What we don’t talk about when we don’t talk about race
Shirley Sherrod
Even in intimate discussions among friends, it can be hard to talk honestly and in depth about race and racism.
It’s easy to see why. Irrational sentiments that burble up out of the most primitive recesses of our souls — emotions that are then refracted through personal and collective experience — just don’t translate easily into rational thought.
And once such a thought is formed and expressed, it must then be heard and processed by other minds that are grappling with those same challenges, but from a very different perspective.
A lot can go wrong in that translation from one mind to another. And when you scale that conversation up and try to involve millions in the discussion, the number of ways that things can go wildly wrong increase geometrically, particularly when some in the conversation are trying to manipulate it for economic gain or political ambition.
Those dangers have led many to conclude that in public, it is better to avoid the topic of race altogether than to risk misunderstanding and the inflammation of dangerous passions.
I disagree.
As painful as the Shirley Sherrod case has been, for example, I think the country understands itself better today than it did a week ago.
True, some of what we’ve come to understand is not that pleasant. We’ve seen the power of people such as Andrew Breitbart, who released a harshly distorted video depicting Sherrod as a racist. He almost destroyed her career and her life in the process, yet he still refuses to apologize or take responsibility.
Andrew Breitbart
We also saw elements of the American media as well as the Obama administration leap to conclusions on command, like well-trained poodles wearing shock collars, only to sheepishly reverse course once the truth became known.
In the process, though, we also became familiar with the real story of Sherrod, a black woman who was born and raised in the Jim Crow South and who lost her father in a murder supposedly committed by a white neighbor who was never prosecuted.
In the last few days, hundreds of thousands if not millions of Americans have watched the 43-minute videotape in which Sherrod relates her struggle to overcome the resentment and distrust toward white people created by that and other experiences.
It’s a great story, honestly told, and I’d bet that most of those who took the time to watch that tape at one point reflected on their own, perhaps uncompleted journey to that same grace that Sherrod has tried to attain.
That is a good thing. America has never been a static concept. To the contrary, it has existed in a permanent state of transformation politically and economically as well as demographically.
Within the past generation, long-term trends such as immigration, civil rights, gay rights and feminism have transformed the face and power structure of the country. As a result, the ability not just to tolerate but to welcome and celebrate those of other backgrounds has become essential to success.
Until a few years ago, many Americans had talked themselves into thinking that we had put questions of race behind us, that we had already emerged into a post-racial society in which such things no longer matter. And while the election of Barack Obama might have been seen as confirmation of that belief, in fact it has done the opposite. It has brought to the surface elements of racism that many had tried to pretend no longer existed.
It is important to keep that statement in perspective. In uncertain times, strong and sincere disagreement about the nation’s course ahead is inevitable. The political standoff that exists in Washington today would exist even if Obama looked and talked like Mitt Romney, because it is based on honest differences of policy and ideology, not race.
But if we’re honest, we must also acknowledge that race has given some of the opposition to Obama a nasty edge and a passion that at times is out of proportion to its inspiration.
These are tough times. It is a lot easier to trust your fellow man when you feel secure in your job and home than when you wake up each morning fearful it all might be snatched away by forces that you cannot comprehend or control. What we’ve seen in the last few days is the danger posed by those who would profit by stoking and feeding those fears, rather than try to calm them.
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542 comments Add your comment
josef nix
July 23rd, 2010
11:11 am
RW
From the corner…”hey, at least he’s paying attention that there may be something else besides black and white…”
RW-(the original)
July 23rd, 2010
11:11 am
Must be a pretty boring spy novel
HDB
July 23rd, 2010
11:12 am
Don’t forget
July 23rd, 2010
11:05 am
HDB
I think your post illustrates how comments have to be taken in the context of the times in which they were made.
Question: Why shouldn’t Shirley Sherrod’s statement be treated LIKEWISE?? THIS is the point that needs to be realized!! Ms. Sherrod was referrring to an incident in her life that occurred 24 YEARS ago prior to her becoming a government employee…..no one has looked at that concept!!
JacobLocke
July 23rd, 2010
11:13 am
This is classic …
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8500HxYv-FE&feature=related
chuck
July 23rd, 2010
11:13 am
Jay, I have never been to Breitbart’s site, but in your post, you acknowledge that he did mention the NAACP audience. My assertion is that in every INTERVIEW that I saw Breitbart give, he focused on the audience reaction and NOT Sherrod, Additionally, the NAACP had complete possesion and control over the ENTIRE VIDEO and yet THEY condemned Sherrod FROM THE BEGINNING.
josef nix
July 23rd, 2010
11:15 am
RW
Nanh, and he says to leave him the hell alone…but I’m only interrupting him when somebody touches on the subject…so, he’s pretty safe from interruption…
RF
Larry Echohawk…but he’s not a goy!
