Rob Parker on Robert Griffin

Original Post  http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/13/espn-commentator-on-rg3-hes-kind-of-black-but-hes-not-really/

I would like to say that as a Parker these comments make the Parker name look bad.


Take a few moments to read the article and then click on the link to view the comments...
It burns me up with people post things like this

1. greglloydrules says: Dec 13, 2012 3:12 PM
   

   You’re a racist. But not really a racist.
   
   
2. spellingcops says: Dec 13, 2012 3:14 PM
   But yet white people are the racist ones…
   
   
3. Patriot42 says: Dec 13, 2012 3:14 PM
   I am white and don’t assume another white person to be like me. Seems racist to me to assume otherwise.
   
   
4. thompgk says: Dec 13, 2012 3:16 PM
   Think this guy gets Limbaugh’d? Nope.
   
   
   
5. tmcb7 says: Dec 13, 2012 3:21 PM
   When is this clown going to be fired?
   Where are the anti-racial groups and why are they not going after this guy?
   This is an extreme form of racism! Just because it was said be a fellow african-american doesn’t give it a pass.
   If radical racial groups want to be taken seriously, they must treat racial inflammatory comments the same. No matter the color of the person making the statements.
   
   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
   
   
   
   Here is a definition of  Ethnicity (dictionary.com)
   
   ethnicity
   noun, plural eth·nic·i·ties.
   1.
   ethnic traits, background, allegiance, or association.
   2.
   an ethnic group: Representatives of several ethnicities were present.
   
   
   
   
   Here is the summary of Racism....(m-w.com)
   
   Any action, practice, or belief that reflects the racial worldview—the ideology that humans are divided into separate and exclusive biological entities called “races,” that there is a causal link between inherited physical traits and traits of personality, intellect, morality, and other cultural behavioral features, and that some “races” are innately superior to others.  Racism reflects an acceptance of the deepest forms and degrees of divisiveness and carries the implication that differences among groups are so great that they cannot be transcended.




Here is the definition of racism (dictionary.com)

noun

1.

a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the varioushuman races determine cultural or individual achievement,usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and hasthe right to rule others.
2.

a policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fosteringsuch a doctrine; discrimination.
3.

hatred or intolerance of another race or other races.

Reason being is that the statements are not RACIST in nature.  Racist statements like the ones that Rush Limbaugh and Howard Stern have used in the past deal with an underlying feeling about one race in relation to another.  While Robert Parker's statements deal with his race, they are framed in a context of racial identity and whether or not Robert Griffin's relates to his ethnicity as an African American.  He can question his relationship and affinity for his race and it should not be labeled as a racist statement because he is of the SAME race.  Race and ethnicity are clearly defined and should be used in two entirely different contexts.  

I have heard Robert Griffin speak on occasion and I can tell that he wants to be seen as a person first and foremost.  That is his right.  I cannot say that I would not like to hang out with him because he has chosen to marry a person of another race.  That would be stupid.  Robert Parker should not question his "blackness" in a public forum without knowing RG3.  It leads to inaccurate and silly outbursts, discussions, and threads like these.  RG3 is no less or more black because of how he speaks, wears his hair, chooses to live, or who he hangs out with.  A black man is a black man. 

African-Americans will always have identity issues in America because of the history of our place within the framework of America.  Long before we were able to become quarterbacks, senators, lawyers, doctors and Presidents of our country we were seen as second-class citizens of America.  For some, this part of our history begs that we all remain united.  It would be a wonderful thing, but for others within the race it is their path to assimilate and live “the dream” as not being defined by their race.  When this happens some people within the race will question whether or not there is a loss in ethnic identity.  This is what has happened here.  This is the discussion that we should be having.  This is what divides Americans even further. 

I just had to get a few things off of my chest. 

                                                                                    --RP

This paper is a good read on the subject of race and ethnicity :

http://www.alliance.brown.edu/pubs/leading_diversity/lwd_racethnicity.pdf  

Here is a good paper on racism :

http://www.bridgew.edu/TeachingAndLearning/pdf_race/Talking%20about%20Race.pdf 

ESPN commentator on RG3: “He’s kind of black, but he’s not really”

Posted by Michael David Smith on December 13, 2012, 3:08 PM EST

Reuters Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III said in a recent interview that he didn’t want to be defined as an African-American quarterback. One ESPN commentator says that raises questions about Griffin.
In fact, ESPN’s Rob Parker said Thursday morning on First Take that, as an African-American, he has a lot of questions about Griffin.
“My question is, and it’s just a straight, honest question:  Is he a brother, or is he a cornball brother,” Parker said. “He’s not really. He’s black, he does his thing, but he’s not really down with the cause. He’s not one of us. He’s kind of black, but he’s not really like the kind of guy you really want to hang out with.”
Parker said he wants to know more about Griffin’s personal life before he can accept Griffin as authentically black.
“I want to find about him,” Parker said. “I don’t know because I keep hearing these things. We all know he has a white fiancee. Then there was all this talk about he’s a Republican, which there’s no information at all. I’m just trying to dig deeper into why he has an issue. Because we did find out with Tiger Woods, Tiger Woods was like, ‘I’ve got black skin, but don’t call me black.’ So people wondered about Tiger Woods.”
Asked by fellow panelist Skip Bayless about the fact that Griffin braids his hair, Parker said that’s an aspect of Griffin that he approves of.
“That’s different, because, to me, that’s very urban,” Parker said. “Wearing braids is, you’re a brother. You’re a brother if you’ve got braids.”
Another panelist on the show, Stephen A. Smith, said he wasn’t comfortable with how Parker had framed his argument.
“First of all, let me say this: I’m uncomfortable with where we just went,” Smith said when asked to respond to Parker. “RG3, the ethnicity or the color of his fiancee is none of our business, it’s irrelevant, he can live his life in whatever way he chooses. The braids that he has in his hair, that’s his business, that’s his life, he can live his life. I don’t judge someone’s blackness based on those kinds of things. I just don’t do that. I’m not that kind of guy.”
I asked an ESPN spokesman whether the network had any response to Parker’s comments on the air and will post it if ESPN does issue a response. But ESPN obviously thought Parker’s comments were worth repeating: When Best of First Take aired on Thursday afternoon, the show ended with a replay of the discussion about Griffin.