‘Racist’ a term that must be applied cautiously
As I noted yesterday, U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson said something pretty stupid and inflammatory about his colleague from South Carolina, Joe Wilson, regarding Wilson’s outburst during President Obama’s health-care speech to Congress:
”It did not help the cause of diversity and tolerance with his remarks. If I was a betting man, I’d say it instigated more racist sentiment, feeling that it’s OK, that you don’t have to bury it down,” Johnson said. “I guess we’ll probably have folks putting on white hoods and white uniforms again and riding through the countryside, intimidating people. That’s the logical conclusion if this kind of attitude is not rebuked.”
That’s just nonsense, and it’s completely unfair to Wilson. Opposition to Obama’s health-care plan is not by any means evidence of racism, and it is wrong to imply otherwise. In fact, “racism” is such a powerful charge that it should never be leveled lightly. Using the charge in an effort to silence criticism, as some have done, is wrong and destructive and cheapens the stigma of real racism.
But let’s not fool ourselves. Real evidence of racism abounds. Fox News star Glenn Beck, the inspiration for last weekend’s rally in Washington, said on the air recently that “this president has exposed himself as a guy, over and over and over again, who has a deep-seated hatred for white people, or the white culture.”
President Obama hates white people? That’s racist nonsense, plain and unvarnished, and any movement that looks to clowns such as Beck for leadership despite such statements opens itself up to justified questions about racist intentions.
Period.
Mark Williams, another of the leaders of the Tea Party movement, went on national TV last night and confirmed previous statements that Obama is our nation’s “racist in chief” and an “Indonesian Muslim turned welfare thug.”
“Welfare thug?” It’s been said that in the infinity of time, there is no sentence that has not already been written or uttered, but I’m gonna guess that in all the long history of the American republic and the English language, no previous president has ever been described using those two words. You might say Williams was speaking in code, but the phrase is so blatantly racist that no decoding is required.
Then there’s the coverage of the schoolbus fight in St. Louis. It now appears that it was a simple case of bullying, reprehensible but utterly unremarkable. Yet right-wing outlets such as the Drudge Report and Rush Limbaugh immediately rushed to sell it as a metaphor for “Obama’s America” in which the poor downtrodden white male is once again being victimized. It was pretty sad to see the insecurities of millions of adults projected onto one teenaged kid.
In fact, as a white male myself, I’m embarrassed. People who look like me dominate the vast majority of Fortune 500 companies and the vast majority of elected political offices. We also control an overwhelming proportion of national wealth, yet somehow we are the downtrodden and powerless?
Guys, if you’re not getting what you think you deserve and have earned, it’s not because the black man is keeping you down. Really.
The game is pretty obvious. What we’re seeing is an effort to stir up white anger and resentment at black Americans in general and at Barack Obama in particular. It is an effort to remind white America that Obama cannot really be your president because, well, look at him. He’s one of Them, not one of Us.
And we’re better than that, all of us.
Johnson ought to apologize, profusely and sincerely, to Wilson. Wilson said two words, “You lie,” and there is no way in the world to accurately claim racism based on that evidence. The fact that Wilson is white, conservative and from South Carolina add absolutely nothing to the “evidence” against him. If you’re gonna throw charges of racism around, you have to be able to back them up.
That said, Limbaugh, Beck, Williams and others are appealing to racism, plain and simple.
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219 comments Add your comment
saywhat?
September 16th, 2009
1:07 pm
first!
saywhat?
September 16th, 2009
1:11 pm
Would it be racist to point out that Obama has successfully protected this nation from terrorist attack longer than GWB did in his first term? I suppose now we’ll have to read some nauseating post by Dusty gushing over what a fantastic leader Obama is, seeing as he has done better than her previous hero, W.
stands for decibels
September 16th, 2009
1:15 pm
Would it be racist to point out that Obama has successfully protected this nation from terrorist attack longer than GWB did in his first term?
Why… yes. It would be racist, racist I tells ya, to point out that Obama has kept us safer than Bush.
stands for decibels
September 16th, 2009
1:17 pm
And to Jay’s point–Glenn Beck’s disgusting assertion that Obama doesn’t like white people really ought to be universally condemned by responsible folks in the opposition party.
If they have, I’d love to know about it.
Joey
September 16th, 2009
1:19 pm
Saywhat?
Your name fits well with your words.
Bosch
September 16th, 2009
1:20 pm
Jay,
What are your thoughts about Carter’s statement? Just curious.
Awake
September 16th, 2009
1:21 pm
Unlike Bush, Obama has benefited from an organized, vigilant, anti-terrorist predecessor. The question of his ability to continue to provide security is in doubt. Jimmy Carter is a discredited windbag who set the USA up for decades of islamic terrorism thanks to his weakness, is only a hero to those left wing lunatics who think that Mugabe and Chavez run fair and open elections.
TaxPayer
September 16th, 2009
1:23 pm
saywhat?
September 16th, 2009
1:11 pm
Would it be racist to point out that Obama has successfully protected this nation from terrorist attack longer than GWB did in his first term? I suppose now we’ll have to read some nauseating post by Dusty gushing over what a fantastic leader Obama is, seeing as he has done better than her previous hero, W.
Say What! Oh! Never mind. You’re correct. Except for Dusty. Dusty is on the beach this week.
jt
September 16th, 2009
1:23 pm
I still like Bill Clinton(our first black president) better.