USinUK
July 23rd, 2010
11:16 am
“If you had heard a WHITE AG worker making those comments about a BLACK farmer, you would have been outraged and so would I.”
if that was the ONLY quote I saw, of course I would. but, of course, context is everything – as this week has proven – isn’t it? what she was, in fact, saying was the the exact opposite of the highly edited video.
as for Breitbart’s after-the-fact interviews … it’s called CYA.
Mark
July 23rd, 2010
11:18 am
Dont Forget
I believe that’s true but what has he said that would violate it?
Jefferson
July 23rd, 2010
11:18 am
Speaking on races, I don’t like a Ford or anyone who does.
Outhouse GoKart
July 23rd, 2010
11:19 am
“And that “great white hope” crap in your last paragraph is just about the biggest chip on a white man’s shoulder, isn’t it. No one is asking for a “bailout.” What’s happening in Atlanta is “good ole boy” politics of the worst sort. And, yes, I’ll blame white folks. White people destroyed Native Americans. White people created the African diaspora. White people destroyed the structure of the African-American family. White people formed the KKK. White people abused the Chinaman, the Irishman, the Sweed, the Jew, the Pole – over the entire history of this great nation, White people have inflicted more damage on the vitality of this nation than any other ethnicity in this great country of ours. However, I’ve yet to meet a white man who is willing to recognize those atrocities and engage in an actual discussion about them.”
Blame, blame, blame…lol.
RF
July 23rd, 2010
11:20 am
Jefferson- Definitely CHEVY for me!
RW-(the original)
July 23rd, 2010
11:20 am
Only in loony lefty lala land can something that’s apparent in the initial posting be called after the fact.
chuck
July 23rd, 2010
11:21 am
Just curious, Does anyone know whether Breitbart even had the entire video? I don’t know the answer to that question. We do know however that the NAACP did.
Scooter
July 23rd, 2010
11:22 am
Speaking on races, I don’t like a Ford or anyone who does
Only a bigot would say something like that! And I’m with you.
JacobLocke
July 23rd, 2010
11:22 am
@outhouse gokart – you’re a little behind the discussion – you may want to catch up.
RF
July 23rd, 2010
11:22 am
“loony lefty lala land” —But is’t so much more FUN over here than in stodgy, hateful, morally upright Righty-tighty land…
JacobLocke
July 23rd, 2010
11:23 am
And I just realized, that should be “Swede” (sorry, grandpa).
neo-Carlinist
July 23rd, 2010
11:23 am
this may appear profoundly obvious to all critical thinkers (left, right, middle, and carlinists) RACISM is not so much a character flaw as it is a “weapon” or tactical tool for those who would profit from any type of war or even competition. as I said, how is positioning whites against blacks for the purpose of garnering votes, any different than positioning the Netherlands against Spain for the purposes of generating revenue (the World Cup)? again, this may sound obvious, but either nobody is a racist, or we’re all racists. as I noted a couple days ago, even Christians (or Muslims) who feel their god or their “faith” makes them superior (in god’s eyes) demostrate “racism”. how is what Tim McVeigh did any different than what the 9/11 terrorists did? terrorists are criminals and race or creed is not what makes them “criminal” but rather the accelerate used by OTHERS to foster criminal behavior. look no futher than JB’s data on the amount of air time and attention Fox News gave the New Black Panthers. If Fox News really cares about the future of the USA it needs to spend more time covering the antics of Lady Gaga or Katy Perry. Fox gave some clown in a beret “15 hours of fame” because it drew viewers, which the sales people could then take to advertisers and say; “here’s our demographic bewteen 8-10 PM, doesn’t it make sense to advertise with us?”
USinUK
July 23rd, 2010
11:24 am
chuck – “Does anyone know whether Breitbart even had the entire video?”
he’s had the video since March.
popeye
July 23rd, 2010
11:24 am
Jay…you got the chronology pretty much correct on your 10:21 except you left out the part on what transpired the next day….
When Fox once again went loopy calling the administration out for acting so hastily. You can’t win with that crowd!
