The matters a society is sensitive about speak volumes.  We have just witnessed a witch hunt  wherein Bill O’Reilly was accused of bigotry for the comments he made after eating at Sophia’s restaurant in Harlem, NY.  O’Reilly’s explanation of his remarks was logical and believable, and, while I find fault with O’Reilly on many issues, he is no bigot.   

I have a question, though: Even if his comments had been racial, so what?

I know, many are scratching their heads, some are screaming.  I’ll
explain.  Racial comments have become a third rail of American
discourse.  Increasingly, people (white people, anyway) are walking on
eggs, deathly afraid they’ll break one and find it rotten.  You may
remember the incident involving Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder, who posited a
theory as to why blacks are such fine athletes; he was pilloried in the
media and his career was over.  But why?  Why were some clumsily
rendered (he was drunk) comments about race — regardless of whether or
not they were true — reason enough to destroy a man?  I think what’s
truly reprehensible is engaging in character assassination and ruining
a man’s career and reputation simply because he violated your
politically correct orthodoxy.

Moreover, if you view our obsession with all things racial in context,
you’ll realize that we truly have departed from sanity.  Our society
has become so thoroughly coarse that, honestly, it’s laughable to think
that anyone should shrink from delivering racial commentary or humor.
Decadence is ubiquitous, with lewd sexual imagery and messages
everywhere; we have parades celebrating perversion and "art" displays
centered around it.  Then, not only is the Lord’s name regularly taken
in vain in movies today (no accident), but our entertainment
consistently celebrates the violation of the Commandments.  (Oh, I mentioned
religion.  I suppose I’m not even a serious commentator now.)  On top of
all this — and whatever I’ve forgotten to mention — profanity is
everywhere; it’s as if you’re not cool if you don’t spew four-letter
words.

Even more to the point, you can criticize people in the most scandalous
ways and no one bats an eye.  You can characterize them using vulgar
language, you can mock them in deeply personal ways, and you can even
tell lies about them.  You can be downright mean and cruel — as long
as you don’t go racial.  That is, unless you say things about whites.
Heck, those infernal ice people deserve it.

Now, against this backdrop, we’re supposed to be worried about making
racial comments?  It’s comical.  Why, the social engineers even have us
trained to refrain from using the word "nigger" for illustrative
purposes.  You can’t say, for instance, "He used the word ‘nigger’";
now you have to say "the N-word."  Yes, we’re like trained little
children, and if you’re not a good boy, you won’t get a cookie.

Of course, the list of those crucified by the new inquisitors is long.
There was John Rocker; Al Campanis; the golfer Fuzzy Zoeller; scientist
William Shockley; and, of course, Don Imus, just to name a few.  Now, I
know this is a motley crew, and I don’t place them all in the same
category.  Some are intellectual, some aren’t; some I have use for,
others I don’t. 

But that’s not the point. 

The point is that we have a destructive, sick obsession with race.  We
have lost our sense of proportion and are unable to differentiate
between what should be sacred and what shouldn’t.  Our society much
reminds me of an anorexic: No matter how thin he gets, he looks in the
mirror and thinks he needs to lose weight.  And, at the end of the day,
on an emotional level he hasn’t had the most important realization of
all: Even if he is fat, so what?