by Simon
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. often likened his campaign of nonviolent direct action of agitating for racial equality as purging the pus from a boil. Dr. King knew that the civil rights movement had to engage in moral provocation of the dominant power structure which upheld white supremacy and denied black equality.
He utilized marches, sit-ins and boycotts to unmask and draw out the ire, base feelings and warped mindsets of those committed to inequality. Dr. King knew that there were many who might not don the Klansmen’s signature white costume but who shared their racist mindset.
The civil rights legend also appreciated the range of racist feeling. A range extending from a Klan supporter to someone who, though not advocating violence against blacks, certainly did not want to sit next to a black person much less have them live in their neighbourhoods.
The civil rights movement had to confront the vicious racists and the less vocal racists who tolerated racism in its obvious and subtle manifestations. Much has changed in America. There is a memorial on the Mall in Washington D.C. in honour of Dr. King. America has elected a black President who gave the keynote at the dedication of the new King Memorial.
Barack Obama’s election is a milestone in the struggle for racial equality. The extraordinary nature of this singular event was bound to provoke many of the same reactions as the nonviolent direct action employed by Dr. King.
The racism with which President Obama has to contend is not just from the crazies and the extremist groups. Much of it is from elected public officials who regularly vilify the U.S. President with abusive and degrading language. Equally disturbing are those so-called mainstream state and federal level officials who continually fail to condemn such vile language about America’s Commander-in-Chief.
DISTURBING
The four remaining contenders for the Republican presidential nomination have themselves used language with disturbing racial overtones, undertones and subtext which speak to primary voters who loath the idea of a black President.
In the Republican presidential context a “little” racism goes a long way in connecting the candidate with a significant cohort of mostly white voters who are more obsessed with the President’s colour than the content of his character.
Just this March, Montana U.S. District Chief Judge Richard Cebull sent from his official courthouse email address a racist note titled “A Mom’s Memory”. The text of the email read:
"Normally I don't send or forward a lot of these, but even by my standards, it was a bit touching. I want all of my friends to feel what I felt when I read this. Hope it touches your heart like it did mine.
“A little boy said to his mother; 'Mommy, how come I'm black and you're white?' His mother replied, 'Don't even go there Barack! From what I can remember about that party, you're lucky you don't bark!' "
Judge Cebull admitted that the joke was racist but that he is not. He said he sent the joke because he is not a fan of the President. He pleaded: "I did not forward it because of the racist nature of it. Although it is racist, I'm not that way, never have been." Of course there will be the usual apologizers who will say that black people are being too sensitive to a joke that compares African Americans to animals.
“Barack the Magic Negro” was written and recorded for the Rush Limbaugh Show and was played numerous times when Obama was first running for president. There were protests against the racist message of the song. Still, Limbaugh’s show did not suffer much from the protests.
Fast-forward to this year and Limbaugh’s appalling comments about Georgetown Law student Sandra Fluke. Limbaugh called her a slut and a prostitute. He charged, “She’s having so much sex she can’t afford the contraception.” Limbaugh originally showed no remorse. Instead he doubled down on his comments:
“So Miss Fluke and the rest of you Feminazis, here’s the deal. If we are going to pay for your contraceptives, and thus pay for you to have sex, we want something for it. We want you post the videos online so we can all watch.”
His eventual lame apology was triggered by the threat of lost revenue. He is paying dearly in dropped sponsorships because of the misogyny and vulgarity directed towards Ms. Fluke and indeed women in general. This is as it should be.
VULGAR
Still, why has this racist shock jock with a significant radio audience never really paid a price for his vulgar racism? The reverse has been the case as advertisers and audiences flocked to him even as he has spewed hatred and racist comments about the President and African Americans in general.
Rush Limbaugh went too far long ago. Yet his racism was tolerated by those who turned a deaf ear to his racist comments. Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich have been sadly consistent. They have failed to decry Limbaugh’s racist commentary on Obama and his sexist comments on Sandra Fluke.
It is a sign of the depressing state of the mainstream Republican Party that such racism and sexism can be spewed by influential personalities and not condemned by Republican leaders including those seeking the U.S. presidency.
The good news is that the pus is being drained from the overt racism and toleration of the racial animus that the election of America’s first black further exposed. This is unpleasant. But, as Dr. King understood, it is necessary.
America is making progress in racial relations. Yet, there are many who still don’t want their offspring to marry a black person, or indeed have a black man or woman as President of the United States.
