What is going on in America? How is that we have elected our first half black, half white president and race relations seem to be getting worse? Could it be that no matter what we do the color of one’s skin will always be a factor in the way someone judges us? I was recently judged on Facebook not only by the color of my skin but by the fact that my name has an “Mc” in it by none other than Isaiah Washington. (Yes the same Isaiah Washington that was let go from “Grey’s Anatomy” after making a gay slur on set and offending his cast members. Click the link in case you forgot about this. Isaiah Washington apologizes.
First of all, a little history. I’m a Facebook friend of Isaiah Washington’s and added him because we were in the film “Clockers” together. I had a very small part but seeing him work I knew how dedicated and talented he was and wanted to keep up with his career. I think he has quite a few fan/friends like myself. But I’m also deeply concerned about the direction race relations are going in our country and when he posted this article on on his page I clicked through and read it with great interest.
After reading Mr. Washington’s link I posted a reply link to Bill Whittle’s PJTV segment “The Great Liberal Narrative. The Truth about the Tyranny of Political Correctness,” and then added this note for Mr. Washington:
A must watch if you are serious about getting both sides of a story — especially the slavery part at the middle to end of this piece.
Now here’s the bizarre exchange that followed, and I still need one very important question answered from Mr. Washington: When will he forgive his fellow Americans like he has the Sierra Leoneans?
Note: He posted his response directly on my wall, so I feel entitled to share it with you for the sake of speaking truth to power [original unedited text]:
ISAIAH WASHINGTON: “Ok…Mr. McGruther. I just sat & watched 12:40 of a educated angry white man pontificate about how the media “narrative” should relinquish whites (in America) from “white guilt”…No Sir! You don’t get off that easy. Seeing that you have “Mc” in your last name you should already be aware of the historic rift between poor blacks and poor whites… Read More. True…African Kings enslaved their enemies for centuries as this piece sites. If YOU had really done YOUR research on ME before trying to illuminate me on my profile…”if you are serious about getting both sides of the story”–You would have found that the BBC recently did and article on my comment about “forgiving those Sierra Leoneans that sold my great-great-great-great-great grandmother for personal gain and self preservation. So please Sir…I have “lived both sides of the story” by the mere fact that I have been educated in America and abroad for 25 years. The article I posted by Dr. Rediker trumps your little PajamaTV piece”
MCGRUTHER: “Thank you for watching it and responding. What Bill Whittle was saying was not saying that slavery in America wasn’t wrong but that is has existed all over the world and mostly by people enslaving their own people but we never ever hear of it in our “education”. It’s been eliminated from the history books for any American who gets a public education. It’s this constant story line of only the evil white men in America that most of us learn and nothing more. I take umbrage at your wrong assumption that just because I have an MC in my name I am somehow still reeling from the awful treatment the Irish had – I don’t. And I am not Irish. In fact I am a quarter Scottish, a quarter Italian, French Canadian and Prussian Jew (on my Mom’s side) My Wife’s Filipono and Chinese mix and that makes my daughter just about as close as one can get to a citizen of the world culturally. Can you please post a link to your BBC article. I don’t understand why you would forgive the Sierra Leoneans but not your own countrymen. How one can hold a grudge with only one group is bizarre — even racist. In America everything that has gone wrong in the world shows up to be put on the big stage and then sorted out by We The People. When will you be happy? When will you forgive people like me who had absolutely nothing do to with any of the American history you refer to? Everything you may be assuming about me is wrong. It’s not about trumping someone’s article it’s about making sure that when you are looking at history you have proper context. That is why I read your article with great interest and will read anything you post or send me. Because you are so well educated you do know that MLK was a Republican right? And that George Wallace, the Democratic candidate actually ran on the platform of pro segregation? You must know that. What blows my mind is how you had no problem with MSNBC portraying someone with a gun at an Obama rally out to be white when in fact he was black.”
There are 15 comments on his post that follow and all are by private citizens who are not wealthy celebrities like Mr. Washington. But the creepiest response came from someone named Candice:
CANDICE: “No need to argue, as if someone asked me. MM it’s not about you, so don’t take this personal. It’s about your forefathers. It’s really not even about us as being African-American, except for the fact that we are STILL paying for the color of our skin. Africans did play a part in the slave trade and shame on them, but let’s put things in perspective here. It’s not about how much Isaiah knows and if he knows who had a gun at President Obama’s rally. That’s small shit that really means nothing. The world abroad that took part in the slave trade should feel ashamed of themselves. So my question is this…when did black people become inhumane people? Was it after we started to act like the people that sailed us across the Atlantic? If there is any anger in this going back and forth it is that someone should take the blame for slavery. Where is our reparations? Where is our apology?”
MCGRUTHER: “Thanks Candice. But my forefathers DID NOT have slaves ok? You have to understand that not all people with white skin are the descendants of slave owners or slave traders. How do you know who comes from which family line when you make your assumptions? By the color of their skin? Why do you choose to lump them all together in the same way racists do to people in our country all the time? Slavery would not have ended if white people did not fight this nations bloodiest war to end it. Period. The victim mentality, espoused by wealthy free Americans who would never have this life in any other part of the world is very short sighted. The MSNBC clip is very important because it’s a straight up lie meant to keep you thinking about how bad ALL white people are and you wrong.”
To be fair to Candice, she left me a sincere and heartfelt apology and a blessing from God, which I accept with gratitude. But I’m still waiting for Mr. Washington to answer my question: When will you be happy? When will you forgive people like me who had absolutely nothing do to with any of the American history you refer to?
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