Racism!

My favorite topic to write about is racism. Why? Because it is so prevalent throughout most aspects of our society. The funny thing about racism is that it changes over time. You see, in the 1950s it was ok to be blatantly racist and, in fact, government supported. Now, racism is subtle. Now it is certain ideas with racist undertones. These undertones come from racist ideas that the USA supported long ago. It's actually pretty clever.

For example, Donovan McNabb gets benched in the final 2 minutes of the 4th quarter against the Lions in favor of Rex "Worst QB Ever" Grossman. The reasoning: "Rex knew the offense better and was in better shape." Why are black quarterbacks and black athletes in general considered dumb and lazy? That's essentially what Redskins coach Mike Shanahan is saying. Donovan McNabb is like a 6-time Pro Bowl QB (remember, here at Mmmm, opinions we don't like to do a ton of research, so he might have 5 or 7 Pro Bowls) and has been a professional athlete for over 10 years. Are you telling me he is too stupid to know an offense he has run for 10 years (Shanahan's offense is similar to Andy Reid's in Philadelphia)? And are you also telling me that he is too lazy to be on the field with 2 minutes left?

Don't get me wrong; Mike Shanahan is not a racist. Not consciously anyway. These racist ideas are a product of the society we live in. All of us have had racist ideas and have stereotypes about race. How awesome is it when you see a little white dude compete athletically with big, hulking black guys? The media loves it and you love it. And then assumptions start being made. For example: Peyton Hillis, a white dude. When you think Peyton Hillis, you think hard working, gets the most out of his abilities, team guy, has overcome lots of adversity. But how do you know that Peyton Hillis works hard and is this awesome dude? For all we know, he could've had a private running back coach since age 7 and be a complete asshole.

Also, people act as if white people aren't as athletic as black people, as if black people have some extra muscles or something, which was something believed "back in the day," or that white people have to outwork black people in order to make it in sports. Which should be easy to do because they're dumb and lazy. Why don't people talk about Arian Foster? It's ironic that the dude's name is "Arian" and he is black and this post is about racism. Foster is not only better than Hillis, but had to overcome way more adversity. Foster was undrafted, and he had to spend most of his first season on the practice squad, which meant he went to every practice and didn't have the luxury of going on IR if he had gotten hurt. If he had, he would have been cut. I recently heard a white analyst on ESPN say, "Peyton Hillis: America's running back." Why isn't Foster "America's running back"? He has overcome adversity and worked hard. Oh yeah, he's not white.

We've already talked about one black quarterback, but let's talk about some others. It is really strange to me when people say that there are no good black quarterbacks because they run too much and get hurt. This is untrue. Nobody seemed to have a problem when Steve Young ran the ball. Young ran for 4,239 yards in 169 games in his career. Donovan McNabb has run for 3,400 yards in 161 games. Yet there is always a problem when McNabb tucks the ball and run, or when Michael Vick does it, or Warren Moon or really anyone with lots of melanin in their skin.

Speaking of Vick, why doesn't he get the same protection as Manning or Brady when it comes to late hits or helmet-to-helmet hits? An analyst on Fox said that Vick doesn't get the same protection because he leaves the pocket and refs think of him as a runner. It's basically as if they are saying that if you don't play QB the way white people play, we aren't going to help you out.

Sports in general are racist, and this post only scratches the surface. Now I need to write about lighter topics. Maybe I'll break down another 1990s movie like Blank Check or First Kid (I love Sinbad). Anyway, racism isn't cool man.

Pat the Intern