Fred
July 23rd, 2010
11:26 am
Doggone/GA
July 23rd, 2010
11:01 am
I would suspect that the first generation of blacks “exported” to slavery DID. But their children, and subsequent generations who grew up under slave conditions would blame their owners, not the people they never met who put their parents into that slave condition.
++++++++++
But isn’t that what you are doing? Holding ALL white people responsible for what 5% of the population in 1860 did? I didn’t have any slaves. You weren’t a slave. Hell, my family didn’t come to this Country until long after slavery was abolished. This whole “race issue” and your silly code words thing is old and tired. If you want to combat slavery, then go to Africa where it is STILL practiced today. Get over yourself. Blacks aren’t the only people to have been slaves.
The future can never come if you are worried about digging up the past and living it. As a white man, I owe the black race NOTHING. As a human being, I owe my fellow human beings nothing other than to treat them as I wish to be treated regardless of the color of their skin. The blame game leads no where. Instead of casting blame and making excuses how about we all just work for a solution. (The same thing would work for our economy as well lol.)
Mick
July 23rd, 2010
11:26 am
The boob tube and talking heads, what a splendid convergence at this point in time. When I was a young teen our tv died and my dad vowed not to replace it. The first few days felt like an old friend gone missing but then something happened. Each day without it really did free up your thinking and reading was relaxing, this is when I got hooked on newspapers and reading, I still buy one everyday. We all have great capability to adapt to the situation, we just don’t realize it. Eventually, we got another tv, mainly because the dolphins were undefeated and going to the super bowl, even that pivot is revelatory. The point is, fox or msnbc, no matter who you watch or listen too, take a step back and actually process what is being said, many of the talkers are far more interested in perpetuating themselves no matter what the story. So, for old times sake, I still take sabbaticals from tv and life just seems so much cleaner.
Mark
July 23rd, 2010
11:26 am
HDB
I dont have any problem with her story about what happened 24 years ago, but her statements about racsim in the teaparty’s about healthcare and that during the 8 years of the Bush admin. that “they” had to endure, that no one made comments about Bush like they have about Obama.
first we “all” had to endure the Bush admin. not just “they” and there are many examples of where Bush was bashed in the media and on the Left..
DP
July 23rd, 2010
11:31 am
Chuck, your repeated assertion that the NAACP audience laughed and applauded when Sherrod said she didn’t give the white farmer all of the support she could is a lie. There were a few chuckles, no applause, when she said that while he was trying to show her he was superior to her she was deciding how much help to give him. When she said she initially didn’t give him her full support there isn’t even a murmur in the audience.
Here’s a link to the full video, you or anybody else can forward to about 16:30.
http://www.naacp.org/news/entry/video_sherrod/
How about you either give one example of where the NAACP audience was inappropriate (with the approximate time into the video noted) or shut up? You can repeat a lie over and over but that doesn’t make it the truth.
chuck
July 23rd, 2010
11:32 am
Hey RF, getting ready for another year in the classroom?
USinUK
July 23rd, 2010
11:32 am
DP – “You can repeat a lie over and over but that doesn’t make it the truth.”
the Breitbart M.O.
John Birch
July 23rd, 2010
11:35 am
Today racism is largely perpetuated by those who stand to profit from it, NAACP, Jackson, Sharpton, Breitbart, Bookman, Fox News et al.
RF
July 23rd, 2010
11:35 am
chuck- I taught 4 weeks of summer school, went to a conference in Kentucky, and have some freshman summer camp stuff next week. I haven’t slowed down long enough to get ready and here it comes!! You ready for the rush of pubescent energy headed your way?
RW-(the original)
July 23rd, 2010
11:36 am
DP,
Chuck may or may not want to fall into your trap, but whether Breitbart is right or wrong about the audience reaction makes no difference whatsoever to that being the focus of his posting.
chuck
July 23rd, 2010
11:40 am
17:32
chuck
July 23rd, 2010
11:41 am
Looking forward to it RF
USinUK
July 23rd, 2010
11:43 am
RF and chuck and Jo Nix – good luck and good wishes for the new school year! (god knows, I don’t have the patience to do what you guys do)
chuck
July 23rd, 2010
11:43 am
I spent a couple of weeks working with kids in Romania but other than that I’ve been laying by to pool or swimming in it.
TaxPayer
July 23rd, 2010
11:43 am
Speaking of Bill O’Really, I thought Rachel did a most excellent job of setting the facts straight for him. And as for anything Glenn Beck has to say. Well, that about covers it.
