Move Over Tom, Make Room For Uncle Tavis

Have you ever witnessed the actions of crabs in a steamer pot? Ever noticed how the crabs, in their effort to escape, pull one another down into the pots? They walk over the bodies of the weaker crabs, and claw and snap, push and shove without regards for the other crabs.

My father once likened African Americans to crabs in a pot, and I used to just blow off his words; however, as I have grown, I began to realize that my father was not so far off the beaten path after all. There are assorted sizes of crabs in this pot, and perhaps one of the biggest crabs of all in Tavis Smiley.

The older folk would call him a "Tom" which is a modernized version of the term "Uncle Tom", or another word for one who sells out his people for his own selfish gain. Strong words considering that I do not know the man personally;however, I know his actions, and they are extremely "Tom like".

Here we are in the middle of a presidential election cycle, and the front running Democrat is Barack Obama, a black man. Barack has his hands full trying to fend off slanderous attacks from his rival Hillary, and trying to drum up voters in key states. To say he is busy is an understatement, for Barack has to go none stop to maintain his momentum. Most reasonable people would understand that, but then again, most reasonable people are not Tavis Smiley.

Tavis decides to hold his "State of The Black Union" conference smack in the middle of the primaries. Not to take anything away from that, for I feel it is a good idea to have such a conference, but I think the timing was poor. Tavis wants the conference to be a success, so he invites Barack Obama to speak. There is a problem with that, Obama is campaigning for the office of President of The United States and his schedule will not permit to deviate. Now, Barack Obama offers a concession by suggesting that his spouse Michelle, also an eloquent speaker, stand in for him. In all honesty, that would not have been a bad thing at all. Barack is an awesome speaker, but Michelle can move the pulse of the crowd. I would have said yes, but as it appears, Michelle is not good enough for Tavis Smiley.

So now Tavis is in a situation, for he could not get Barack Obama to break away from the campaign trail and come to his conference; what does Tavis decide to do? He openly slanders Barack Obama, attacking Obama's credibility in the African American community. In other words, Tavis Smiley openly illustrates his support for the Clinton campaign by attacking the one person Hillary cannot handle. Just as with Uncle Tom's cabin, we are now presented with a new breed of sell out. Perhaps we should call this story "Uncle Tavis's Crib", for just as with Uncle Tom, Massah Clinton got his best boy to do his dirty work for him.

Like crabs in the steaming pot, so are the adventures of Uncle Tavis.