A Knee-Jerk Reaction

I am taking a reprieve from studying today because the topics I want to discuss are mounting a coup in my head. From today's topic, to the topic of the ignoramus bill signed into law today (how does a bill which will cost the taxpayers money while raising banking costs (including credit union banking) protect the consumer?), to the topic of a bill based on a fallacy (the "paycheck fairness act"), the mental pressure to speak out about these issues was getting to me. So this morning while working out at the gym, I wrote the framework for today's topic. This hopefully will minimize the time to write the topic while at the same time provide practice for law school exams. (Law school exams are essay exams. Each question is a scenario from which the exam taker is supposed to identify the issues, discuss the relevant rules, analyze the scenario based on those rules and then provide a conclusion. In a time period that even the professor could not answer the question fully!)

Earlier this week I saw an on-line story about Ms. Shirley Sherrod. The article was detailing the bias in the NAACP towards the Tea Party as lop-sided. A video posted on the website Big Government (the website responsible for the prostitute sting videos against ACORN) showed Ms. Sherrod discussing how she did not help a white farmer (Ms. Sherrod is black). Of course there was much outrage at this "racist" incident. The NAACP called for her resignation and on Monday, the USDA, which is where she worked, called her while she was driving and pressed her for her resignation. Obviously she must have felt this was a "resign or you're fired" type of phone call since they told her to pull over so they could discuss this with her. Thus she resigned.

I snickered when I read the story. I again snickered when I saw the video on FOXNEWS later that day. But something stood out. Something which made me wonder was this over reaction and another example of the misuse of the word "racist." What stood out was the words she used.

Ms. Sherrod was retelling a story in which a white farmer came to her at the Georgia Dept of Agriculture looking for help with his farm so he wouldn't lose his farm to bankruptcy. She says she felt the farmer was talking down to her, much like a superior white would do to a black. Now of course, this is her perception of how he was speaking. This in no way is to say he was speaking in that manner. But that is how she perceived the conversation, so we'll believe her one-side of the issue for now. The key words are then spoken. She, with a half-laugh, says she did not give him her full potential. Her words were "I did not give him the full force of what I could do."

In other words, she HELPED him. However, she did not give him her full effort. If she gave help, but that help was a minimum effort, even if the reason to do so was the color of his skin, is that racism? To give him the minimum effort means she must have given more of her effort to someone else. Unless of course, she always gives the minimum - but I doubt this. If she gave her full effort to struggling black farmers but only gave the minimum to struggling white farmers is this racism? No, it's called AFFIRMATIVE ACTION.

Is that not what affirmative action is all about? She was appearing to favor blacks over whites. This is not necessarily racism. If colleges are required to enroll a certain percentage of underrepresented groups to ensure those minority groups have access to the college, is that not the same thing as providing more assistance to black farmers than to white farmers? I think so. Remember, she did not say she did not help him. She only did not provide the full force of her effort.

Should she have been fired over this? Should she have resigned over this? Of course not. What she did was not egregious, even if she had done this action yesterday. For one, it is not racism. Even though the NAACP came out and said it was racism, it is not. Remember, racism is the believe one race is superior to another. If we allow the umbrella of racism to cast a shadow on prejudices, then words and feelings which are not racism are elevated to the rank of racism. This would mean saying something bigoted like "all blacks eat fried chicken" is on the same level as the KKK calling for the end of interracial marriages because they view white blood is being contaminated by black blood with the birth of interracial babies! This violates logic! This violates common sense! Yet this is what the racist Jackson and the NAACP are accomplishing. It is ridiculous.

Of course, the video was edited. To listen further, Ms. Sherrod states she realized that helping people was not about the color of their skin. Helping people was about assisting poor farmers against rich farmers. This was the purpose of her story. She realized she was wrong and changed. She gave that white farmer the full force of her efforts, and to this day, that farmer's family is gracious to her. I should also mention, in case you don't know, her story happened 24 years ago! That's right, even if what she did was racist, the events happened 24 years ago. This means she was asked to resign over something long ago in the past. Senator Byrd was hailed as a great statesman yet when speaking of his KKK ties, "oh, he was just trying to get elected." Senator Byrd was the head of the West Virginia KKK! We can forgive Senator Byrd but we can't forgive Ms. Sherrod? Ridiculous.

This is not the first sign of a reaction from the Obama Administration or its appointees based on half-the-story. Don't forget about the President and his "stupid Cambridge police" comment. Don't forget about the Administration's reaction to the Arizona immigration law based on news stories vice the actual reading of the law. A knee-jerk reaction does no one any good. A knee-jerk reaction actually makes the situation worse not better.

Shirley Sherrod was the victim of a knee-jerk reaction. Even though the NAACP has retracted their statements based on the new facts, the damage is done. Ms. Sherrod deserved better treatment. She wasn't even given the chance to defend herself prior to the resignation request.

The boy who cried wolf strikes again........

Mike

See the story here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38321920/ns/us_news-life?Gt1=43001