Jonathan Capehart: Trump insults ‘the blacks,’ again

[babylonsister]

Trump insults ‘the blacks,’ again
By Jonathan Capehart


Years ago at a party, a fete filled with the gorgeous mosaic that is New York City, an African American friend told me a joke. “What do they call a black doctor in the South?” she asked. Before I could respond, she said, “Nigger!” And she said it in that slavemaster-from-“Roots” kinda way for dramatic and comedic effect. We both howled.

The joke was as ugly as the word that is its punchline. But it voiced a truth all black professionals feel deep in their core. No matter how hard we work. No matter how hard we play by the rules. No matter how much we prove through grades, degrees or just plain success, we are less-than. And to be clear: less than white people. No matter what we do, we will never measure up. We will never truly have it made.

What made me — and countless others, blacks and whites, I’ve heard from — so sad yesterday was that even as president of the United States, a job he worked hard to attain and will have to work even harder to keep, Barack Obama was not immune to the reality of my friend’s crude joke. His legitimacy as president was challenged by folks who doubt his American citizenship. But even after the racist birther conspiracy was once again proven false yesterday with the release of Obama’s long-form birth certificate, Donald Trump dug deeper into the racist rabbit hole by questioning Obama’s academic achievement.

Lawrence O’Donnell last night went right at the loathsome dog-whistle politics employed by Trump.

“Trump turned from attacking one man’s birth certificate to trying to undermine the acceptance of the academic credentials of not just Barack Obama,” O’Donnell said, “but of African Americans generally.”

And with that sentence, O’Donnell spoke to why I and countless other African Americans felt wounded by what Trump did. As I explained on O’Donnell’s show in response, we felt wounded because in 2011 you can work hard, play by the rules, achieve great things academically and professionally and still have people look at you as less-than, look at you as not deserving of the things you worked hard to achieve, look at you as unqualified despite plenty of evidence to the contrary because you are black — even if you are the leader of the free world.

more...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/trump-insults-the-blacks-again/2011/03/04/AF1Vbf5E_blog.html

[Keith Bee]

1. Recs but no kick?

Taken care of.

[CakeGrrl]

2. But you know what? I'm glad he's doing it.

You know the Republicans would yell "race card" the second someone of color raised the issue.

But what better way to get this into the national discussion? A rich, highly-visible, WHITE pop culture personality starts to act like the embarrassing relative who normally says this kind of stuff around the dinner table, but is doing it out in the open...under the guise of being a Republican.

Couldn't have happened in a better way.

[PatSeg]

9. An Archie Bunker with money

[Diamonique]

3. k&r

[southernyankeebelle]

4. So sad but true. I thank god my parents raised me that EVERYONE is equal.

[autorank]

5. Trump's disgrace

He ran the table at his press conference. He was dead wrong on the birth certificate claim, 100%. What does he do? He claims success for getting it published, fails to acknowledge the legitimacy of the document, and then jumps on the grade business. What a complete idiot. I knew he was done politically when he raised the birther issue but this was beyond even that offense. Now, he's losing sponsors for his show and the Hollywood talk is hardly anybody will do his Apprentice show. Good. That's a "free market" exercise for him. Nobody should do a cent worth of business with him.

[JoePhilly]

6. And the GOP uses this to keep its racist base riled up

[LiberalFighter]

7. I always remember that the race does not determine intelligence.

And that the percentage of intelligent people in each race is probably nearly the same. And the same goes for assholes, scumbags, and crooks. It is just that the system is gamed to favor one over the other. Whites or blacks. Rich over poor. And other ways.

[relayerbob]

18. I don't know ....

us whites are looking pretty bad about now.

[LiberalFighter]

24. That's because there are more whites than others.

Percentage might be about the same but the numbers are more.

[Pisces]

8. It is disgusting. Trump will never get my money.

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[drm604]

16. I don't know who you saw saying that

but they may have been trolls or paid posters.

[hwmnbn]

11. K&R

[secondwind]

12. Good post by Capehart. K&R

[lillypaddle]

13. K&R nt

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

14. I have two Masters degrees and a Doctorate. And nearly every, single day, I get the side eye

when people realize that I know what I'm talking about.

They don't even realize the internalized racism. I don't think there is any way to combat it, either. You just have to realize it's there, deal with it, and keep on moving....

[rhett o rick]

15. R&K

[EvolveOrConvolve]

17. I hope that Trump runs and wins the Republican nomination

Barack Obama will wipe the floor with Trump.

What could get the liberal base more fired up than a rich, white, holier-than-thou, silver-spooned prick with a sense of entitlement like Trump?

[Rosa Luxemburg]

19. Trump outshines Sarah Palin with his stupidity

[cliffordu]

20. Kick.

[Historic NY]

21. K&R

[griloco]

22. But shouldn't Obama's legitimacy as president be challenged?

On two counts.
1. He's a Democrat
2. He got the most votes.

I'm surprised SCOTUS hasn't stepped in already.

[rasputin1952]

23. Could anyone imagine Trump saying things like this about another man?

I wonder if he could even come close to holding, say, Frederick Douglass', shoes.

I have read the words of men like Douglass, I know that words have power, if one reads the speeches Douglass and Lincoln, one realizes that that power is often reigned in by the principles one possesses, (in Trump's case, principles are hardly an issue).

The president was elected office by a public that listened to his words and hoped for the best; we all know there have been a a few failures and other areas of contention, but those, like his successes, have nothing to do with the president's race.

Can anyone imagine Trump making remarks about Martin Luther King? How about George Washington Carver? He just did, in one great swoop, Trump made the baseline racist case...somehow, African Americans are "capable" of great success. Goebbels could not have done it better, the base hatred this man has will crush him, the more he exposes himself as the racist he is, that faster the demise.

My 89 year old mother is disgusted at what has become of her once decent party, the GOP has gone 180 degrees from Lincoln. The party that could once claim they were the defenders of Equality, has become a cesspool of frightened little children, seeking desperately not to be afraid anymore...ain't gonna work, all they have is fear.