Americans have been engaged in some sort of battle against racism since Colonial times. There were numerous efforts to eliminate slavery before the Civil War finally ended it, along with more than 600,000 lives. The fight for African American’s civil rights took more than 100 years but civil rights are now the law. I guess the current challenge is to establish racial equality which is the next step beyond the law.
The election of President Obama was supposed to mark the beginning of a post-racial era, perhaps the achievement of racial equality. Incidents since his election seem to indicate that the nation is not quite ready for that era. In reading several columns in support of the President’s health care reform policy it became very clear to me that the President’s supporters are setting back the cause of a post racial society.
First, extremists of all kinds, including racists, still exist and will probably always be with us as long as various forms of mental illness and extreme psychological distress are found in humans. I refuse to accept even the possibility that the handful of racists signs, and the vandalism at Georgia Congressman David Scott’s office were done by anyone but a very disturbed person.
That said, it is important to understand that nasty rhetoric has always been a part of American politics, with the one exception being George Washington’s two terms. Those of you that are angered by the anti-Obama statements in the news everyday should review the anti-Bush protests in the media and at public gatherings. Or look at the anti-Clinton, Reagan, Carter, etc. statements. U.S. politics has always been malicious. If your guy is now the president then you see the attacks as vicious, unwarranted, playing politics, and so on. Every president has been attacked personally. Family and friends are often attacked as well. Political commentators look for the worst, nastiest thing they can say about a person and then they say it. It works a lot like kids in a playground fight, each trying to one up the other. Kids can get pretty nasty.
The phrase that was popular during the 2004 and 2008 campaign seasons was, “The politics of personal destruction.” The politics of personal destruction have always been part of American politics. The difference is that today, with 24 hour news and instant world wide communications, political operators can destroy a politician’s reputation at light speed.
I am not writing about the politics of personal destruction to defend it. In fact, one of the goals of this blog is to promote the ideals of intelligent debate. The kind of crap I described above is a barrier to intelligent debate and has, and always will, harm our political system.
But readers; that the target of this vicious form of politics is now an African American does not make the attacks racist, per se. To read the commentaries from health care reform supporters in most major newspapers and on major blogs, you would think that opposition to Obama’s plans is all about racism. It is not and Obama’s supporters need to give the President more credit than assigning everything to racism. The President had the courage and drive to take on an issue that has failed under several previous presidents. That means that this President has what it takes to fight for real issues and that means stirring up real anger. That is an accomplishment.
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UPDATE:
Two articles from recent issues of Huffington post – see the blogroll for link.
Right Wing Attacks Collide: ‘Racist’ Obama Using Health Reform for Reparations
Opposition to Obama Health Care Reform Driven by Racism Not Fear of Increasing Debt
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Obama supporters; quit demeaning this President by declaring his opponents racist and using racism as a fallback. That is an excuse and the man needs to be able to take on his opponents the way other presidents have. If we want to become post racial we need to treat our leaders with Equality and that includes the good and bad treatment.
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Exactly. Remember when it was cool to Bash Bush? Zomblog has pictures of some really nasty signs at protest ralleys. I have the link in my post of Aug. 16 titled Bush as Hitler. I hate to separate the parties because they are both equally corrupt, but the Democrats seem to whine extra loud when they feel their man has been defamed.
I’m a middle aged Caucasian male who has for all of my life believed that I was not a racist. I am so outraged by the cries of Obama supporters that those who disagree with him are racists. The real racists are the Obama supporters who cannot see that their are opposing philosophies on the issues. They only see the color of skin.
I wish there were a reference to the use of the word “racist”, for the only people I’ve heard use that term are Glen Beck and the “Skip” @Harvard.
Were you referring to Beck? (God, what a loon). Are you guys owning this one? Beck that is. Is he one of yours?
I recall my Very Republican Brother in Law (TM) telling me how dissent with Bush over the Iraq War was “unpatriotic”. How no Republican would *ever* disparage a president the way the left disparaged Bush.
All too funny.
Would all the whiney panty-waists on both sides please put on your big boy/girl pants on and get used to the fact that your man is going to be disparaged no matter what! Hell, even God doesn’t get a pass with some people. You think some political hack is above it? I don’t think so.
Racism continues to be the 2 ton elephant that sits in the room. Many people who oppose Obamao so out of a racist mind set. But no way do all who oppose hold racist beliefs.
http://www.eloquentbooks.com/WhatISee-ANewPrescriptionforThought.htm
Nat,
two articles from recent issues of Huffington post – see the blogroll for link.
