By Walter L. Hilliard III –
So why doesn’t former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick have a job? Let’s just go right to the heart of the truth, the heart of racism: he doesn’t have a job because he dared to point out America’s darker side, anti-Black racism, particularly the worst kind, police brutality/murder. And so the behavior of NFL owners and mainstream American Haters, whether it’s Kaepernick or any other Black person who dares raise the issue of racism, is predictable: they are always “projecting,” a psychological concept, their very own racist, guilty feelings (that Blacks are troublemakers and lie, cheat, steal, etc. — everything they’ve done to gain and maintain power) ONTO Kaepernick.
If you bump your knee on a chair, the pain occurs because of the nerves in your knee (or the negative emotions, stereotypes or beliefs one may hold inside about Black people), not the chair, or the Black people, you’re blaming for being in your way. And, no, mainstream America, minorities are not stealing your jobs or anything else – the rich, the Power Elite, are, and they continue to ship them overseas. Yes, you know the White guys that run Wall Street and their millionaire and billionaire owner bosses, the oligarchs, right?
If you really want to be honest, thinking critically, how can most Americans, mainstream White Americans, not be racist (Biased? Prejudiced? Same difference) – whether conscious of it or not – if they, too, are all born, bread and raised in a system built on White supremacy and/or racism, be it the media, education system, workplace, etc., for the last 400 years? And how many times in school, the workplace or just watching a TV show have Black people, the victims of racism, been blamed for calling out someone or bringing up the issue of race? A lot. In the case of Kaepernick, other socially conscious Black Americans identify with him and feel like White America (and not all Whites disagree with Kaepernick) is basically saying: “How dare Kaepernick take a knee and stain the beloved sports and flag we hide our racism behind and bring attention to the ‘reality’ of police brutality? Who in the hell does this ‘boy’ think he is?” So only someone drunk with power, arrogance, and no respect for Black life would criticize Kaepernick.
And let’s be clear that racism affects us all, but Black Americans can’t be racist because racism is about power and White America has the social, legal, economic, etc., power to carry out its prejudice (to pre-judge). Sure, Black people can be prejudiced, but not racist. For example, if a Black person has a legal dispute with a White person, chances are he’s going to be dealing with a predominantly White police force, White attorneys, White Judge, and so on, who doesn’t identify with him or her. This is oppression from every angle.
But I digress, kinda . . . . !
So one morning I stumble into the kitchen to get my second cup of coffee, while peeking in on sports talk show Mike & Mike, who happened to be paying homage to Hugh Heffner right after his death. Show hosts Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic pondered the question of whether or not Heffner had lived a full life? Golic asked who Hefner’s first cover model was? All the while I’m thinking of how R. Kelly was being trashed in the media regarding his supposedly kidnapping and brainwashing several young women. But, you see, ol’ Heff is honored as an American icon for doing the same thing R. Kelly is doing, shacking up with young women. In fact, Heff’s girls, those like Kendra Wilkinson Baskett, even received spin-off shows and built their careers based on so called sexism or exploitation. Why wasn’t Heff considered a dirty old man?
IF THIS AIN’T AN EXAMPLE OF PROJEC-TION 1.0 TO THE MAX, THEN I DON’T KNOW WHAT IS?
So let’s consider the concept of PROJECTION in more detail, but first define the term as I see it: When someone, Heffner or White people, in general, behaves in a certain way – or has the desire to – that may be looked upon in an unfavorable light, they may associate this behavior with other individuals or groups, while not acknowledging their own behavior or ambitions. Thus, the mainstream media bashes R. Kelly, or Black people, in general, for practicing behaviors they practice or desire to on a much larger scale. So Heffner shacking up with young girls is clean, normal and the “White Thing” to do, but R. Kelly shacking up with young girls or women is dirty and outrageous – the “Black Thang” to do . . . ? It’s plain hypocrisy and based on stereotypes.
White America has to face it’s deviant sexual appetite – remember, they are the culture that brought us homosexuality from slavery on through to the contemporary gay rights movement. It was White America that decided it was a good idea to discuss “Johnny has a boyfriend” to little kids, on through to Hollyweird’s daily proliferation of sex, sex, sex.
In another example, Louisville Head Basketball Coach Rick Pintino, who does share some blame, gets trashed in the media for his assistant coaches (all Black, yeah, what else is new?) allegedly passing on money to recruits or their families.
But what also really got under my skin was when I watched one sports news report airing a telephone interview with Dick Vitale, the college basketball hoopla mascot, who went into a rage, calling the situation with Pitino and Louisville sleazy and a black eye on their beloved college basketball sport; however, Vitale forgot, I suppose, to rage on about the causes of these transgressions: the NCAA, as well as thousands of colleges, businesses, coaches, administrators, and so on, benefiting from the exploitation of mostly poor Black kids, many of whom can barely feed themselves outside of the school cafeteria. So the NCAA, its head coaches and the rest of the clan exploit the Black players, take the “real” money, the big bucks, then investigate and charge three “assistant” Black coaches for getting caught doing what they do on a monolithic scale, in full view.
And not to be outdone in regards to American institutions exploiting those who are vulnerable, the FBI used an Asian agent, serving as a frontman to deflect any appearance of racism or racial profiling, to hold several well-televised press conferences, discussing what the coaches were charged with: conspiracy to commit bribery and solicitation of bribes and gratuities. Yes, when there’s Black people to charge, criminal justice goes all out. The same thing happens with low level Black drug dealers and gun runners who are paraded across the television screen, but the White men way up the chain who control the drug trade or manufacture and sell the guns are rarely publicized. And, oh, let’s not forget the CIA, the most dangerous drug dealer ever, starting the Crack Epidemic that annihilated the lives of thousands upon thousands of young Black men and women? The reality is that most drug-dealing, drug-use and abuse occurs in the suburbs where prescription drugs have caused an epidemic.
Now that’s P-R-O-J-E-C-T-I-O-N! To the Tenth Power.
