View From the Locker Room

Despite the ethnicity of our new president, racism will continue to be rooted in the prevailing perception of the American white male that the African American male is genetically endowed with the bigger spine. Usually referred to as spine envy, this discrepancy generates a sense of inferiority in the white male. Crushed by a burden of low self-esteem, the white male lashes back with hatred, bigotry and whatever restrictive measures he can enforce on the black man’s energy and freedom.

Some folks like to claim that it’s not the size of the spine that counts, it’s what you do with it that matters. Now that is true of any spine, big, little or average. But as they say in boxing, a good big spine will outdo a good little spine every time. Look at basketball. The black player with his longer spine is predominant. That isn’t to say that only black men have big spines; natural selection is leading to bigger spines throughout the races. Census figures show that the average American male has risen in height over two inches since World War I. This means that females choose to mate with men – white, black or otherwise - with longer spines. The lady a man is courting may say that size doesn’t matter, but that doesn’t keep her from running her fingers up and down his spine in a subtle act of measuring.

In our recent election cycle, it was apparent that winner Obama had a spine notably larger, and more attractive to the voter, than loser McCain. In the Democratic Primary, however, it was not so evident whether Obama or runner-up Clinton had the larger spine. But the Black man, we know, did win the American female vote in both contests.