Bigotry `n Dat

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Nick Jacobs

Nick Jacobs (April 2, 2012)

Staying away from this topic was always one of my goals, but sometimes it’s just not possible. Maybe it was because I grew up as a musician and race, sex, color or creed didn't matter. Maybe it was because I was exposed to prejudice in such great quantities as a kid. Maybe it’s because I prefer to think of myself as at least a little enlightened, or maybe because it is just so embarrassing. We are all human beings with feelings and skin color really should not matter, but whatever the reason, here goes.

 In the hallowed halls of private clubs, in the barrooms and bowling alleys, and in the safety of monochromatic crowds, a common theme seems to emerge periodically, and that theme is one of a total lack of inclusivity. Having personally experienced bigotry as a young man, it was always hurtful. My name was such an enigma that no one knew my ethnic background. There were Jewish people, Hungarians, and British people with my last name, “What’s a Jacobs?” It came from the Italian name Iacoboni, but when I worked with ten white Anglo Saxon Protestant men in an office for two summers, they always referred to “the Daigos and the Wops;” never knowing or caring that my father was Italian. Since I was the summer rookie, I guess it made it easy for me to be a chameleon, and I kept my mouth shut but it hurt.

 As our country became more and more wealthy and our generations turned into a cross between the Pillsbury doughboy and the Michelin tire man, a metamorphosis began. We continued to open our borders to ethnic diversity, a.k.a., people who would do the work that we did not want to do. And as was the case when various waves of immigrants entered the United States, it seemed like our established residents always hated the next group coming in and made fun of them. Maybe it was because it made them feel better about themselves. They were filling their tanks with cheap gas.

 So, the election is over, but no matter where I go, I overhear groups of disgruntled Americans making poorly disguised racially charged comments. All I can say is that, the past is just that; we are not going back to the 50’s, and this election proved that. As a country we need to realize that we were founded on diversity, (Okay, the slavery thing gets in the way of the purity of that statement.) but this country is truly a melting pot. There really is no going back.


 So, lighten up on the bigotry stuff. You can still vote. You still have freedom. Think about the future, and realize that the future is now. Oh, yeah, and if you hear other people using racial slurs, interrupt them, stop them, and tell them that it is NOT okay.

 Okay, enough preaching; the really good news that came out of the election is that a little known man from Michigan is going to Congress, Kerry Bentivolio, and Kerry is a Santa Claus impersonator. (True, I think we won because his opponent was ethnic, but just follow my train of thought here.) Kerry does not like to be called a Santa impersonator. He prefers to say that he is really Santa Claus, and he plays somebody else the rest of the year. Regardless of your political convictions or your potentially racially charged opinions, and your ability or inability to embrace the phrase viva la difference, you must find a certain amount of peace in your soul and love in your heart when you hear that finally, “Santa Claus is coming to town.” It would be great if he wore the red suit and beard, and it is my deep and sincere hope that he becomes the Speaker of the House and keeps a list of who actually is naughty or nice. Ho ho ho.

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