DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH MY VICTIMHOOD

On days like today, where I skip the office due to no appointments and inclement weather, FaceBook (tm) provides quite a source of entertainment. I have a friend who is a late 30s Jewish lawyer, born and raised in Miami. I'll call him Todd, since that's his name. Todd used to work for Mark, an old office roommie, and then became a federal public defender before landing at a very prestigious ambulance chasing firm. He's handsome, smart, and making great money. He also only likes to date black women. He got one pregant, and had a boy with her, who is now 4. I've only met the little guy on FaceBook, but he's adorable and clearly gifted. Todd's not with the mother, but seems to have the kid with him most of the time. He's always posting photos and videos of the kid -- happy, playful, and healthy. Well Todd posted today about the kid killed by a cop in suburban St. Louis -- that as the father of a black son, he fears for his son -- living in danger because of the color of his skin. It struck a nerve in me -- I DEPLORE victimhood -- especially among rich folks. I attempted to answer on FB that we can ALL be victims based upon who we are -- my in laws, Holocause Survivors, are my life's exhibit A. And I mentioned the Hasidic Rabbi killed last shabbos in North Miami Dade -- maybe a hate crime -- no one yet knows. Well the FB floodgates opened, like an afternoon Miami downpour. How DARE I try to co opt victim hood!!!! I tried telling tales of getting beaten up as a boy because I was a JEw -- it really happened -- Joe Benedetto even called me Christ killer when he did it -- but everyone loses sometimes. I tried saying we ALL profile and pre judge. Anyone looking at me says "Overweight Jewish guy -- probably from the Northeast -- not an athlete, and compensates for being a sports fan." And they'd be correct! But so what? Well, the so what was that apparently I can never know what it's like to be a black person. I agree. And Todd's wealthy black friends can never know what it's like to be a Jew in 1930 Poland, either. Again -- so what? Todd's boy will soar, as my Ds have. I would never allow my Ds to be "victims." If they said "Well, what do you expect from us -- our maternal families were murdered because of who they were, and this allows us to fail," well, things wouldn't be so pleasant around here, to say the least. So I've learned my lesson. I'll keep my privileged white mouth shut on public forums. Last time I checked, the big boss of us all was black. Here in Miami, the Police Chief is black. The former head of Miami Dade Schools was black. I prefer to see the soaring instead of the excuses for crashing. I've learned many folks feel differently.