Not exactly Uncle Tom.

 *I just read the story about the young brother at Williams College, who believes that he Is being ostracized by his own race and labeled a sell out and Uncle Tom because he supports allowing a racist to conduct a lecture on his campus.

He believes that we have to debate each other openly and allow people with differing views (no matter how despicable) to be able to openly express themselves without the fear of reprisals.

This might surprise a lot of you (and maybe not) but I actually agree with the young man. I believe that we should try to better understand what goes on in the mind of  racists before we can confront them. Debate is important to a civil society, and, quite frankly, I welcome it.

I believe that colleges and universities are making a mistake when they ban certain types of speech on campus.

"In response, I’ve said that my goal has always been to muster the courage to think critically for myself, even if that means going against the grain. For me, arguing with a racist and exposing the flaws in their argument is about gaining a better understanding of views that offend you; it’s about improving your ability to argue and defend your opinion.

Emotions are always involved in discussions of sensitive issues like race, but learning is not just about how we feel. It’s about thinking and trying to understand complicated issues that affect our lives. Thinking about racism from multiple perspectives – separated from the emotion of it — has enhanced my understanding of race and of humanity."

Well, I am not sure that I would call racists humans, but I get the point; we still have to learn to understand them.

Finally, there are two high profile individuals in America who could really use some intervention right about now.

Their lives are unraveling in a very public way right before our eyes. It's a shame, because both men are talented individuals, Kat still has some of the best standup material I have heard over the past few years, and Johnny Football can still work magic with a football in his hands.

Sadly, though, I am afraid that if we don't get help for Katt Williams and Johnny Manziel , we will wake up one day and see a sad headline with some tragic news about both men.

*Pic from the library of congress.