Bosch
September 16th, 2009
1:23 pm
“It was pretty sad to see the insecurities of millions of adults projected onto one teenaged kid.”
Amen.
stands for decibels
September 16th, 2009
1:24 pm
Obama has benefited from an organized, vigilant, anti-terrorist predecessor.
Yes, he has; unfortunately, Clinton was henceforth succeeded by GW Bush.
Bruno
September 16th, 2009
1:24 pm
“How has misuse of insurance driven up costs?”
“I’m talking the $12 Tylenol and the $120 cling–they’re real Bruno–and I’ve had the chance to review charts over years at hospitals in Atlanta. Some of the charges would blow your mind. Your immediate reaction would be “I can get a lot of bottles of Tylenol for 12 bucks, and of course you could. So why is the hospital charging you $12 for one regular strength Tylenol?”
I think you answered your own question, PON. Thanks for making my case for me.
“Reveals what about me?”
By beginning with the supposition that a large percentage of people (or is that only Republicans?) are inherently racist, it’s easy for you to make the leap that any opposition or challenge to Obama is ultimately motivated by this racism, despite no outward evidence of that being the reason. As such, it reveals to me that maintaining your presupposition is more important to you than considering the actual evidence. Just my opinion, of course.
stands for decibels
September 16th, 2009
1:28 pm
In fact, as a white male myself, I’m embarrassed. People who look like me dominate the vast majority of Fortune 500 companies and the vast majority of elected political offices. We also control an overwhelming proportion of national wealth, yet somehow we are the downtrodden and powerless?
Hear [gerund] hear.
Or as Zappa so eloquently put it back in ‘66:
“Hey, you know something people?
I’m not black
But there’s a whole lots a times
I wish I could say I’m not white”
TaxPayer
September 16th, 2009
1:29 pm
Oh! By the way! I’m sorry for running you off, Angry Black Man! I did not mean to do it. Can you forgive me? Will you? Don’t leave. Folks here, including myself, enjoy your virtual company.
TW
September 16th, 2009
1:31 pm
Racist? No
Supremacist? Yes
Racism is but a symptom of a disorder characterized by the incessant need to be better than.
Now that skin color is taboo, it resorts to labels like lib, socialist, etc.
Sadly, those who suffer from this disorder, though they wear it like a badge, ought be embarrassed, as it reveals a very major kink in their upbringing – it never happened. That’s why the teabaggers are simply the adult version of the terrible twos
Doggone/GA
September 16th, 2009
1:33 pm
I think, and have thought for a long time, that a BIG part of the problem is that too many people use “racist” when they mean “bigoted”…and yep, I’ve said so before.
TaxPayer
September 16th, 2009
1:35 pm
And, racism had nothing to do with all the bias that has been displayed by schools that proudly present Bush while disavowing any knowledge of Obama. It was just a political thing. A difference in philosophies. It was nuthin’ ‘cept a misunderestimating and it won’t happen again… until next time.
Horrible Horace
September 16th, 2009
1:36 pm
Guys, if you’re not getting what you think you deserve and have earned, it’s not because the black man is keeping you down. Really.
And conversely
Guys, if you’re not getting what you think you deserve and have earned, it’s not because the white man is keeping you down. Really.
Turd Ferguson
September 16th, 2009
1:37 pm
Doggone/GA
September 16th, 2009
1:33 pm
Proof please.
Jimmy Carter
September 16th, 2009
1:39 pm
Mr Bookman…I must ask that you tender your resignation.
Public Option or No Bill
September 16th, 2009
1:39 pm
Jay you should research these frequent blogs, even if they cut your actual print columns to two (Cox Conservatives diluting the quality of AJC when they removed you, Maureen, and Cynthia from the editorial board and replaced them with themselves and turned way to the right).
Wilson has a pedigree as a racist–did you check his background. He supported keeping the Confederate Flag in S.C. and has been a member of many successionist groups all his life. He also lied about being an immigration attorney in a statement to the national media. Try Fact Check sites on Wilson before you paint him as a saint.
That’s right — Wilson was one of only seven members of the South Carolina Senate to vote to stick it to the blacks to keep the battle flag. It was finally brought down under intense national pressure and from an NAACP boycott, which cost the state millions in tourism revenue. I recall a similar battle took place in Georgia while Mr. Bookman was in residence here and on the editorial board of AJC at the time.
Wilson is an active member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans–check their literature Jay. They are saturated by white supremicists.
Notes the Southern Poverty Law Center,
Early editions of the SCV’s Confederate Veteran newsletter defended the Ku Klux Klan, argued that the United States was created “for white people,” and complained that “when a Negro has learned to read he ceases to work.”
Bosch
September 16th, 2009
1:40 pm
Bruno,
I think a large percentage of people are prejudiced and judgemental, especially in this area of the country, and no not just Republicans. I have my theories as to why, which surprisingly isn’t about race, but mostly about religion – and if I had a few months of uninterrupted time, I might could put together my complete thoughts on the matter, but alas, I don’t – and it would be a very, very long post.
Captain Underpants
September 16th, 2009
1:44 pm
“I guess we’ll probably have folks putting on white hoods and white uniforms again and riding through the countryside, intimidating people. That’s the logical conclusion if this kind of attitude is not rebuked.”
What a coincidence…WalMart is having a sale this weekend on all white sheets sizes little boys/girls, big boys/girls, teens and adults.
