Just ink; don't think

The problem with art is that its meaning is totally up to interpretation -- like ink blots for example. These are paintings where artists can get drunk, hop around on a pogo stick, squirt ink onto a canvas with a turkey baster and call whatever comes out "art." And despite the fact that most ink blots just look like a fugly mess, people always overanalyze the meaning (because if you stare at them long enough, you begin to see things that aren't really there). While you might think you see an image of a butterfly or Condoleezza Rice riding a unicorn, in actuality, it's just a blot of ink.\nStrangely enough, it appears as if this form of analysis is in a much larger frame as well, for I have begun to notice a similar trend involving racism in our society. By trying to overcompensate for the racial injustice of our nation's past, our country has developed a serious case of racism paranoia. We are now so cautious about bigotry that we have begun to overanalyze unprejudiced situations, consequently manifesting false cases of racism. \nTake for instance when white people use the term "black." There is always someone who will harshly correct them by screaming, "OMG! It's African-American, not black. You are like so totally a bigot!" Despite the fact that the term "black" is used only for easy identification, it is still considered a racial slur. Furthermore, when a Caucasian person is referred to as "white," it's not considered disrespectful at all. This is a gross double standard. \nThe fact is, black people are given much more leeway with racial jargon than white people. It is for this reason that, "It's because I'm black, isn't it?" is becoming an all too common basis for racial argument. It has become the all-inclusive catch phrase for such "ink blot" paranoia. \nO.J. Simpson even tried to use it. When he was accused of murder in 1994, he actually argued that part of the reason he was being arrested was "because he was African-American." Yeah ... that's right O.J. I'm sure that whole double homicide thing had nothing to do with it.\nBoth in and out of the courtroom, though, race is an extremely touchy issue. So touchy, in fact, I decided I needed to get in touch with a close, black friend of mine, Ian, to get his opinion on racial paranoia. \n"Racism was very prevalent in earlier generations," he said. "But since conditions of equality are getting better and better, claims of racism are getting further and further stretched. Some people are just down right paranoid now and need to chill the freak out." \nIt's so true. Sometimes it's ridiculous how PC some things get because of this paranoia. Like health book covers for example: They're always made to look as super-ultra diverse as possible. There are always a white person, a black person, an Asian person, a Latino person, a handicapped person and some guy in the back with two noses pictured. The book publishers make such a point to embrace diversity that, ironically, they merely exacerbate the mentality that racial fusion cannot happen naturally. \nNow I'm not trying to say that racism doesn't exist. Unfortunately, it does. And will continue to exist ... for the same reason that 12 people are killed annually by vending machines. Some people are just plain stupid. However, it seems that too often people try to overanalyze race-related situations and, consequently, begin to see things that don't exist, like racist apparitions. It is our job as Americans to recognize the difference between legitimate cases of racism and a simple blot of black ink. Oh, excuse me. African-American ink.