I've always loved the old addage that if the only tool you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail. I guess the same can be true of racists; if the only tool you have is to castigate everything as racism, then everything looks like racism to you.
Take the case of this Dallas County commissioners' meeting.
County commissioners were discussing problems with the central collections office that is used to process traffic ticket payments and handle other paperwork normally done by the JP Courts.
Commissioner Kenneth Mayfield, who is white, said it seemed that central collections "has become a black hole" because paperwork reportedly has become lost in the office.
Commissioner John Wiley Price, who is black, interrupted him with a loud "Excuse me!" He then corrected his colleague, saying the office has become a "white hole."
That prompted Judge Thomas Jones, who is black, to demand an apology from Mayfield for his racially insensitive analogy.
Mayfield shot back that it was a figure of speech and a science term. A black hole, according to Webster's, is perhaps "the invisible remains of a collapsed star, with an intense gravitational field from which neither light nor matter can escape."
Other county officials quickly interceded to break it up and get the meeting back on track. TV news cameras were rolling, after all.
Dallas has a lot of racial problems. John Wiley Price is one of them. Dallas is a majority minority city that is always on the verge of a riot, largely because city officials spend more time blaming each other than solving any problems. And JWP is eager to stir up any racism he thinks he sees. After all, it's his stock and trade.
As a city, Dallas has been a rathole for decades. White flight, caused by high taxation and crime, left the city filled with the poor who couldn't leave and a few tough ol' birds who refused to do so. And while I admire the bravery of proud citizens who kill the burglars trying to steal their stuff, that combination has tarnished the city's reputation and ability to attract tourists and business. Hell, even the Cowboys left Dallas in the early 70's to play in Irving (and now they're moving to the much, much nicer Arlington). Dallas, it ain't.
Now, I know that I'm not the most unbiased of observers. As a native of Fort Worth, I really hate everything Dallas, so watching the city's black-and-blue reputation get another black eye doesn't bother me a bit.
But the truth is that JWP's outburst (and the idiocy of Judge Thomas Jones of joining him) just goes to prove that our school system really is broken. How could anyone be alive in the 21st century and not know what a black hole is? I hope the African school named for Price spends a little more time on science that Price obviously did.
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