He’s five years old … for god’s sake

The politics of victimization has been a blight on American politics for generations – ever since the introduction of “political correctness” and its evil twin “identity politics.”  No political force in American history has been more divisive and destructive for a longer time – with the possible exception of the Democrats’ more than 100 years of racism and white supremacy since the end of the Civil War.

The concept of political correctness and identity politics is not new – although the moniker is. An obsessive focus on “difference” has been the source of every conflict in human history – from major global conflicts to genocidal massacres.  Making “difference” a political foundation issue automatically leads to implications of superiority.   The evil twins are the reason that America has abandoned “e pluribus unum” for tribalization or  Balkanization.  

Both political correctness and identity policies are alleged to be solutions to prejudice and intolerance.  Instead, they create and magnify it.  Instead of correcting a situation, they amplify and exaggerate it.  They create a hyper sense of victimization.  People are conditioned to be oversensitive to insults – real or perceive.  Jokes and the most innocent comments are wrongly interpreted as hateful and harmful attacks.

Oh yeah!  The headline.

Recently a five-year-old boy (let’s call him Tommy) attended a sports event for his favorite team – the Kansas City Chiefs.  He had his face painted half red and half black – the team colors.  It is an appearance thousands of sports fans take on in stadiums across the nation.  One might even call it a tradition seen across the globe.  The young lad also donned the feathered headdress of an Indian chief. 

(Yeah, I know the politically correct term is “Native American”.  But when the members of the “American INDIAN Center in Chicago made me an honorary INDIAN, they did not seem to mind the word “INDIAN” in describing themselves.  Just saying.)

Weeell …  little “Tommy” created a national controversy that hit the major news services.  It was not because of what he did, but how the political correctness political/media Gestapo reacted. They went on the warpath, so to speak.

According to the doctrine of division “Tommy’s” social transgression was to what those on the radical left call “appropriating someone else’s culture.”  He was donning the traditional clothing of a different culture as a costume.  He was not mocking Indians.  In fact, it was a form of respect – in support of a sports team called … the Chiefs – a tribute to the American Indian.

The appropriation of someone else’s culture is why citizens of Greek ancestry should not own an Italian restaurant. As if that never happens.  The concept has created a social ban on a whole range of favorite Halloween costumes. (In the past, I have gone as a Chinese emperor, a Spanish flamenco dancer, the Pope and a chicken.  I think the chicken is okay, but not sure.)

“Tommy’s” wearing of the Indian chief headdress flowed right into an attack on the team for its name.  Apparently, the political correctness Gestapo noticed that the owners, managers and players were not Native Americans.

Yielding to political correctness and identity politics stupidity had already caused the easy-to-scare owners of the Cleveland Indians to change the name to the Cleveland Guardians — inspired by a local statue of traffic control officers.   The Washington Redskins spent a year as the generic sounding Washington Football Team until they came up with the more commanding Washington Commanders.  Even “Tommy’s” beloved Chief banned the wearing of Indian costuming. Apparently “Tommy” did not get the memo.  Did not matter since lots of fans have ignored the relatively unenforced rule.

The perma-pissed acolytes of political correctness and identity politics jumped on little “Tommy” like Chris Christie on the Thanksgiving pumpkin pie. (ß Was that a PC fatty transgression?)  The second issue was about “Tommy’s” face – that one-half red and one-half … BLACK!  According to the Gestapo, Tommy was going around in … blackface. 

Now, I do agree that the historic use of blackface in entertainment is mocking and offensive — a product of a bygone era when even the most leftwing performers went on stage as a black person.  Good riddance to that – although I am not completely opposed to white kids wearing blackface for Halloween.  I mean, how do you go trick-or-treating as President Obama without darkening the skin.  Or are only black kids allowed to do that? 

To underscore their scorn, the political correctness gestapo published photos of “Tommy” that showed ONLY the black side of his face without any reference to the other half or the team colors.  Did they think “Tommy” was dressing as one of the Black Feet tribes and got confused?

Worse than “Tommy’s” alleged transgression was the ugly reaction the hypersensitive guardian of political correctness – typified by sports reporter Carron Phillips, who wrote that “Tommy” had “found a way to hate Black people and the Native Americans at the same time.”  Come on, Carron.   Pick on someone your own size.  (For the record, Phillips is controversial for gratuitously infusing his own version of racism in his sports reporting.)

Oh … and did mention that little “Tommy” is a real Native American by ancestry?  That makes Phillips guilty of sloppy and reckless journalism. Not to mention all the other in the press and social media who attacked Tommy.

I guess if some people come up with stupid and divisive concepts like political correctness and identity politics, it will naturally evolve into extreme examples of … stupidity and divisiveness.  Like pillorying a five-year-old boy having a good time supporting his favorite team on an Indian Summer kind of day.

So, there tis.