OOPS…I MEAN, xtra small, small, medium and large.
TaxPayer
September 16th, 2009
1:44 pm
Bosch,
I enjoy your posts. So, the best place to start is “In the beginning”.
Turd Ferguson
September 16th, 2009
1:45 pm
Public Option or No Bill
September 16th, 2009
1:39 pm
Again with the Flag nonsense? BTW…have you checked the Flag lately or decided not to as Jesse and Al kept closed mouthed.
F-105 Thunderchief
September 16th, 2009
1:46 pm
You’re a racist! You’re not a real American!
It’s ugly from any angle.
Public Option or No Bill
September 16th, 2009
1:48 pm
@ the Turd–
I know Jawjaw’s flag and its history and the people who pushed to keep the confederate flag. I also recognize the systemic racisim by many of the Repubos here.
Kamchak
September 16th, 2009
1:48 pm
When Ms. Tucker did this thread yesterday she linked it to this TPM story. I’ll repeat here what I said yesterday–if Hank Johnson is piggybacking on Wilson’s 15 minutes of fame, then he needs to shut up. This posting from the TPM site though caught my eye mainly because I recognized it as being from a prolific former poster at salon.com:
Johnson is correct; and that’s why I said this needs to be autopsied in the bright light of day so everyone sees what it is. I, for one, won’t tolerate the racist effort to sweep it under the rug with the excuse that telling the truth about it is some sort of bad politics.
Silence is assent. I won’t be part of the silence.
This from today’s dead tree version (thanks DB) of the AJC, however, leads me to believe that Hank Johnson views this as being not just one instance of heckling.
Rep. Scott (D-Atlanta)also suggested Wilson’s remarks were indicative of racial undercurrents. During August, Scott — who like Johnson is black — got several pieces of racist hate mail regarding health care reform that referred to him and Obama with racial epithets. A swastika was also painted on a sign outside one of his district offices.
“I think certain things have been tolerated to allow disrespect of this president because he is an African-American,” Scott said in an interview.
Public Option or No Bill
September 16th, 2009
1:51 pm
Why in the world does posting a commenen t take 10 refreshes and often put a 404 error up on a box whose IE or FF works perfectly at any other blog site?
Why does it take so long on this blog and no other blog for a comment to post?
Why are there such random whacky filters here?
Why is Wordpress so hard for AJC’s? web personnel who are supposed to be helping Jay Bookman?
Public Option or No Bill
September 16th, 2009
1:55 pm
Why can’t Jay Bookman post rules for posting and fix the random filter when you make a 2 sentence reply that filters your side of the discussion but not the person you’re trying to answer?
How long would it take for Jay Bookman to pick up his cell to call whoever runs the technical Wordpress part of this blog to fix the glitches that are unique to AJC blogs but no others in the world?
Why should it take a long period of time for a comment to show and why doesn’t this blog return to your posted comment instead of to the top of the page, the first page of the thread, or a 404 error when no other blogs on the planet do this?
Is there no one at Cox who can help Jay fix the technical area of this blog?
TaxPayer
September 16th, 2009
1:57 pm
Rush Limbaugh couldn’t resist trying to connect the brutal beating of one student by another on a school bus to President Obama, using it as an example of how Obama is somehow causing racism throughout the U.S.:
You put your kids on a school bus you expect safety but in Obama’s America the white kids now get beat up with the black kids cheering ‘yeah, right on, right on, right on.’ Of course everybody said the white kid deserved it he was born a racist, he’s white.
In fact it would be Limbaugh who seems to have the racial hangup. The St. Louis-Dispatch reports that the beating was not racially motivated, as a Belleville police captain had originally speculated, but was instead incited by a pretty common dispute on school buses: choice of seating.
Good old boy, Rush. I wonder if he or Hannity or Beck, et al, covered that racially charged attack down in Clayton County. For some reason, I don’t think so.
Finn McCool
September 16th, 2009
1:57 pm
What’s a white man gotta do to get ahead in America? Jeez. I’m sooooo oppressed!
Bruno
September 16th, 2009
1:58 pm
“I think a large percentage of people are prejudiced and judgemental, especially in this area of the country, and no not just Republicans. I have my theories as to why, which surprisingly isn’t about race, but mostly about religion – and if I had a few months of uninterrupted time, I might could put together my complete thoughts on the matter, but alas, I don’t – and it would be a very, very long post.”
Human nature is what it is, of course, Bosch. Due to our “pack animal” genetics, it is only natural for us to identify with those who look like us. Having said that, automatically labeling any opposition to Obama as being racist in origin blocks any meaningful discussion about what the best way to move forward is, which is unacceptable to me. There’s too much on the table here to not allow any opposition.
I’ll echo TaxPayer in asking that you make an effort to expand upon your remarks, though. It could be interesting.
Scooter
September 16th, 2009
1:58 pm
Bosch,
I enjoy your posts
TaxPayer, I don’t know about you but I have really enjoyed the interesting and civil debate here today. Very entertaining!
Jackie
September 16th, 2009
1:58 pm
It is known that no one can prove a negative. Given this statement, there is no way anyone can prove one to be a racist based upon statements.
On the other hand, exhibiting racist tendencies by actions and associations goes further to provide insight into the actions one may take by the “company they keep.”
