Well, here's another incident. Undoubtedly, there have been others before it and there will be others to follow. But just as some on this forum thought the Post's earlier report about incidents in Indiana and Pennsylvania was somehow condescending, I'm sure there will be those who complain about Obama supporters "playing the race card." Or those who say people don't want to be called racists, which is to say they don't want to hear anything about race. It'd be easier to pretend that society has come so far and everything's great. But incidents like this prove everything isn't great, and the news media should report them with vigor.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
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OH MY LORD? RACISTS REALLY EXIST? IT CAN'T BE. DO THEY BELONG TO THOSE COUNTRY CLUBS YOU AND JAKE TAPPER THINK ALL THE REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMEN BELONG TO? HOW DID ALL THOSE FLORIDA DEMOCRATS JOIN THE REPUBLICAN CLUB IN DC?
Now I finally get your point and completely agree: my criticism with Obama had nothing to do with his desire to socialize everything. It was all because I'm some dumb redneck from the sticks of, oh, I don't know, West Virginia or Pennsylvania or Indiana or whatever, it doesn't really matter does it? It's all racist fly-over country.
Anyway, what's important is that I now see the light! I am an Obama supporter! If only I could have been from somewhere progressive like Montgomery County! Then I would have seen the light much sooner!
Also, after reading this, I've figured out what this is: a big giant conspiracy by Karl Rove and Grover Norquist and those evil Republican congressmen who are probably racist too (we don't need to check records about that or anything, they're Republicans, they've been to a country club, obviously racist). See, what they did was round up all those racists in West Virginia and Indiana and Pennsylvania, fly them all down to Florida, pretend to be Hillary supporters, and write racist things on cars in Florida. It makes perfect sense!
Maybe, just maybe, you should turn the racist hysteria dial down from 11 to say, I don't know, 6 or 7. Maybe you should also check your own party before slinging mud across the aisle.
And, despite what you think this proves--beyond the stupidity of DEMOCRATS in Florida--there really are genuine REPUBLICAN criticisms of Obama and some of them really are dismissed by his cult of personality as racist simply because they're aimed at Obama.
I could go on, but it's getting late and now that I'm part of the cult-er, party--I have a ritualistic re-naming ceremony to go to. Brother Publius, just one quick question for me, now that I'm a follower, will Obama give me manna from the ground, or will he Fed-Ex it to me?
Finally, a response from Vitus! How many times was I going to have to post stuff to get something????
Onward: There are of course plenty of racists in the Democratic party -- and certainly plenty of those who use racially-charged language ... imperfectly. (See the senior senator from West Virginia's use of the term "white ni**ers). I think plenty of people were rightly offended by the Clintons' use of race to attack Obama. It's definitely a two-way street.
For a complete reference of sensible, non-racist criticisms of Barack Obama, read George Will. And, come to think of it, listen to John McCain himself. Would either even think of calling Obama "John Kerry with a tan"? It's not only offensive for being racist, but for being unfunny.
Likewise, you've never made a racially-charged criticism of Obama -- far from it. But, indeed, there are racists out there who have and they should be condemned without everyone crying abuse of "the race card." And because some of these incidents happened in Appalachia doesn't make reporting it somehow elitist. Should we just wait for it to happen elsewhere (like Orlando)?
Vitus, when can I see you again?
"And because some of these incidents happened in Appalachia doesn't make reporting it somehow elitist."
But they didn't happen in Appalachia, just like they didn't happen in the Capitol Hlll Club. Obama lost West Virginia. There were no racial slurs painted on cars in Charleston. And Karl Rove insulted Obama in a private club. Neither were based on race, and that's my entire point. Conflating actual racism with "charges" of racism that don't add up does two bad things: 1) it lowers the malice of actual charges of racism; and 2) it insults people that make non-racial comments or decisions.
I don't think I've ever claimed that there were no racists in West Virginia or Appalachia or anywhere else. If I did, I did not mean to. What I do think, is that the effect of these racists is minimal at best.
The reason its called the race "card" is because people play with it. So far, I haven't seen anyone play it except democrats.
Your initial response to the Post article about the racist incidents in Pennsylvania and Indiana was something to the effect of, "like there aren't racists in D.C." Who said there weren't? But because these incidents took place in "flyover county" the Post shouldn't have written about them? Or that because we all know there's racism out there, then, jeez, what's the story if some windows got smashed and slurs were spraypainted and the mayor of some town in Penn. wrote an op-ed stating that Obama is a radical Muslim? In fairness, the Post article described incidents that were not in southeastern Pennsylvania, so I guess it's not technically Appalachia. But the point is the same: Why should it matter where these incidents happen? It's not elitist to report them; it's the press's duty. That may make people uncomfortable, but that's too bad.
And "the effect of these racists is minimal at best." Come on. Vandalizing cars and campaign offices with racial slurs is, what, no biggie? Should we wait for a cross-burning to get worked up? Maybe they won't have an effect on voting, but that isn't the point.
And my personal beef with Karl Rove's comments weren't that they were racist (that was Jake Tapper's) but because they were completely smug, inaccurate, and desperate, coming from a faux-populist, himself at a private social club. Grover Norquist's comments, on the other hand, clearly were racist.
1) "And "the effect of these racists is minimal at best."
What I meant was effect on the election, not on people's lives.
2) "the mayor of some town in Penn. wrote an op-ed stating that Obama is a radical Muslim?"
That's wrong. What the mayor actually said was: "There is so much that people don't know about his upbringing in the Muslim world. His stepfather was a radical Muslim and the ranting of his minister against the white America, you can't convince me that some of that didn't rub off on him." Is upbringing now off the table? It never seems to be when you're decrying George Bush's playboy lifestyle in college, etc. But that wasn't your point, your point was to paint a broad brush about people who wonder what Obama's venerated father, a committed communist, may have taught his son.
3) "Vandalizing cars and campaign offices with racial slurs is, what, no biggie?"
Once again, you're misstating my position entirely and asserting non-existent facts. Cars were vandalized in Florida with racial slurs, something so far everyone has condemned. No campaign office was vandalized with racial slurs. The Washington Post was quick to assign racist motives to that unsolved crime in Pennsylvania, but if you read the article, you find that the graphitti actually referred to Jeremiah Wright, as well as messages like "Hamas votes BHO" and "We don't cling to guns or religion. Goddamn Wright." Once again, you're conflating racist and wrong with simply wrong. Sure sure, it was the sticks, so obviously all vandalism directed at Obama must be racist.
4) "Should we wait for a cross-burning to get worked up?"
That's intellectually dishonest bullshit and you know it.
You want to know why I try to refrain from your crap posts? 'Cause you're a moronic race-baiter, plain and simple. I don't know why you do it, if I had to guess, personal guilt about something. Frankly it sickens me and I'm through with it.
Sorry, I got out of hand there.
Let me say that while I disagree with Publius, I still like him personally. He is neither a race-baiter nor a moron (far far from it).
I made this personal when it was not. I want to formally apologize to Publius and to anyone reading this.
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