“I’m here to see if I can find the racists they keep talking about…and uh, I have yet to find em’… We’re looking for the racists and Dick Cheney is calling me, he’s on standby. He says if we find them that we can take care of business over here.”
These are the words of Kevin Jackson who is part of the Tea Party Express and made a special appearance at the Quincy, Illinois rally, where thousands gathered this past Saturday. Jackson is the author of the book, The BIG Black Lie, writes The Black Sphere Blog, and has an online radio show based on his blog.
The Tea Party Express is a movement spreading across the nation "rallying Americans to oppose the out-of-control spending, higher taxes, bailouts, and growth in the size and power of government." These protests have been going on all summer and the last stop was the U.S. Capitol on September 12, 2009, where it was estimated that anywhere from 20,000 to 2 million, depending on where you get your news, gathered to express their grievances.
David Axelrod told Face the Nation on Sunday, "I don't think it's indicative of the nation's mood," and stated, "You know, I don't think we ought to be distracted by that. My message to them is, they're wrong." This is just a continuum of the attitude shown by the White House and Congress who choose to ignore or discredit all protests, and worse, mock and vilify the protesters. Whether you agree or disagree with any of these protests is not the topic I am interested in addressing or commenting on. What I do want to tackle is a growing trend (which I thought would have ended with Olbermann and Garafolo) that is divisive, destructive, and debilitating.
It’s bad enough that we have lunatics preaching the "gospel of hate," like Reverend Wright condemning and blaming the U.S. for everything, and most recently and much more disturbing, Pastor Steve Anderson, who told his congregation that he “hates Obama” and “I’m gonna pray that he dies and goes to hell.” These are the type of people who should be reprimanded or ignored, and in cases like Anderson, silenced; yet the focus remains on the protesters.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Glenn Contrarian
Christine -
Please read reply #79 on this topic.
Yes, there are a lot of blacks who use racism as a crutch - I knew it when I was a conservative racist a long time ago...but it is true today nonetheless.
But by the same token - if you'll read that reply #79 which is in reply to what someone thought about Jimmy Carter's statement that much of what's going on against Obama is indeed based in racism - I hope you'll understand that many, many whites (particularly in the Deep South) are still racist.
Oh, they'll tell you they're not (and they've learned not to use the n-word where liberals such as myself might hear it), but they can't hide it from others who grew up among them, who was one of them for so many years.
Perhaps the blacks who use racism as a crutch and the whites who are still racist balance each other out...but as long as there are skins of different color (or people with different religions or heritages) there will be racism...and those who use the racism as a crutch.
But I would say that as badly polarized as we are today, this is nothing compared to what happened in the sixties.
2 - doug m
If you get your news from people that tell you two million showed up in DC, you aren't getting news.
3 - Glenn Contrarian
And to which 'two million' report do you refer?
4 - Christine
Glenn, I hear you and am not talking about "crutches" in the article. Just the media, politicians, etc. who are mostly white folks accusing others of being racists. Yes, on the sixties! I just had better hopes for 2009!
2 - doug m
"If you get your news from people that tell you two million showed up in DC, you aren't getting news". There were so many numbers floating around the internet it was crazy and by the way, this is a satire piece!
5 - Baronius
Christine, you know what kind of people defend witches? Other witches! I mean, racists! No, wait, let me start over...
6 - Christine
Baronius, what are you trying to say?
7 - Arch Conservative
It's been what...about 35 years since anyone took that peanut eating goober Carter seriously.
8 - Christine
Hey Arch, Carter is not the only one, there are many and it has been going on since April. Thanks for stopping by!
9 - Dr Dreadful
It's been what...about 35 years since anyone took that peanut eating goober Carter seriously.
Seriously enough to end or suspend a few wars and give him a Nobel Peace Prize.
10 - Arch Conservative
Yasser Arafat got a peace prize too so we know what those are worth.
Oh and his peace talks led to nothing lasting.
When people thin k carter they think of stagflation and the misery index.
I was in diapers when CArter was president but I recall not too long ago discussing politics with a woman older than myself who stated "we had a saying for Carter back then....everything he touches....turns to shit."
He's an irrelevant, angry, bitter, anti-semitic has been.
