Mike Freeman of the web site Bleacher Report wrote that the source of tensions in the Seahawks locker room might be “that some of the black players think Wilson isn’t black enough.” Not black enough? The comment set basketball great and uninhibited sports commentator Charles Barkley, who has often put his foot in his mouth, on an epic rant. He is spot on this time, echoing thoughts Bill Cosby has offered. On a Philadelphia radio show, Barkley spoke about the dirty little secret of how “when you’re black you have to deal with so much crap in your life from other black people.” When black kids succeed in school, he explained, “the loser kids tell them you’re acting white.” There are too many blacks who think that “it’s best to knock a successful black person down ’cause they’re intelligent, they speak well, they do well in school, and they’re successful.” He added: “We’re the only ethnic group that says, ‘Hey, if you go to jail, it gives you street cred.’?” Barkley is saying nothing that, in more politic language, President Obama hasn’t already said. The phenomenon of black kids accusing other black kids of “acting white” is often dismissed as a myth, but it is well-established. By the twisted logic of “acting white,” Russell Wilson’s family is a perpetual offender. His father was a football player, but also graduated from the University of Virginia’s law school. His grandfather was a university president who has spoken of the family’s insistence on education: “Most of us worked our way through college.” Wilson himself graduated from North Carolina State in three years. Of course, there’s nothing white or black about a family determined to lift itself up by dint of the hard work and education that always have been, and always will be, the necessary stepping stones to success in America. Russell Wilson had the perfect response to the controversy about his blackness or lack thereof: “Black enough? I don’t even know what that means. I’m just an educated, well-spoken male.” Just so. But the tough-love message never seems to make a dent against the conventional narrative of black victimhood. It is considered the logic of The Man. It cuts against the grain of the liberal orthodoxy that all that ails the black community is the lack of more government support. It is anathema to civil-rights leaders who have made grievance their stock in trade. And, of course, if a white person says it, it is denounced as racism. Kudos to Lowry and Barkley.
NFL Week Eight: Last Sunday the Colts looked like world beaters in shutting out a decent Bengals squad. This week the struggling Steelers torched them for 51 points! I guess the 16-game schedule is comparable to the 162 slate MLB season that produces such wonderful, bizarre aberrations... Suddenly the Lions have found the knack of stealing and not blowing games... It seems the Rex Ryan era is coming to an end in New York after the Jets wretched performance against the Bills. QB Geno Smith, who had shown improvement in the previous two games, took a huge step backward from which he may never recover - at least not in the Big Apple... The aforementioned Russell Wilson threw a last minute touchdown pass against Carolina, stopping the defending champs' slide... And Hail to the Redskins, who upset the Cowboys Monday night in Dallas, with third string QB Colt McCoy at the helm. Sadly, a former colleague at the Exchange, a huge 'Skins fan, didn't live to see it. Joe succumbed to cancer during the weekend. I'm sure he was smiling from his seat in heaven. He was a hard working man of positive, jovial energy, who put in long hours and was always ready to help others. RIP, my friend.
I'm not sure if I was asleep at the switch in previous episodes of Gotham, but last night I realized the forensics expert, Ed Nygma, is the young Riddler-to-be. Screen veteran Dan Hedaya made a guest appearance, exhibiting his usual gruff flair, as an ex-cop on retired disability. And Carol Kane returned as the Penguin's mom, sponging him down as he relaxed in a bath. Here is a pic of Robin Lord Taylor in the part he seems to have been born to play:
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