SPQR(laissez Faire)
July 23rd, 2010
11:46 am
Someone down the line said blacks should be leery of other blacks , basically due (my words here) to blacks being the sellers in africa, of other blacks, to whitey, so whitey could ship them to the usa for retail sale. I would also note that the biggest killer by far of black males 18-45 sure isn’t white people in sheets, it is other black males 18-45.
Statistics don’t lie..liberals do.
@getalife saying “If you talk to the younger generation, you would see more tolerance and that is the future of this country.”
As a gen Y member (under 30 I think they call it) even I can say that should scare you to Freaking death. Todays kids are idiots. Moreso than gen x or gen Y, todays 18-25 somethings are the kind of loser who sues because they skinned a knee playing dodge ball, and want the game banned..and mommy and daddy coddled them so much that, at the first sign of adversity or taunting, they spaz ou and cry or try to lash out, but thanks to living in front of the xbox, their uncoordinated spastic attack looks like rhymic dance finals at the special olympics..it’s fun to watch, try it sometime.
RF
July 23rd, 2010
11:47 am
USinUK- thanks for the good wishes. I still love the job, even after basically a 10% paycut…which is exactly why I taught summer school and did summer camp. Gotta feed the crumb munchers at home!
DP
July 23rd, 2010
11:48 am
Chuck, I heard a few chuckles (as I noted earlier) but I didn’t hear “laughter and applause” as you have falsely asserted several times. And the chuckles weren’t even at the part of the speech that you claimed earlier.
Did you hear applause?
DP
July 23rd, 2010
11:49 am
Oh yeah, we need Rachel Maddow to set everything straight. She’s about as fair and balanced as Glenn Beck.
josef nix
July 23rd, 2010
11:49 am
chuck
Kids in Romania? The Romany?
@@
July 23rd, 2010
11:51 am
Is the intervention still going on?
Oooohhh MAN! It’s not helping me much.
Here’s how I see it:
Breitbart needs to take care of his business.
All FOX news pundits need to take care of their business.
CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC need to take care of their business.
The NAACP needs to take care of their business, which is the ADVANCEMENT of colored people, not the history of slavery. We know it already.
The Obama administration, Vilsack (sp?), and Mrs. Sherrod need to “take care of the government’s business” which, unfortunately, doesn’t seem to be the people’s business.
Where are the jobs you promised, Mr. President?
And George Carlin is a BAD AMERICAN!
DANG! James Webb is a Democrat? You’d never know it by that piece he wrote in the WSJ. Sounds like a conservative. Switch parties, Senator Webb!!! Your party doesn’t wanna hear what needs to be said.
jay, was your intention to heal me or bring me to heel?
RF
July 23rd, 2010
11:51 am
“Statistics don’t lie..liberals do.” And conservatives tell the truth? ROFLMAO!!!!! Dang, I gotta quit drinking coffee while I read the posts here!
That statistic isn’t news. That fact has been well documented for decades. What kills most caucasian males between 18-25? I’ll guar-on-tee it has something to do with drugs, alcohol, or driving.
Bosch
July 23rd, 2010
11:52 am
“But if we’re honest, we must also acknowledge that race has given some of the opposition to Obama a nasty edge and a passion that at times is out of proportion to its inspiration.”
Amen.
As I’ve written, racism can be subconscious and subtle, it has nothing to do with if you disagree with Obama, you’re racist. I certainly feel that, as Jay wrote, it is the cause for a certain edge to the passion of some — like the Joe Wilson’s of the world.
josef nix
July 23rd, 2010
11:53 am
@@
He DID switch parties…and is a burr under the saddle of the Democrats!
JohnnyReb
July 23rd, 2010
11:54 am
RF July 23rd, 2010 10:26 am
If he’s (Obama) “radical”, is it any worse to be a “black” radical? Why does black matter? What evidence do you have of his association with the black panther organization?
First, I have no evidence associating Obama with the black panthers and did not state so.
Next, “Why does black matter?” Give me a break. Have you been living in a hole somewhere with no TV? Show me video of white church gatherings where there is the vile ranting against other races as was the case of Wright – where Obama set for 20 years of indoctrination.
I was naive and thought the black race had become pretty much satisfied with how America had changed. Clearly that is not so. Wright, the NAACP, and the new panters show there is still a lot of work to be done. The problem is, there are not enough blacks like Sharrod trying to change the racial attitudes of the black community.