Don
September 16th, 2009
1:58 pm
From a Progressive book, and why FOX is the only station that carries the REAL stories, and why the ‘racists’ term is thrown around by the left, it’s brainwashing.
“What Orwell could not know in the 1930s and 1940s was that Totalitarianism and its propaganda apparatus would ultimately succeed in penetrating “the inner
heart” of individuals. Nor could he have known how much more sophisticated and pervasive propaganda was destined to become, how in the latter part of the
twentieth century latter-day avatars would graft onto this already dark art a whole host of new and extremely powerful elements. In fact, what was in
Orwell’s time already a frighteningly manipulative tool would over the next few decades take several more quantum leaps forward in its ability to
subliminally deceive and influence. It did so by evolving in a Darwininan manner, by confronting the challenges of capitalism and democracy, and then under
the pressure of this of this natural selection, mutating to incorporate traits from each as if it were cloning new genetic material onto its figurative
genome. It was in this manner that propaganda’s genetic makeup gained a new hybrid vigor, achieving an unforeseen level of sophistication and efficaciousness
that would doubtless have astounded Orwell. In this process there were several major evolutionary breakthroughs worthy of note.
1) Stalin to Mao
The first came about as China imported Stalin’s form of Marxist-Leninist propaganda and imbued it with “Chinese characteristics,” turning it into “Mao Zedong
Thought.”
2) The Marriage of Freudian Insights to Old-Style Political Propaganda
“The second significant evolutionary step occurred because of explicit advances in the burgeoning world of psychoanalytical thought. A new approach,
pioneered by Sigmund Freud, plumbed the depth of human unconsciousness to form a revolutionary corpus of systematized theories on how to understand, and even
heal, the inner workings of the human psyche. Through a quite unholy matrimonial convergence, “old-style” political propaganda became fortified by Freudian
insights about human insecurity, weakness, yearning and guilt. The result: new forms of manipulation in which overt political coercion merged with an array
of subtle but powerfu covert psychological mechanisms.
“One of the pioneers of some of these new psychological mechanisms was Edward Bernays, the father of “public relations,” who also happened to be Sigmund
Freud’s grandson. … ‘If we understand the mechanisms and motives of the group mind,’ Bernays presciently observed, ‘is it not possible to control and
regiment the masses according to our will without their knowing it? The recent practice of propaganda has proved that is possible. …’
“When public relations theory and its application to commercial advertising–which Orwell had derided as “the rattling of a stick inside a swill bucket”–
became available to authoritarian regimes as a means to bolster their own propaganda and control efforts, a new industrial-strength brew that was infinitely
more subtle and and convincing than anything that had preceded it was born. …
3) Electronic Media
“The third, and last evolutionary development in propaganda was brought about by the development of technology, particularly in the electronic media. What
could be achieved visually on television (and later on the Internet) was far higher on the periodic table of persuasiveness than anything that had preceded
it. This new medium was capable of making almost any almost any message seductive and convincing. … When crossbred with forms of twentieth century
totalitarian ideology and propaganda, television became a powerful new form of indoctrination for both commercial and political purposes.”
Historygeek
September 16th, 2009
2:00 pm
Would it be racist for me, a white guy to say:
That a typical black person has had a negative trait bred into them?
That typical black people don’t care about poor white children?
That blacks routinely target whites unfairly and it showed their stupidity?
That we should build policies to support whites instead of blacks based on the color of their skin alone?
.
September 16th, 2009
2:01 pm
I’m all about banning religion from this country. It’s ruining everything.
And I don’t mean banning faith or spirituality…just organized religion. Root all evil.
Bosch
September 16th, 2009
2:01 pm
Taxpayer,
Thanks!
Bruno
September 16th, 2009
2:01 pm
“How has misuse of insurance driven up costs?”
“I’m talking the $12 Tylenol and the $120 cling–they’re real Bruno–and I’ve had the chance to review charts over years at hospitals in Atlanta. Some of the charges would blow your mind. Your immediate reaction would be “I can get a lot of bottles of Tylenol for 12 bucks, and of course you could. So why is the hospital charging you $12 for one regular strength Tylenol?”
Still waiting for your reply, PON.
“I also recognize the systemic racisim by many of the Repubos here.”
So what is your motivation for posting here, PON? Obviously it isn’t to promote honest discussion. Tell me why I should take anything you say seriously?
mike
September 16th, 2009
2:02 pm
Here are some links to some photos of a time period that many folks seem to be forgetting:
http://www.ringospictures.com/index.php?page=20090816
Brad Steel
September 16th, 2009
2:02 pm
Glenn Beck shares some of his brilliant deductions with …who has a deep-seated hatred for white people, or the white culture.
Like which white people, fatboy, his mom?
Public Option or No Bill
September 16th, 2009
2:03 pm
@ Bruno–
I still don’t understand what you mean by unnecessary insurance filing? Please elaborate. And I haven’t made your case for anything and when you think I have please have the courtesy to say how instead of glibly high fiving yourself and stating I have.
@ Mr. Green–
The NEJM /Wood Johnson study was done by all statistically accepted methodologies and the mechanics of the survey were posted.
I’ve read IBD for years. Great stock charts and good tech sector info. But their editorial page is right out of the brains of Hannity and Limbaugh.
They did not say where their random MD sample came from of course which is a statistical flaw in and of itself. They said nothing about their methodology.
