behaviors laid down by self-appointed gurus of all things black, we inevitably get this level of vitriolic hate, jealousy and animosity. The loud, unsolicited, unqualified rant by Parker, a veteran journalist, speaks volumes about the divisions that still exist within the black community.

Mr. Porter goes on to chronicle that which makes RGIII a 'cornball' in the eyes of the ignorantly hateful.  It's good stuff, righteous stuff, stuff that needs to be aired out and debated in the black community and beyond.

Hats off to the man for what is a courageous thing.

He's in for a rough time.

The haters are gonna be hatin' big-time on the man.

Count on it.

It's what they do.

RGIII is a cornball brother... who knew?

I've been a Redskins fan since I was 12 years old.  For those counting, that's 40 years of Redskins fanhood.  And as a fan, it's been a long time since I've been as excited about football as I've been this year. 

That excitement is the direct result of the impact that last year's Heisman Trophy winner and this year's starting QB, has had in DC.

But apparently, not everyone is enthused about RGIII. 

You see, they judge the man by the color of his 'brotherhood', and not the content of his character or the quality of his game:

I talked to some people down in Washington, D.C. … friends of mine who are around at some of the press conferences, people I’ve known for a long time. But my question, which is just a straight honest question, is he a brother, or is he a cornball brother? … He’s not really, he’s black, he kind of does his thing, but he’s not really down with the cause, he’s not one with us, he’s kind of black, but he’s not really like the guy you want to hang out because he’s off to something else …

I don’t know because I keep hearing these things. We all know he has a white fiancée, there was all this talk about he’s a Republican, which there’s no information at all. I’m just trying to dig deeper into why he has an issue. Because we did find out with Tiger Woods, Tiger Woods was like, ‘I got black skin, but don’t call me black.’ So people got a little wondering about Tiger Woods …

To me, [his braids are] very urban, and makes you feel like, I think you’d have a clean cut, if he were more straitlaced or not like, wearing braids, you’re a brother, you’re a brother if you’ve got braids on.

That bile comes from the lips of ESPN's Rob Parker and is proof that the election of Barack Hussein Obama has done nothing but embolden the race-baiters and haters in this country, to which I think it's safe to now add Rob Parker.

The Breitbart piece goes on to state what Parker was responding to:

All of this was in response to RGIII’s comments that “For me, you don’t ever want to be defined by the color of your skin. You want to be defined by your work ethic, the person that you are, your character, your personality. That’s what I’ve tried to go out and do. I am an African-American in America. That will never change. But I don’t have to be defined by that.”

He continued, “"I am aware how much race is relevant to [black Redskins fans]. I don't ignore it. I try not to be defined by it. But I understand different perspectives and how people view different things. I understand that they're excited that their quarterback is an African-American. I play with a lot of pride, a lot of character, a lot of heart. I understand that. I appreciate them for being fans and not just fans because they're African-Americans.''

There's video of Parker's garbage at the link.

I remember the controversy that erupted at ESPN when Rush Limbaugh was accused of making racially tinged remarks years ago about Donovan McNabb, remarks that pale in comparison to Parker's about RGIII, and the derision heaped on Limbaugh by a wide assortment of ESPN commentators and analysts in the aftermath. 

Any bets on Parker getting the same treatment?

I'm willing to bet the answer is no and that in fact, there will be those who come to Parker's defense.

Check me on this.

I hope I'm wrong but I think I know the progressive mind.

MSNBC: The network that will do anything to maintain the Republicans are racists meme

Or more accurately, will do nothing:

One of the left’s favorite attacks on the Republican Party is that it is the party of old white people, devoid of diversity and probably racist.

If you were watching MSNBC’s coverage of the Republican National Convention in Tampa on Tuesday night, you might believe those assertions, since missing from the coverage was nearly every ethnic minority that spoke during Tuesday’s festivities.

In lieu of airing speeches from former Democratic Rep. Artur Davis, a black American; Mia Love, a black candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from Utah; and Texas senatorial hopeful Ted Cruz, a Latino American, MSNBC opted to show commentary anchored by Rachel Maddow from Rev. Al Sharpton, Ed Schultz, Chris Matthews, Chris Hayes and Steve Schmidt.

Shameless.

Just shameless.

Chris Matthews removes all doubt

The man is a caricature, he's a joke, he's one of the biggest journalistic buffoons in the history of journalism.

I think at this point we can all say confidently that no one will ever unseat him.

I honestly don't believe that you can sink any lower than the depths the man has plumbed.

Are you ready to experience the worst of all asshattery?  Experience this:

'The key thing is that Obama is angry, and he’s talking not in his normal voice but in a “black dialect.”'

Jonathan Chait on "The Real Reason ‘You Didn’t Build That’ Works":

Mitt Romney’s plan of blatantly lying about President Obama’s “you didn’t build that” speech is clearly drawing blood. But what makes the attack work so well is not so much the lie itself but the broader subtext of it.

...

The key thing is that Obama is angry, and he’s talking not in his normal voice but in a “black dialect.” This strikes at the core of Obama’s entire political identity: a soft-spoken, reasonable African-American with a Kansas accent. From the moment he stepped onto the national stage, Obama’s deepest political fear was being seen as a “traditional” black politician, one who was demanding redistribution from white America on behalf of his fellow African-Americans.

So the real reason America was completely turned off by Obama's attack on business is... because America is racist.

Of course.

Anyone who finds fault with The One is racist.  That's become the de facto definition of the term.

