If you wanted to reduce crime, you could – if that were your sole purpose – you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down. That would be an impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down.”
Not my words, but I know what you are thinking: What the f—? I know for a fact I wasn’t the only person stunned by William Bennett on his radio slot “Morning in America.” Can you believe this same man wrote a book called The Book of Virtues? I didn’t know advocating ethnic cleansing was a virtue, but refresh my memory, for I haven’t attended Sunday services in quite some time.
While Bennett claims his words were taken out of context and he felt, in a sense, “trapped” by a caller wanting to debate the issue of abortion, the question is simple: Why are black people and crime automatically paired in the immediate memories of many Americans? Although I slightly understand, wha t Bennett was trying to say in a bizarre, twisted sort approach, I can’t help but wonder why he, a former secretary of education, would broadcast such ignorant remarks over mass-media airwaves.
I’ve encountered some people who say Bennett had a logical point – he just didn’t word it correctly – and don’t understand what the “big fuss” is all about. The fuss? We had this prolonged event called slavery more than a century ago, and oh yeah, the Civil Rights movement about 100 years later. So every time a black person is beaten by law enforcement, a qualified minority is denied a job, or another unproved crime is laid upon a minority in this country, I believe the “fuss” is justified.
Our thought process, in terms of race, is extremely sluggish compared to other countries where race has virtually become a non-issue in everyday situations and events. It’s almost like he suggested putting sharpshooters at the Rio Grande to stop illegal immigration.
We should not allow ourselves to regress into the stereotypical mindsets that promote false and archaic thinking. These issues of stereotypes and backward thinking often makes me think of comedians on television, who make fun of themselves, usually with racial jokes and self-deprecation. Although I consider myself a comedy aficionado, I tend to frown upon comedy strictly based on race, because most of the material used is racial humor, assumptions or stereotypes that often continue to be promoted.
It makes me gleeful when I hear comedians like Demetri Martin or the late Mitch Hedberg, who almost never used racial humor to entertain others.
Now, people are reading this going, “What’s the connection between comedy and Bill’s comments? Because they clearly aren’t funny.” Settle down, crouching tiger, I’m getting there. A powerful man of Caucasian descent who commands a great media tool such as the radio should be careful about what he says on the air. I’m not advocating censorship of white people in the media, but it is often completely different when a black person talks about race than when a white person talks about race, especially knowing the racial tenderness America can trace throughout its history.
But getting back to Bennett: One could simply point fingers at him and say his racial stereotyping is, as he said, “impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do.” You would only be partially correct if you did such a thing. And so, if you agree with me that Bennett’s remarks were intolerable, I would encourage you to adopt a tolerant philosophy, which makes phrases such as “you’re so gay” and “that’s retarded” unacceptable in today’s ever-changing social mindset.
Athina Tesfa-Yohannes is a sophomore government and politics major. She can be reached at atesfayo@umd.edu.
