Black Man's game?

[Mark Padgett]

I probably come from a more ethnically diverse neighborhood than most of you (notice - I did not say "all" so let's not have a pissing contest) having grown up on the south side of Chicago. When I was a kid (before dirt was discovered), I played baseball, basketball and football with virtually every kind of kid ever invented. We didn't care what color, religion or ancestry a kid was - he could either hit or he couldn't - he could either catch or he couldn't - he could either shoot or he couldn't.

I've tried to live my life by those same principles. People are individuals. They're either good or bad or somewhere in between. I consider everyone to be good unless or until they demonstrate to me that they are otherwise.

I hope I've taught my kids to feel the same way.

Someday, the genome project will finish proving conclusively that there's no such thing as "race" as we think of it anyway - only similarity of genetic tagging. Then maybe we can put all this bull behind us and get on with making this world a better place for everyone.

Sorry, I had to get serious for a moment because this is the subject (discrimination of any kind) I feel strongest about.

And no - I'm not running for office. I'm just trying to change the world, one bigot at a time.