A Nash'nul Conversashun 'Bout Race? O-Tay
"So I guess you think that if we tried to have a national conversation about race, loud-mouth extremists like Buchanan and Wright would drown out everyone else," observed Buckwheat. "You think that such a conversation wouldn't bring us closer together, but drive us further apart."
"My point exactly," said Kingfish, settling back in his chair and folding his hands.
"So if we can't talk about race without making things worse, what should we do?" asked Buckwheat in a resigned tone.
"What I do when my wife Sapphire goes on the warpath," said the Kingfish sagaciously. "Agree to disagree, and move on to a more productive topic. I don't often find myself siding with conservative commentators like William Kristol, but he had a point when he wrote, in response to Brother Barack's speech, that instead of a heated debate about race, we should engage in 'sober, results-oriented debates about economics, social mobility, education, family policy and the like — focused especially on how to help those who are struggling.' We need to talk about real issues instead of getting side-tracked by diversions. If we still need to talk about race after we figure out how to solve those problems, we should do it in an atmosphere far less contentious than the one surrounding this presidential election."
Just then Charlie Chan, Tonto and the Frito Bandito walked in, wearing college sweatshirts and carrying a tray loaded with guacamole and chips.
"Who's winning?" asked Tonto.
"I think the Kingfish is getting the better of it," I replied.
"Man, I'm not talking about whatever you all are debating," said Tonto, gesturing toward the TV. "I'm talking about the basketball game. Can't you stop fussing about race 'til half time?"
Jack White, a former columnist at TIME, teaches at Virginia Commonwealth University.
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