Barack Obama’s decency, extraordinary intellect, discipline and good character appall those racists for whom Obama does not fit their stereotypes or penchant for black minstrels. So, they seek to destroy the real Obama by casting him as non-Christian, non-American and, at times, as non-human.
Still, there is more good news. With the U.S. economy rebounding and following the buffoonery and extremism of this year’s Republican presidential nomination, the majority of voters will likely give Obama a second term. It will be a majority made up of those less concerned with the colour of their President’s skin and more interested in the content of his agenda.
The racism with which President Obama has to contend is not just from the crazies and the extremist groups. Much of it is from elected public officials who regularly vilify the U.S. President with abusive and degrading language. Equally disturbing are those so-called mainstream state and federal level officials who continually fail to condemn such vile language about America’s Commander-in-Chief.
DISTURBING
The four remaining contenders for the Republican presidential nomination have themselves used language with disturbing racial overtones, undertones and subtext which speak to primary voters who loath the idea of a black President.
In the Republican presidential context a “little” racism goes a long way in connecting the candidate with a significant cohort of mostly white voters who are more obsessed with the President’s colour than the content of his character.
Just this March, Montana U.S. District Chief Judge Richard Cebull sent from his official courthouse email address a racist note titled “A Mom’s Memory”. The text of the email read:
"Normally I don't send or forward a lot of these, but even by my standards, it was a bit touching. I want all of my friends to feel what I felt when I read this. Hope it touches your heart like it did mine.
“A little boy said to his mother; 'Mommy, how come I'm black and you're white?' His mother replied, 'Don't even go there Barack! From what I can remember about that party, you're lucky you don't bark!' "
Judge Cebull admitted that the joke was racist but that he is not. He said he sent the joke because he is not a fan of the President. He pleaded: "I did not forward it because of the racist nature of it. Although it is racist, I'm not that way, never have been." Of course there will be the usual apologizers who will say that black people are being too sensitive to a joke that compares African Americans to animals.
“Barack the Magic Negro” was written and recorded for the Rush Limbaugh Show and was played numerous times when Obama was first running for president. There were protests against the racist message of the song. Still, Limbaugh’s show did not suffer much from the protests.
Fast-forward to this year and Limbaugh’s appalling comments about Georgetown Law student Sandra Fluke. Limbaugh called her a slut and a prostitute. He charged, “She’s having so much sex she can’t afford the contraception.” Limbaugh originally showed no remorse. Instead he doubled down on his comments:
“So Miss Fluke and the rest of you Feminazis, here’s the deal. If we are going to pay for your contraceptives, and thus pay for you to have sex, we want something for it. We want you post the videos online so we can all watch.”
His eventual lame apology was triggered by the threat of lost revenue. He is paying dearly in dropped sponsorships because of the misogyny and vulgarity directed towards Ms. Fluke and indeed women in general. This is as it should be.
VULGAR
Still, why has this racist shock jock with a significant radio audience never really paid a price for his vulgar racism? The reverse has been the case as advertisers and audiences flocked to him even as he has spewed hatred and racist comments about the President and African Americans in general.
Rush Limbaugh went too far long ago. Yet his racism was tolerated by those who turned a deaf ear to his racist comments. Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich have been sadly consistent. They have failed to decry Limbaugh’s racist commentary on Obama and his sexist comments on Sandra Fluke.
It is a sign of the depressing state of the mainstream Republican Party that such racism and sexism can be spewed by influential personalities and not condemned by Republican leaders including those seeking the U.S. presidency.
The good news is that the pus is being drained from the overt racism and toleration of the racial animus that the election of America’s first black further exposed. This is unpleasant. But, as Dr. King understood, it is necessary.
America is making progress in racial relations. Yet, there are many who still don’t want their offspring to marry a black person, or indeed have a black man or woman as President of the United States.
Barack Obama’s decency, extraordinary intellect, discipline and good character appall those racists for whom Obama does not fit their stereotypes or penchant for black minstrels. So, they seek to destroy the real Obama by casting him as non-Christian, non-American and, at times, as non-human.
Still, there is more good news. With the U.S. economy rebounding and following the buffoonery and extremism of this year’s Republican presidential nomination, the majority of voters will likely give Obama a second term. It will be a majority made up of those less concerned with the colour of their President’s skin and more interested in the content of his agenda.
Most Conservative/Republicans dislike Mr. Obama because of his politics. It has nothing to do with skin color. His ongoing class warfare, and divisiveness, will only become more shrill as the election nears. Those same commentators you perceive as racist, will be first in line to vote for a conservative person of color, witness Alan West, Herman Caine, etc. You Sir, have bought into the Liberal pap, hook, line, and sinker.
