Exchanging White Sheets for Brooks Brothers Suits

By: RD

On March 9, 2014, Minnesota State Representative “Patrick Lee Garofalo” tweeted: “Let’s be honest, 70% of teams in the NBA could fold tomorrow and nobody would notice a difference with the possible exception of an increase in street-crime.” After his remarks were met with public outrage, Garofalo attempted to explain himself,

Pat-Garofalo

“I was talking about the NBA’s high arrest rate and that their punishment for positive drug tests are weaker than other leagues. No intent beyond that. The culture among many pro athletes that they are above the law is the problem, not people like me pointing that problem out.”
The very next day, Garofalo was compelled to render this humble, if not disingenuous, acknowledgment:

“In the last 24 hours, I’ve had the opportunity to re-learn one of life’s lessons: whenever any of us are offering opinions, it is best to refer to people as individuals, not groups. Last night, I publicly commented on the NBA and I sincerely apologize to those who I unfairly categorized. The NBA has many examples of players and owners who are role models for our community and for our country. Those individuals did not deserve that criticism and I apologize. Additionally, it has been brought to my attention that I was mistaken and the NBA policy on drug enforcement is stronger than I previously believed. Again, I offer my sincere apologies for my comments.”
Too late. Garofalo’s mea culpa did little to extinguish the flames, which by that time resembled a west coast forest fire.

If that wasn’t enough five days later, and just 270 miles away in Wisconsin, former vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan lodged this sweeping – yet inaccurate indictment against African American males:

paul-ryan

“We have got this tailspin of culture, in our inner cities in particular, of men not working and just generations of men not even thinking about working or learning the value and the culture of work, and so there is a real culture problem here that has to be dealt with.”

As a former Economics major, how can Rep. Ryan grasp the intricacies of the labor market while failing to acknowledge the history of African Americans being consigned to an inferior place within it or locked out altogether? Surely, Ryan’s Irish ancestry should have afforded him an attuned perspective regarding racial discrimination and poor employment prospects. Sadly, Ryan appears incapable or unwilling to delineate between the oppression of his ancestors and the oppression and exploitation that fuels this purported “tailspin of culture, in our inner cities in particular!”

Like founding father Thomas Jefferson, Ryan seems to be a tightly-wound mass of contradictions, especially where matters of race are concerned. Like his forefather Ryan too enjoyed the companionship of a Black Woman, all the while proffering less than accurate and unsavory statements about Black men. In fact, a contemporary of Jefferson, the famed Astronomer, Benjamin Banneker, did what many of us fail to do in instances like that—he called attention to Jefferson’s hypocritical ways- just as others have done with Ryan and will undoubtedly continue to do. Ryan’s curious position is reminiscent of a by-gone era…where men whose vitriolic hatred of Blacks was glaring, but were more than willing to have relations with the slave girl when the opportunity presented itself. Yes sireee, they may appear to be more refined, may even possess stellar academic credentials and they may have even frequent the finest men’s haberdasheries, but at the end of the day Garofalo and Ryan (and men like them) are nothing more than “Saltines” draped in Brooks Brothers Suits.

2 thoughts on “Exchanging White Sheets for Brooks Brothers Suits

  1. Can We Keep It All The Way 100 (Real)

    Racists are not our problems. Poor Black African American Leadership is a greater threat to us than racists will ever be. Blacks are addicted to poor Black Leaders, who do nothing to solve our problems. They are good at giving great speeches, but no clear implementable national plan for our uplift and empowerment. What’s worst, is the fact that Black Folks don’t demand economic solutions to our problems. We are told to fear Republicans, while Democrats offer few real solutions, nor offer any real solutions.

    When Black African Americans wake up from Dr. King’s Dream, we will stop listening to all those Sambos, Religious and Political Pimps and embrace a new definition of Black Leadership: A New Black African American Leader is one who offers implementable solutions to our collective problems without fear or excuses. We can and must have the courage to collective compete. Examine Obama’s Policies and you will see that this president is someone who continues almost the same policies as those implemented by racist presidents whose goal is to keep black folk subjugated. We have too many Black Faces in High Places who do nothing to change the racist policies that are harming their own people.

    Racists Don’t Scare me!

    • Historically, empowered racists have always been a problem, especially when wielding legislative powers vs. our visible lack of comparable representation in that same arena! Most recently, those same legislative powers have resulted in successfully scaling back the options for citizens most likely to vote against the Republican Party and its “Conservative Right” driven polices. Coupled with Rep. Paul Ryan’s expressed animus against “inner city black males,” the GOP’s resurrection of the “Southern Strategy” stands as an open declaration of war against “us” in particular!

      In understanding the nature of past and present mis-Leaders, I’m confident that new aspirants will find this leg of the battle unworthy of the price it will cost them. Thus, in concert with the hope and responsibility imbued upon all attendee’s of the RMIL&C, it’s high time to “pay it forward” by coalescing around a ratified agenda for meaningful change! Considering our historic traducers have renewed their dubious pledge of allegiance, we are now compelled by necessity “to rise out of relative obscurity, find our mission, embrace it or betray it!” (Frantz Fannon)

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