A conversation with Warren Adler

Warren Adler is the author of "The War of the Roses." This is a discussion we had in Myspace.com/UnemployedAMenoir:

Saturday, February 28, 2009

I'm No Coward Mr. Holder
Speaking frankly, I’m totally confused why Eric Holder,
the new Attorney General of the United States called me a coward.
Perhaps I am taking it too personally, since he accused the whole
nation of being cowards.

Apparently, his accusation stems from
some idea he has that there has not been enough truthful dialogue on
the matter of race. This goes to the heart of my confusion. What am I
supposed to say in such a dialogue? That racial discrimination is
awful, that the blacks are descendants of slaves, a disgusting
phenomenon that was abolished by the Emancipation Proclamation
more than a century and a half ago? That America has done its darndest
to correct the horrors of bigotry that stemmed from that enslavement
era by passing civil rights legislation that guaranteed equal treatment
under the law for everyone, whatever their race? That we should be
vigilant in the protection of those rights?

Am I supposed to
say we haven’t done enough to right the balance after passing numerous
laws to give a leg up to help level the playing field in education,
housing and whatever? I had, as did most Americans, no objections to
offer our help to those of different races that were the victims of
discrimination. Are there still problems? Yes. Has Mr. Holder suggested
any solutions? If he has, we haven’t heard any.

Indeed, most of
us were quite courageous in breaking down discrimination barriers in
the face of often intransigent opposition by those who continued to
espouse outmoded and wrongheaded ideas on bigotry and discrimination.
To tell you the truth, I am rather proud of giving my assent to all
these anti-discrimination measures.

So what lines do I use in
this dialogue? Do I respond to any questions raised in this so-called
dialogue or say simply that “I agree?” The Reverend King
had it right. A man should be judged by the quality of his character
and not the color of his skin. What decent American doesn’t believe
that, Mr. Attorney General? Just ask your boss.

Better yet,
look in the mirror and ask yourself. What kind of a dialogue would you
have with yourself? What would you ask someone like yourself on the top
of his game? Was your skin color a hindrance? Does the sobriquet
“coward” also apply to you?

To tell you the truth, I don’t believe for one minute I’m a coward and I am rather pissed off at your inference.


I’ve also believed that the goal of our society, as Dr. King posited
should be color blindness. That’s why I hired one of the first black
salesman in the radio business in Baltimore to sell time on the station
I once owned in that town. I didn’t care about breaking barriers. I
just thought he would sell like hell. I hired black people in my
advertising business on the basis of competence not the color of their
skin or to make some kind of a statement. I wouldn’t even use a racial
designation as a reference point if the Attorney General hadn’t brought
it up.

When my wife ran her magazine in Washington, the
Washington Dossier, in the seventies and eighties, she reveled in the
magazine coverage of the fabulous and successful black community that
has been part of Washington society for more than a hundred years. She
particularly enjoyed covering the great Jack and Jill organization and the black Chirological Society events in the Shoreham ballroom. You know what I mean, Mr. Attorney General.


We never felt the slightest bit of cowardice in our association with
those groups. In fact, we felt it an honor to be invited to their
events, enjoying the company of many in the group with whom we had long
lasting relationships. For us, race wasn’t even an issue. It wasn’t
even part of the social dialogue.

Yes, Mr. Holder, as you must
know there was a vibrant group of black achievers, of which you are the
beneficiary, who had found ways to succeed by showing their courage and
ingenuity in the face of once crushing odds. And they did it before the
civil rights laws changed the game and opened the gates of opportunity
even further. In the end, its talent, imagination, focus and hard work,
not race, that makes the difference between failure and success in
America. Just ask Barack.

Look around you Mr. Attorney General.
Not every white person makes it up the greasy pole of American success.
And not every black person, but plenty do, and you can bet your biddy
that there will be more and more people of every hue coming up roses in
future America. And why not?

We compete in this country.
Sometimes guys and gals who don’t deserve it get the prize, but on
balance the good, smart, hard working, innovative, imaginative and
focused guys and gals win. Sure it’s a tough fight. As time goes on
there will be less and less reason to handicap the odds. We’re getting
a lot closer to an even race than we were a decade or so ago. Not
because we are cowards, Mr. Attorney General. Because we are brave.


I’m willing to bet you’re a decent sort of guy, smart, savvy,
experienced and when all is said and done probably qualified to run the
justice department.

May I suggest that you simply add this
gaffe about America being a nation of cowards to your collection of
Hail Mary Passes and get yourself a new copy of Roget’s.

My reply:

I agree with both of you: let me clarify.

