Frustration

Percy Harvin. I spent this man's entire college career rooting against him. Mainly because he happened to play on the same team as Tim Tebow. But I won't turn this into a bash Tebow post, as it could easily become. I'll just say that I don't like him and leave it at that. However, rooting for Harvin will take some adjustment. I'm very excited for our upcoming Seahawks season this fall even so. There are a bevy of new players (pending draft picks as well) to welcome to the team, as well as all our favorite Hawks. It's a very exciting time in Seattle Sports, especially with our Sonics coming back soon. Our former Sonics, in OKC, had an empty stadium at the end of a nine point loss to Denver. Best fans in the NBA? They should stay the whole game when they have a title contender. They don't even have the excuse of a bad team to be leaving early. How much traffic is there in Oklahoma City anyway? Anyway, I think that I'm going to actually say what I think today. Slowly but surely, BYU is starting to integrate its sports teams. What I mean by that is that the proportion of black athletes on the sports teams, particularly the football team, is considerably greater than the corresponding proportion of students on campus (.5%ish). This is a huge thing for BYU Alumni of color. I argued earlier this year that Jabari Parker would not have found BYU an agreeable place to go to school. Black athletes, even LDS ones, have found a rough go of it. The administration itself seems to have some kind of vendetta, but that's neither here nor there. We are seeing more faces of color in the skill positions and on the basketball court, and despite what some of the BYU old timers believe, that's a good thing. Young black students are more likely to enroll if they see faces like theirs in places other than the independent study website. This brings me to my second point. Why does it seem that when black men or women share information about white racism still existing, a white man has to come in and vehemently deny that it's him. I know it's not you, if it was you, we wouldn't be friends. What you are doing, however, is perpetuating a culture in which black men and women must have their views endorsed by white voices. You think that you are doing us a service by pointing out the fact that racism as a belief paradigm is in the minority, but the way you are treating us is racism in action. Our opinions are no less valid than yours because we have darker skin than you, and yes, it takes generations for us to "get over" the types of abuses that were systematically and ubiquitously forced upon our people. So, forgive us if we let ourselves get emotional over such things. I know that you, young white man, do not feel that you are better than anyone because of the color of your skin, but you reserve the right to treat those who think, look, and believe differently than you with disrespect if they don't show you the proper deference. Our views and opinions should be able to stand on their own without your validation. If you are not one of the racist voices, why does it bother you when we point them out? DL