Getting to the Root

The Root, a Washington Post-Newsweek sponsored Blog lists 21 Black Folks We'd Like To Remove From Black History

“ Marion Barry ("Bitch set me up") Michael Steele ( will go down in history as the first black chairman of the Republican National Committee.) O.J. Simpson (beat a murder charge, but end up serving time for stealing your own stuff?) Sheila Dixon ( lost her job as Baltimore's mayor for boosting holiday gift cards intended for charity) Dennis Rodman (recent butt-slapping of bar waitresses) D.C. Sniper John Allen Muhammad (blacks could always say, "Well at least we're not crazy enough to be serial killers.") Dr. Conrad Murray (Five words: He killed Michael Jackson Alan Keyes (allowed himself to be a pawn of the GOP) R. Kelly (fought off jail time, but still married a minor, and still creeps us out) Flavor Flav (makes us look bad) Clarence Thomas (opposes government programs aimed at helping Blacks) Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth (perpetuates the bitchy-black-female stereotype) Bishop Don Magic Juan (This ex-pimp  is to the clergy what a pork-chop sandwich is to a vegan diet.) Wesley Snipes (seems to date a lot of white women) Soulja Boy Tell 'Em (his lyrica, content isn't lyrical) Karrine Steffans (her life story can be best summed up as "slurping for success.") Idi Amin (Idi Ami? - was one of the most brutal military dictators in post-independence Africa.) Papa Doc (was a crappy ruler of Haiti - Duh) Baby Doc (the acorn) Robert Mugabe (one of the worst dictators on Earth ) Rafael Trujillo (another bloody Haitian) ” The list is comprised of politicians, murderers, entertainers, and mostly dead strong-men.  I looked for a pattern for inclusion in each group, but, with the exception of the Republicans,  I couldn't really find any.  I guess it's just someone's chance to do a list, always a popular blog device.  But, because it bears the WaPost imprimateur, it warrants scrutiny.  (Note to me: Do a list)   There are five politicos on the list.  Two, Barry and Dixon, were found guilty of felonies while in office. Which leads to questions I won't ask about myriad other "candidates." Three, Steele, Keyes, and Thomas are of course guilty of being Republicans.  But, if that's a sin worthy of imposing the shun,  what of Ken Blackwell, Ward Connerly, James Meredith , et.al.?  Do they worry about being ignored here? I don't know squat about the entertainers, for the most part, and don't care to learn. Of the three murderers, one (Murray) has not been convicted, so what's with that?   O.J. is not on the list for murdering two people, but for being a chump. The DC sniper only makes the list because Afro-Amers can no longer say there are no Afro-Amer serial killers (I guess Wayne Williams didn't count). What about the 1,371 (duly convicted)  Blacks currently on death row?  What I glean from this, according to The Root,  is that murdering a human being  is way less serious than looking stupid in the eyes of Whitey. The inclusion of  dead evil dictators was a surprise.  I didn't know there were just four. At least they put Mugabe on the list.  I do too.  One final thing. Since the Blog's  name is ROOT,  how did Alex Haley miss the list after making all that stuff up, and winning a Pulitzer for it?  Talk about embarrassing.