The simple mention of race turns Americans into mewling, sputtering morons, part 1: Nader

Bucky

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Wed Jun-25-08 01:58 PM
Original message

The simple mention of race turns Americans into mewling, sputtering morons, part 1: Nader

Edited on Wed Jun-25-08 02:19 PM by Bucky

This is intended to be the first in a series of comments on the stunningly dillweedish things people say in the course of this campaign on the topic of race. Now, I'm going out on a limb here. By announcing that this will be a series of posts, I'm basically staking my reputation here on DU on the premise that many Americans will inevitably say stupid shit on the topic of race, as revealed through their reactions to this year's presidential election.

Frankly, I don't think I'm taking much of a risk here.

The inspiration for this series is the evil twin of my favorite voodoo doll: Ralph Nader.

Ralph Nader: Barack Obama wants to ‘talk white’

Ralph Nader says the only thing different about Barack Obama is that he is “half African-American.” The Independent presidential candidate also accused his Democratic rival of attempting to “talk white.”

“There’s only one thing different about Barack Obama when it comes to being a Democratic presidential candidate. He’s half African-American,” Nader said in an interview with a Denver newspaper Monday. “Whether that will make any difference, I don’t know. I haven’t heard him have a strong crackdown on economic exploitation in the ghettos. Payday loans, predatory lending, asbestos, lead. What’s keeping him from doing that? Is it because he wants to talk white? He doesn’t want to appear like Jesse Jackson? We’ll see all that play out in the next few months and if he gets elected afterwards.”

Ralph Nader...?

"Yes, Bucky?"

You, sir, are a mewling, sputtering moron. I understand you come from a generation for which it was a novelty to think of black men as more black than men. This is my polite way of saying you're a grumpy ol' coot who hasn't kept up with the times. It's apparent from your language that you continue to judge people through the lens of race--by the color of their skin rather than the content of their character, to borrow a phrase. Your mindset filters subtly in through your choice of language "crackdown", "ghettos", "Jesse Jackson." When you see Barack Obama, you see brown--and then you're shocked, shocked!, that he doesn't behave in the way your mind has pigeon holed African-Americans to behave. How can he really be black and not act just like someone else who's also black?

"Exactly! Dammit, Barack, why can't you be more Negroish?"

Sir, your eloquence floors me. Sadly, you lost me with that "because he wants to talk white" comment. I believe phrases like that are commonly referred to as "gems" or "old chestnuts". Certainly you're aware that "talking white" is another meme from your generation, implying either negatively that the colored folk are forgetting their place, or more positively that they're overcoming the horrible stigma of being, you know, black. This of course is all part of a mindset that sees black men as a lesser category of men, who can't see them except as a subset of regular--meaning white--people. It's all well and good for them to talk about urban problems and civil rights problems and inequality in education problems. But don't go talking about "regular" issues like foreign policy or balancing the budget. That's for mainstream--meaning white--society to worry about.

"He's forgetting where he comes from."

Completely off the plantation, yes, I see your point.

"Well, nothing I say is quite that bad. I'm just noting I don't see him talking about, and I quote myself, 'Payday loans, predatory lending, asbestos, lead' and 'ghetto' things like that."

Oddly, though, I never heard your complaint that McCain isn't talking about payday loans, predatory lending, or asbestos poisoning.

"Of course not, but McCain is the Republican."

Hold on there, sweet pea. I thought Republicans and Democrats were supposed to be indistinguishable.

"And apparently they are, since we don't see Obama talking about the things black people are supposed to talk about."

How can I be losing a hypothetical argument in my own head? Oh, wait, I know--because you're talking out of your ass again, Ralphster.* First off, You also didn't complain that Clinton, Edwards, or Richardson were sidestepping "black issues." Secondly, Obama absolutely does address the matters you complain he doesn't address. On his websites you can see his take on
- Civil Rights - plans to strengthen civil rights enforcement, end deceptive voting practices, combat employment discrimination, and eliminate sentencing disparities
- Housing issues - in both mixed-income neighborhoods and for areas of concentrated poverty
- the looming foreclosure crisis - "create a Foreclosure Prevention Fund to help people refinance their mortgages and provide comprehensive supports to innocent homeowners"

Beyond his success on fighting the lead paint issue you allude to, Obama's got a pretty solid record on protecting people from urban environmental hazard, that in part sprang from an important turning point in his career that concerned asbestos clean ups. If he's not talking about it to your liking, Ralph, the problem might be that he's already established his leadership on these issues and there's not a lot of people around arguing in favor of lead and asbestos poisoning that he can take the matter up with.

But the issue at hand is your stupidity, not your ignorance. Ralph, you're stupid. You're stupid about race. You see a black man and you think he can't be a man in full. You think about race and your brain does the hokey-pokey. You see a black politician and think he must make civil rights the centerpiece of his agenda. He should wear an afro and a dashiki with big bell-bottom jeans and he should be angry about growing up in the projects ~~and he should play basketball~~ and he should use the verb "to dig" or the adjective "groovio" to signify his approval of things. If he fails to fit into this narrow antiquated stereotype, then obviously he's acting white.

"That's very white of you."

Seriously, dude, quit listening to Rush Limbaugh's show. It's starting to warp your brain.

* Caveat: since this is a hypothetical argument, technically the Ralphster is talking out of my ass. But, then, hypothetical dialogs should be fair game, After all, Nader himself has written a script featuring the Obama in his mind. It's a short and insightful read. Apparently, the Obama in Ralph's mind is glib, superficial, tells people only what they want to hear, and never breaks out of his own self-imposed cultural niche. If I really wanted to play amateur psychologist with Ralph Nader, I think that article might be a good place to start.