I'm Not Racist, I Voted for Obama

It'll soon replace "I have a black friend" as the de facto reply to any accusation of racial insensitivity. Even though most cases aren't actually racism, just prejudice. And there is NOTHING wrong w/being prejudice. Being prejudice is what keeps you from getting robbed. Racism is the real bad guy here. Racism is what keeps L'Quanda Jenkins' resume from getting a second look.

I came across one of the greatest articles I have read, written by David Ehrenstein, just now. Guess his race, it'll totally mess with your prejudices. It is so apt, so on-point, and so appropriate, I had to immediately blog about it. Blog should not be a verb, fyi, it sounds ridiculous. Read the article. Seriously, read it. It's about a magic negro. There's no way you can't read it, right? Preview? Why not.

The Magic Negro is...a figure of postmodern folk culture, coined by snarky 20th century sociologists, to explain a cultural figure who emerged in the wake of Brown vs. Board of Education. "He has no past, he simply appears one day to help the white protagonist,"

He's there to assuage white "guilt" (i.e., the minimal discomfort they feel) over the role of slavery and racial segregation in American history, while replacing stereotypes of a dangerous, highly sexualized black man with a benign figure for whom interracial sexual congress holds no interest.

Because it would take nothing short of magic for a black person to be articulate or intelligent, you see.

Read it.Read it.Read it.Read it.Read it.Read it.Read it.Read it.Read it.Read it.Read it.Read it.Read it.Read it.Read it.Read it.Read it.Read it.