And make no mistake about it, the AMA’s 16.666% of physicians in US members support reform and public option in large percentage, but AMA is actually working very hard to defeat any health care reform behind the scenes and their past president is conspiculously working to defeat reform for big bucks as a major lobbyist.
Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)
September 16th, 2009
2:03 pm
Well, us poor White people are being held down by Those People. You can say it ain’t true, but in your heart you know I’m right. They took away our rights when they took the Klan from us and passed all these Civil Rights laws. Just because I don’t like or trust Those People none at all or have anything to do with them is no reason to call me a Racist. Heck, I even said hello to one once. So you can kind of say one is my friend.
Anyhow, I ain’t going to stick around here and let this Normal and AmVet and TnGelding and DebbieDoEverybody and USinUK and other libruls call me a bunch of names I don’t deserve. Have a good p.m. everybody.
Public Option or No Bill
September 16th, 2009
2:04 pm
Public Option or No Bill Your comment is awaiting moderation.
September 16th, 2009
2:03 pm
mike
September 16th, 2009
2:04 pm
Here some more photos of those”tolerant” critics of Bush who would never be uncivil like those mean old racist conservative critics of Obama’s.
http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=612
Anybody remember these shots making it on to the news during the coverage of the war protests?
Scooter
September 16th, 2009
2:04 pm
Public Option or No Bill
September 16th, 2009
1:55 pm
Thanks for that post. I thought it was just me making an error!
Public Option or No Bill
September 16th, 2009
2:04 pm
@ Bruno–
I still don’t understand what you mean by unnecessary insurance filing? Please elaborate. And I haven’t made your case for anything and when you think I have please have the courtesy to say how instead of glibly high fiving yourself and stating I have.
Public Option or No Bill
September 16th, 2009
2:04 pm
@ Bruno–
I still don’t understand what you mean by unnecessary insurance filing? Please elaborate. And I haven’t made your case for anything and when you think I have please have the courtesy to say how instead of glibly high fiving yourself and stating I have.
DeKalb Conservative
September 16th, 2009
2:05 pm
The r-word is used more frequently than it should be. Its used to discredit and silence a person, but rarely is it used in its proper context.
For example, Jay, who is and esteemed writer is too quick to assign Glenn Beck’s comments as racist. Perhaps the proper word used would be bigoted.
Don
September 16th, 2009
2:07 pm
I’m AMAZED at the number of brainwashed people there are. Those progressives sure know what they are doing and are VERY goo at it. Scarey stuff
jconservative
September 16th, 2009
2:07 pm
Jay said:
“People who look like me dominate… the vast majority of elected political offices.”
Not For Long. In 30 years we “whites” will be just another minority.
New motto – “A Nation of Minorities”.
Political office will be held by those who can put together a voting bloc consisting of several minorities.
If you don’t like “them” or “those” do not expect to win in 2040.
Actually, on second thought, whites will be one of “them” won’t they?
And I realize I am one of the few with a long range view, so do not bother jumping on me.
mike
September 16th, 2009
2:07 pm
Redneck Convert (R–and proud of it) –
I am impressed that you have married your own ignorant intolerance to a parody style popular with racists in the 1800s.
Kudos to you on reinvigorating a fine tradition of bigots everywhere.
Public Option or No Bill
September 16th, 2009
2:07 pm
@ Mr. Green–
The NEJM /Wood Johnson study was done by all statistically accepted methodologies and the mechanics of the survey were posted. IBD declined to say where they got their “random physicians” and who they were associated with. IBD’s editorials are to the right of Rush.
Bruno
September 16th, 2009
2:08 pm
“I still don’t understand what you mean by unnecessary insurance filing? Please elaborate.”
Huh?? The premise of my argument is that the use of a third-party payment system opens the door for fraud and abuse. You then went on to list numerous abuses you claim to have seen while reviewing hospital charts. As such, you have made my case for me. What about that don’t you understand, you of superior intellect?
Public Option or No Bill
September 16th, 2009
2:08 pm
@ Don–
And all Repubozos are well educated, independent, articulate cerebral thinkers like Katy Abram and Joe the Plumber, is that it?
Bosch
September 16th, 2009
2:08 pm
And Scooter – thanks too!
Bruno,
I’m not advocating that every opposition to Obama is a racist act – then hell, I’d have to call myself one – nor am I advocating that everybody who opposes Obama is automatically given the racist t-shirt (or hooded bed sheet). I am saying that I have to stop and wonder what actually IS causing animosity towards Obama – because alot of the people who seem to have issue with him – do so not based on policy, or anything he’s actually done, but on perceived fallacies or perceptions and ungrounded fears which causes me to wonder what is the root cause of it all.
DeKalb Conservative
September 16th, 2009
2:10 pm
From everything that I have seen and heard coming from Rep Hank Johnson’s mouth, I have to conclude that he never view himself as a “Congressman that is black.” Instead, I believe he will always view himself as a “black congressman.”
His statements too often reflect the black caucus as a special interest group. I hear him associated with the black caucus as a national group much more than I hear him associated with Georgia’s 4th congressional district.
Whitey be questioning if Rep. Hank Johnson cares about the little white pellets in the pepper shaker that make up GA’s 4th district.
Want racism? Look less to Glenn Beck and Rep Joe Wilson and look more to the beliefs and statements of Rep Hank Johnson and the black caucus!
