THE RACE CARD, OR CANARD :

Put Away the Rope in the Iverson Case (Gar Anthony Haywood, July 18 2002, LA Times)

A lot of us are sickened by the zeal with which Iverson and the like (yes, even O.J. was an example) are nailed to the cross. No matter how guilty of a crime the accused might turn out to be, a lynching is still a lynching.

Criticizing a man in the open court of public opinion is one thing, but virtually hanging him in the town square without a trial is quite another.

Generations of unenviable experiences have taught us African Americans how to recognize the difference.

When talk-show hosts and media commentators take to the task of attacking a black individual accused of a crime--even something as alarming as that which Iverson may indeed have committed--with a vitriol that should be reserved for white-collar sociopaths like Enron's Kenneth Lay and WorldCom's Bernard J. Ebbers, whose misdeeds affect the lives and futures of millions, no one should be surprised when black people either rush to the defense of the accused or refuse to add their voices to that of the mob calling for his head. [...]

Iverson's defenders aren't really debating his qualifications as a thug as much as they are asking his eager-beaver, would-be executioners a simple question: Aren't there bigger monsters in the world more deserving of such unbridled passion?

Of course, here are a few big differences. White people have jumped on these crooked executives with both feet. Pick up a paper and you'll see them being lynched in the public square from page 1-A to page D-52. Here's another, those executives were summoned to appear before our lilly-white Congress where they were asked to testify about matters for which they may well be criminally liable. Oh yeah, and these white executives will be tied up in court for years where they'll face criminal charges brought by white prosecutors and where their predominantly white stockholders will sue them civilly. In short, exactly the same mob is calling for their heads as is calling for Mr. Iverson's head. It's not about race; it's about wrongdoing.
Posted by Orrin Judd at July 24, 2002 10:42 AM