The Great Black Hope

Yesterday on CNN.com a clip showed Pat Robertson saying, in so many words, that the earthquake in Haiti is a result of the Haitians making a pact with the devil in the 1700s. My favorite part of the clip was him adding, nonchalantly, "true story." That part made me giggle.
I forwarded this clip to people because I wanted them to hate him and his stupidity and Christian right-wing bullshit as much as I hate it.
The response I get from a former employer is:

How dare these Black people revolt against their "slave masters". Must have made a pact with the devil to out smart white folks.

Okay.
Okay.
And then I wonder, why does everything - fucking EVERYTHING - always have to be about the White man keeping the Black man down?
Other examples:
I once sent a great article written by John McWhorter, a linguist who also writes books about Blacks in America. In fact, he published a post during CNN's Black in America 2:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/07/20/mcwhorter.jobs/index.html?iref=hpmostpop

So THAT was an article that I had forwarded to people, including my ex-boss. His response:

Yeah I like this guy but I don't think he would sit and have a beer with the brothers.

I assume this means the guy is not Black enough. My response:

perhaps he'd have a pinot grigio.

In addition, he assumes, though my actions and words point to the contrary, that I like George Bush, Rush Limbaugh, and anything white because it's white, including snow, cocaine, sugar, polar bears, t-shirts, the White House, doves, the moon, quartz, coconut flesh, albumin, a white Christmas, toilet paper, white collar jobs, the White pages, mashed potatoes, milk, cumulus clouds (I will admit that I like them), and Altoids.
I'm not discounting my ex-boss's experiences as a Black man in America, particularly one who is in his 50s and from the South; I'm really not. And I am completely aware of White Privilege and its effects and impact in this culture, including the benefits I have reaped from it. But sometimes, like John McWhorter, I would like my ex-boss to look as the positives that exist today. I think if we focus on strengths and what is positive, that is what will continue to increase.
No other people in the history of civilization has made such huge strides as African Americans have in this country in such a short period of time - that is what should be focused on.
And now I'm taking a bow.