B-B-BUT…I HAVE BLACK FRIENDS!

Is it just me?  But don’t you just love how a casual, nonthreatening, non- “say one more muthafuckin’ word”, 50% friendly, 50% get the fuxx outta here with the bullshit conversation about race relations with white people always has to include the “I’m not racist, I have Black friends” element in the mix especially when nobody called them racist to begin with?  Don’t you just love when they use that statement as the opening to their argument to defend their position?  These types of conversations always make me feel a certain type of way each & every time.  This is what actually happens when people make that statement:

Original statement: “I’m not racist, I have Black friends.”

Translation:  “Now, I’m potentially about to say some racist shit that may cause you to possibly want to bust me in the top of my head to the white meat.  But just so that we are clear on things, I’m not racist because I do have Black friends….now let me proceed to say my potentially racist shit.”

That’s how I comprehend that situation all the time.  Seriously that’s all I hear.  But you know what really gets my mind wondering about these people more than anything else; how come when it comes to some white people you can’t have an honest conversation about race relations WITHOUT them front-loading their response with statements of that nature?  What is this obsessive need to let it be known that you have a few Black friends?  What the fuck do they have to do with this conversation taking place between you & I?

Earlier in the day…

At my current place of employment I’ve become the go-to guy to have discussions with when it comes to issues of race relations.  I don’t know how that happened exactly but I have an idea.  You see at my place of employment, I work around a very diverse group of people of all ethnicities & backgrounds, which I think is great.  The problem is, there are a lot of people who like to tip-toe and whisper in the corners amongst one another when it comes to issues of race relations.  Not me tho.  I gives people that work.  Don’t matter what race you are, if you ask me my opinion on something, be prepared to get this work plain & simple.  I’ll be respectful with it…just understand….you gonna get this work.

So today’s conversation centered on the Confederate flag & whether or not it should be removed from the South Carolina capitol building.  My position is an absolute FUCK YES IT NEEDS TO COME DOWN!  That flag has no business flying over a government building where this government institution is supposed to be a representation of ALL PEOPLE, not just people claiming this Southern pride bullshit.

*side note*  Listen, there isn’t a damn thing prideful about the Confederate battle flag as far as Black people are concerned.  The only thing we see in regards to that flag is a symbol of oppression…period.  Fuck your Southern heritage Southern pride bullshit.

Back to my story…

So anyways….we were talking about the Confederate flag and whether or not it needs to come down.  So I’m talking with a white coworker who was born & raised in the South.  He states that he has no problem with the flag flying because it represents Southern pride (fuxx outta here) & he claims to have ancestors who fought & died in the war (fuck them too if they believed in enslaving Black people).  So immediately after he made those statements to me, he hit me with the ole “B-B-But, I’m not racist.  I have Black friends.”  After he said that I just looked at him with the get-the-fuxx-outta-here face.  Not because I thought he was racist, but because him mentioning his Black friends had absolutely nothing to do with the conversation at all.  Like I stated earlier, him mentioning to me that he has Black friends is nothing more than him prepping me for some bullshit he’s about to say as if him tossing that statement out there ahead of time clears the path to future race related bullshit he has plans of saying.  Hope that made sense, if not, too bad.

Here’s the thing white friends, if you have to prepare your remarks with statements such as “I’m not racist.  I have Black friends”, please understand you’re not fooling anyone.  You may not be racist but please don’t think that that statement is a license for you to actually say some potentially racist shit to a Black person, because it’s not.  In order to have an open, honest, & respectful conversation about race relations in this country you do not have to inform me about how many Black friends you have because I really do not give a damn.  Do you ever hear Black people running around saying “I don’t hate white people.  I have white friends”?  No.  Why, because nobody gives a damn.  So why do you feel it is paramount to declare you have Black friends during a conversation about race?  I’ll tell you why.  More than likely you do NOT have many Black friends & if you do, those knee grows damn sure are not like me.  More than likely they are your happy go lucky purposely oblivious to white peoples’ shenanigans Jesse Lee Peterson & Stacey Dash types.  Just being honest here.  They are NOT about to give you that work to cause you to reevaluate some shit about your life & the positions you hold.  Seriously, if you have to let it be known that you have Black friends during the discourse of a race related conversation, more than likely you are dealing with these muthafuckas right HERE.  Go read the article.  Those are the type of Black people who will not legitimately challenge your views in regards to race.  You honestly think you are about maintain some Black friends like ME who let you run around reciting this Confederate flag Southern pride/heritage bullshit?  Fuxx outta here.  You can think that if you want, but as soon as I give you this work on the meaning of that flag, we probably won’t be friends anymore.  Just saying…