The race guy
Black people just crack me up sometimes.
On reflecting upon the previously link-to Deflating The Blog Bubble, one Mr. Willis states:
1. Writing about race
2. Writing about bloggging
As far as the second goes, I don't do that a lot because I hate navel-gazing about this stuff. There's already enough written about blogging and "normal" people's eyes tend to glaze over, I think.
When it comes to writing about race, I just don't like to do it because since I'm black I don't want to be pigeonholed as "the race guy". I don't pontificate on it a lot on in the real world, and I try to make my blog as much like me as possible. Those of you who met me probably realized this quite quickly.
I only brought up race because it felt like the 3-ton elephant in the corner everyone was ignoring.
Let me be clear. Oliver's choices are valid, his, and this is no criticism. It's more than likely I read more into things than necessary. But I note he lists "race" as the first boundary, yet explains it second.
I would just like to say that they can't make you The Race Guy if you don't let them. If people…and not to put too fine a point on it, but were are talking white folks here… keep asking you about race until you become uncomfortable, just say, "Hey, what am I, The Race Guy?" They will back away so fast you'll hear a sonic boom. And it will be a good–consciousness raising, even–experience for them.
Then reflect on the reasons for your own discomfort. It will be a good–consciousness raising, even–experience for you.
Interestingly enough, I'm seeing a few more folks risking becoming The Race Guy recently, thanks, I think, to TAPPED and the dread Law of Unintended Consequences (which law my fellow chaos deities have charged me with enforcing).
This probably sounds stupid coming from someone who is seen as The Race Guy. But there's a difference…I don't give a damn.
