I stand firmly in support of Tiger Woods. He is a young man who put golf on the map.
Golf was something of little interest to the majority of people in the world until a young, dark-skinned boy named Tiger Woods started playing. He broke – not just broke – but destroyed the color barrier in golf. Prior to them not being able to deny him to play, this racist, elitist sport was all white. In the golf majors, any people of color worked in the club house restaurant, as caddies, as maintenance people, anything but as professional golfers. We were NOT allowed to play regardless of the skill level.
As with ALL American sports and other fields, here comes a Black man possessing undeniable skill, talent, finese, ability, agility that is superior to the others who would not let him play. They are jealous and cannot allow themselves to respect talent in a person because of the color of their skin.
Fritz Pollard, Bobby Marshall, Woody Strode, Kenny Washington, Chuck Cooper, Moses Fleetwood Walker, Henry Moore, Burt Levey … these are the names of just a few of the firsts to cross the color line barrier in our racist American society in sports and as American fighter pilots. There have been many other firsts who paved the way for all of us – Black and white. For Blacks to be able to be accepted in different fields with their white counterparts and for whites to be open to humanity.
I don’t care about Tiger’s personal life and neither should we. Would we people who have not accomplished anything of note want our personal business plastered all over the internet for weeks? Would we want to be subject to such idiocracy and scrutiny? Have news people stationed just off our lawns 24-hours a day reporting every cough, every fart just so a bunch of idiots who haven’t done anything in their lives except sleep walk through it make comments about our lives?
There is a major, major difference in how white people are treated in America versus people of color - especially African Americans. Why should Plaxico Burress, who accidentally shot himself go to jail for two years? What kind of bullshit is that?
Terrell Owens is probably one of the greatest football players who has ever lived and yet he is constantly criticized and penalized for nothing. And, Michael Vick? stripped of every dime, thrown in jail, and put on a mediocre team while some quaterback who couldn’t in his wildest dreams even tie Michael’s shoes is allowed to play in front of him and instead of him? Then they finally put Michael Vick in the game because the other quarterback is failing miserably and what does he do? He does what he is – a superior gifted all-around athelete who not only throws complete passes, but also runs for touchdowns – unlike other white quarterbacks who are afraid of getting hurt and don’t have nearly the skill of this one Black man who has been so heavily assaulted and brutalized be a racist media.
Am I angry? Hell yes!
Famous white people have gotten away with child molestation, incest, robbery, armed robbery, selling drugs, doing drugs and yes, even murdering their wives and other people. They are protected by a racist media which is biased against Black people.
They are still trying to invalidate President Obama’s presidency. They’re still looking for the infamous birth certificate to prove he wasn’t born an American citizen. Racist representative Joe Wilson yells at our American President “You lie!” in front of Congress. Had he been an African American representative yelling at governor bush (after he stole the election and descended our country into hell), that representative would have been given jail time. No lie. There is a rampant inequality in how American treats its African American citizens.
And speaking of governor bush, the former acting president, he is guilty of crimes against humanity and should never see the outside of a prison. But, he is allowed to live out his life in luxury and with freedom – the things denied so many Americans, especially our children who are in another country killing other poor people for the sake of corporations.
Stanley “Tookie” Williams, a man who spent years on death row, who was nominated TWICE for a nobel peace prize was put to death by Arnold Schwarzenager – a man who was not born in America, yet governs California. Guarateed if Tookie was a white prisoner who had garnered the same accolades and obtained the same notariety, Arnold would have not put him to death.
The majority of people on death row in America are African American men. The majority of people in prison total in America are African Americans. Many of them falsely imprisoned and certainly the penalties imposed are not equal to your white counterparts.
There are endless examples of the inequality people of color face. The arrogance, the audacity, the bold and brash refusal to treat us as equal human beings. It will just never be.
So. to young Tiger Woods, I say stand strong. They will always hate you because of your strength, power, your gifts and because you destroyed a barrier that they held us back from for far too long. When you came along, they knew that they could no longer deny us. These racist people have set out to destroy you. Don’t let them. I stand with you. I don’t care about the mistakes you may have made in your own personal life regarding your marriage. Don’t let those who stand in fear of a Black man win. You are magnifient and I support you. Play golf.
And for those of you who feed into the drama and pay attention to this racist nonsense, get a life! Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
Play golf Tiger. Dammit! FORE!!!!
