11/4/2002 letters

[December 4th, 2002] Having assumed WW has paid editors on staff, I was surprised to find, within David Walker's review of the book Ego Trip's Big Book of Racism [Bibliofiles, Nov. 27, 2002], statements as awesomely ignorant as "America was founded on the principles of racism and the practice of genocide" and America "will always be a bigot's paradise." Not satisfied with being uninformative and incorrect, Mr. Walker proceeds to bury the First Rule of Holes ("When you find yourself in one, stop digging") and moves quickly to insulting anyone who'd disagree with him: "You can deny it all you want, in which case you would be a hypocrite or a complete moron."

Umm, this is news with an edge? Seems kinda blunt to me. At first I wasn't sure whether to groan, yawn or actually respond to the aforementioned idiocies, but I had a minute.

Mr. Walker's inconsequential movie reviews are amusing enough, but given the chance to air his political underwear, the stink is unmaskable. For an insight into what America was founded on, I direct his attention to the Bill of Rights and something called the U.S. Constitution for starters, neither of which enshrines racism or genocide--regardless of if these things have happened in our country's history (and I do not deny that they have). I might also suggest he research World War II, wherein America did a great deal to interrupt a genocide in progress--but to do so would be to take these spurious assertions seriously, which they in no way deserve.

There are plenty of reasons to disagree with American political policies--I disagree with a great many myself--but I do not see a future in hurling such petulant crap at The Man.

I tried to imagine a paragraph with more smug righteousness in it, but it was too much of a distraction from examples of much more insidious racism in Iraq, for example, where I somehow doubt these complaints would have ever have found the forum they have here, where a black man can freely insult in print whomever he pleases. Given such a non-accomplishment, I can only hope WW helps Mr. Walker from topping himself in any forthcoming issues.

Aren't there any more movies of black prisoners punching each other in the face that he can tell us are among "the greatest cinematic achievements in the history of the world"? Cuz those rule!

Rob La Raus
Southeast 40th Avenue