Mark
July 23rd, 2010
11:55 am
Here’s what Maddow said in previewing an upcoming segment —
Rick Perry, the governor of Texas, appears to have his sights set on higher office. What is higher office if you’re already governor in Texas? Of course, that would be president of Texas. The return of Confederacy in American politics as seceding from the Union comes back into Republican fashion….yeah, I laughed too!
TaxPayer
July 23rd, 2010
11:56 am
Perhaps, DP would like to discuss the content of the Maddow clip regarding the fairly unbalanced Bill O’Really.
josef nix
July 23rd, 2010
11:56 am
BOSCH
Good morning….
Hey, let’s get real, I get called a racist all the time over on my side of the aisle any time I dare criticise an Obama policy…
Bosch
July 23rd, 2010
11:57 am
“there are not enough blacks like Sharrod trying to change the racial attitudes of the black community”
Reb,
I disagree. I think, like in most cases, we see the radicals on the TV and think they represent the entire population — remember, sensationalism sells.
Alatsea
July 23rd, 2010
11:57 am
USinUK
How was the corn infused mango salsa??
@@
July 23rd, 2010
11:58 am
He DID switch parties…
He DID? I did NOT know that.
Went behind enemy lines, eh?
SPQR(laissez Faire)
July 23rd, 2010
11:59 am
I could not possibly hate anyone as much as I hate a white person stealing from me thru the government (leftist) except for a black person or yellow person or red person or purple people from freaking mars, stealing from me thru the government (leftists). I would call that a ideology tinged burning hatred with an edge, not racial…so maybe the fact obama is the most socialist POS since FDR is why the burning opposition is so intense? I think so.
Fred
July 23rd, 2010
11:59 am
I must belatedly thank JB for clearing one thing up for me. I wondered where all this talk about the new black panthers was coming from. I hadn’t seen a mention of it in the papers or websites I usually get news from. So it’s fox eh? That would explain why I didn’t see it.
on another note. I sent an email with a resume to apply for a job. i got a reply on 2 minutes. is that a good thing or a bad thing?
AmVet
July 23rd, 2010
12:00 pm
OK, kids I’ve got some really, really, really bad news.
As I’m heading down to Florida for some well deserved R & R, you poor schmoes are gonna have to endure a Friday night sing-along without me! (I know, I know, how will you EVER make it? LOL!)
Try to play nice tonight and forget about your socio-political hangups for the evening, OK?
Take care, all. Here’s a couple of appropriate ones to get you going!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXos3qQPrw4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea0759BeJ2U
jewcowboy
July 23rd, 2010
12:00 pm
“A government study was funded to study various sexual perversions: sado-masochism, necrophilia and bestiality. The study was soon halted however … the researchers decided they were just beating a dead horse.”
Normal
July 23rd, 2010
12:03 pm
DP
July 23rd, 2010
11:49 am
With a remark like that, you ought to put an “i” between your “D” and “P”…
Fred
July 23rd, 2010
12:03 pm
jewcowboy
July 23rd, 2010
12:00 pm
“A government study was funded to study various sexual perversions: sado-masochism, necrophilia and bestiality. The study was soon halted however … the researchers decided they were just beating a dead horse.”
++++++++++
That’s a pretty damn good summation of this mornings blog. I think could ALL agree to that lol.
Normal
July 23rd, 2010
12:04 pm
AmVet,
Fair winds and following seas to you my friend…
DP
July 23rd, 2010
12:04 pm
TaxPayer, Sean Hannity may accidentally get something right once in awhile but I’m not going to cite him in support of an argument any more than I am Rachel Maddow.
I’d rather go to the source than let a biased talking head on either side of the political spectrum spoon feed me.
JohnnyReb
July 23rd, 2010
12:05 pm
Bosch, you may be correct. I am not out in the black community attending gatherings, etc. And, yes sensationalism sells. There is, however, enough of the sensationalisim on TV to cause deep concern. Plus, I stand by my assertion that Obama is a radical. He’s obviously black, so he is a black radical. And, with the Wright/church thing and all his other known radical associations, coupled with his agenda, it is not a stretch to think he against white people.
josef nix
July 23rd, 2010
12:05 pm
@@
Second paragraph
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1813705,00.html
@@
July 23rd, 2010
12:07 pm
I hate reading this regardless of who delivers it…
Try to play nice
Yes, Mommy.
Thbbpppttt
RW-(the original)
July 23rd, 2010
12:07 pm
So how are we supposed to have Frustrated Wannabe DJ Night without our frustrated wannabe DJ?