Right Wing Attacks Collide: ‘Racist’ Obama Using Health Reform for Reparations
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-daou/rightwing-attacks-collide_b_246893.html
Opposition to Obama Health Care Reform Driven by Racism Not Fear of Increasing Debt
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ray-hanania/opposition-to-obama-healt_b_242938.html
Where are the links to these baseless cries of racism against Obama? You usually do your homework, so I imagine they’ll be forthcoming, but so far, other than references to racist statements, I haven’t seen opponents to health care reform associated with racist attacks on Obama. The point was made by Kai Wright at theroot.com and others, that an alienated segment of the population, poor whites, are showing alienation and this alienation is being exploited. Opponents of healthcare reform do use arguments about illegal immigrants and people who don’t take responsibility for their healthcare (considered by some to be code for classist and racist ideas) and these arguments can be argued to have their roots in racism. If you disagree with these arguments, that’s one thing, but they’re reasoned arguments, not just “playing the race card.” Politicians will use whatever weapons they have in their arsenal, but they have to take responsibility for their use.
Lynn,
The whole point is that ANY criticism of Obama is considered racist. His followers believe that it is only because he is (1/2) black that we are waging war against his healthcare bill. They can’t imagine anyone would/could consider his policies wrong-headed. Although I didn’t vote for him, of course, the only reason I would have voted for him would have been because he is (1/2) black. Now THAT’S racism.
OK, the first link has Glen Beck as poster boy, who himself is race baiting. He should only be referenced as parody. I won’t even bother trying to weed through that story.
The second makes a valid but moot point, and draws a wholly baseless conclusion. Summarizing:
1. The right inflated the debt for a baseless war in Iraq.
2. They complain about the debt health care will bring.
3. Conclusion: the right is racist.
Agree with you, race is not part of this equation. It is brought in artificially. Like Beck, race baiting. The valid but moot point is that the Republicans sucked balls for 8 years straight. What makes it moot is that they cannot mount an effective fillibuster and are, for the moment, irrelevant. Why are we talking about them?
Actually, I came across stronger ammunition for your own argument with this article on the Obama Joker Poster: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/05/AR2009080503876.html
Look, in my opinion, the poster is merely poor taste, but not racist. It is no more racist than burning a Bush poster in protest to the war (oh, for a dollar every time I heard a Republican say they would never disparage a president “like that” and that the “left” is filled with hateful unpatriotic blah, blah … Whoops, the meta-issue side show creeps back in!)
Bottom line: the media focus on the “tone” of the argument rather than the argument itself, has crowded out room for factual content. Last week’s Meet the Press, unfortunately also followed suit by spending so much time on “tone” over content, that there was little room left for meaningful debate.
Nat, thanks for finding the Washington Post article. That was one I was thinking of when I wrote the piece but I could not remember where I had read it.
Regarding your brother in-law; isn’t it amazing how protesting a president went from (conservative) being a bad thing to being patriotic and did the reverse for liberals.
We need a new political party: MYODB Politics!
Nat, you made great comments. Please keep coming back! I am sure I will write plenty for you to disagree with.
I want to throw another question for this discussion: Will MSNBC fire those responsible for portraying the incident of the man that attended the health care meeting armed with an assault rifle as a racist incident? If you are not familiar with the issue, MSNBC deliberatly hid the man’s face and hands but showed his business attire in an effort to make this African American look like a member of a white supremacist group. As if it is not bad enough that a man would attend a public gathering with an assualt rifle, they deliberately attempt to turn it into a race issue. What was the expression that launched the Spanish American war? Remember the Maine!
My earlier post was nearly unintelligible, so I’m surprised anyone responded to it. I think there’s almost uniform agreement here that people should not be denounced as racist simply because they disagree with our president. Politicians, left and right, should be free to discuss racism (racist statements, behaviors) without being accused of “playing the race card.” We can leave discussions about institutionalized racism for another day…
This whole racist thing has been going on since before the election (“if you don’t vote for Obama, then you harbor racist feelings because you don’t want a black man in office”, etc.), and will likely go on until he leaves office.
The whole thing is a really sad commentary on this issue. Perhaps the President should say that MSNBC acted stupidly in falsifying this story. But I won’t hold my breath waiting for that one.