Race Cowards

The visceral response to the newly minted Attorney General Eric Holder's “coward” comments around the blogosphere and among pundits (on both sides of the aisle) proves Mr. Holder's point. The ginned-up outrage sounds phony and shrill. In the words of William Shakespeare “me thinks thou protests too much.”

The New York Times op-ed columnist Maureen Dowd shrieks: “We need leaders to help us through our crises, not provide us with crude evaluations of our character. And we don’t need sermons from liberal virtuecrats, anymore than from conservative virtuecrats.”

“In the middle of all the Heimlich maneuvers required now — for the economy, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, health care, the environment and education — we don’t need a Jackson/Sharpton-style lecture on race. Barack Obama’s election was supposed to get us past that.”

The talking head shows from the Sunday morning line-up on NBC, ABC, and CBS all addressed Mr. Holder's “coward” comment, as well as PBS's McLaughlin Group and the assorted 24-hour cable shows all broached the “coward” comment.

Chris Matthews threw a pint of gasoline on the fire with Pat Buchanan, who is never the voice of reason when it comes to racial matters and the extremely loquacious Dr. Michael Eric Dyson. At least David Gregory, who isn't the sharpest tool in the drawer, asked NPR's Michelle Norris during the roundtable discussion about Mr. Holder's comment. Of course, Michelle's answer was thoughtful and measured, so her segment is not available online to watch at MSNBC.com. If she would have said something stupid then that segment would have become viral, instead of deleted.

Mr. Holder's comments negate the media myth-making narrative of a post-racial society. America collectively as nation has a great deal to be proud of with respect to race, class, gender and religious tolerance. President Obama's victory last November is a testament to that fact. But, to completely deny the Republican radical, populist racial response to President Obama's candidacy is ludicrous and disingenuous.

The fever pitchforked crowds that swarmed at Governor Palin's rallies, the constant drumbeat of the conservatives charging President Obama with being un-American, not a natural born citizen, a communist, a socialist. The media lynching of Reverend Wright, with a continuous loop of “g—damn America” over and over again. Along with Michelle Obama's “terrorist fist jab,” and her “proud of America” comment.

How do the media overlook the racially charged assaults?

After Prop 8 in California, with its 7% black population, passed the gay pundits railed against the African American community, African American voters, and African American churches. The gay community waved their rainbow flags in the same manner of the Confederate flag at a Ku Klux Klan rally. Where was the post-racial media narrative when the gays bashed black voters? Where was the outrage?

Attorney General Holder's complete speech, not the “coward” soundbite, was good. Mr. Holder spoke calmly and rationally. Like an adult speaking with adults. Unfortunately, the childish shrills from the media pundits absolutely illuminates Mr. Holder's point.

We are cowards. It is positively amazing that the whole racially charged experience of the presidential election over the past two years was just a sidebar. Yes, President Obama won an historical election. We've come a long way, baby. But, the post-racial American utopia is still a mirage just over the horizon.