Charades

This week's tabloid politics is the Cynthia McKinney scuffle with police, or as McKinney herself refers to it, the "being Black while in congress" escapade. Quick rundown : McKinney seldom wears her congressional identifying pin because she "forgets." She recently changed her hairstyle. White police officers pick on her.

"Do I have to contact the police every time I change my hairstyle? How do we account for the fact that when I wore my braids every day for 11 years, I still faced this problem, primarily from certain white police officers," the statement says.

She had a racial profiling problem for 11 years and only now bitching about it?

Typically I stay away from Black heroes like McKinney, simply because political fan clubs are so vicious, but this incident smells like another politician with too much self-importance and too little sense. McKinney should know that breathing while Black demands she wear her identification prominently. And the sister has to know that life is simpler (and safer) if there is at least some sort of nodding acquaintance with those "certain white officers" who apparently she runs into on a regular basis. She cannot be this naïve about her personal security even and especially "being in Congress while black." Didn't she learn in childhood that a little extra caution is generally mandatory in a white world?

Remember that McKinney had a brief fall from grace before being reseated in congress, which I blogged on last August.

Lets look at what Ms. McK has been doing since her return:
HR 2297 - Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area Act (passed). The Robert Woodruff (Coca-Cola king) Foundation, Inc., a recipient of funds, will thank you.
HR 3998 - African-American Farmer Relief and Anti-Discrimination Act. More "Anti" legislation that doesn't do diddly for anyone.
HR 4139 - Gulf Coast Hurricane Emergency Environmental Protection Act.
HR 4210 - Tupac Amaru Shakur Records Collection Act (To provide for the expeditious disclosure of records relevant to the life and death of Tupac Amaru Shakur.)
HR 4279 - The Frank F. Church Federal Building Act (To redesignate the Federal building located at 935 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest in the District of Columbia as the "Frank F. Church Federal Building".)

Poor Cynthia, relegated to sponsoring toadeater legislation and tabloid scuffling. The only victim here is McKinney's pride, which is likely what she willingly dumped in exchange for re-election.