(ThyBlackMan.com) Good people, racism is real. It happens every day: near and far, publically and privately, by people who don’t know any better and people who certainly know better. The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:51, “Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep; but we shall all be changed.” I concur. We’ll all be changed as soon as we individually and collectively recognize racial discrimination for what it truly is – acute childishness.
The mindset of ‘I’m right, you’re wrong… you’re weak, I’m strong’ may seem harmless, but it’s quite harmful. It’s heresy, not heritage.
Dateline: last week. City: Norman, Oklahoma. On a chartered bus, members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity were videotaped singing enthusiastically:
“There will never be a _______ at SAE.
There will never be a _______ at SAE.
You can hang him from a tree, but he’ll never sign with me.There will never be a _______ at SAE.”
In the days which followed, Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s charter was revoked at the University of Oklahoma, several of the students were expelled, and apologies were offered. On Oklahoma’s campus, protests for racial equality have been as loud as they’ve been passionate. The n-word requires immediate termination. It’s a despicable word drenched with a bloody, human trafficking-laced, hatred-filled history too extensive and too violent to ever be redeemed in the English language.
As a black man, believe me when I tell you that there is never a justification to use this discriminatory term – not as a euphemism for something cool, not as a term of endearment, and especially not as an insult. No one should use that word ever, for any reason. I personally find the n-word’s use by those inebriated white college students on a bus in Norman, Oklahoma every bit as offensive as black rap artists Kanye West and Jay-Z using the same word on stage in concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City. To 
me, there is no difference. Kanye, Jay-Z, and those former Sooners all have one thing in common: they’re all sufferers of acute childishness.
Dateline: last week. City: Miami, Florida. Rodner Figueroa – a respected, 17 year veteran style host with Univision’s hit show “El Gordo y la Flaca” said this during a live, national telecast, “You all know that Michelle Obama looks like she’s from the movie Planet of the Apes.” To their credit, Figueroa’s two co-hosts tried valiantly to contain their horror even as they offered him chance after chance to walkback what he had said. Figueroa decided to dig a hole deep enough to bury his own previously distinguished television career in. His subsequent firing from Univision shouldn’t have surprised anyone. Love her or not, no one can reasonably argue that Michelle Obama isn’t a global symbol of beauty, brilliance, and grace. She’s a textbook example of American exceptionalism. No lady should ever be called an ape, certainly not the First Lady of the United States. That base insult is a throwback to the slavery era sentiment that black people are subhuman. As a fellow person of color, Rodner Figueroa should have known better. Because he didn’t, he branded himself as childish.
Dateline: Thursday. City: Port Gibson, Mississippi. Otis Byrd – a 54 year old black man – was found hanging from a tree in central Mississippi. While you’re considering whether Byrd was a victim of a homicide or a suicide, consider that local police and the FBI have already launched a hate crime investigation there. There is evidence suggesting foul play. White men aren’t found dead hanging from trees in America – but black men have been hung in Mississippi for hundreds of years just because. In light of Byrd’s death, anyone singing songs about hanging black folks from trees is infantile.
Acute childishness occurs whenever President Obama’s political enemies allow their issues with his policies – which are legitimate – to devolve into a place of personal hostility – which is illegitimate. Criticizing the president’s performance on the job is one thing: calling him everything but a child of God is something else entirely. That something else? Acute childishness.
Racism is taught, not inherited. Today’s logic bomb in 3-2-1. How can a person love God – yet hate any of His children? Boom.
Remember the days of our youth? Remember recess? Back then, kids used to say things like: “My mom can cook better than your mom.” Or “My big brother is faster than your big brother.” Innocent stuff. Today, adults say silly things like: “This president doesn’t love America.” Or “Racism is a thing of the past.” Insidious stuff.
I conclude with Apostle Paul’s wise words from 1 Corinthians 13:11:
“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”
Wake up, America. Please.
Staff Writer; Arthur L. Jones, III
This talented brother is a local Minister, weekly featured Democratic Op-Ed columnist, non-profit advisor, and sees the Braves winning it all this fall. Rev. Jones welcomes your comments! Please email him directly at: tcdppress@gmail.com.
