Racism is a thing of the past, or is it? When looking at the Sirius/XM Merger, it appears that racism is front and center, but in reverse. According to
an article in the Washington Post, the Congressional Black Caucus is criticizing the recommendation of Chairman Kevin Martin and the concessions outlined by Sirius and XM.
Representative Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) said yesterday that he was "extremely upset" and would speak to his colleagues about taking action to stop the merger unless the percentage was increased, perhaps legislative action.
Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) also called the concessions "completely unacceptable" and said that they would be meeting personally with Nate Davis (CEO of XM) and other top executives to see if they could come to some sort of an agreement. Butterfield said, "If they cannot meet us on any reasonable terms, we are going to be very adamant about not approving the merger. It's not in the public interest. They are not concerned about the cost to the consumer."
Back in May, I penned a letter to the FCC and to Congressman Rush, which you can view in the forums by clicking
HERE. In that letter, I listed a number of minority channels that XM and Sirius currently offer, with my list totaling 51 separate channels. After the fact, it was pointed out that I had missed quite a few channels that were dedicated not only to minorities, but also dedicated to women and gay/lesbian segments of the population. XM and Sirius have now come out and promised an additional 6 channels per service for a total of 12 new channels, dedicated to minority content. The footnote in the
FCC Filing outlining the concessions clarifies it even further:
So let me get this straight: Sirius, XM, the FCC, and these Congressional Representatives are specifically being racist to White people? I myself cannot apply to run a channel under this set aside simply because I am white. That is reverse racism, and I am offended. I am not a racist. I have friends that are black, brown, white, Asian, Filipino, and albino. I am semi-bilingual in Spanish because I live in the southern most part of Texas LITERALLY 10 minute drive to the Mexican border. I do NOT have a problem with other races. What I do have a problem with is when people of race demand special attention because of their race. Rev. Martin Luther King in his famous "I have a dream" speech says
So are we judging by the content of character or simply by the color of one's skin? Does anybody find it rather amusing that Representative Butterfield is going to talk to Nate Davis about his concerns, as opposed to Mel Karmazin, who is going to be the CEO of the combined company? Oh, Nate Davis is an African American. That's right. I forgot to look at the skin.
If anybody takes offense over this post, including the Representatives I have mentioned in this post, I offer you the exact same chance to post a reply below as I offer everyone else. Unlike some, I do not discriminate.
