The Denzel Factor

RubberCityLove is a new 3BP contributor, dedicated Buckeye and former Cap Hill staffer who has since gone on to bigger and better things out in the Land of Lincoln. But don't think his proximity to the President's hometown will make him not want to dropkick the Administration now and then.

So, here's a little thing I like to call sneaky racism. Sneaky because either the perpetrators don't know they're doing it, or they do and almost nobody else does. It's a form of hypocrisy wherein seemingly normal white people kinda forget about stereotypes because they're too busy patting themselves on the back for their own day-to-day cultural sensitivity. For example, remember the Office Max Rubberband Man?



Apparently, having a black man with a big 'ol silly afro and shiny smile dance around like a court jester delivering supplies to white people doesn't strike everyone as racist, but it does me.

Anyway...

Consider Joe Biden's recent description of President Obama.

“Well, there isn’t one person I could compare him to, but he’s like a cross between Denzel Washington and Franklin Roosevelt.”

Seriously? Hey, Joe... did ya HAVE to throw Denzel in there? I'm seriously curious why you did. Nah, I'm just messin' with ya. I know what you mean. He's black. That makes him different. Take Eli Whitney, for instance. I've always thought of him as a cross between Jethro Tull and Denzel.

Bravo, Joe. You are truly a pioneer of sneaky racism.