In this country, the issue of racism is something that will always exist and unfortunately – continue to poison our existence. Racism of all types exists, extending far beyond the color barrier. These days, homosexuals, people of certain types of faiths – and even those who choose to eat red meat and wear animal skins are victims of racism. But of all the people who can be labeled a racist, of all those who deserve the moniker of a bigot – and of all who lead this separatist charge while proudly holding the race card high above their heads – none are more disgusting, ignorant and one sided as Washington Post Associate Editor Eugene Robinson.

An obvious and outspoken proponent of racism, his columns frequently depict his ridiculous views, including one printed on May 10, 2005 entitled, “Church Of Oprah” in which he professed that, “Martha Stewart has a cult, with rituals and fetishes – applying the sprinkles to a frosted cupcake one by one with tweezers, that sort of thing. Oprah presides over something grander and more significant. It’s more like a church.” While an obviously racially motivated opinion, Mr. Robinson is entitled to it nonetheless. And whatever views and opinions he has are entirely his own to both keep to himself and publish to the world. But there is a certain line of tact, decorum and humanism that no one in The Fourth Estate should dare cross – and he did just that in his most recent drivel entitled, (White) Women We Love which was published on Page A23 of The Washington Post on Friday, June 10, 2005.

In his 757-word “column,” he discusses what historians will look back upon as, “the era’s major themes…in the decade bracketing the turn of the 21st century,” which he feels are, “Religious fundamentalism, terrorism, war in Iraq, economic dislocation, bioengineering, information technology, nuclear proliferation, globalization, the rise of superpower China – and, of course, damsels in distress.” He goes on to say that America has become obsessed with the “saga” of woman after woman who has gone through a horrible ordeal. He mentions Jennifer Wilbanks, “The Runaway Bride” who both captured our attention and deceived our nation simply because she could not wed her fiancé. In some ways, I do agree with Mr. Robinson that her personal and mental issues should not have become our country’s main focus – but I do understand that our country loves to occupy themselves with stories that are more “Movie of the Week” than newsworthy. But after mentioning Wilbanks – he goes on to mention other “damsels in distress” who he calls, “the damsel elite” – that not only are, “a guaranteed cure for a slow news day” according to Mr. Robinson – but were only paid attention to because they were white…

…women like Laci Peterson, Elizabeth Smart, Lori Hacking, Chandra Levy, JonBenet Ramsey, Jessica Lynch and most recently, Natalee Holloway.

“A damsel must be white,” wrote Robinson, “This requirement is nonnegotiable. It helps if her frame is of dimensions that breathless cable television reporters can credibly describe as ‘petite,’ and it also helps if she’s the kind of woman who wouldn’t really mind being called ‘petite,’ a woman with a good deal of princess in her personality. She must be attractive – also nonnegotiable. Her economic status should be middle class or higher, but an exception can be made in the case of wartime (see: Lynch).”

“Put all this together,” he continues, “And you get 24-7 coverage. The disappearance of a man, or of a woman of color, can generate a brief flurry, but never the full damsel treatment…the pattern of choosing only young, white, middle-class women for the full damsel treatment says a lot about a nation that likes to believe it has consigned race and class to irrelevance.”

Wow.

Excuse me, but with the exception of Jennifer Wilbanks, the other “damsels” he mentioned were all victims of some of the most brutal crimes in modern history. Laci Peterson had her baby torn from her womb while she was being strangled to death. Like Laci Peterson, Lori Hacking was pregnant when her husband shot her in the head as she slept in their Salt Lake City apartment and then wrapped her body in trash bags and put it in a dumpster. JonBenet Ramsey was found dead in the basement of her home in Boulder Colorado and still has not seen justice. Chandra Levy was found dead on May 22, 2002 by a man who was walking his dog and looking for turtles in Rock Creek Park near her apartment in northwest Washington, D.C. – and like JonBenet – has also not seen justice. Elizabeth Smart was taken from her home at gunpoint on June 5, 2002 in front of her baby sister and forced to live a life of rape and torture until she was found alive on March 12, 2003 – nearly a year later. Jessica Lynch was captured by Iraqis and repeatedly raped and sodomized until she was rescued by our soldiers a month later. And Natalee Holloway is still missing in Aruba after she was allegedly raped and possibly murdered by locals.

So I ask, Mr. Robinson, what does any of that have to do with the color of their skin?

Not only is Mr. Eugene Robinson a blatant racist, but he also lacks compassion and empathy for anyone and should not be allowed to be published in such a respectable newspaper. Even the Unabomber’s Manifesto, which The Washington Post published on September 19, 1995, had more of a regard for human life than Mr. Robinson’s soulless drivel. If you wish to choose the unfortunate and pathetic life of a racist, than so be it – but how dare you use these agonizing events and innocent victims as pawns in your racist chess game that in the end only you will lose.

By the way, isn’t it interesting that in Mr. Robinson’s list of “damsels in distress” – he doesn’t bring up Nicole Simpson? I wonder why…