Jay
September 16th, 2009
2:12 pm
I was very well aware of all that, PON. To my mind, it did not rise to the level of evidence needed to accuse someone of being a racist.
Doggone/GA
September 16th, 2009
2:12 pm
“Proof please.”
You want proof of what I THINK? Use your amazing mind reading abilities.
Public Option or No Bill
September 16th, 2009
2:13 pm
Your words “superior intellect” Bruno–not mine.
I couldn’t make it clearer. The hospital charts show among other things extreme price gouging by hospitals.
I still don’t understand the remark about 3rd party payment. If you mean upcoding, yes upcoding happens but insurance companies are routinely rejecting anything filed by us now just wasting our time and their time. None of us are just going to forget the bill that is legitimate and they know it. We are going to stop this practice that’s continued for years and they realize it now.
I don’t know what abuse you’re referring to? Upcoding? Yep it happens. Emory did it at Grady and Kent Alexander secured a sealed consent agreement with the Georgia AG’s office that the AJC didn’t cover and you can’t read.
Emory is doing it at Grady right now–and Mike Young is aware of it. Emory tried to screw Grady severely too by imposing an inflated system to charge for their services when they didn’t show up and Mike stopped them.
I Report/ Vast White Wing Conspirator :-) You Whine :-(
September 16th, 2009
2:13 pm
You might want to talk to the Tuck Monster, I doubt if she is on board with such ideas.
Historygeek
September 16th, 2009
2:14 pm
So Bosch, you are then assuming that most people have latent racist feelings? Because I have always disagreed with our President simply on his stand on policies and not on his skin color. And any animosity that I have towards the President is because he is the del facto leader of his party (the party in power) and they are ones in control of the policies that are being and attempted to be enacted.
Yankee
September 16th, 2009
2:15 pm
If Joe “YOU LIE” Wilson had said “YOU LIE” at the end of President Obama speech that would be considered RUDE ,,,,,,,,,,,BUT when an African American President (PRESIDENT OBAMA) said there WILL NOT be any coverage for ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS in a RACIST mind (MEXICANS) and it invoke a WHITE CONFEDERATE (Joe “YOU LIE” Wilson) senors to become overwhelmed and shout “YOU LIE” this to me is a BLATANT RACIST. WHITE PEOPLE IF YOU HAVE TO PROCLAIM THAT YOU ARE NOT A RACIST, CHANCES ARE THAT YOU ARE A RACIST! RACISM by definition : hatred or intolerance of another race or other races. ………IT IS NOT PROCLAMATION
Don
September 16th, 2009
2:18 pm
I’m not a republican
Kamchak
September 16th, 2009
2:18 pm
Sorry about the bad link. Don’t know what happened.
Bosch
September 16th, 2009
2:19 pm
Historygeek,
As I said earlier, I think that a majority of us (if not all) have prejudices and many people are judgemental. So to answer your question, no.
“Because I have always disagreed with our President simply on his stand on policies and not on his skin color.”
Well good – so I guess I’m not talking about you.
And just to clarify – part of your animosity towards Obama is because he is the de facto leader of the Democratic Party? So?
Public Option or No Bill
September 16th, 2009
2:20 pm
Jay, then my question would be how much of a preponderence of evidence you want I’m trying to take a step backwards and be objective. Maybe you think that merely being a member of Sons of Confederate Vets and pushing a flag isn’t technically enough evidence and you might be right there.
It’s been widely noted, and I know you’ve read this–that slow motion photography shows that not any of the Republicans sitting in seats surrounding Wilson batted an eye or reacted in any way. That’s surreal. And while it may not technically prove anything, it sure suggests that his outburst was choreographed in advance.
I’ll have to disagree with you too, if you believe the larger issue–that the rampant opposition to anything Obama does with no ability to articulate it–the interviews of the people at the Mall this weekend are evidence–aren’t simply because a black man is in the White House fixing the cascade of messes left by Bush and a Republican congress in the preceeding years. The Dems narrowly took over the Senate in 2006, and the 60 vote or 59 vote majority is a myth since so many Blue Dog Senators are on insurance company and pharmaceutical company payrolls like Landrieu, Lincoln, and Baucus.
And can you please fix the filters and get a Wordpress plug-in for real time posting instead of a post taking several minutes much of the time. One sentence non-controversial posts are getting caught in the filter.
Historygeek
September 16th, 2009
2:21 pm
Yankee, WTF??? “RACISM by definition : hatred or intolerance of another race or other races. ………IT IS NOT PROCLAMATION”
That is idiotic and shows that you, like most people, are not being intellectually honest.
Racism “is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.”
The term was highjacked long ago and changed to define act of bigotry. Let all define what it really is. Very few believe in the actual superiority of one race over another.
Don
September 16th, 2009
2:21 pm
From a progressive book……….”One of the pioneers of some of these new psychological mechanisms was Edward Bernays, the father of “public relations,” who also happened to be Sigmund Freud’s grandson. … ‘If we understand the mechanisms and motives of the group mind,’ Bernays presciently observed, ‘is it not possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without their knowing it? The recent practice of propaganda has proved that is possible. …’”
Yankee
September 16th, 2009
2:21 pm
Personally I think 99.9% of all WHITE PEOPLE SOUTH OF THE MASON-DIXIE LINE ARE RACIST UNTIL THEY PROVE OTHERWISE PERIOD !!
Bruno
September 16th, 2009
2:22 pm
“Your words “superior intellect” Bruno–not mine.”
