The double standard

Ballentine's Racist Attack on Juan Williams
Posted by Tom Bevan

How's this for irony: a black radio talk show host goes on national television to argue that Rush Limbaugh is a racist and ends up using a racial slur to attack a fellow African-American for having the temerity to defend Limbaugh.
It sounds ridiculous, I know. But here's the clip of Warren Ballentine debating Juan Williams on the O'Reilly Factor last night saying that "real black people" are offended by Limbaugh - quite clearly implying that Williams is not authentically black for having a different point of view.
A moment later it gets worse, as Ballentine ends the segment with Williams by saying "it's OK, you can go back to the porch, Juan."
Lest anyone misunderstand, it seems indisputable Ballentine was referring to a derogatory and racist term with the implication being that Williams is an Uncle Tom and a sell out to his race. Ballentine was losing the argument to Williams so he went for an ad hominem racial slur as a parting shot.
It goes without saying that if a white person - whether liberal or conservative - had said the same thing it would have ended his or her career. Indeed, a couple of years ago a white talk show host in Missouri who had an unfortunate slip of the tongue while praising Condoleezza Rice - ironically enough about possibly becoming the Commissioner of the NFL. He apologized immediately and profusely on air, but was nonetheless fired that day.
But the same standard doesn't apply to blacks, especially liberal ones. Thus Harry Belafonte can get away with calling Colin Powell a "house slave" and Clarence Thomas can be portrayed as a "lawn jockey" on the cover of a prominent black magazine and no one bats an eye.
That's the way it continues to work in America - even under the nation's first black President who many hoped would help usher in an era of "post-racial" dialogue and understanding. Apparently Warren Ballentine didn't get the memo.
Not to worry. Ballentine won't lose his job. To my knowledge, he hasn't even been criticized for his racist jab. Heck, he probably won't even apologize to Juan Williams - though he certainly should if he has an ounce of decency in him.