Tag Archives: Politics

A Trail of Shame: Racism and the Anti-Obama Movement

Race and Racism, , ,

A couple of weeks ago, I published a very controversial post titled “Maybe We Should Have Elected a White President After All” about the ongoing, possibly growing racism in connection with Obama’s presidency. The idea that a lot of the anti-Obama, including anti-health care reform, rhetoric and action was racially motivated was understood by some and rejected by others who seem to not want to see any significant racism in the mix. This was parallel to the head in the sand reaction to my earlier post on the the arrest of Skip Gates in Cambridge Massachusetts last July.

There are those of us who have been saying all along that racism has played a role in anti-Obama sentiment. Does this mean that we think people who supported Hillary instead were all racists? No. Hell, they were Democrats. The vast majority were not orienting their politics in an overtly racist manner, choosing Clinton over Obama because Obama is black (though some were, as you will see below). Does it mean that we think that every objection to an Obama policy is racist? No. There are many valid objections, depending on one’s point of view, to various policies by Obama. Hell, Obama is a smart guy. He probably objects to some of his own policies! Does it mean that we think that every utterly unprecedented outburst of “You Lie!!!!!” in congress by a known racist from South Carolina during a Presidential address to the Joint Session of the House and Senate is a racist act? Well, duh…

Over the last few days the left of center and centrist/moderate wings of the mainstream press have gotten on board with this and have begun to discuss issues of racism in the current health care debate. As usual, the liberal blogosphere leads!!!

Anyway, I thought it would be fun (in a “this whole thing makes me kind of nauseated” kind of way) to compile a random grab bag, ordered in time, of racist bits and pieces from way back before the election up to recent times. Even more recent bits and pieces on this important discussion can be found by just paging back through this blog over the last two days or so.

The reason for doing this is to have a post to point to when people say “Oh yeah? What racism!!!11!!”

Here we go:
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Tea Party Protest Photo is Much Like Obama’s Kenyan Birth Certificate

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YOU LIE!!!!

Once again, Republicans have been caught at their own game. You all know there was a big shindig in DC on September 12th to protest the blackness of our president, the liberalosity of our congress, the intelligence of the new policies such as Cash for Clunkers and Saving the Economy’s Ass and so on.

Well conservative yahoos have been passing around, blogging, twittering, and jerking off to a photograph showing a ZILLION people at the Washington Mall. Clearly this photograph shows the BIGGEST gathering of Amerkan Cit-sins EVAH overwhelmingly indicating that The People … ALL the people .. are united against the black guy who PRETENDS to be president. And so on.

But, there’s a catch. …
Continue reading Tea Party Protest Photo is Much Like Obama’s Kenyan Birth Certificate →

Joe Wilson’s outburst is not about civility. It’s about racism.

Race and Racism, ,

It has been said that civility is an excellent conversation stopper. And it can be, because demanding civility has been a way to control or limit the voice of alterity or the unprivileged. When it comes to Joe Wilson’s now-infamous shouted remark at the joint session, the question arises as to whether the tone or style of this act was the important issue, or whether the meaning or content of what he said … the truth of his “You lie!” … is what should be focused on. In my view, the answer is: Both, neither, and you are missing the point.

I offer the following:
Continue reading Joe Wilson’s outburst is not about civility. It’s about racism. →

The Day the Right Wing Lost Its Last Shred of Moral Standing

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Did you need proof that the Right Wing is stocked with nefarious morons? And I’m not sure which word to emphasize, nefarious or moron. Both, I guess.

About a year ago today was the Republican National Convention, and at that time (and prior, during, and after) numerous arrests were made under Patriot-Act spawn laws of people who did little more than attempt vigorous protest, plan vigorous protest, or in some cases, randomly blunder into town at the wrong moment.

Most charges were dropped (but not all … we hopefully await that event in about a month) and law suits that have great promise have advanced. And now, owing to some excellent reporting based on recently obtained materials, we now know the following:

The Saint Paul Police and their allies in law enforcement are pigs. And, they are stupid pigs. And I’ll throw the mayor of Saint Paul in that category as well, at least until he publicly and formally apologizes for what happened. And then there are the judges that let this travesty happen.

Hey, listen. I’ve pointed you to a lot of posts on Quiche Moraine. This time, I mean it. I really really want you to read “The Day the Right Wing Lost Its Last Shred of Moral Standing.” This is important to me. Please do it.