To use your description of Attorney General Holder, you are a "decent sort of guy," [obviously] "smart, savvy, experienced." I agree you personally are not a coward.
Consider the following employment statistics for February 2009:

White:

Unemployment rate...................... 7.3

White Males, 20 and over:

Unemployment rate...................... 7.4

White Females, 20 and over:

Unemployment rate...................... 6.1

Both Sexes, 16 through 19

Unemployment rate...................... 19.1

Black:

Unemployment rate...................... 13.4

Black Males, 20 and over:

Unemployment rate...................... 14.9

Black Females, 20 and over:

Unemployment rate...................... 9.9

Both Sexes, 16 through 19

Unemployment rate...................... 38.8

Ref: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t02.htm

I believe you personally are not a coward and a stalwart of equal rights in the work place. I took Attorney Holder's comment as better stated: "we have a system that's broken and to not address it is cowardly."

That takes the personal affront out of the statement. We don't think in "sound bites" and what comes out of our mouths gets regurgitated by the media without much analysis or frankly, commentary.

I live the above statistics. Where the country now finds itself I have lived since August 26, 2003. I have blogged about it and self-published a memoir on it. It doesn't sell well because it's not a "sexy" topic: self-help and romance dominate the literary marketplace.

I helped increase the unemployment numbers by applying for unemployment insurance in the State of Texas. I am working for a security company selling protection systems - a far cry from working for Motorola as a Yield Enhancement Engineer on exciting new technology like: Logitek Mouse; Blue Tooth Wireless Technology; Cellular Phone Wireless Technology. I have a degree in Engineering Physics from North Carolina A&T State University - an HBCU. I served my country in the United States Air Force as a Communications/Computer Systems Officer. As I am apt to say when pressed, if my lifestyle had not changed, "we would not be having this pleasant conversation."

Please explore the following link and the essay I wrote on a poetry/essay blog I keep up with:

http://griotpoet.blogspot.com/2009/02/quote-by-dickens-and-thoughts-on-joint.html

Best regards and deepest respect,

Reginald L. Goodwin

www.reggiegoodwin.com

"The soul that is within me, no man can degrade." Frederick Douglass

Posted by Reginald on Monday, March 16, 2009 - 1:17 PM

Mr. Adler's reply:

Thank you for your comment, Reginald!

Posted by Warren_Adler on Saturday, March 28, 2009 - 9:26 PM

100 days

I celebrated the first 100 days of Obama's presidency in the living room of my mother-in-law, who is recovering from pneumonia.

She admitted her generation worried about "the system," AKA "the man" as it related to the generation following hers - mine and my wife's, her daughter.

Like me, I know a lot of African Americans with Bachelors, Masters and PhD's in science and engineering that... can't find work. I know of at least one driving the airport's "Super Shuttle" and myself selling security alarm systems. I find the business cutthroat and brutal: you are dueling with competitors and customers comparing you to competitors. I find solace in working equations in quantum mechanics and calculus and look forward to a career in academia (hence on my profile, "Education" as my soon-to-be occupation).

Yet, I meet people I used to work with at my former company (of the "other" persuasion), the one that laid me off August 26, 2003 that have never experienced a lay off, have received raises and bonuses - probably for laying off people - that have never seen a dip in their wages, have never gone on food stamps, have never found creative after creative way to pay their mortgages and aren't reduced to blogging their angst for the world wide web to see.

Our optimism is supposedly "up" because we have a black president. Other than the prophesy of Tupac and Public Enemy CDs, I am nonplussed at the absurdity of the soundbite.

Don't get me wrong: I cheered when the man made it. I called - or tried to call - friends and celebrate over cellphone calls as I celebrated at the Obama party I attended.

I quote Frederick Douglass in "Memoir": "The soul that is within me, no man can degrade." It was a means of building up my inner man and straightening my backbone. I've been in the battle a long time, longer than most of you. It's my own personal mantra. If it helps, borrow it.

Yet, I cannot ignore Douglass' quote on power:

"Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress."

Let's not quietly submit or endure: "The soul that is within you, no ONE can degrade." Peace.

The University of Texas at Austin Provides Resources For Unemployed Alumni and Employers Seeking to Hire

AUSTIN, Texas — AccessUT, a restricted Web site at The University of Texas at Austin, is becoming a powerful tool in helping unemployed alumni find their next job during a sagging national economy.

The AccessUT Web site, is an online job and internship database within the university's Hire Texas Web site that allows students and alumni to view postings from employers searching for their next hire, said Matthew Berndt, director of career services in the university's College of Communication. He said Hire Texas, also provides employers a free, centralized place to post professional, career-related job and internship opportunities for students and alumni.

Berndt said AccessUT requires job seekers to use an assigned Electronic Identification (EID) to access the system. Those who do not know their EID may contact the Registrar's Office at the university (512-475-7656) to claim a UT EID and temporary password.