But it looks like Barry is giving him a run for the money in the "worst president of the last 100 years" contest.
11 - Dr Dreadful
Oh and his peace talks led to nothing lasting.
Really? SALT II? Israel-Egypt? Bosnia?
...El Bicho-Archie? ;-p
12 - El Bicho
"He's an irrelevant, angry, bitter, anti-semitic has been," says the irrelevant, angry, bitter, never-was.
And just so I am clear, if you don't like Israel's policies you are anti-semitic(sp), but if you don't like Obama's policies, that doesn't make you a racist? Must be hard keeping track of all the double standards you observe.
Just One Doc, a hyphen is too close for my comfort
13 - El Bicho
"by the way, this is a satire piece!"
then why isn't it labeled as such?
14 - Christine
Satire in Politics " by Christine Lakatos " on Sep 16, 2009
"the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc."
15 - Baronius
Sorry, Christine, if I was too goofy. My point is that just like in the witch trials, if you defend anyone accused of racism or deny that racism is a factor in a person's thinking, you're labelled a racist yourself.
16 - Christine
Thanks for the clarification Baronius.
I hope that you don't think that is this case here. I am just concerned that this has gone too far and is causing more division. It is hard to judge what's in the hearts humans even when they appear to be good people and even do "good works", unless you have a chance to spend a lot of time or live with them, if you get what I mean.
17 - Baronius
Christine - I've seen that witch-hunt attitude on this site and elsewhere, but not in your article.
18 - tom walter
i called congressman chris smith from new jersey and got the phone munber to call president carter. i got his secratery and told her that i would like an apology from mr. carter for calling me a rascist. i was in d.c. this past saturday and i didnt see any sign of racism at all
19 - Christine
Whew, Barnius
20 - Zedd
Yes there are some Blacks who don't know what racism is. There are some Blacks who are paranoid, understandably, but paranoid non-the-less.
But what we all know is that there are lots and lots of racist feelings that lie deep, in this nation. There just are.
On this topic, I think that because this topic (racism)is constantly skirted, most people don't know what racism looks like. The author is not an expert on the topic and has not presented any information that would support his position other than that some Black guy doesn't agree with Carter. If he understood what racism is he would not have made his point in that manner. Its a major faux pas but no one cares because its about race and Blacks (off all people) so we can all deny and walk away to live our lives.
Also, there have been recent studies (not done by Blacks btw) that support what Carter said. The author obviously does not keep abreast with a certain brand of social phenomenon. I can only guess that he is of the Fox News, government conspiracy theory, Rush, etc. variety. Could be wrong.
21 - Zedd
Baronius,
@#15
I hope you understand the complications that arise with such a situation.
If you don't understand just HOW a situation could be racist (that is racist) and defend the accused it would reason that you would be racist, not because you are evil but because you are ignorant. You would not possess the sensitivity about the issues of race, which would make you more apt to disregard the issues that actually exacerbate racism in our society.
You may feel as if my even having an expectation that you should be sensitized about those issues, is ridiculous. But what you miss is that racism is a world view based on extreme ignorance; an ignorance which dismisses the humanity of masses. It is a perspective which diminishes people's worth. So by feeling annoyed that you have to know what racism is, you are actually being racist.
22 - roger nowosielski
All unenlightened views, zedd, essentially spring from ignorance.
23 - Zedd
Another great opinion... Delightful!
24 - Clavos
And of course, if it can be established to everyone's satisfaction that most of the people opposed to Obama are opposed for racist reasons, why then Obama is rehabilitated and we can ignore all the opposition and proceed on our merry way to enact his vision of the amerika of the future.
Politics, democrat style..
25 - Zedd
Clavos,
You are out of control with your tit for tat comments that make no sense. You simply overstate things for the sake of making a comment.
OR
You yourself must be the scheming-est low life known to men since you attribute those characteristics to so many people, meaning that you can easy imagine their plausability.
Solution: stay away from talk radio. They are juked up druggies who create drama where there is none just to make a buck. They are sleazy used car salesmen types with no real love for country and very few brain cells remaining. All they want are ratings so they invent this world of pathetically dumb schemers who want your freedom (not sure why). They invent this dramatic world just to make a buck, partly so they can support their habit (added the last bit for effect).