Fellow black Republican perpetuates stereotypes of blacks
I received the following Facebook posting from Eddie Adams of Tampa earlier this morning:
"Eddie Adams Jr
New meaning for Black on Black Crime!
Herman Cain Beating Barack Hussein Obama II in 2012!!!"
For those of you who don't know him, Eddie is black. He's also a perennial candidate for Congress, having run against Kathy Castor several times. He's lost those races every time by overwhelming margins. Still, what Eddie lacks in a vision and a campaign people are buying into, he makes up for in dogged (some say stubborn) determination to run again.
After reading Mr. Adams' comment, I posted the following response on Facebook:
"Chris Ingram
Eddie, I would think that you of all people would reject the type of race-baiting comparisons in the political discourse. I for one prefer to look at people and candidates based on their merit not the color of their skin, preferring to believe we are not a nation of groups, but a nation of individuals. This type of comment serves nothing but to advance the divisive nature of these discussions and they only serve to benefit the left. Herman Cain is a man of integrity and accomplishment. That he is black is of no interest to me."
What bothers me most about Eddie's comments are that he is black, yet he doesn't get that he is feeding into the characterizations and stereotypes of black people that they need to overcome - among them, that the black community is all about crime.
I could go on ad-nauseam about this, but I don't think it is necessary. I think most people with grey matter between their ears get it. We can't become a nation that is color blind if we continue to focus on stereotypes within the black community - or any other racial or ethnic majority for that matter.
So I close by saying, shame on you Mr. Adams. Herman Cain and the entire black community deserve better than your pathetic nonsense.
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Chris Ingram is the president and founder of 411 Communications a corporate and political communications firm, and publisher of Irreverent View. Ingram is a frequent pundit on Fox News and CNN, and has written opinion columns for the Washington Times, UPI, and National Review online and the Tampa Tribune. He is the Republican political analyst for Bay News 9, the only 24 hour all news channel in Florida's largest media market. The opinions expressed here are those of author and do not represent the views of Bay News 9. E-mail him at: Chris@IrreverentView.com.