May I have permission? (to be racist)

From AmericaBlog

Gingrich plays the race card against Obama, again
by Chris in Paris on 9/12/2010 11:01:00 AM

Another leading voice from the GOP. More from MediaMatters:
Since the beginning of the Obama presidency, right-wing media -- especially those who work at Fox News -- have been carrying out a campaign of not-so-subtle race-baiting.

Today, Fox News contributor Newt Gingrich took this campaign to new levels, reportedly telling the National Review that Obama has pretended to be "normal" but that Obama actually seems to be engaged in "Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior."

From Bark Bark Woof Woof

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There are a lot more examples Mr. Alexander's petulant defense of conservatives against the charges of racism, but perhaps he should be reminded that no reasonable person -- liberal or otherwise -- has made the claim that all conservatives are racists. That's not fair and it's not true. However, a good deal of evidence exists that there are racist elements in a number of people who call themselves conservatives, including words and deeds, and there has not been a whole lot of distancing and repudiation on the part of leading voices in the conservative movement. Sarah Palin defended Dr. Laura's use of the N-word, Pat Buchanan bemoans the loss of white America, and members of Congress and would-be members of the Senate call for armed insurrection against the "outsider."
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Mr. Alexander cannot get through his article without taking the requisite swipe at liberal hypocrisy by pointing to then-Sen. Joe Biden's comment during the 2008 campaign about Barack Obama being "articulate and bright and clean." (It's ironic that Mr. Alexander hears a dog whistle there but can't hear the cacophony coming from Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck to the point the the 2012 GOP convention will look like the Westminster Kennel Club finals.) Yes, one inartful and stupid comment makes the entire Democratic Party a bunch of hypocrites. I'll see your Joe Biden and raise you two Tom Tancredos.

In a larger sense, what Mr. Alexander is ignoring is that these sort of accusations don't happen in a vacuum. If he is going to go to such great lengths to defend the conservative movement against such charges -- including the rather infantile use of "the other guys do it" and "we're just misunderstood" and the overall use of transference -- he has to realize that there are legitimate grounds for people, including some within the GOP, to bring it up.

You shouldn't have to tell people that you're not a racist, because if you have to, you probably are.

My cousin Chris once told a man in a restaurant that she would rather have her child hear the word "fuck" than "N*****". He had been using it in a loud enough voice so that others could hear it. My mother's boss regularly used the word. When I complained to her she excused him because he was from a "different era" when it was evidently acceptable. Well it wasn't and this otherwise fine man was diminished somewhat in my estimation. I don't like the word and I won't allow it to be used around me. I agree with Chris.

Except for Dr. Laura you don't hear it much anymore but it seems as if the fires of racism had only been banked for awhile and now with the election of Mr. Obama and the permission of the Gingrich, Beck, Limbug, and that woman from Alaska a whole group of people are showing their racism. Not just against blacks but also against Muslims. It is disheartening. I thought America was better than that. I though the Christian religion taught the brotherhood of all but I guess now when I think about it many of the churches who claim to be Christian really don't subscribe to that. They have an "us vs. them" mentality and "them" are bad in their eyes and not worthy of the same rights as others.

Franklin Roosevelt once said that "the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself." I have heard the excuse for the behaviors described above as being that people are "afraid" If that is an excuse for horrible, racist, hating behavior I don't buy it. People have always been afraid of something and they have in many cases risen above that fear to show true humanity. Time after time I have heard story after story about how someone had been afraid of a group of people or hated a group of people for whatever reason but once they got to know them and understand them they got over that fear and understood that they were just people and that "people" were the same the world over.

I have come to the conclusion lately that some people are just nasty. They have kept that nastiness under control until the folks mentioned above gave them permission to let it out. Now they are being self-righteous and priggish and have formed a "tea party" because the Republican party is finally waking up to their vileness and trying to return to the party of Dwight Eisenhower. It may be too little to late for them but I see signs of trying. Part of that behavior is racism.

Another thing they do is to question Mr. Obama's every move. He is going to address the school children again this year. He is doing this because he sees the value in inspiring the kids to do their best in school. There is a Facebook Page called "I hate it every day when I wake up and Barak Obama is President (I may have the title just a little off but you get the idea) - They have as a logo a drawing of Mr. Obama with a Hitler Youth superimposed in front of his image. I find that totally offensive. Mr. Obama is about the farthest thing from Hitler that there ever was. If he were Hitler he would be governing a lot differently than he does. Indeed I think some of his attempts to seek Republican cooperation are misguided.

The Republicans for the past decade have done everything they could to ruin this country and drive it into the ground and yet he still seeks to govern in a bi-partisan manner. It is as far from Hitler as you could go.

In this country what made us great is the middle class. Under the Republican administration of George W. Bush the middle class was diminished and more and more of the wealth of the nation went into the hands of the super rich. It is not socialism to work to even things out a little. It is just good business.

Any attempt to picture Mr. Obama in this manner is just vile and while I defend their right to say whatever they want, the actions some of them are taking by defacing Mosques and people's homes are just wrong. It is even more wrong to shoot doctors. They don't have any ones permission to act in this manner and they should be stopped and the full force of the hate crimes laws (already on the books) should be used against them. In fact I might just advocate stiffer penalties against people who behave in that manner.

As for the "traditional marriage" arguments which some of them keep bringing up. Traditionally marriage was the transference of ownership of a woman from the father to the husband. It is still considered that in some countries. Thankfully some of that has changed in the United States but it is still a long way from where it should be as far as women are concerned. Consider the failure to add an Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution. It should have passed. Women are deserving of the same rights, responsibilities and opportunities as men but that is a "whole 'nother subject" - don't get me started.