JacobLocke
July 23rd, 2010
12:08 pm
@@
Carlin didn’t write that:
http://www.georgecarlin.com/home/bogus.html
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/carlin.asp
stands for decibels
July 23rd, 2010
12:08 pm
And George Carlin is a BAD AMERICAN!
please.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/carlin.asp
SPQR(laissez Faire)
July 23rd, 2010
12:08 pm
early drivetime food fracism test…
Rep Corrine Brown’s remarkable and ..barely comprehensible..house speech congratulating UF on the national championship
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgbBP9Em00A
now.. is she(and anyone who voted for this woman) an abject retard, or are we racist for pointing out this remarkable video.
stands for decibels
July 23rd, 2010
12:08 pm
Damn you, Jacob.
Fred
July 23rd, 2010
12:10 pm
JohnnyReb, have you ever read his book, Dreams From my Father?
stands for decibels
July 23rd, 2010
12:10 pm
Ultra off-topic # 1:
For those who have a hard time waiting for Jay’s afternoon drive selection–might I suggest this blogger’s Friday “List-o-Mania?”
http://powerpop.blogspot.com/
this week’s entry: Post-Elvis Pop/Rock Music Trend You Either Fervently Wish Hadn’t Caught On or Are Glad That Actually Didn’t!!!
SPQR(laissez Faire)
July 23rd, 2010
12:11 pm
go gata!
JacobLocke
July 23rd, 2010
12:12 pm
@StandsforDecibels – I’m “quick draw” with “the Snopes”
SPQR(laissez Faire)
July 23rd, 2010
12:12 pm
Pop had Genco, look what we got…
but tim tivo is a stud, and irvin myers is a good coach
HDB
July 23rd, 2010
12:13 pm
Mark July 23rd, 2010
11:26 am
HDB
I dont have any problem with her story about what happened 24 years ago, but her statements about racsim in the teaparty’s about healthcare and that during the 8 years of the Bush admin. that “they” had to endure, that no one made comments about Bush like they have about Obama.
first we “all” had to endure the Bush admin. not just “they” and there are many examples of where Bush was bashed in the media and on the Left..”
Granted…but the level of the vitriol that is spewed NOW with Obama in the White House vs. Bush’s reign is so much greater. Was anyone on the right crying about the deficit and health care reform under Bush? Who is more adversely affected by health care issues??
In that case, Ms. Sherrod is on point….has anyone called Bush a ‘non-American’? Has anyone challenged Bush’s birthright? Was there a ‘birther” movement under Bush??
Bosch
July 23rd, 2010
12:15 pm
Reb,
I dare say that you have known people in your past, and the preacher at your church could have said things or done things so that if you were ever POTUS, the far left could paint you as a radical as well, and it be just as valid as what you are applying to Obama. Remember, you see what you want to see, and as you admitted yourself, you are not in the black community at large, so you go on perceptions that you know nothing about.
I mean, your call name alone could be used against you — as mine — as anyone’s.
jewcowboy
July 23rd, 2010
12:15 pm
stands for decibels,
“For those who have a hard time waiting for Jay’s afternoon drive selection”
How about those of are so very weary of hearing the name Sherrod one more time? Lindsay Lohan is this over-exposed at this point…sheesh!
And…CURSES! I went to your link and saw the video posted of “I want it that way” by the Backstreet Boys. I didn’t even have to click on it to have the insipid song reverberating through my skull…and it will probably be there for WEEKS!
@@
July 23rd, 2010
12:16 pm
Oops! My bad on George Carlin is a BAD AMERICAN.
No apology though. They’re pretty much useless in my opinion.
Words, just words.
josef nix
July 23rd, 2010
12:16 pm
“What we don’t talk about when we don’t talk about race”
Anything other than black and white…oh, well…answers that question…
RF
July 23rd, 2010
12:16 pm
Reb- again I ask why, or if, it matters to be a “black” radical? You inadvertently, and perhaps unintentionally, bring a tinge of negative racial attitude into your discussion by pointing out his blackness. The underlying implication is that his being black matters, which it does not if one is already a “radical”… just sayin’.
