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Senator Reid recently got in political hot water because of what he said in 2008 about the US being “ready to embrace a black presidential candidate, especially one such as Obama – a ‘light-skinned’ African American ‘with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.’”
Some folks are calling him a racist for these remarks. Others claim that he was simply making a statement about the political realities of America. Still others claim that he merely chose his words poorly.
Some folks on the right are claiming that the Democrats (who forgave Reid) are holding to a double standard. Republicans, such as Trent Lott, who have said unfortunate things have tended to reap the whirlwind for such remarks. In contrast, Joe Biden‘s infamous remark about Obama was quickly forgiven and now Joe is Vice President.
The folks who make this point are raising a matter well worth considering. After all, if making allegedly racist remarks is a career ending injury for Republicans, then the same standard should apply to Democrats-unless, of course, there is a relevant difference that justifies applying a different standard.
Some folks on the left might be inclined to claim that when a Democrat says something that seems racist (or sexist), then this is just an unfortunate slip rather than a revelation of the person’s true racist character. In contrast, when a Republican makes a racist remark, it expresses their true character of racism.
While this might appeal to some, if all we have to go on are the words, that what damns a Republican should equally damn a Democrat. However, my view has been that a person should not be condemned as a racist because of such a slip. After all, people say stupid things and make slips. While these can reveal true character, they can also be just stupid remarks that reveal the obvious: people are fallible and make mistakes. In order to establish that a person is racist requires more than such remarks-it requires more evidence. While there is not a set standard for what line must be crossed for a person to be a racist, the bar must be higher than a few remarks. If someone is really a racist, they will have an established pattern of racism that can be found in their words and deeds. If this is found, then the person can be condemned as a racist. If not, then their remarks can be attributed to a poor choice of words, a slip, or some other failing.
In the specific case of Reid, it is also important to consider the distinction between when a person is presenting his/her own view and when a person is simply stating how things are. For example, if I say that some white people are suspicious about young black men who wear their pants down low and speak in slang, I am not being racist. I am merely stating a fact.
Since I teach philosophy at a historically black university, I have heard many discussions over the years about the chances of a black person being elected President. In general, the view was (long before Obama was elected) that the first black President would be lighter skinned and have a manner that white people did not find threatening. These discussions were not racist-there was no unjustified judgment of people on racial grounds. Rather, the reality of the situation was presented in an objective manner. Likewise, Reid could be seen as simply stating a fact about America. Of course, he could also be expressing his alleged racism. If so, there should be additional evidence for this racism. If there is, then he can be condemned as a racist. If not, perhaps he should be regarded as merely being realistic.
Naturally, this same standard should be applied to everyone. Republicans should get the same treatment as Democrats when it comes to the same sort of remarks.
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Let me preface my comment by saying that I despise and loath Reid since he’s an enemy of America and that I pray his painful and ignominious death and the painful and ignominious death of his entire bloodline and anyone else that he might care about.
That being said, much of the underlying premise of this post is bluntly wrong.
If we’ve reached the point where we bend over for the race-baiters to the point where speaking the truth is a “slip” then we’re already fallen.
Funny. I wished the same for Limbaugh when he was taken to the hospital. I must be as big an a-hole as you are. But that’s not possible. So wishing someone dead because of their ideology or their idiocy must be normal.Perhaps it is a saving grace that you’re wishing white people dead.
That being said, I think you misread the post. He makes a pretty clear distinction between statements that are observations of the facts around us and those that are something else again, like Lott’s. Between isolated statements and those that are part of a pattern, like Lott’s.If people can’t even get over their obsession with other people’s obsession with political correctness we have truly already fallen into a cycle where nothing can pull us back from the brink.
I’m no fan of Reid’s.
But what he said was not racist. He made a statement regarding how others would view Obama. I think he’s correct. He is being eaten alive by his own party’s politically correct ideology and love of speech control.
The Dems deserve what they get with this stuff. I’m glad to see it.
I guess I should start with some statement about “not liking Reid but”. I don’t really care. His statement is more an indication of his understanding of the hidden undercurrent of the politics of racism in this country than it is a racist statement. He’s eminently qualified for that, being a politician from a state with a 93% white pop. Did I just write something politically incorrect but from a different angle? 🙁 The same person who feels comfortable with a lightskinned black in an elevator might not feel so comfortable with a darkskinned black in the same situation.Same with the black who uses ghetto speech vs. the one who’s mastered academic english. None of that btw should be confused with Trent Lott saying he’d voted for Strom Thurmond for president “And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn’t have had all these problems over the years, either.” Any one who tries to equate those two statements is likely a racist on the defense.
Reid is obviously not a racist, but there is a huge double standard. The best analogy I can think of is when Rush Limbaugh said about Donovan McNabb:
“I think what we’ve had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well”.
Limbaugh was called a racist over this.
I wondered then and now from where inside Limbaugh that statement came. Black qbs had done well before McNabb. Warren Moon. I don’t know what Rush considers”doing well” because lots of fine white qbs like Dan Marino didn’t lead teams to Superbowl victories. It’s usually true that the local media in all NFL cities want their quarterbacks to do well . Right? So I don’t see why he forced race into a situation he could have come at easily from a nonrace angle, except that that’s part of his political agenda. He could have said the Philly media has been very desirous that their quarterback do well but that’s not in his jeans.
Also he’s got kind of a history
http://newsone.com/obama/top-10-racist-limbaugh-quotes/. In his defense lotsa people say comments like those are said in jest God bless’em. Rush with that big brown bad boy sticking out between his sensuous lips just keeps hauling in the moolah. He’s got his fingers on the pulse of something.