And there are idiots like Chait not only buying into that foolishness but peddling it.

This is what liberalism has become.

Buffoonish lunacy.

Crossposted at Wizbang.

I think we can now call the case against Zimmerman a complete travesty

Via Insty, who calls it what it is, a lynching:

The lead Sanford Police investigator who sought manslaughter charges against George Zimmerman told the FBI that a sergeant and two other officers tried to pressure him into making an arrest in the controversial case — even though he didn’t think there was enough evidence.

Sanford Police Officer Chris Serino first made headlines when evidence released in the case showed he sought manslaughter charges against Zimmerman even while his chief publicly said there was no probable cause to arrest him. But a document released late Thursday casts doubt on Serino’s prior sworn affidavit seeking criminal charges, and raises questions about the credibility of the star law-enforcement witness in the murder case against Zimmerman for the shooting death of a black teenager, Miami Gardens high school junior Trayvon Martin..

Telling the FBI that he was concerned that people inside the police department were leaking information, Serino cited Sgt. Arthur Barnes, officers Rebecca Villalona and Trekelle Perkins “as all pressuring him to file charges against Zimmerman after the incident,” an FBI report said. “Serino did not believe he had enough evidence at the time to file charges.”

The summary of Serino’s statement does not mention the race of the officers who allegedly pressured him, but sources told The Miami Herald that Barnes and Perkins are black, and Villalona is married to an African-American man. All three, the source said, had been called in by their supervisor and questioned about leaking information in the case.

A request Thursday evening to the Sanford Police Department for comment about Serino’s statement went unanswered.

A damned travesty.

Yet another reason Republicans are racist, they use the word "cool"

I've got to think at this point that Republicans who breathe are also racists:

Angela Rye, Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus, argued that President Obama has struggled during his first term due to racially-motivated opposition from conservatives who dislike having a black president.

"This is probably the toughest presidential term in my lifetime," Rye said during CSPAN's Q&A yesterday. "I think that a lot of what the president has experienced is because he's black. You know, whether it's questioning his intellect or whether or not he's Ivy League. It's always either he's not educated enough or he's too educated; or he's too black or he's not black enough; he's too Christian or not Christian enough. There are all these things where he has to walk this very fine line to even be successful."

She said that "a lot" of conservative opposition is racially-charged, citing the use of the word "cool" in an attack ad launched by Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS superPAC.

"There's an ad, talking about [how] the president is too cool, [asking] is he too cool? And there's this music that reminds me of, you know, some of the blaxploitation films from the 70s playing in the background, him with his sunglasses," Rye said. "And to me it was just very racially-charged. They weren't asking if Bush was too cool, but, yet, people say that that's the number one person they'd love to have a beer with. So, if that's not cool I dont know what is.

She added that "even 'cool,' the term 'cool,' could in some ways be deemed racial [in this instance]."

Might be a quicker press conference if journalists were to ask Ms. Rye what words in the English vocabulary might not be deemed racial in her view.

"Certainly it wasn’t Obama’s elitism, or his anti-Americanism, or his sleazy Chicago cronies..."

"... or his youthful infatuation with cocaine and Marxist professors, or his long-time association with a radical domestic terrorist, or his membership in a church led by one of the most inflammatory Black separatist pastors in the country.  Nah, it couldn’t possibly be any of those things that disinterested voters in the South.  It must be because he is half African.  Because that’s all we ever think about down here."

That and more from Wizbang colleague Michael Laprarie responding to this WaPo piece “Kentucky, Arkansas primaries: Is it racism?”

Yea... it's racism.

What have grievance mongers and race hustlers wrought?

A censored race war:

When two white newspaper reporters for the Virginian-Pilot were driving through Norfolk, and were set upon and beaten by a mob of young blacks — beaten so badly that they had to take a week off from work — that might sound like news that should have been reported, at least by their own newspaper. But it wasn’t.

The O’Reilly Factor on Fox News Channel was the first major television program to report this incident. Yet this story is not just a Norfolk story, either in what happened or in how the media and the authorities have tried to sweep it under the rug.

Similar episodes of unprovoked violence by young black gangs against white people chosen at random on beaches, in shopping malls, or in other public places have occurred in Philadelphia, New York, Denver, Chicago, Cleveland, Washington, Los Angeles, and other places across the country. Both the authorities and the media tend to try to sweep these episodes under the rug.

In Milwaukee, for example, an attack on whites at a public park a few years ago left many of the victims battered to the ground and bloody. But when the police arrived on the scene, it became clear that the authorities wanted to keep this quiet.

One 22-year-old woman, who had been robbed of her cell phone and debit card, and had blood streaming down her face, said, “About 20 of us stayed to give statements and make sure everyone was accounted for. The police wouldn’t listen to us, they wouldn’t take our names or statements. They told us to leave. It was completely infuriating.”

The police chief seemed determined to head off any suggestion that this was a racially motivated attack by saying that crime is color-blind. Officials elsewhere have said similar things.

A wave of such attacks in Chicago were reported, but not the race of the attackers or victims. Media outlets that do not report the race of people committing crimes nevertheless report racial disparities in imprisonment and write heated editorials blaming the criminal-justice system.

What the authorities and the media seem determined to suppress is that the hoodlum elements in many ghettoes launch coordinated attacks on whites in public places. If there is anything worse than a one-sided race war, it is a two-sided race war, especially when one of the races outnumbers the other several times over.

Thomas Sowell has more.  Read it.  Pass it on.