Yeah, I'm confused by this too.

In most of my posts, I'm either really worried about something or amazed at the ignorance of others.  Today, I bring you Tammy Bruce, who must be at least a sophomore in the Ann Coulter School of Bigotry.  I knew Bruce was kinda nuts, but clearly she's aced Coulter's introductory classes.

Now that we have a President of African-American descent, you will hear more and more from the right wing that racism in America is effectively over: no need for minority scholarships or affirmative action, no history behind the current gap in wealth between whites and blacks, and all barriers are broken since whites and blacks work together in harmony from 9-5 Monday-Friday.  I mean, the fact that people still mostly stick with their own race on weekends doesn't matter that much, right?

Enter Bruce, who apparently doesn't get what talking "like a white girl" means in Michelle Obama's eyes, but then accuses her of talking in a "weird accent" later (which as a black person, even I can barely detect and don't really think what she said is weird).  Apparently, teaching young black kids (likely black anyway) a lesson is trashy and patronizing:

Man, oh, man. That's who he's married to, what does that tell you? This is what we've got -- you know what we've got? We've got trash in the White House. Trash is a, is a thing that is color blind, it can cross all eco -- ecosocionomic kind of categories, you can work on Wall Street or work at the Wal-Mart. Trash are people who use other people to get things, who patronize others, who consider you bitter and clingy.

Eco-socionomic categories, huh?  With that vocabulary, Ms. Bruce, I'm surprised you're that high on the eco-socionomic ladder.

I'm pissed about this because I was, and still am to some, that black guy who "talks like a white boy".  This happened to me as early as kindergarten, and it took me until high school to really get over it.  Back then I didn't quite get it, but of course I do now. Nonetheless, it was frustrating.  In the eyes of young blacks even in my generation, smart does not equal cool.  In fact, perpetuating the cycle of poverty and underachievement may just be "keeping it real".  After all, "white" society expects nothing of you, so why bother trying to join it?  And if you didn't graduate from high school, you'd likely be proud of your daughter if she was making C's but still graduating (emphasis mine):

Students from all backgrounds told the Mercury News that their parents value education and expect good grades. Many get rewards, such as a dinner out or iTunes cards, for good performance. They're punished - no text messaging, restricted computer access or grounding - for bad grades.

But families' definition of "good grades" varies. It means "higher than a C," said Victoria Mendoza, a Latina and an eighth-grader at West San Jose's Monroe Middle School who nonetheless gets mostly A's.

Thoa said her parents expect A-pluses, although she said she doesn't meet that standard. "I have to bring it down a notch to be real," said Thoa [a Vietnamese girl], who has a 3.6 GPA and is taking two advanced-placement classes this year.

My parents expected a lot from me early on, but backed off and seemed okay with me even when I had a rocky semester or two in college (this included C's and D's).  At the time I never understood why my folks were still relatively pleased, but this may be why: my dad has a GED and my mom never finished high school.

Hell, even after going to boarding school and college with mostly white kids, I've learned that even some whites were surprised by my demeanor.  One guy I know was shocked that I like The Beatles.  I mean, I'm sorry that I like more music than just Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre.  Geez.  I also recall getting into a heated debate about affirmative action with a white kid freshman year that ended with him essentially saying that I didn't deserve my admission. 

The fact is that a lot of things that fuel the achievement gap are psychological and/or deeply rooted in complex issues.  I don't intend to go through everything in this post, but have a peep at this study that evaluated the performace of two groups of blacks on the same test (about midway through the linked page):

The researchers told half the students that the test did not assess ability, but that the research was aimed at "understanding the psychological factors involved in solving verbal problems." The others were told that the test was a valid measure of academic ability and capacity. African-American students who were told that the test was a true measure of ability scored significantly lower than the white students. The other African-American students' scores were equal to the white students'. Whites performed the same in both situations.

When you're a kid, you want to be respected by your peers.  And when you don't have parents to teach you what is truly important in life, you go to drastic measures to get that respect.  Gangs and participation in violent activities are ways in which 16-year olds with no guidance earn this respect.  And warranted or not, the white man gets the blame for the continuation of the vicious cycle. 

Of course, Tammy Bruce doesn't get this.  Neither do Rush Limbaugh or the rest of the far-right smear machine.  And quite frankly, they don't want to understand the complexities of our society.  What Bruce likely does understand is the power that words have in pushing an agenda.  She uses an example of our first lady helping the current achievement gap and addressing matters that have likely gone unnoticed since April 4, 1968 and turns it into an example of cultural elitism.  While this may not intentionally be race-baiting, I have to ask how she got the word "trash" out of this...I mean, seriously?  This is beyond absurd to me.

It took 40 years after Martin Luther King, Jr.'s death for some to realize that not everything is peachy in America.  A lot of people woke up and smelled the coffee during last year's campaign.  However, there are some that will make Rip Van Winkle's 20-year snooze session seem like a power nap.