In case you forgot, your opening salvo to me a few weeks ago was to tell me how smart you were and how I couldn’t possibly have any qualifications to discuss the issues.
“I still don’t understand the remark about 3rd party payment.”
Let me break it down slowly for you then: When people don’t pay their own bills directly, as is the case with third-party payment via health “insurance”, then due to human nature a natural indifference arises in which no one cares what the prices are since it’s not coming directly from their own pockets. Do I need to make it any simpler for you?
TaxPayer
September 16th, 2009
2:23 pm
Scooter
September 16th, 2009
1:58 pm
Bosch,
I enjoy your posts
TaxPayer, I don’t know about you but I have really enjoyed the interesting and civil debate here today. Very entertaining!
Well, I don’t ever mean to be uncivilized. After all, I’m not an animal! Wait a minute. Perhaps a little clarification is in order here. After all, I’m not just any animal. I’m a civilized animal. How many of you have ever heard of an uncivilized animal that has learned how to be rude, obnoxious, racist, bigoted, biased, well, maybe biased, etc. Civilizations were created expressly for the purpose of making people… civilized. So, we have rules. Rules for everything, as Kamchak has even recently noted given that essay he shared with me on the rules of dueling. I mean, can you imagine such a thing in the wild. Leopards only coming out during the day. Lions announcing themselves as they approach. I think not. One would have to be civilized to do such things and animals are just not meant to be domiciled. It’s the call of the wild that defines us all. It’s what keeps us free and so very much independent and nothing at all like socialists. But, I digress. This is not about you or me. It is all about the O. Let us not forget. This is the dawning of a new age. Join me in a chorus
DeKalb Conservative
September 16th, 2009
2:23 pm
In all seriousness, Mark Williams statement of “Indonesian Muslim turned welfare thug” should be further examined. Just like the whole birth certificate noise, let’s put aside the “Indonesian Muslim” aspect (yes, he went to school in Indonesia, yes significant members of his father’s family are Muslim). Instead, look to the phrase “welfare thug.”
Calling Obama a “welfare thug” is perhaps not quite as polished a statement as it could be. Instead of using the word welfare, let’s use “public relief” and instead of using “thug” let’s use “advocate.”
Just words: “Welfare Thug” becomes “Public Relief Advocate.” Not a bad way to describe a former community organizer.
Question
September 16th, 2009
2:27 pm
The issue with the term “racism” seems to be defining it and who is using it, i.e., there appears to be a double standard in who is “allowed” to use it and for what purpose/gain.
For example, in Atlanta, it seems to be used rather freely by a certain demographic population whenever they receive a challenge or push-back in any setting!!
Don
September 16th, 2009
2:28 pm
I suppose if the media ‘pounds’ it in your head that FEMA hosed up during Katrina (as an example), you may eventually be led to believe the federal government is in charge of EVERYTHING. If you have it ‘pounded’ into your head that all conservatives are religious racists, you’d believe that. Are you to the point where you have ‘jumped’ on a bandwagon and believe everything you are told? If so, fine. When you get a chance, go research Progressives and population control, read our science czars book about it. Then ask yourself, “Can I trust anyone in Washington, republican or democrat”?
DebbieDoRight
September 16th, 2009
2:29 pm
I wonder, honestly, how Beck& Limbaugh can sleep at night. I guess all that money and endorsements can buy a lot of Oxycontin to make the pain go away.
Dekalb Conservative – when a commentator on a major TV Network says he thinks the President hates white people, (the President is half white himself); then I think his comments beat out Wilson’s. Wilson may intimate “THIS person is racist” But he’s never came out and said BUSH HATES BLACK PEOPLE. Remember when K. West did that and was ostracized and ridiculed by EVERYONE? Why hasn’t the same treatment been given to Beck? Things that make you go hmmm…….
mike: The American citizens have the right to protest. Notice any in those pictures carrying GUNS and making threats of VIOLENCE towards the President?
Historygeek: Yes.
Don
September 16th, 2009
2:31 pm
They want us to fight, for the same reason we don’t see 3rd parties getting tax dollars and/or invited to a presidentail debate. We are just pawns. When repubs and dems quit fighting, they’ll get VERY nervous.
Doggone/GA
September 16th, 2009
2:31 pm
You decide which is most appropriate:
bigoted
–adjective
utterly intolerant of any creed, belief, or opinion that differs from one’s own.
racist
–noun
1. a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule others.
2. a policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination.
3. hatred or intolerance of another race or other races.
Jay
September 16th, 2009
2:33 pm
PON writes:
“I’ll have to disagree with you too, if you believe the larger issue–that the rampant opposition to anything Obama does with no ability to articulate it–the interviews of the people at the Mall this weekend are evidence–aren’t simply because a black man is in the White House fixing the cascade of messes left by Bush and a Republican congress in the preceeding years.”
That no doubt plays some role, but it’s a great exaggeration to claim that it’s SIMPLY because a black man is in the White House. Remember the loony antics of the right during the Clinton years? Shooting melons in the head, allegations of cocaine trafficking and rape, Hillary a lesbian who killed her lover Vince Foster, yada yada.
I’d say Obama’s race is a complicating factor to a pre-existing condition.
As to Wordpress, our IT folks have been notified and are working on things, I’m told.
