we're a little short of things to do on the island this afternoon, so i've had plenty of time to stew. not much to stew about, but plenty of time. the news is slow, my enthusiasm for the movie Underworld has long since evaporated, my recollections of the Guns n' Roses cover band, Night Train and their new bassist, Horatio Sanz are foggy at best, the woman at Subway who never gives me my stamps wasn't there today, and the office is pretty much a void of inspiration. given that total lack of material, i thought i'd weigh in on something i'd never be bored enough to talk about.

once i saw a book entitled "Rush Limbaugh is a Big, Fat Idiot" on a bookstore shelf. i didn't buy it. i figured, why i read a book that's going to tell me something i already know? i agree with the nerdy guy with glasses and a hint of flannel that some kind of ridiculously outlandish commentary was pretty much inevitable. and perhaps because i went through a flannel wearing phase, my initial reaction agreed that Rush's comments obviously were racial in nature, but didn't exactly seem racist.

the more i thought about it, the more i couldn't help but feel like Bob Kravitz had it right when he wrote, "Don't say anything. And definitely don't say anything related to race. " rush's take on football was no stupider football-wise than certain other commentators i could name. and the sports guy made a good related point about the isaiah thomas/larry bird race comment from a few years back. i didn't like his point. it made me uncomfortable. still, i don't have much of an answer to it.

but as time goes by, the clearer it is that Rush's comments were pretty much guaranteed to land him in hot water. guaranteed to? i probably should have said designed to. race is a sensitive issue in america. rush likes to push people's buttons. i'm not sure if Rush is a racist or not. but i think it's pretty safe to say that he was baiting the media and americans in general. race-baiting? maybe. i don't really like people who push other people's buttons just because they can. i don't like Rush. McNabb has caught his share of crap from the media, especially when the team isn't doing well (like now, for example). but playing the race card like that is like kicking him in the groin while he's down.

sure, sure, Rush probably doesn't hate McNabb. i doubt Rush was out to get McNabb. but taking a shotgun-style potshot at the "liberal media" with a talented, fairly successful, innocent (black) bystander standing right next to it was irresponsible and insensitive at best. maybe if he had picked a less talented black quarterback? maybe not. race is a big, fat touchy scab on the american subconscious for everyone, talented or otherwise. and the last time i checked the best way to help a scab heal is not to pick at it. you use a bandaid. you grab some Neosporin. you wait for it to heal. what do you absolutely not do?

you don't pick at it.
Rush is gone, and i'm not sorry.