When I read Monica Crowley's piece on Big Government, I must admit to being thoroughly disgusted.
Not because she posted racial-slur laden voicemails sent to Dr. Christopher Metzler, Associate Dean of Continuing Studies at Georgetown University because of his opposition to ObamaCare. No, I am disgusted because for years the mainstream media has invited black conservatives on their radio and television programs to be an opposing voice to the black liberals who are often sought as the voice of black America. We've told them (off the record) of the response we normally get after our appearances.
We know what the headlines would read if something were said to annoy Al Sharpton. But it took racist phonecalls to a dean to invoke outrage.
I know many other black conservatives have endured the racial slurs from the left for decades, and the media has never had our backs.
Where is the outrage for the insults Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas deals with to this day? When syndicated columnist Julianne Malveaux said that she hoped Justice Thomas' wife serves him "lots of eggs and butter and he dies early like many black men do, of heart disease. Well, that’s how I feel.", where was the media then?
I guess that didn't count because they didn't "expose" it.
When Justice Janice Rogers Brown and Dr. Condoleeza Rice were the subject of racist caricatures by cartoonists working for major metropolitan newspapers, where was the media then?
I guess that didn't count because they didn't "expose" it.
When I appeared on CNN after Hurricane Katrina and criticized the media's coverage of/and black people looting (when the world was coming together offering financial assistance), and received 200 emails an hour for the next three days containing vile racist slurs (many of which I published), where was the media then?
I guess that didn't count because they didn't "expose" it.
When Colin Powell was racially slurred (Uncle Tom Powell Stumps for Massah Bush) instead of celebrated as the first black Secretary of State, where was the media outrage?
I guess that didn't count because they didn't "expose" it.
When Ken Blackwell and Michael Steele respectively ran for statewide office and had Oreo cookies thrown at them, where was the media coverage and condemnation?
I guess that didn't count because they didn't "expose" it.
When California Regent Ward Connerly was racially slurred for wanting minorities to be held to the same college admission standard as everyone else (because he, as I, believe we are capable), where was the mainstream media then?
I guess that didn't count because they didn't "expose" it.
I can only speak for myself but when I receive racial attacks from the left, it's because what I'm doing is effective. I remember first hearing the words of Shelby Steele on the radio while driving home from work in Los Angeles in the early 90s and being disgusted by the response of some of the liberal callers.
But I also knew that I believe in the uncelebrated work fellow black conservatives do to this day (and endure) as racism is only allowed in our society when it's aimed at us, and instead of turning tail and running, we keep on. I think we've shown more guts than any ratings-driven media pundits anyday.
If the mainstream media really feels they've "exposed" the racism from the left, let's hope this doesn't become an "If it bleeds, it leads" situation that'll be forgotten once the story outlives it's usefulness.
I know I shouldn't write in anger, but the point I'm trying to make is that the media has never addressed the racism that comes daily from the left. We only hear about intolerance when a girls basketball team is insulted or a race huckster wants to make headlines. Racism is alive and well in America and it's publicly displayed, and unfortunately it's taken this long for someone in the mainstream media to take notice.
Note --- This is not personal against Monica. When she hosted a segment of The O'Reilly Factor I was on during the whole Professor Gates drama, she was very nice as we were both on the same page.