Because You Never Asked

     (Author's note: It is advisable, though not totally necessary, to read the essay "A Racist Joke" before reading this one.)

     Rush Limbaugh, the neo-conservative political pundit who has had so much to do with shaping American politics, thought he knew something about football. So did the Disney media company, who hired him to do commentary on their ESPN Sunday pre-game show. This is something like hiring Nero to fight fires.

     Rush recently lost his job at Disney for an opinion he offered about Donovan McNabb, a black man who happens to be the quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles. Rush, in all his Renaissance man wisdom, gave forth with the alleged fact that McNabb is overrated and always has been, due to the fact that the National Football League wants a black quarterback to succeed. For those of us who can speak "Limbaughnian", this statement translates thusly: Due to the unfair advantage given Afro-Americans in our society, Donovan McNabb is nothing more than a marketing myth created by those trying to keep us poor white folks down. (See essay "Affirmative Action")

     In the essay "A Racist Joke", I spoke about a type of person whose true colors shine through when given a chance to show the prejudice that lurks under the surface of their being. In Rush's case, there was no need to be prodded with a funny "n" word joke. His racial resentment resides so very close to the surface, that it will naturally sneak out into the light where the rest of us can see it. It escapes. It gets away from him. Even Rush has to be somewhat politically correct in public, but his true colors, along with others like him (Trent Lott, etc.), will eventually show who he really is.

     In most cases, when a public figure gets in trouble for something they've said, it is usually a seemingly offensive comment taken out of context. In this case, we have a perhaps inoffensive comment, one that could be considered a legitimate opinion not racist on its face, that becomes offensive if put into its proper context. That context is the life and career of Rush Limbaugh and what he so publicly stands for. This is a man who has made a handsome living trying to convince us that the Afro-American is the privileged class in our society; that they are taking all our spots in the Universities; that they are getting all the government contracts; that they are all living off our money . "Goddamit, when are they going to do something to help us white folks?" He has demagogued the race issue into a huge following, many of whom, I'm sure, fall into that quasi-racist group that would revel in the "n" joke I spoke about in the essay "A Racist Joke". The comment that led to his demise as a football analyst is completely consistent with his outlook on race in general and is offensive when coming from the likes of him. I would venture to guess that his racial resentment is far more offensive in private ("that nigger's just a lot of media hype") than what he shows on TV.

     In the essay "The Bush Gang Gets Overconfident", I made reference to the somewhat reckless overconfidence shown by Bush adviser Paul Wolfowitz when he joked about all that Iraqi oil in an interview. Limbaugh, in this instance, has shown the same kind of overconfidence and mistaken omnipotence. His success in becoming an accepted fixture on the American political landscape, had led him to believe he could say just about anything. The scope of his arrogance can only be understood by describing the show where the incident took place.

     If none of us were to hear a single word more as to why a football game was or will be won or lost, the world would be a better place. But this is not about to happen in the near or not so near future. As a result, all the media giants involved in padding their bank accounts with sports programming, provide us with an orgy-like buffet of pre and post-game football blah blah. All of these shows seem to be anchored by a media professional riding herd over a 2 or 3 man panel of ex-players. There is always a black man or two amongst the player-analysts.

     The Disney media company decided to get a bit creative by going to an "average fan" in the person of Rush Limbaugh. (They'd already tried this unsuccessfully on their Monday Night Football telecasts with comedian and all around schlemiel, Dennis Miller, another outspoken political conservative. It could be that Disney is showing its true colors in making these hiring's.) Rush shared the podium with media pro, Chris Berman, and two ex-players of Afro-American descent, Tom Jackson and Michael Irvin. It is difficult to understate the arrogance of his remark when made face to face with people of color. By suggesting that McNabb is overrated because he is a black man, isn't he also suggesting that Jackson and Irvin owe their jobs to a similar form of "affirmative action" in broadcasting? Did he expect them not to be offended? "Hey Rush, you d'coolest, man, you be d'smartest honky." How would he react if one of them said he was overrated and has gotten to where he is because he was born into an influential, well to do family in Missouri? One would have to be taking oneself way too seriously to say what Limbaugh did in these circumstances.

     Unfortunately, both Irvin and Jackson were rather disappointing in dealing with the situation, in stark contrast to Donovan McNabb himself, who performed with distinction. It's quite possible that McNabb is overrated, but not for the racial reason Limbaugh attributed it to. He was playing poorly at the time of this incident, and the last thing he needed was a distraction of this sensitive nature. Through it all, he has reacted with the kind of style and grace that does make him marketable, although it could never earn him a job on the field of play. Of all the people asked to comment publicly during the 3 or 4 days this tempest swirled through our culture, it was McNabb who made the most pertinent remark by asking the following question:

     To McNabb's credit, he did not have much to say about Limbaugh and his critique, which is probably the best way to deal with something so patently ludicrous. What did seem to bother him was the silence of Jackson and Irvin and he wondered why they did not offer some kind of defense in his behalf? By defense, he did not mean for his athletic ability, but for the more universal issues relating to black people in general. Rather then being angry with the two black athletic pundits, he seemed genuinely hurt by their inaction. Like bro, why didn't you help me out?

     On the one hand, I can understand their lack of response. Neither Jackson nor Irvin are political pundits or philosophical ideologs. They are experts on football. They are paid to talk about football. Limbaugh's remark entered the discussion like a clap of close striking lightning that no one was ready for. It always takes a bit of time to recover from the effects of such an out of the blue bolt of energy.

     On the other hand, there are many people who believe that today's successful black athlete, with their six figure contracts, have become insensitive to the still existent problems of the black community and are not sufficiently involved. People like Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan have been criticized for an "I've got mine" kind of attitude. Being that giving my opinion is an integral part of why I write these essays, I will now give forth with one, with the full realization that it will be a somewhat nebulous one:

     For those who might be annoyed at the Tigers and Jordans of the world, piling up their multi-million dollar endorsement deals without rocking the boat, there seems to be some justification for their anger. They could probably do better. But we are also living in different times. Many things have been accomplished since the days of Martin, Malcolm and Ali. Perhaps the Tigers of the world are representing their people and their struggles in a way that is appropriate for today's cultural climate. If, while being so consistently in the public eye, they present themselves positively, they already have accomplished something. This, however, does not completely exonerate them from some activism when the circumstances suggest it.

     As for Jackson and Irvin, I agree with McNabb; they could have said something. Indeed, Limbaugh's remark needed to be rebuked. Maybe they are a bit too comfortable in their own success to feel the anger they should have. But I'm sure they were also caught off guard. For now, I'll criticize, but I will also forgive.

     The most fundamental conclusion that can be taken away from all this is the pure stupidity of Limbaugh's point of view. Where has he been lately? He must be the last football fan left who still considers the idea of a black quarterback something daring and novel. Yo! Rush! There are black quarterbacks everywhere. Some are terrific, some are mediocre and some suck . just like the white quarterbacks. Nobody even thinks about it anymore. 

     Rush obviously has a problem with race. But the stupidity of his McNabb statement must also call his intelligence into question. If he could be so stupid in one area of endeavor, it certainly reflects upon whatever he says about anything. One of the true signs of intelligence is knowing when you don't know something. Rush seems to think he knows something about everything.