Slavery kept alive by race-baiting hacks

Regular readers of this column know how much I hate racism in all its various and sundry forms. It doesn’t make any difference to me what color a racist is; a racist is a racist, and his/her message of hate, divisiveness and cynicism is the same in all cases. And equally wrong.

That brings me to Johnnie Cochran, famous for successfully defending O.J. Simpson in his murder trial for “allegedly” butchering his wife and friend Ronald Goldman. Reports Tuesday said he has joined a team of lawyers who plan to sue the federal government for slavery reparations.

Yes, slavery reparations. And he wants you, the taxpayer (who finances the federal government) to pay these reparations.

You might be tempted to say to yourself, “Wait a minute … there is no more slavery in the U.S., and I’m innocent anyway. What the hell is Cochran doing?”

Good question, and one I’m sure he’d be more than happy to answer.

However, the answer he gives — whether he’s doing this for the money or for the recognition or, less likely, the “principle” of it — is irrelevant. It’s the damage this “case” will do to an already fragile and diverse racial environment in this country that’s important, though Cochran — by virtue of taking this case — seems oblivious to the potential fallout.

As this “case” unfolds, in their wake Cochran and his Jesse Jackson-Al Sharpton-NAACP cheering section will leave behind a nation of people so cynical, so hurt, so mentally bruised, so distrustful of each other and so angry they will have set back race relations a century.

“Nonsense,” you say. “People are smarter than that; they won’t fall for this.”

Many won’t, but many, many will. Besides, this “case” will feed into the existing bogus claims of “racism” currently being spewed by other self-serving black bigots.

Here’s what I mean.

On Tuesday, Fox News’ “Hannity and Colmes” program featured a debate about George W. Bush’s choice of Sen. John Ashcroft, R-Mo., to be the next U.S. attorney general.

One of the guests was civil rights attorney Leo Terrell. Terrell, like most “civil rights oriented” blacks, is a liberal Democratic-leaning spokesman for the bigoted elements of the OBAG — “Only Blacks Are Good” — crowd. To hear these people tell it, whites (and, in general, conservatives) are still waging a conscious, pointed and intentional campaign against blacks and all other minorities to deny them the most basic civil rights protections of equality.

Nothing is more ridiculous or further from the truth, but you’ll play hell convincing the Terrells in the country of this fact.

During “discussions” (actually, more like shouting matches) about Ashcroft’s appointment record on black judges in Missouri (as a two-term Missouri governor) and his voting record in the Senate when asked to confirm blacks for federal judgeships, Terrell’s verbiage to Hannity was so laced with audible, palpable anger, resentment and hostility that it was uncomfortable to watch.

Sure, Sean and Alan “debate” with guests all the time — that’s the point of the show. But Terrell was a different sort Tuesday night; the kind of spirited leftist who sees racism in every quarter, regardless of the mounds of evidence against his point of view.

So, what’s this got to do with slave reparations?

The point is, the very same kind of people are also leading this reparations issue.

That in and of itself makes me believe it is little more than a racist attempt to gain more political favor and status at the expense of civility in this country, just as an attempt by the Ku Klux Klan to hold blacks financially responsible for the nation’s crime rate would.

Bigots come in all colors, and make no mistake about it — black bigots are attempting to convince you (or, more appropriately, brow beat you) into believing you “owe” them money for something you never did, condoned, or supported.

You don’t.

But the act of trying to convince you that you do is a form of racism because it assumes that we — those of us alive today — are responsible for the claims these black bigots are making.

We’re not.

The issue of slavery in America — 140-plus years later — still hasn’t died because leftist, divisive black “leaders” who were neither slaves themselves nor born in Africa won’t let it die.

The Cochrans, Jacksons, and Terrells of this nation need to get a life. It is embarrassing that we still have people in this country who are anguishing over an “issue” that no longer exists.