So, next question for you. What, precisely, in his words (printed, vide-recorded, etc.) prove him to be a “radical”? Liberal I’ll give you. But radical?? Prove it, please.
neo-Carlinist
July 23rd, 2010
12:16 pm
to piggyback SPQR (laissez faire) – something I shared with some friends last night over beers – I think the one promise Obama has kept is also the biggest one he hasn’t . He campaigned on the hope/change/transparency tagline, and really, contrary to his promise, he hasn’t changed the status quo and it is still “business as usual” in DC – he’s merely got a different business plan. so, I guess he has offerend us “transparency” in that we all have an unobstructed view as it relates to seeing nothing has really changed. the essential difference between neo-libs and neo-cons is simple (and the neo prefix is important); neo-libs foolishly try to keep everyone happy (and boy is it expensive for everyone!) and neo-cons work to make sure those who share their skewed views are happy (and boy is it expensive for everyone!). I think a good paleo-con vs paleo-lib battle to determine who leads the herd actually makes the herd as a whole, stronger, but the present state of affairs is so infected with special interests and influence peddaling, and the “business” side of journalism/news, that the exact opposite is true. regardless of who wins the beauty pagent every 4 or 8 years, the herd as a whole suffers, while Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity, AND Rachel Maddow and Keith Olberman; done there respective red or blue clown suits and “entertain” us all.
Outhouse GoKart
July 23rd, 2010
12:18 pm
I agree with Mick…lettuce step back, fire one up and enjoy!
Dusty
July 23rd, 2010
12:21 pm
Fer Pete’s sake! Yet another Sherrod symphonic with race and the rubicon corssed over and over by the liberal lemmings of the morning skipping after the lead lemming. (Hi, Jay!) Is there nothing else in your lives besides moaning music and motivated missives of propaganda?
It sems incurable. Day after day!! A steady diet of artful accusations and Dem declarations. It has the usual effect. If you would excuse me, BURP!!!
JohnnyReb
July 23rd, 2010
12:21 pm
“have you ever read his book, Dreams From my Father?”
Fred, no I have not, but I have heard a few lines from the audio version. I was not impressed.
For the sake of brevity, and to use a favorite Obama statement, let me be clear. There is nothing Obama has put forth or likely to put forth that I agree with. He is a far left progressive whose ideoligy is on the opposite end of the universe.
If you want some really good reading to better understand how America got to where we are today, go The American Spectator on line, select contributor Angelo Codevilla and then the July-August issue article entitled America’s Ruling Class — And the Perils of Revolution. It explains how the Democratic party is the ruling class and how Republican’s are want-to-be’s of the Dems. Most of us are in the Country Class.
neo-Carlinist
July 23rd, 2010
12:21 pm
@@, you are aware that “Bad American” screed was not Carlin’s work. he dismissed it (I believe) as “bad writing”. anyone who studied Carlin could see it was not his. then again, in an ironic way, Carlin was a “bad American” in that he saw no value in being a “good” American (”we like war”).
Fred
July 23rd, 2010
12:21 pm
Outhouse GoKart
July 23rd, 2010
12:18 pm
I agree with Mick…lettuce step back, fire one up and enjoy!
+++++++++
I’d be a liar if I said I don’t sometimes miss those carefree days……………… I was young, the Floyd was new, the lungs strong and healthy and life had promise…………
RF
July 23rd, 2010
12:22 pm
“Anything other than black and white…oh, well…answers that question…” Give Breitbart time to quit sputtering over his latest faux-pas. The next thing in his video library, I’m sure, is the border-jumping, drug-dealing, job-stealing Mexicans. Maybe he’ll think to confer with Jan Brewer first…
RF
July 23rd, 2010
12:24 pm
“There is nothing Obama has put forth or likely to put forth that I agree with. He is a far left progressive whose ideoligy is on the opposite end of the universe.”
See, now I may not agree with you, but there’s a statement I can respect. This is what I was hoping I could point out to you earlier- you can disagree with someone without using “black radical”, a statement that is emotionally charged and impossible to prove.
Oh Well
July 23rd, 2010
12:25 pm
@JohnnyReb “Plus, I stand by my assertion that Obama is a radical. He’s obviously black, so he is a black radical.”
?!?!?!?!
Are you saying that because a person is Black, they are also radical? Or how about just leaving it as (in your opinion) that Obama is radical. Let’s leave race out of it…
and I also love how people on this blog use phrases like “the blacks”, “their kind/your kind”…nope, it sure doesn’t make me think in the slightest that America still has work to do with regard to the discussion of race
I am praying for this country…
Georgian Citizen
July 23rd, 2010
12:27 pm
This race dialogue is thereupudic–
I had a favorite aunt back in the early 70’s. Babe.
