LZ: Watch out for Racism 2.0

Granderson: Bashing Cliven Bundy's remarks is easy, but he's not face of today's racism He says politicians denounce remarks even as they push or abide de facto racist policies He says gerrymandering, stand-your-ground laws, voter ID laws all are Racism 2.0 Granderson: Look for real racism in spending on jails, not schools

Editor's note: LZ Granderson is a CNN contributor, a senior writer for ESPN and lecturer at Northwestern University. Commentary by the former Hechinger Institute fellow has been recognized by the Online News Association, the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association. Follow him on Twitter @locs_n_laughs. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(CNN) -- Bashing Cliven Bundy for his remarks regarding race is like LeBron James dunking on a 5-foot rim: Pointless.

And the same is true for Los Angeles Clippers owner Don Sterling, if you believe that he made the remarks attributed to him by TMZ and Deadspin.

As President Barack Obama said, "when ignorant folks want to advertise their ignorance, you don't really have to do anything, you just let them talk." Still talking about the talk of the ignorant is fun. After all, few things are more entertaining than well-executed memes and a hashtag in front of stupidity.

The problem is that while men such as Bundy and Sterling may be racist, they are not the face of racism.

LZ Granderson

Not today's version.

But we'll place that yoke on their shoulders anyway because it's easy, like James dunking on a kiddie rim.

Some conservatives will quickly pedal away from the Bundys and the Ted Nugents of the world, insisting that they are not like those rodeo clowns. They don't have a racist bone in their body because they would never make such outlandish statements. But then they turn around and marvel at how "well-spoken" or "articulate" a black person is and think nothing of it.

Politicians of all stripes will publicly denounce the offensive things that Bundy says but continue to construct policies that cater to his sensibilities. Today, racism isn't a crazy old white man with a dead calf on his shoulders proclaiming he's "unracist." No, it's elected officials such as U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin saying inner-city men are "not even thinking about working or learning the value and the culture of work" and then feigning shock that people saw a racist element to his statements.

Bundy and Sterling are just the lightning rods of the moment. Not too long ago, Paula Deen was the social pariah.

Obama on NBA owner's alleged comments 'Magic' Johnson responds to racist rant Cliven Bundy defends comments on race Bundy: I want what MLK wants

Meanwhile, Racism 2.0 is busily working in the shadows, gerrymandering away voting rights and creating legislation that makes pre-emptively shooting dead a young black man who makes you nervous synonymous with standing one's ground.

The longer the media allow ignorant relics like Bundy to continue to hog the spotlight -- and the public points at him as the face of conservative racism -- the longer the current incarnation can go unchecked.

That doesn't mean Bundy's fight with the government should be ignored. That doesn't mean Sterling's alleged remarks -- and well-documented past of discrimination -- should be overlooked. Only that their views -- and thus, importance -- should be kept in perspective.

For mispronouncing Rosa Parks' name pales in comparison to the politics of courting a racist electorate. It pales in comparison to the lack of compassion for the five children who were shot Easter Sunday at a park on the south side of Chicago or the characterization of poor people as takers.

During the height of the recession, according to an analysis in The American Prospect, 33 states increased spending on prisons while decreasing spending on education, and we're to believe the disproportionate number of minorities in jail is a coincidence?

So, yeah, yuk it up at Bundy's expense.

Keep tweeting #boycottClippers if it makes you feel better (though I'd be more prone to use my 140 characters to ask why the NAACP thought Sterling was a good candidate for a lifetime achievement award).

But don't make such people out to be anything more than what they are -- the few remaining voices of oppression from years past. Today racism has a different look. A different sound. A different voice -- though the song is still the same.

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