Have you heard about Rachel Dolezal? She’s the head of the NAACP in Spokane, Wash., and she’s apparently in hot water for portraying herself as a black woman.
Jay GreesonDolezal’s parents are white. Photos of Dolezal when she was growing up show her to be clearly Caucasian.
Lying is never a good idea. That said, given our country’s racially divided history, the fact that white people are pretending to be black may be the single greatest statement for the advanced state of blacks in the U.S. today.
Still, the hubbub and fallout of this seem a little disingenuous.
If Dolezal were black but pretending to be white to get a job, all the flack would fall on said employer because in that scenario, a black person would not have been given a fair shake at employment.
Also, if Dolezal wanted to change another aspect of her genetic coding – say her sex – she would be in the running for a seven-figure deal with Vanity Fair and be in line for an ESPN Award for Courage.
This is not defending Dolezal as much as questioning the multiple-choice standards of morality.
If you want to change your racial identity, apparently you’re a liar like Dolezal; if you want to change your gender, you’re an alleged hero like Caitlyn Jenner.
Whatever.
National pastime
Almost as a rule, Barack Obama does very little hobnobbing, especially with members of Congress.
This week, he showed up at the congressional baseball game with a few cold beers hoping to sway some opinions within his own party on his surprisingly enlightened trade legislation.
Good for him.
In reality, buying folks a cocktail is a time-tested approach that can help build fences and alliances. It’s called doing business.
Same thing applies in Washington.
Powerful selfies
Four Western tourists were ordered out of Malaysia this week after pleading guilty to obscenity charges.
You see the four folks – two from Europe, two more from Canada – took some nude photos on a mountain viewed as sacred to some of the tribal groups on Borneo.
The nudists challenged each other to see who could withstand the chilly air.
They were arrested and handcuffed – which may be more obscene in some people’s eyes – and served three days in the pokey before being deported.
In fact, Mount Kinabulu is held in such high regard by the folks there, the red-cheeked tourists are even being blamed for a 6.0 earthquake in the region recently.
Take that, global warming; now nudity is causing natural disasters.
Stinky situation
Earlier this week, there were a couple of headlines in this fine newspaper that merit further exploration.
One was about the police department looking to boost minority hiring. To that I say great.
Now, when the headline eventually reads, “Police department looking to boost hiring of exceptionally qualified applicants,” I’ll say even better.
Secondly, there was a headline about “intimidation by feces” in the Business section.
Yes, that’s some scary stuff for sure, potentially even some voodoo on some doo-doo.
Pop quiz time: Intimidation by feces would be
A) An excellent name for a punk rock band;
B) The area’s newest top-ranked nickname for a fantasy football team;
C) A situation that could only happen in a case in which mobile homes are involved;
D) All of the above.
Of course D is the answer. But you have to wonder when the cops are called to a situation in which there is an intimidation by feces, what’s the best course of action?
Man, talk about doing your duty.
Read Jay Greeson’s online column the “5-at-10” Monday through Friday at timesfreepress.com after 10 a.m. Contact him at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com and follow him on Twitter at @jgreesontfp.