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Originally Posted by BretMan
Has the newsletter been published yet? The only reason I'm asking is because, if it hasn't, I would like to make one suggestion before it sees print.
I'm not one to be overly-sensitive about these things, but I would consider removing your line about "playing the race card".
"Race" can be such a hot issue that the very hint of a racial overtone- deserved or not- is likely to take your message down a road other than the one you intend. Some are likely to read that phrase- in the first paragraph, no less- and, BAM!, the red flags are raised, the alarms go off and the rest of your message is lost, no matter how valid.
Using that phrase is bound to obscure your message: We deserve what we get based on our work and effort. If one of your points is that race plays absolutely no role in the decisions, the best way to get that point across is no make no mention of race whatsoever.
Rather than uniting your audience, you have now divided them. Rather than addressing real, observable, measurable issues (uniforms, training, mechanics) you have pushed a hot-key button that is likely to move the discussion away from your main point.
That is my comment from an editorial, "how to win friends and influence people" standpoint. Otherwise, I wouldn't change a word.
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I 'hear' ya... and to a point I agree with you.
However, I think that people are too sensitive and too damned PC nowdays. People are too afraid of upsetting someone's feelings, or what others will think of them... tough. When I feel strong about a topic, I'm not going to mince words just to make someone feel warm and fuzzy.
Any time someone discusses a protected class, whether it's race, gender, religion, whatever - it's going to make people pay attention... because, "what if he says something that offends me? I'd better pay attention!" If I don't want you to lose interest in the message I'm trying to get across, I'd better enthrall you right from the beginning. This is just one method in doing that.
Instead of race, I could have said something similar about gender...something like, "umpires complaining about the women in their association moving up too fast just because they're women." Using the term "race card" like I did was intended purely for its shock value and attention-grabbing effect. Look, it worked on you!
Your instinct said "that ain't right" - yet you continued to read the article (more than once I'd bet) then made a point to comment that you wouldn't change anything else in it.
Getting you to read it, understand it, and think about it... that's all I wanted. If it works on you, think what it'll do on the people in my target demographic!
