Gotta get out the Checklist for Defense of Racists™ again. This time it’s a columnist for the Winston-Salem Journal, writing to defend the honor of those poor old white guys at Pilgrim Baptist Church who dressed up in blackface:

Their black guests should consider their own churches (and homes for that matter, since privacy’s dead) and recognize any racist things that have gone on there – whether intentionally or just out of some goofy idea being carried out.

They should wonder how they’d feel if any of those mistakes leaked out to a laughing world.

They should consider all the energy this fight has taken away from battling the real issues that Americans should be tackling, such as war, poverty, education and health care.

They should vow to take on these bigger fights with the members of Pilgrim Baptist, leaving behind their battles of symbolism.

No intention. Check! Just goofing around. Check! Black people are racist too! Check! Distracting from “real” issues. Check! Making decisions about what Those People ought to do. Check!

(On a non-related rant, who expects privacy in church? Are you free to do any old offensive thing in church because it’s a private place?! Reminds me of that sign in the men’s bathroom: Work wanks are gross, don’t do it.)

Additional bonus points if you use one or more of the following: racebaiter, race card, or “activists” or “black leaders” in scare quotes. Check!

Black activists, including one connected to the Rev. Al “Race-Card” Sharpton, all but jumped up and down until they got an apology from the church.

Random dig at either Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton. Check!

Rev. Sharpton’s organization, the National Action Network, is recognized as a leading civil rights organization. Sharpton himself has been involved in drawing attention to many police brutality and police misconduct cases such as Abner Louima, Amadou Diallo and Sean Bell. He has worked to improve impoverished neighborhoods, help poor youth and increase voter registration.

I would consider Sharpton’s work to address “real issues.”* And I consider “war, poverty, education and health care” to be issues that are often inextricably tied to race and racism.

See, part of the problem is that if you can dehumanize somebody (perhaps through the use of blackface?), then their pain, their hunger and their suffering are easier to ignore. But then you would have to face the fact that some of that pain is of your own making.

*yes, yes, I know that Sharpton has some issues of his own. Don’t bother to fill the comments with crap. Otherwise I will just note Those people are racist too! Check!