On August 7th, 2009, Geraldo Rivera appeared on Fox and Friends for his usual Friday promo. I like Geraldo, even though I don't often agree with him. I admire his support of our troops, and the intensity with which defends his positions no matter how irrational I think they are.
This Friday, I realized as he was talking about race, that when I first saw him many years ago I never really paid much attention to his Latino heritage. He was an interesting figure to me. Even now when I see him I don't think "Latino" until he starts in on his views of race. At that moment, I see a Latino not Geraldo. Geraldo is fixated on his heritage, and that white people are racial, if not racist. Even with his success, he doesn't see the playing field as level.
I don't think that race has never been a major factor in my daily life; sure it's there but mostly when someone else brings it up. Admittedly, most of my daily interactions have been with professional people who are well-educated and race didn't seem to be relevant; but then I see people like Geraldo who just can't say two words without focusing on race and profiling.
Now I do profile. I think any normal person profiles, or they are liars. I probably profile everbody I see; although you could call what I do "making a judgement" about a person. I profile good-looking people, heavy people, skinny people, people with tatoos, with piercings, with muscle shirts riding Harleys, with long-greasy hair and missing teeth, with stockings on their heads, hoodys, pants hanging from their thighs, baseball caps worn backwards, with baggy pants that can hide a weapon, people driving while doing their hair and nails ... that sort of thing.
One would be stupid not to take notice of their surroundings and people. I'll bet Geraldo does it every day. But why is it that Geraldo seems to think that when white people do it its wrong, and when Latinos, blacks, etc do it is okay?
As Martin Luther King said "I have a dream." Mine is that one day we could all just be Americans, like Canadians are Canadians and Brits are Brits. For now though I'll just be an American Scot thank you.
