John Ridley, Huffington Post: "Rush Limbaugh Hates Mexicans (But in a Funny Way)!"

[Amerigo Vespucci]

John Ridley
Posted September 19, 2008 | 08:45 PM (EST)



Rush Limbaugh Hates Mexicans (But in a Funny Way)!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-ridley/rush-limbaugh-hates-mexic_b_127902.html

No, Rush didn't put one of those delightful "Just Hang in There" kitty- cat posters up in his "heavily fortified bunker." But according to a rather weepy piece in the Wall Street Journal, Rush is upset that the Obama camp is portraying him as being a bigot.

By quoting a bigoted statement he's made.

The Obama campaign is running new Spanish language ads in Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico which quote Limbaugh as using the phrase "stupid and unskilled Mexicans" and telling Mexicans to "shut your mouth, or get out" of America.

In his WSJ piece Limbaugh doesn't deny making the statements. His issue is that the statements are taken out of context.

Context?

What is it with bigots that makes them think there is a context for bigotry? When much was made of that paragon of virtue Bill Bennett's assertion "if you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that were your sole purpose -- you could abort every black baby in this country,"

Bill and his supporters claimed that statement was taken out of context.

No one who wasn't wearing a white hood has ever fully explained to me what the context is for positing the extermination of black children to lower the crime rate.

And as with Trent Lott extolling the virtues of Strom Thurmond, or George Allen and his Macaca moment, or Lynn Westmoreland tossing aside euphemisms in favor of simply getting to it and calling Barack Obama "uppity," there is seemingly always some unspoken but acceptable frame of reference for race baiters to bait race.

So when Limbaugh speaks of "stupid and unskilled Mexicans" and tells them to "shut your mouth, or get out" what's missed by the chattering classes is that these are actually -- according to Rush -- "humorous monologue(s)" or "parody."

Yeah. You know, the way Amos and Andy was penetrating social satire.

My problem with Rush is not that he's a bigot. Bigots are actually funny to me in the way that people who still wear parachute pants give me a chuckle. What bothers me about Rush's ilk is that they don't actually have the stones to be real racists or women haters or anti- Semites. Though they irresponsibly fan the flames of hatred, they don't own the strength of their convictions. When they are called on their stuff they run back to their bunker, which is heavily fortified for a reason, crying "but it was only a joke!"

Like when Rush joked that Obama was a "haf-rican," or when he jested that Obama was a "magical negro."

Oh, the hilarity.

Be a man, Rush. Be a hateful man, but be a man instead of a pasty- lookin' crackhead drug addict whose wives keep ditching him 'cause he's impotent.

That last bit was just satire, of course, so please don't take it out of context.

PS: In case you missed it previously, here's a link to Vol. 3 of the Guide to the Conservative Palinguage.