When did it become OK to be a racist in America?

[NJmaverick]

I was on a football website that has a political sub board. I ran into one, then two blatant racists. They called Muslims killers, scum etc. They were talking about how they all want to kill all non Muslims etc. It was sickening. Yet when I did some net research I found all sorts of websites devoted to spreading bigotry and hatred against Mulsims. Then I went on the Free Republic and they openly and with approval spout racial and religious slurs and promote prejudice. WHEN DID THIS BECOME OK?!?!?

[NewInNewJ.]

1. When G.W. Bush, became Prez

[rfranklin]

2. When Rush Limbaugh was allowed on the radio...

when Republicans embraced the old Southern racist Democrats. When Ann Coulter was allowed on TV. When George Bush and his crew were let in the back door of the White House by Scalia.

[Jacobin]

21. eggzactly

He made it cool and socially acceptable.

[Warpy]

3. It's NEVER OK

but bigots tend to flock together, telling each other that bigotry and thinking in stereotypes are just common sense and that killing other people would make their world a better place, especially if they've never gotten to know a member of any of their target groups.

Some folks are just plain hateful, it seems, and congregate with other hateful folks to feel normal.

We know better, though.

[xultar]

4. 2000 right after the selection.

[getmeouttahere]

5. Look to the top....

let's just say that BushCo doesn't do much to discourage this type of behavior, especially when you're seeing it on the Freeper website. It should go without saying that it's NEVER ok!

[saltpoint]

6. It's never ok unless you are Trent Lott, who pretends to be a --

-- servant of the people when in fact he is a Klansman with a tie on.

Nixon's famous "southern strategy" institutionalized a hidden racism, that of blaming LBJ, the Kennedys, and Democrats in general for "caving in" to civil rights legislation.

Johnson is quoted at some point during that period as saying with the passage of civil rights bills, the Democratic Party would alienate white southerners.

It did.

A couple of generations later, the map of the southern states is extremely red, not blue.

I find DU to be extraordinarily open-minded on this issue, so I hang out here. Agree with you that things aren't so good on some other websites.

Our current Democrats can and will speak truth to racism, even if it's in the form of the all-white country club or the hidden demographic matrix of the Republican Party.

Ironically, Edwards and Dean are two of the most vocal people in this regard. My hat's off to 'em both.

[Egalitariat]

7. Islam is not a race. You can find hatred against all religions

Jews, Muslims, Christians, etc.

Which religion is being denigrated depends on where you're looking. Across the Middle East, it's almost always Jews. On Freeper boards, it's almost always Muslims. At DU, it's usually Christians.

[NJmaverick]

10. I am talking America

If you said something openly bad about Jews there would be serious repercussions. Web sites that people would be calling to be shut down etc. In this Country though, spouting hatred or bigotry when directed at Muslims is perfectly OK.

[candy]

17. Thanks for your post------A voice of reason.

I don't know why anyone would think of this as a racial issue.

[UncleSepp]

19. In reality, that's true. In bigot weirdo land, it isn't

The people who spout the anti-Muslim sentiment tend to think that all Muslims are "Middle Eastern" and further that all Middle Eastern people are Arabs. These are also the same people who think the Middle East is one giant desert, and that somehow the same place of Biblical history is a backward, uncultured waste without history. They're the same people who confuse a Sikh in a turban with a "gol durn Ay-rab Moozlim Murica-hater".

[realisticphish]

8. see, racism and sexism is ok

as long as you preface it by saying "now, i know this isn't politically corrent *snicker*"

then, anything goes

[bballny]

9. Reagan

Reagan's real legacy is that he made it OK to be a racist. If you remember he started his campaign in Philadelphia, MS and loved to tell welfare queen jokes

[yankeedem]

12. Didn't Rosalynn Carter

say about him "He makes people very comfortable with their prejudices".

[mopaul]

14. st. reagan

[Mist]

18. Yep, Reagan era-suddenly it was OK to be bigoted again.

But the * presidency has amped the whole thing up w/religious bigotry. They're anti-Muslim, but then they're anti-anyone-who-isn't-Xtian.

