Bill, Bill, Bill....

No one publicly said anything yesterday that really annoyed me, so I'm looking for a hook.

Oh, Bill Bennett, you put your foot in your mouth, but you do that a lot.  And you were saying it  (forced abortion of African Americans) would be a really bad idea, so it's not like you were approving of it.  In fact, you seemed to think that you were acknowledging that it was a really stupid idea, almost as stupid as what your caller was saying.    In the end, I was more amused than annoyed by your hoof-in-mouth disease, because it was so evident that you didn't get it.  You're defending it, for heaven's sake.  I'm not sure this one is due a full-scale harangue, but I'll say a few things.

Bill, you can not propose forced abortion on any racial group, even as an intellectual argument in a discussion of Roe v. Wade or Social Security.  It's per se offensive, whether or not you mean it.  It amounts to proposing genocide.  And, given history of race relations in this country, an old white guy certainly can't hypothetically propose the genocide of African Americans.  Come on, Bill.  That one's a no-brainer, isn't it?

Oh, and add that you linked African Americans to crime.  Yes, Bill, there are African Americans who commit crimes.  There are also people of other ethnic and cultural groups who commit crimes, too.  Why not suggest another?  Perhaps all rich, white people, because that's the group that commits most stock and corporate crime?  No, I'm not going to suggest any others for you, because I'm going to be smart enough to keep my own two feet on the ground.  I don't feel like tasting dirty shoe-leather today.

But Bill, you hit two points about which African Americans are sensitive:  racial genocide and linkage to crime. 

Look, Bill, I'm not a defender of politically correct speech.  It's impossible to exist without offending people.  Someone always dislikes something said, especially statements by those of us who are vocal.  It comes with the territory.  For example, Martha Stewart's going to beat me into a perfectly crinkled lump over my white collar prejudice a paragraph or so back. 

We can, however, try to avoid unnecessarily offensive speech. 

Bill, have your talk-show producer write a new rule for you:  "Never propose genocide in a hypothetical, even if you are going to follow up by saying it's a bad idea."

Now, everyone else, enough said.  There are plenty of intentionally dumb things being said in the world.  Let's keep pointing those statements out.

Copyright © 2005 by Gregory P. Lee.  Other material by Mr. Lee, Including Dear Lilburn:  A Straight White Man Harangues Against Creed-Based Bigotry can be found at http://books.lulu.com/content/88961.