Jeremy Wariner is the new Olympic champion in the men's 400 meters.
Jeremy Wariner is also white.
That last statement shouldn't matter. But to the media, to competing athletes, to many observers of the Olympics, it does.
Let's not look at the hours of training that this man has put in, the sacrifices he has put in his time, his talent, and his money...the things that really matter.
What irritates me about the attention given to Wariner's accomplishments is not what it does to the white community. Facts are facts, in this country, we truly have had advantages that aren't available to many of African American descent; the statistics behind this are hard to refute.
No, what irritates me about all of this is what it does for the BLACK community. By expressing amazement that a "white" athlete could reach the pinnacle of success that Wariner has reached, we perpetuate the stereotype of the athletically gifted black man, the Jimmy the Greek perception of the black man as chattel, bred for gladiatorial combat. We demean everything that's been done in the name of civil rights in this country.
The following statement was quoted on yahoo's quotes page. If it had been a white athlete making this comment on a black athlete, can you imagine the fallout?
``I've never seen a white man run that fast. It was a blazing race, man. The kid is good.''
ADVERTISEMENT
-- Grenada's Alleyne Francique, fourth in the 400.
No, what we need to see is that Jeremy Wariner is the fastest man in the 400. Period.
signing off,
Gideon MacLeish