Not all as it seems

To the editor:

A few thoughts in response to a “Earned it" (The Chief, Letters, March 7).

In 1991, Bobby Bonilla, at the time with the Pittsburgh Pirates, signed a then-record mega contract with the New York Mets. Upon returning to Pittsburgh he was booed. Barry Bonds, the mighty slugger and Bonilla’s former teammate later of San Francisco fame, said “dark skin; racism.” The brilliant populist sports columnist Phil Mushnick, a true class act, penned a Pulitzer-worthy column, pointing out Pittsburgh in the early 1970s was the first baseball team to sport an all-Black starting lineup, which was "the darling of Pittsburgh." 

I worked for a car rental company in the late 1980s. People rented cars, signing a legal contract that said no additional drivers. Renters loaned the car to friends, relatives, etc., to drive. The car developed mechanical issues, the unauthorized driver took it back for an exchange, I confiscated the car and closed the contract. All races. I was accused of racism.

Nor am I immune to mistaken perception. I complained to a woman at my job about money. She replied, "with a name like Weiner you have no money." An obvious reference to me having a Jewish surname? Months later she told me she thought the now ex-Congressman Anthony Weiner was a relative. An erroneous assumption but not racist.

Is there racism in this country? Is there racism in government? Did some people vote for Trump because of racism? Of course. It's not why Trump won. Not every bad thing to happen to a (fill in the blank) because of a (fill in the blank) is racism.

Nat Weiner