On the heels of the Trayvon Martin deliberations and subsequent verdict, many Americans have insisted that the case involving the death of this young black teenager at the hands of George Zimmerman had nothing to do with race. That racism doesn't play in the courtrooms of America.
Really?
Enter the MLB All-Star game -- something of a baseball ritual and spectacle, designed to provide entertainment from the elite in the world of baseball, many of whom are not American-born any more. In fact, the most distinguished player to be honored this past week, Mariano Rivera, is an immigrant from Panama.
Rightly so, he was honored to enter the field on his own and warm up without a team behind him; the spotlight solely on Rivera as it has been so many times, this time it wasn't about the pressure of closing a game out but instead about honoring perhaps the greatest closer to ever play baseball period.
Americans stood and applauded him. Both teams stood and applauded him. His theme song, ENTER, SANDMAN played on the loudspeakers, and for his final nod to baseball faithful, Mariano Rivera was given an honor he deserved, as an immigrant.
Then came the singing of GOD BLESS AMERICA, and the 1950's America reared its ugly head in the kind of ignorant way that makes anyone with a moral core want to hide their face in shame. This was some of the kind of response found on the Twittersphere after American-born Marc Anthony sang the patriotic tune.
http://publicshaming.tumblr.com/post/55715208108/baseball-fans-super-angry-hispanic-american-superstar (copy the link and then close your eyes).
So Americans will honor a Panamanian as long as he stays a Panamanian? But Marc Anthony, because he has Puerto Rican roots and doesn't look white, is not an American?
This blog I linked displays White America at its finest, showing once again that their fear and understanding of what it means to be an American is about as clear to them as it seems to be in many courtrooms of this country.
Sadly, color doesn't go away in courtroom, any more than it goes away at a baseball game.
Yeah, when I read those tweets about Marc Anthony singing, I just had to remind myself of one of my favorite quotes: "People are stupid...(and I'm a people too)." But it IS still utterly amazing HOW stupid some people are, and I've learned to find it more entertaining than infuriating when such people let us know their astronomical levels of such.
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