[yankeedem]

11. In 1979, In a town called Philadelphia Mississippi

Where Ronald Reagan announced his candidacy while talking about restoring "states rights".

[dogday]

13. Haven't you heard? The Right can do no wrong. They can sling

their vicious lies and retorts but since they do it in the name of their God, they are vindicated, oh and not to mention the MSM just won't make an issue out of it either.....

[Tomee450]

15. Racism

became fashionable during the Reagan era. He sent a signal to the racists when he started his campaign in Philadelphia Mississippi. He also had his code words "Welfare Queen." Bush1 had his Willie Horton, and Bush2 visited the racist Bob Jones University. The racists took that to mean that the GOP was on their side. And now many are not ashamed to display their bigotry as they feel they have friends in power who agree with them. Not saying that all Republicans are racists but many racists do vote Republican.

[applegrove]

16. When the President refused to sponsor a law in Texas to protect

people from being dragged behind a car for fun - because it wasn't considered politically expedient - what with appealing to the 'base' and all. And the need to keep messages subtleling churning their way out to all tribal groups the neocons rely on for a plurality. Understated - as is the message to African American church leaders to squeeze their congregation into voting against reproductive rights.

The problem is when you show the same face to everyone. Then you piss someone off. Hypocrites and liars find that inconvenient.

[seabeyond]

20. about last spring, the same time passion came out

the same time bush said he was going to have an amendment to discriminate against fellow americans.

we were working up to it after 9/11 but really it became ok to be a racist out loud about that spring, as the campaigns starting fighting it out.

[MrSlayer]

22. Right around 1492.

America has always been racist, it has grown less so over time and will grow even less as time goes by.

[Yupster]

29. Good answer MrSlayer

My response to this question was WTF.

When was it not okay to be a racist in America.

Slavery was accepted for hundreds of years for goodness sakes.

[Mich Otter]

23. It is the nature of ignorant humans to be hateful...

Boy did the gods screw up that gene when humans were created.

[sir_captain]

24. It's always

been ok to be anti-semitic.

[Booster]

25. I suggest everybody go see the movie "Crash" and then come

back to the boards and tell me you don't see just a little bit of yourselves in some character in the movie. We are all bigots to a degree; it's just that some of us don't act on it and certainly would never consider killing somebody because of hatred. But I really don't think anyone of any race can say they are not a bigot to some extent. And, yes, I agree it got worse when Rush was allowed to vent his hate and bigotry on the nation - all some people were waiting for was for somebody to say their hatred was justified.

[spindoctor]

26. They wanted to kill all non-Muslims?

I don't know about America, but that kind of talk has always been condoned in most of the Middle-East.

I don't think we should return the favor, but I'm also not getting too upset about a guy called 'scum' talking tough on the net.

Traditionally we have been able to degrade, ridicule and threaten our enemies. We had the Krauts, the Japs, the Ruski's all depicted as inhumane, barbaric second-rate people that were to be shot on sight. Why would it be any different for Sandniggers?

I feel bad for my daughter's boyfriend, who has to stomach some harsh words being a Muslim and from Syrian decent and all. But compared to how the Japs were treated during WWII, he shouldn't complain.

When did it become OK? Hell, it has Aaaaaalways been OK. This is America. We've had African niggers, Irish niggers, Mexican niggers and now we have Mesopotamian niggers. We just don't bring them home anymore because look what it does to our neighborhoods when they emancipate.

[samsingh]

27. when bush stole the office

[NashVegas]

28. It Was Always Okay

Just ask the folks who gave Native Americans blankets infested with pox.

[ewagner]

30. Ever since Reagan

taought America how to be "comfortable with it's prejudices"....I think Rosalyn Carter said it first.....

He gave prejudice a new name...a respectable one and life hasn't been the same since.....

[Bluebear]

31. "9/11 changed everything."

Repeat phrase as needed.