She went up North and got impregnated by a yank. My daddy and boys went up to New York to get her. the baby didn’t make it back on the train. They said it was medical problems.
The family put her into Milledgeville State Hospital……….Where she died.
The baby being a yank always troubled me, but they didn’t deserve that. It’s good to get this off my shoulders.
josef nix
July 23rd, 2010
12:27 pm
RF
Point…what ought to be fun is how the lot hereabouts and representative of society in general try to fit it into the black-white paradigm…
Mark
July 23rd, 2010
12:27 pm
I’m not denying the level at which Obama is criticized compared to Bush. I was simply referring to Mrs Sherrod semi-racist comments that only black people had to endure his policies and that people that are opposed to Obamacare are racist..Her statements are just an example of why we will never get past race in this country
Fred
July 23rd, 2010
12:28 pm
JohnnyReb; i got tired of hearing the talking heads hand pick “quotes” from the book to use as darts, much the same way the sherrod video was edited, so I went out and bought the thing and read it. It’s a shame you couldn’t do the same but to each his own. To me, it read like a novel, not like the usual political commentary. I can’t say I agreed with everything he said, but I can say I was educated by it. It opened my eyes to a point of view I had never really explored before.
Understanding does not mean acceptance or adoption of a different point of view. It means simply understanding where someone else is coming from. Unless you take the time to understand a differing point of view it seems silly to argue that it is right or wrong, in most cases, don’t go all crazy on me with weird examples. Call me close minded but I don’t need or want to “understand” a pedophile who rapes and murders little children, I just want them dead. But differing political views aren’t in that classification.
If you understand WHY the other person wants what they want, then perhaps you can then work out a way where they can get it that is agreeable to you as well.
@@
July 23rd, 2010
12:28 pm
…anyone who studied Carlin could see it was not his.
Well just call me ignorant, why don’tcha?
Carlin was a comic, disrespectful of humankind. What’s not to like. Not sure I needed to “study” him though. Like so many of those mentioned here, he was an entertainer, first and foremost.
I hope he died wealthy.
JacobLocke
July 23rd, 2010
12:29 pm
@neo-Carlinist – Stands for Decibels and I beat you to the punch
RW-(the original)
July 23rd, 2010
12:30 pm
Fer Pete’s sake! Yet another Sherrod symphonic
Dusty,
What’s funny is Jay B says Fox went nuts over this story without even noticing the irony.
JacobLocke
July 23rd, 2010
12:30 pm
@@ – Carlin was a humanist, he just wasn’t ready to dive into the BS with knife and fork like the majority of Americans.
Bosch
July 23rd, 2010
12:31 pm
” It explains how the Democratic party is the ruling class and how Republican’s are want-to-be’s of the Dems.”
Put down the Kool-Aid, and reading something as biased as that is, well, it’s silly.
It’s certainly not the Democrats over the past 20 years who have the corner market of getting the rich, richer — tax cuts for the wealthy is not a Democrat idea.
chemist007
July 23rd, 2010
12:31 pm
When will people realize that Sherrod broke the law 20 years ago the law still said that the govt. could not discreminate on race. She did this at first which is wrong if at had been the reverse situation if she had been white and the farmer black then she would have still been tarred and feathered. People also realize that as long as we ask the question race, age etc. you are discriminating. We are suppose to judge everyone individually so sherrod should have been fired and be in trouble everyone should see that everyone discriminates everyday against someone or something when you make a choice. I think Obama should have not gotten involved it is not a presidential matter. However I guess it take the eyes off of the bigger issues and problems of his administration.
Mark
July 23rd, 2010
12:32 pm
RF
I’d be glad to prove it…just look at my 10:31am post
Fred
July 23rd, 2010
12:32 pm
@@: Have you finished your lawn yet? Come do mine. It’s MUCH smaller than yours…………
RF
July 23rd, 2010
12:34 pm
” I can’t say I agreed with everything he said, but I can say I was educated by it. It opened my eyes to a point of view I had never really explored before”
THAT is exactly what just about all of us could use a dose of…I don’t agree with everything my conservative friends believe, but when we sit and discuss things rationally without throwing buzzwords like “black radical” into the conversation, we actually end up with a good discussion.
Just don’t ever apply for a job with Fox News. Your quote above would get you kicked right out to the curb.
Doggone/GA
July 23rd, 2010
12:36 pm
“i got a reply on 2 minutes”
Depends on if it’s an automated reply or not. If not, well I got one once within 30 minutes and that was 5 years ago and I still have the job!