First of all,
I'm a white male,
in my mid fifties.
I just married a black woman
who's in her early forties.
I'm a very smart and sensible man,
myself,
but come with me below the fold,
and I'll tell you a little story,
and a few observations,
to support the claim in the title of this piece.
My wife and I went to the doctor's office,
yesterday;
the immediate care clinic,
because we both had the same painful symptoms.
(Not giving you the symptoms or diagnosis;
use your imagination.)
We wanted one doctor to examine us both,
in tandem,
in the same room,
so he could see clearly
that we had the same ailment,
so he could prescribe the same treatment,
for both,
at the same time,
so we would not spread it back and forth.
The rules of the clinic
did not allow that.
We were examined by separate doctors,
in separate rooms.
My wife,
Tonia,
who is a black woman,
was examined by a black doctor.
I was examined by a white doctor.
First of all,
the black doctor was more familiar with the ailment,
and diagnosed it quickly,
and with great certainty.
My doctor gave me the same diagnosis,
but with less certainty;
in fact,
my doctor quickly stepped over to the other room,
and asked the black doctor
for a second opinion;
he was quickly assured
that he was correct.
My doctor told me,
there's two treatments;
a cream and a pill.
He prescribed the cream
for me.
Tonia's doctor,
the black doctor,
the doctor who knew more about the ailment,
he prescribed both for Tonia,
the cream and the pill,
just to make sure.
Tonia came into my room,
and we mentioned that to my doctor,
and he called that,
"overkill."
Overkill.
No mention was made of side effects,
or any reason to use the cream only.
Let's back up,
and talk about what makes some folks think
that black folks are just plain ignorant.
To answer that,
let's define ignorance:
Without going to a dictionary,
it seems to me that ignorance
is simply the state of not having
certain information
in one's brain.
Well,
no one has all information
in his or her brain.
So,
what information
do we feel
that is missing
from the brains
of most black folks?
Maybe it's just a random mix
of bits and pieces
of information
that most white folks
learned in early childhood,
while most black or Latino folks
simply didn't get
the white folks' memos.
Tonia and I agree
that this ignorance
is real,
and it's a problem found
in certain neighborhoods.
It's found in certain black neighborhoods,
certain Latino neighborhoods,
and in Jeff Foxworthy's redneck white neighborhoods.
Examples:
I grew up fixing toilets;
they seem very simple to me,
it comes easy to me.
Tonia has a PhD,
(in nursing)
and she once told me not to ask
what was wrong with the toilets
at her brother's house,
because she did not know.
It could only be one of two or three things,
but it's over her head?
Another example,
Tonia was not aware of the many
scholarships,
grants,
and loans
that a person can get
to pay for college.
She was in college before she learned about such things.
In most white middle class families,
If I understand correctly,
kids start young
choosing which way to pay for college,
with an assumption
that if you really want to go,
there is always a way;
it's just a given
in certain families.
But when it comes to common sense,
the kind of common sense
that relates to personal health and safety,
the white people's tendency,
especially the white male's tendency,
the tendency to strike out in a bold manner,
with the white male's self-confidence,
the full serving of white privilege,
that attitude is just plain stupid.
Example:
Every year,
in this country,
people are struck by lightening.
Here is a link:
http://www.lightningsafety.com/...
2. Gender of victims = 84% male; 16% female.
I could not find any source
that broke down lightning strike victims by race,
but this point about the gender of the victims
gives me a clue.
Tonia is both black and female,
and she often tells the story
of a tornado,
a big tornado,
bearing down,
and the hailstones were huge,
and she was at McConnell Air Force Base,
working as a civilian office worker,
alongside regular military men.
She was by far the fastest one
to get into the tornado shelter.
The men all hesitated,
looking at the storm.
She pushed them aside,
and was the first into the shelter.
I hope you can see,
from these examples,
that too many white folks
seek adventure,
with wild animals,
bungee jumping,
sky diving,
face the wilderness,
and so on.
I see the confidence
of white males,
feeling that white privilege,
feeling on top of the world;
I feel it myself.
I'm a mature white male,
so,
when people see me,
(people who don't know me),
they assume I'm on top of things,
I know what I'm doing,
I have things under control.
I need that feeling,
because I'm actually very weak,
like the fictional Monk on the TV show.
My point,
the point of this article,
is that many white folks,
especially white males,
may do things like my doctor did,
only do just enough to treat an ailment,
only do just enough to stay safe.
Black folks,
according to anecdotal evidence,
and according to my street wise Tonia,
black Americans
are more cautious,
more careful,
do more to stay safe and healthy,
than white folks do.
I call that being more sensible.
So,
when looking for a doctor,
you might consider a black doctor,
and when looking for advice
about your personal health and safety,
you might ask a black person.
And,
when we look for folks we want to run for public office,
folks we want to vote for,
when we look for advice on public policy,
when we look to friends for advice on who to vote for,
we should all consider,
when choosing between a black person and a white person,
who is the more sensible?
(Not counting black Republicans.)
Think about it.
Thanks for reading.