Not sure why I’m gettin’ all political these days, but here’s another entry on the upcoming election. I saw an article on MSNBC.COM about McCain, Palin, and the issue of racism. Or more pointedly, how McCain and Palin tried to play the race card by using subversive racist themes in their speeches a few weeks ago… that is, until it bit them in the ass.
Here is the article: http://hlnhi.newsvine.com/_news/2008/10/29/2054200-mccain-says-racism-will-barely-affect-election?threadId=403482&commentId=3778605#c3778605
And here is my comment to one of the replies …
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I found the particular phrase in question which I think is the basis for much of the discussion on here about Palin and race-baiting:
“This is not a man who sees America as you and I do — as the greatest force for good in the world. This is someone who sees America as imperfect enough to pal around with terrorists who targeted their own country.”
I also found this article that should be read by anyone who wonders why African-Americans would vote so strongly for Obama and against McCain:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2008/oct/14/mccain-palin-obama-racism
When I heard those comments, which came at the end of a long week of buildup by McCain of the “Who is the real Barack Obama?” theme, I understood exactly what they meant. As uttered by an attractive white woman, the “he’s not like you and me” theme ONLY meant that he’s different — black, and scary… and you don’t know what he might do if we elect him. People can argue her meaning all they want, but being labeled as different has always been the codeword when a black person was being denied their due, be it a job or whatever. I was offended to my core.
Then to top it off with the tacit acknowledgment of the hateful language being used at their rallies without so much as a peep to quell the inflamed emotions, my disgust became permanent. And yes maybe they didn’t hear the comments at the rallies… but they certainly saw the same news footage I did to know that it had happened.
I’m sure people can and certainly will argue semantics here with what I have found online. But if you want to know why many African-Americans feel the way we do about race and the McCain/Palin campaign, these are the reasons.