Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Note to Geraldine Ferraro

If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept. Geraldine Ferraro

I know how it sucks to be a white man in America today; I’ve raised three of ‘em, and I’m helping to raise four more. And I think I have some clue of how hard it is to be a woman of any color. My mom and my sister are women of one color. My wife, my daughter, and the mother of my grandkids are women of another color. I have lived with all of them.

So I wake up every morning and thank my very lucky
stars that I am a black man and not an unlucky white man or an unlucky woman of any color. We black men don’t know how good we have it in the US of A.

In fact, we should have tried this running for President thing a long time ago. With our great luck, it’s so easy! See, we thought people just liked a few of us, like Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby, Denzel, and that Michael Jordan. We thought it was just Tiger Woods (unless you are actually a golfer) or OJ Simpson (the football and actor OJ, not the murderer OJ). But we should have caught on when the Beatles and Elvis wanted to play our music or even back when Al Jolson started putting on blackface. America loves the black man.

Why didn’t we put up Martin Luther King to be President; people loved him (except the ones who beat him, put him in jail, fought him in the courts and political venues, and killed him). Or Jesse Jackson--we should have made him President, we’re so lucky. Or Al Sharpton or Alan Keyes. Or Dennis Haysbert or Morgan Freeman--they’ve already played the President on TV and the movies.

I guess our luck made us stupid. Until now. We finally caught up with how much the USA is enamored of us black men. I mean, a majority of people in a majority of states are voting for the black man—and even people who don’t vote for him (or in the states that count—not just those ones that don’t), people come out in droves to see him.

Of course they do; he’s the black man, and America loves the black man. I am so very lucky!

3 comments:

nashbabe said...

Deep cleansing breaths...deep cleansing breaths...:-)

Kirk Jordan said...

"TDad" - I just discoverd your site and it looks like you are in the roar mode. But it sounded kind of righteous and real, so roar away.

This may not be the best place to comment, but I didn't see an email ... I just made myself a blogger profile the other day and find we share lots of arts and faith things in common. If you were any closer I'd drop in and we could spin some old Mark Heard or Stevie Wonder togehter.

Until then, you can check out my profile at http://www.blogger.com/profile/03478002114374876536
or my poetry site at
http://startledbyexistence.squarespace.com/

Good to find friends that you don't know.

Kirk

Mary Bernard said...

Tony,

I'm trying to get caught up on your life through your blog.

I LOVE this post. I LOVE this post!

I always enjoy your writing and am happy to have found your blog.

Mary B.