American Exception

The Postracial Wars: Audio Version

Will Obama's Presidency Change Perceptions Among Blacks? : NPR.


The postracial wars continue. I had this exchange with William Raspberry and Patricia Williams (the moderator was calling us the Three Williamses) and it shows the miracle of editing. This was a pretty hot debate (not exactly liquor store on Saturday night heated, but it wasn't a Christmas party either.) 

Through the skillfully clipping of the engineers it comes off as a much more civil and thoughtful exchange.

Stop Snitching?

Jesse Jackson Jr. Talking With Feds About Blagojevich Since Summer.

The word "informant" carries an inescapably ugly hue to it. Think of the word and it immediately conjures images of an overweight bookie meeting with an overweight cop in the parking lot of a seedy motel. If it had a color it would be brackish brown like bad water.

But the problem is that the situation is obviously more complicated and informing encompasses a range of motivations from sleazy self-preservation to serious civic responsibility.

Jesse Jackson, Jr.'s motives remain to be seen but let's not act like his decision to inform against the corrupt state governor is on par with the corruption itself.

About two years ago the MSM began wringing its hands over the "Stop Snitching" code in hip hop. But they've reacted with curious (hypocritical?) detachment from the fact that JJJ has been a federal informant for the past decade. A friend of mine on the hill pointed out that the politician's code of Omerta is more strictly enforced than that of the mob and Jesse Jr. has just signed his own political death sentence.

The early feedback I'm hearing on Jackson sounds sadly similar to rapper Cam'ron's dumb statement that he wouldn't call the cops even if a serial killer lived next door.

Maybe so. But this raises another question: is the politician who allows a corrupt governor to shake him down for campaign contributions somehow more honorable than the one who reports it?