There is another, and very different, reason why blacks take Ebonics seriously. I proceed with another example.

The other day I was at the gun range zeroing in a 30-06 in preparation for a hunting trip. Apparently, I had bumped the scope and it was firing about a half-inch high and two inches to the right. So I took out a flathead screwdriver, made the necessary adjustments and put three shots into the center of the target in a nice one-inch group – good enough at 100 yards at an outdoor shooting range.

Next, I took out a .40 caliber handgun and started firing at a silhouette target. My shots were consistently pulling just to the right of the ten-ring. Later, I got on the phone and called a friend and he offered a suggestion. The next weekend when he was in town, we went back to the range and I made a minor adjustment and watched a hole grow larger in the target where the ten-ring used to be.

In both cases, it would have been easier to change the rules of the game than it would have been to make adjustments in my own behavior. For example, in the case of the .40 caliber, I could have simply taken down the target and changed the numbers to put the ten-ring in a different location. In other words, I could have simply changed the rules in the middle of the contest.

If you think about it that is what is happening with the concept of Ebonics. Blacks who are performing poorly in the use of the English language – by making systematic errors – are simply announcing a new set of rules, which will require no change in their behavior. “’Dat’ is just like ‘That’” is the same kind of rationalization as “The five-ring is where the ten-ring is supposed to be.”

Put simply, laziness is the main reason why blacks refuse to criticize the obvious absurdity of Ebonics.

Of course, many people will say that it is not politically correct to suggest that some blacks are lazy. But the existence of a stereotype in no way proves the non-existence of cases conforming to the stereotype. There really are gay hairdressers, you know.

I hope Professor Bertis English will take some time to actually respond to the substance of my column. And I hope he is just being lazy and not being racist in his apparent refusal to criticize Ebonics. But his Anglo sounding last name has me a little worried.

On December 6th, Dr. Adams will speak at the University of Georgia, Athens, GA. 7 p.m. in Room 248 of the Student Learning Center.