White guy runs for 184 yards in NFL!

I'm just sayin'...

Dude's name is Peyton Hillis with the Cleveland Browns, in his third year out of Arkansas. Rushed for 184 in 29 carries today to help upset the Patriots. This may seem like a strange post for an anti-racist, but as long as race IS such a significant factor in our society, I say you might as well talk about it. It's also way cool when black athletes excel at speed skating (Shani Davis, e.g.), swimming (Cullen Jones,e.g.) etc., as well as when whites do well at sports like sprinting (Jeremy Wariner, e.g.).

Why is it "cool" and why would I draw attention to it? Because these athletes that go against the grain of racial expectations have to be twice as good to overcome the stereotype-driven expectations of coaches and others in positions of influence. The fact is, most of the biological explanations for racial dominance of particular sports is just plain bogus. Race ain't a biological category. And the biological explanations make a mockery of the dedication and effort, hard work and intense workouts, intelligence and quick thinking of the many black athletes that excel in basketball, football, track, etc. As if it came easy and "natural" for them.

By the way, Hillis looks like a good bet, if he avoids injury, to become the first white to gain 1,000 yards in the NFL since Craig James in 1985, 25 years ago. He's got 644 after 8 games, the halfway point in the regular season. But you won't see much about it in the mainstream press, because we are "color blind" nowadays. Yeah, right.

That's all.

Dubya on Kanye

Funny, but somehow George W. Bush's preoccupation, all these years later, with the "disgusting" comments of Kanye West during the Hurricane Katrina telethon only serve to make me wonder if there isn't maybe some substance to Kanye's accusations. So what keeps Dubya awake at night is not thinking about how he could have saved hundreds of lives (most of them black) with a more competent and compassionate, swifter response to the disaster. No, what keeps him tossin' and turnin' is the insinuations of one black man on live TV. Quite a revealing look into Dubya's soul.

Bush apparently calls West's words, according to his up-coming memoir, "an all-time low" of his presidency. His interviewer yesterday, Matt Lauer, "asked Bush if he was concerned that some might be upset that he has placed so much emphasis on being angry about someone criticizing his responsiveness to the hurricane victims as opposed to being saddened by the impact of 'watching the misery in Louisiana.' (this according to Billy Johnson, Jr.--see http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/hiphopmediatraining/302226/george-bush-doesnt-care-about-kanye-west/

But Bush dismissed the idea, unable to get past the audacity of anyone who would question his racial views. Sad. So sad.