Historygeek
September 16th, 2009
2:33 pm
DebbieDoRight, I assume you are saying “Yes” that I am a for stating those four things listed out at 2:00 pm? Then our President must be considered one. Because those are his own statements turned around.
Now let me be clear, I am not saying that he is a racist (or a bigot), but one MUST take pause and examine things when those are the comments of any person.
DeKalb Conservative
September 16th, 2009
2:33 pm
@ Yankee
Personally I think 99.9% of all WHITE PEOPLE SOUTH OF THE MASON-DIXIE LINE ARE RACIST UNTIL THEY PROVE OTHERWISE PERIOD !!
Where’s the Mason-Dixie line?
I’m 99.9% certain you meant Mason-Dixon line.
.
September 16th, 2009
2:36 pm
And I think, to add some weight to Bosch’s statement about wondering what is behind the animosity…take a look at the signs at these rallies. They’re all over the place.
Protesting vaccines, abortion, ACLU, Mormons…
But this one is great: http://s2.buzzfeed.com/static/imagebuzz/web04/2009/8/15/13/honest-protestor-28236-1250355636-114.jpg
Don
September 16th, 2009
2:37 pm
Suppose a white guy ran for president in Kenya, 95% of whites supported him and his approval among whites was over 90% a year later. Would that be racists?
TaxPayer
September 16th, 2009
2:38 pm
I’d say Obama’s race is a complicating factor to a pre-existing condition.
And, therefore, uninsurable.
Doggone/GA
September 16th, 2009
2:38 pm
“Where’s the Mason-Dixie line?
I’m 99.9% certain you meant Mason-Dixon line”
Nah…he just likes to use Engrish, as espoused by good ‘ole GA
Northern Songs, Ltd.
September 16th, 2009
2:40 pm
historygeek: here, i fixed your 2:21 — Very few will admit to the actual superiority of one race over another.
pat
September 16th, 2009
2:40 pm
To late, the train left the station. You leftwing nuts, since you can never successfully argue on the substance of an issue means you have to resort ad hominem attacks. It’s just evidence that you have lost on substance and have to pull the race card in order to gag your opponents, because that’s what losers do, pull the race card.
Since you think that Limbaugh and Hannity speak for everybody on the right, we have no choice but to believe that Jimmy Carter and ACORN speak for you left wingnuts. It’s bad to be racist, except in the case of Jews, you can hate them all you want for some reason. Hey, Carter does, so you must.
Doggone/GA
September 16th, 2009
2:41 pm
“Very few will admit to the actual superiority of one race over another.”
Will you?
Doggone/GA
September 16th, 2009
2:42 pm
“You leftwing nuts”
use ad hominem attacks much?
Turd Ferguson
September 16th, 2009
2:43 pm
Doggone/GA
September 16th, 2009
2:12 pm
Proof Please…
Don
September 16th, 2009
2:43 pm
From a PROGRESSIVE book, notice the use of the Term WEAK…
“The second significant evolutionary step occurred because of explicit advances in the burgeoning world of psychoanalytical thought. A new approach, pioneered by Sigmund Freud, plumbed the depth of human unconsciousness to form a revolutionary corpus of systematized theories on how to understand, and even heal, the inner workings of the human psyche. Through a quite unholy matrimonial convergence, “old-style” political propaganda became fortified by Freudian insights about human insecurity, weakness, yearning and guilt. The result: new forms of manipulation in which overt political coercion merged with an array of subtle but powerfu covert psychological mechanisms.”
.
September 16th, 2009
2:43 pm
“you can never successfully argue on the substance of an issue”
“because that’s what losers do”
Evidence of the inability to conversate.
norman ravitch
September 16th, 2009
2:45 pm
Is it racist to be uncomfortable with a black man in the White House? I don’t think so and most Americans probably don’t think so. They elected a black man but now are wondering about his program, his nominees, his emphases, and his intentions. That is not racism; it is prudent concern.
Laugh of the Day
September 16th, 2009
2:46 pm
“Evidence of the inability to conversate.”
pat
September 16th, 2009
2:48 pm
He said “conversate”!!! I don’t conversate all that much I must admit.
M. Poster
September 16th, 2009
2:48 pm
What is Jawjaw?
JoeBob
September 16th, 2009
2:49 pm
Ok, is there something wrong if I’m a racist. Am I breaking any laws?
GEORGE AMERICAN
September 16th, 2009
2:50 pm
THESE LEFTNUT RACIST HAVE NO CLUE OF THEIR OWN IRONIC RACIST ATTACKS.
THESE SOCIALIST LEFTNUTS’ IRONICALNESS MAKES ME LAUGH SO HARD THAT I AM GOIUNG TO BUST MY NUT!!!
Doggone/GA
September 16th, 2009
2:50 pm
“Is it racist to be uncomfortable with a black man in the White House?”
Not enough information. If you are uncomfortable BECAUSE he is black, then it isn’t necessarily racist…but it is certainly bigoted. If you are uncomfortable because you believe his being black makes him “unfit” to be the President…then yes, that’s racist.
“I don’t think so and most Americans probably don’t think so. They elected a black man but now are wondering about his program, his nominees, his emphases, and his intentions. That is not racism; it is prudent concern”
But none of that addresses your first question. Certainly you can disagree with his beliefs and policies, but if THOSE are what you disagre with…then why bring up the color of his skin at all? Doing so brands you, at best, as a bigot.