Bob Griese's "Subtle" Racism

The interesting thing about watching football while using Twitter — you’re kinda watching every game. So, without having to watch Big Ten football with my own eyes, I saw that Bob Griese pulled a Fuzzy. Zoeller, that is.

Eek, man. The worst part about it is that Griese laughed breathlessly for long enough that he could have hit the brakes. Hell, I don’t think he could have given you his phone number while he was hiccup-laughing. But he gathered himself, just because that “taco” line was too good to keep to himself.
Hey, anyone that works in the humor business — and, to an extent, I do — gets himself in trouble in the name of a great laugh. The only way it’ll work, though, is if you get that laugh. It’s got to be great.
It’s got to be better than “he’s having a taco.” But let’s move to my reason for writing this…
Chris Mottram, editor over at SBNation.com, tweeted that the line was “subtle” racism. That is laughable. Say that in front of Mr. Montoya and see how subtle it is. The line was racist, simple and plain. I understand playing it safe, but I’m not going to be wrong in the name of safety. That’s just silly.
I went back and forth with Chris, and he said he’s reluctant to say that something is racist. That’s his right, and I fully understand why he takes that tack. It’s almost like saying someone’s racist is worth a scarlet letter, as if such people are rarely-seen relics.
They’re not that uncommon, actually. And if you think that people who, when all the math is done, are racists are rare, you certainly can’t deny the presence of racism. I don’t know any thinking person that does.
Then why is it so friggin’ hard to get someone to acknowledge that something like, “he’s having a taco” in reference to a Colombian, is racist?
(It’s also important, at this juncture, to make sure it’s understood I’m not singling Mr. Mottram out. He’s just the most recent person I’ve had this conversation with. He knows this post is coming, so no need to run and tattle “ooooooh, Bomani’s talking about you!)
We have a hard time separating racist actions from racist people. I don’t know anything about Bob Griese, nor do I know much about Chris besides what’s in his Twitter profile and his delightful blogging. Bob Griese might have marched with Dr. King, for all I know. Chris, too. But that wouldn’t change, for a second, just how racist “he’s having a taco” was.
Chris is reluctant to call something racist because, presumably, that’s making a bold statement about the person who uttered the statement. Except that it’s not.
We’re humans. We do messed up stuff. And in a country that’s still bass ackwards in the brain about race, we’re gonna get those things wrong a LOT. But part of the reason we’re so bass ackwards is that we do whatever we can to ignore the oft-obvious conclusion that something is racist. We’re bass ackwards at knowing it when we see it, and we’re often just as bass ackwards at responding appropriately in its various presences.
But the truth is that, in order to come out of this madness without internalizing a LOT of racism, you’ve got to make a concerted effort to avoid the easy joke or easy answer. Most of us don’t make that effort. The result is that you just might slip and say something you shouldn’t. It’s not much more complex than that.
But when we don’t call racism when we see it, or dance around it when we know damn well that’s what it is? Well, that’s how you wind up with guys like Rush Limbaugh, who sell racism for a living, looking us dead in our faces saying he’s not a racist…and a bunch of people trying to pretend that the invalidation of two quotes redeems decades of toxic work.
Go back and read the stories about Limbaugh’s attempt to buy the Rams. See how many people danced around the word “racism,” all while only asking black players if they’d play for a Limbaugh-owned team. It was a disingenuous charade, largely fueled by our refusal to squarely say what we all can see and our confusion with what to do with what’s in our faces.
There’s no way we can acknowledge there’s racism…but never actually see it with our own eyes. That doesn’t make a lot of sense.
But here’s the thing — saying Bob Griese said something racist is NOT putting him in the same boat with Limbaugh. It’s really just putting him in the same boat with most of us.
In the grand scheme, what Griese said wasn’t that big of a deal. It was unequivocally wrong, but nothing to sweat for too long. Say he’s wrong, let him apologize, then move on from there.
But dammit, say it. Just say it. Because if this is subtle racism, then the racism that really is subtle — often the most damaging — will seem like nothing to far too many people.
And lemme tell ya…it is something, jack. It is something.