52 Paths to Heaven

The Golf Channel did the right thing recently by suspending anchor Kelly Tilghman for her stupid lynching remark about Tiger Woods.

Apaprently, Tilghman and Woods are friends, but that doesn’t excuse lousy judgment in front of scores of viewers. But was the comment racist?

It all came down this this: Anchor Nick Faldo and Tilghman were talking about up and coming players who could compete with Woods. Faldo set the stage with his comment that “maybe they should just gang up for a while” against Woods.

“Lynch him in a back alley,” Tilghman replied.

Ouch.

Would she have said that is Woods was white - probably not.|

But does it mean she’s racist because the concept of lynching, black people, Woods and “clever” thinking filled her mind? I’m not sure what racist things I’ve said or suggested, but I know I’ve run my mouth and said some really, really dumb things. The difference is I’m not on TV.

Is she secretly racist? I doubt it, unless it’s a conditioning thing some people can’t avoid - the old “which side of the street would you walk on if you saw white people and black people approaching you on different sides?” I’d like to think I’d choose the side where people look like less of a threat. In my book, on any given day three white men in suits beat three black people with sunglasses, dark hooded jackets and pants dropping to their knees.

Oops…did I just say “beat?” I didn’t mean strike as in beat up.

I think the “lynch” reference is just tied to something under the surface for her. In the public arena, people like her need more training for stupidity, which would also help with the racist overtones that may be other things but not racist.

“She rides pretty good for a black girl,” the teen-ager told me one day.

I was glad in a sense that my son heard the comment in 2007 about a young girl’s skateboarding ability. It demonstrated how he should never act and revealed a bad streak in his otherwise jovial friend.

Whether that was racisim or just an ignorant remark by a teen who hangs out with black friends, the truth is that pure-bred racism can lead to heaven.

The chapter explains that you need to live through your evil and essentially make a record of it before you can come to grips with it and have a fighting chance of reaching out to Jesus for His forgiveness.

Are you a racist? What about your friends?