Posted by: LC | May 01, 2012 at 02:44 PM
Racism is often advanced as a motive for much of the criticism of Obama from the right because it is so extreme. Ever since he was elected with a large national majority critics have been trying to paint him as a communist/muslim traitor who is not a citizen. He can't even claim credit for Osama bin Laden's death (yet we all remember "Mission Accomplished" after the fall of Saddam Hussein). Criticism of George W Bush from the left built up over eight years and trillions of dollars of war. His term in office began with a court order and ended with the fall of the global economy, yet no mainstream Democratic legislators/commentators suggest W is a traitor. As for divisiveness, the uncompromising vitriol of Republican legislators/commentators since day one has been truly astonishing.
Posted by: larry smith | May 01, 2012 at 03:24 PM
One can agree that the communist/muslim traitor who is not a citizen comments should be dismissed, but to ignore the similar negative comments about George W. Bush from similar extremists in the Democratic party is unreasonable.
Bush was painted as Hitler, a racist etc.
If the discussion centered around Mr. Obama's policies as opposed to what was being recommended these days by the Opposition, a sensible debate might unfold.
"The uncompromising vitriol of Republican legislators/commentators" is no more harsh than the side opposite. It is uncalled for, but neither side will lay their arms down.
Posted by: Harbinger | May 02, 2012 at 05:12 PM
Well, here's a 2009 post from Real Clear Politics ( a website which claims to be a response to anti-conservative media bias):
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/08/08/nancys_nazi_shock_did_she_forget_the_bush_years_97812.html
This is the most mainstream commentary they could find:
"Both Senator Robert Byrd and billionaire Democrat George Soros said Bush reminded them of Herman Goering."
The 'communist/muslim traitor who is not a citizen comments' have come from mainstream Republican leaders.
Ex-presidential candidate Michele Bachmann accused Obama and his wife of "anti-American views" and called on the media to investigate Democratic members of Congress to determine if they were anti-American, too.
Rep. Allen West of Florida recently declared that "about 78 to 81 members of the Democratic Party (in Congress) are members of the Communist Party."
Putative Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he doubted Obama was born in the US.
Former presidential candidate Newt Gingrich just called Obama "the most radical leftist president in American history". In the past he said this:
"What if [Obama] is so outside our comprehension, that only if you understand Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior, can you begin to piece together [his actions]?" Gingrich asked. "That is the most accurate, predictive model for his behavior."
Mitt Romney has politely said on several occasions that "Obama doesn't understand America".
And Speaker Boehner has said Obama is "almost un-American."
I never heard of Bush being painted as racist - he and condeleeza were supposed to be close friends.
But I do take your point. We could go on forever like this.
Posted by: larry smith | May 02, 2012 at 06:37 PM
LC/Harbinger is engaging in willful blindness by comparing the racist vitriol coming from much of the right to anti Bush protests. The willingness to depict Obama as a monkey in a family portrait; a turban wearing muslim, with his radical “black power” wife on the cover of the New Yorker; a dead chimp in the New York Post; as a cartoonish Uncle Ben’s character on a box of fictional waffles (get it?); his wife as a gorilla, or a cheetah; Obama as just a pair of eyes against a black backdrop; a t-shirt/ bumperstickers reading “Don’t ReNig in 2012” and of course an e-mail showing Obama as a witch doctor. For the most part main stream republicans have winked knowingly at their less refined brethren, but they’ve done little to face up to their ugly rhetoric. If you dislike Obama and his policies why resort to racist imagery and name-calling? Stop dodging the truth and admit that the post racial America is far from a reality. You're slips (or sheets) are showing.
Posted by: Philip Smith | May 02, 2012 at 06:41 PM
I don't think mainstream Democrats face up to the nonsense spouted on the far end of their spectrum either.
The point about the mainstream Republican comments is that implying obama is an un-American, communist, muslim traitor is covert racism.
Posted by: larry smith | May 02, 2012 at 06:47 PM
The vitriol is pointless and useless. Whether from Republicans or Democrats.
Having witnessed racism first hand, it's not something I enjoy being accused of.
Objecting to Mr. Obama's programs does not make a person a racist.
You willingly overlook the fact that Mr. Obama was elected by an overwhelming majority of Americans, so if a few racists as you refer to the Republican leadership continue on with this approach, wouldn't it marginalize them?
Posted by: Harbinger | May 02, 2012 at 07:53 PM
Like I said, we could go on forever.
Posted by: larry smith | May 02, 2012 at 08:17 PM