I figured that since this is a golf site, and most everything on it relates to golf, I should probably talk about…you guessed it…golf.  I mean, isn’t that why you came to this site in the first place?  It’s only fitting that I finally get around to talking about one of the oldest sports known to mankind.

Actually, golf is a side bit to the real issue, but since it was during a golf telecast…what the hell.  By now, anybody who knows anything about the PGA has heard the remarks by Golf Channel commentator Kelly Tilghman regarding a lynching and Tiger Woods.  Many have already weighed in on the subject including Kansas City Star columnist Jason Whitlock who also writes for FOXSports.com (shameless plug).  One thing that I agree with that Mr. Whitlock stated in his MSN.com post (another shameless plug.  These mopes should pay me for this) are his remarks about the Rev. Al Sharpton (yes, that Rev. Al Sharpton) being wrong most of the time.  Aside from that he misses the mark.  Jason Whitlock contradicts himself by saying that he doesn’t feel that Ms. Tilghman should be fired, but then he turns around and states that she is unqualified for the job.  Hey Jason!  Stick to one side of the road.  It’s okay to have your opinion on the matter even if plenty don’t agree with it.  But to have an opinion and then make statements that show your real feelings is just as “incredibly stupid and perhaps unqualified”, and you call yourself a journalist.

Here is the part where I feel that I must justify myself…once again….which hasn’t been the first time and I know won’t be the last.  It’s sad that in this day and age we vilify somebody for saying something that almost everybody feels is racially insensitive.  I was uncomfortable at all the attention the Super Bowl got last year because it was the first time 2 African-American head coaches brought their teams, which caused the inevitable first ever African-American head coach to win the Super Bowl (and here’s the part where I dodge the missles shot at me).  The point that I’m trying to get to is that we should be more appalled that this “professional” has suggested doing bodily harm to another person, even if it was a joke.  We should have celebrated a great Super Bowl where the teams were lead by two great human beings.  Race should not be a factor in what we say or do.  Unfortunately we do not live in a world that I imagine.

The color of somebody’s skin should not be the reason for outrage.  Hurtful actions and words toward a fellow human being should be what bothers us most.  I’m not blind to what other races have had to deal with throughout history, and that they continue to meet the same obstacles.  I can’t even imagine the pain so many have had to deal with their entire lives…but I do speak from ignorance….which is true on most subjects.  The world that I envision, and try to live each and every day in, is that there is only one race…the human race.  Once we can get to that level the hate will cease.  So much death and destruction will come to an end.  Fantasy?  Unrealistic expectations?  Maybe.  But in my small corner of the world I attempt to practice what I preach….and I come from a background that isn’t quite so diverse.  So you see, I’ve had to overcome a lot as well.  I don’t pretend to think that my upbringing was anywhere close to what so many others have had to deal with, but it’s taken a long road for me to become the person that I am now.

So, when I hear about an uproar over racist comments I wonder what the motivation really is.  For Rev. Sharpton, that’s easy to see.  What a narcissist.  That man just isn’t happy unless his mug is plastered all over the place.  For a man of God he sure does love himself.  Jason Whitlock, go on writing your little blogs about the injustices of the world even though you have shown that you are not qualified.  Ms. Tilghman, please keep to the topic when you return from your little vaction.  Yes, I know this was supposed to be about golf, but if you think about it, it really was.  Golf, particularly Tiger Woods, has brought out the ignorance of many and has shown us how far we really have to go.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 13th, 2008 at 12:18 pm and is filed under Golf. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.