In case you haven't noticed, Barry Bonds is Black.  Now that that elephant is out in the open, here's another thing: people in this country are racially polarised.  And for my last earth-shattering new discovery: 74 percent of black baseball fans want Barry Bonds to break the all-time home run record. 

I know what you are thinking, and you are absolutely right: well, DUH!!

I am so happy to see this poll come out, and reinforce the obvious.  Really, I am.  I am relieved that there is some shred of scientific analysis to point out that by and large, Black baseball fans simply don't share the vitriol about Barry Bonds like their white counterparts. 

Oh, don't look so shocked...

We African Americans tend to see shades of gray better than white folks do.  Think Mayor Marion Barry, OJ Simpson and even President Clinton.  Our entire history is predicated on the notion that what you see isn't always what you get, and that the measure of a man's character and accomplishments cannot always be tempered by how he is percieved in public. Fifty years ago, all a man had to do was 'be black' in public and he was a target.

Barry was perceived as a colossal egomaniac who had a strained relationship with the media.  In the pages and sports blogs, Barry became the most hated man to ever hold a bat.  The sports media business waited long and patiently for their time to get him back. 

Then along came steroids...you know the rest.

So here's a question: when was the last time Barry failed a drug test? How is it that he is labeled a cheater without a shred of objective proof? 

Here's another question: How many Black citizens have been accused of some trumped up issues purely because he/she is African American?

So Barry is egocentric; perhaps he didn't "Yassuh Boss" his way thru a career in Major League Baseball.  So do you think there may be other forces at play here?

We African Americans think so.