http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_racists_return_20100811/
The Racists Return
By Joe Conason
Truthdig: August 11, 2010
The Racists Return
By Joe Conason
Truthdig: August 11, 2010
Among the most revealing aspects of life during the Obama presidency is the
panoply of responses to a black family in the White House. What made so many
of us proud of our country on Jan. 20, 2009, has increasingly provoked
expressions of hatred from the far right. That is troubling, but not nearly
as troubling as the behavior of conservatives who excuse, embolden or simply
pretend to ignore the bigots surrounding them.
Last spring, after unruly tea party protesters on Capitol Hill were accused
of spewing racial epithets at civil rights hero John Lewis, an
African-American congressman from Georgia, conservatives rose up in furious
denial. Where was the proof? How could anyone suggest that racial prejudice
lurks behind the festering right-wing hatred of President Obama (and his
family)? Anger over that episode still lingers in certain quarters,
motivating the deceptively edited video attack on Shirley Sherrod and the
NAACP by a website called Big Government, Inc.
Even if the alleged assault on Lewis and other black congressmen did occur,
argued prominent commentators on the right, it somehow only proved that
there is no racism in America worthy of concern. A writer for National
Review (the conservative magazine that historically opposed civil rights
legislation) confided that the whole subject made him yawn:
"That these things are even remotely newsworthy leads me to one conclusion:
Racism in America is dead. We had slavery, then we had Jim Crow-and now we
have the occasional public utterance of a bad word. Real racism has been
reduced to de minimis levels, while charges of racism seem to increase."
But this summer has seen several loud and ugly outbursts of very real
racism-including threats of violence against the president of the United
States-that go well beyond the utterance of any single word. As if suffering
from a facial tic, leading figures on the right cannot seem to suppress
their inner Klansman these days.
Is there any other way to explain Glenn Beck's crazed rant comparing the
Obama administration to an old movie about a society where apes and
chimpanzees dominate humans? What did the Fox News host mean, exactly, when
he shrieked: "It's like the damned Planet of the Apes. Nothing makes sense!"
Is there any other way to explain the grotesque new best-seller by radio
host Laura Ingraham, "The Obama Diaries," where, among other things, she
depicts first lady Michelle Obama eating ribs at every meal? Why would she
feel the need to describe the president as "uppity" by putting the word in
the mouth of his mother-in-law? No wonder Stephen Colbert taunted Ms.
Ingraham to her face for "hideous and hackneyed racial stereotyping."
Of course, these are only two of the more egregious instances in recent
weeks of social poisoning that dates back well over a year. Symptoms can be
seen across the country now, even in amusement parks and church carnivals,
where small children are exposed to this spiritual sickness.
At the Big Time fair held by Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Roseto, Pa., last
week, a game called "Alien Attack" featured "an image of a suited black man
holding a health care bill and wearing a belt buckle with a presidential
seal," at which players were encouraged to aim their popguns. Anybody who
hit the cardboard figure in the head or the heart could win a prize. Irvin
L. Good Jr., owner of Goodtime Amusements, who is responsible for this
disgusting garbage, denied that the figure represents Mr. Obama. "We're not
interpreting it as Obama," the inaptly named huckster told a local
newspaper. "The name of the game is Alien Leader. If you're offended, that's
fine, we duly note that."
Meanwhile on the New Jersey shore, patrons of the Seaside Heights boardwalk
could hurl baseballs at a black, jug-eared Obama figurine, winning a prize
if they managed to smash it. As seen in a video posted on the Gawker
website, this object closely resembles the grinning "lawn jockey" statuettes
that used to festoon suburban lawns in a less decent era.
Most conservatives were late in taking responsibility for their movement's
immoral opposition to civil rights. It is time for them to step up and
denounce the racism that is again disfiguring our country in their name.
Joe Conason writes for the New York Observer.
© 2010 Creators.com
panoply of responses to a black family in the White House. What made so many
of us proud of our country on Jan. 20, 2009, has increasingly provoked
expressions of hatred from the far right. That is troubling, but not nearly
as troubling as the behavior of conservatives who excuse, embolden or simply
pretend to ignore the bigots surrounding them.
Last spring, after unruly tea party protesters on Capitol Hill were accused
of spewing racial epithets at civil rights hero John Lewis, an
African-American congressman from Georgia, conservatives rose up in furious
denial. Where was the proof? How could anyone suggest that racial prejudice
lurks behind the festering right-wing hatred of President Obama (and his
family)? Anger over that episode still lingers in certain quarters,
motivating the deceptively edited video attack on Shirley Sherrod and the
NAACP by a website called Big Government, Inc.
Even if the alleged assault on Lewis and other black congressmen did occur,
argued prominent commentators on the right, it somehow only proved that
there is no racism in America worthy of concern. A writer for National
Review (the conservative magazine that historically opposed civil rights
legislation) confided that the whole subject made him yawn:
"That these things are even remotely newsworthy leads me to one conclusion:
Racism in America is dead. We had slavery, then we had Jim Crow-and now we
have the occasional public utterance of a bad word. Real racism has been
reduced to de minimis levels, while charges of racism seem to increase."
But this summer has seen several loud and ugly outbursts of very real
racism-including threats of violence against the president of the United
States-that go well beyond the utterance of any single word. As if suffering
from a facial tic, leading figures on the right cannot seem to suppress
their inner Klansman these days.
Is there any other way to explain Glenn Beck's crazed rant comparing the
Obama administration to an old movie about a society where apes and
chimpanzees dominate humans? What did the Fox News host mean, exactly, when
he shrieked: "It's like the damned Planet of the Apes. Nothing makes sense!"
Is there any other way to explain the grotesque new best-seller by radio
host Laura Ingraham, "The Obama Diaries," where, among other things, she
depicts first lady Michelle Obama eating ribs at every meal? Why would she
feel the need to describe the president as "uppity" by putting the word in
the mouth of his mother-in-law? No wonder Stephen Colbert taunted Ms.
Ingraham to her face for "hideous and hackneyed racial stereotyping."
Of course, these are only two of the more egregious instances in recent
weeks of social poisoning that dates back well over a year. Symptoms can be
seen across the country now, even in amusement parks and church carnivals,
where small children are exposed to this spiritual sickness.
At the Big Time fair held by Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Roseto, Pa., last
week, a game called "Alien Attack" featured "an image of a suited black man
holding a health care bill and wearing a belt buckle with a presidential
seal," at which players were encouraged to aim their popguns. Anybody who
hit the cardboard figure in the head or the heart could win a prize. Irvin
L. Good Jr., owner of Goodtime Amusements, who is responsible for this
disgusting garbage, denied that the figure represents Mr. Obama. "We're not
interpreting it as Obama," the inaptly named huckster told a local
newspaper. "The name of the game is Alien Leader. If you're offended, that's
fine, we duly note that."
Meanwhile on the New Jersey shore, patrons of the Seaside Heights boardwalk
could hurl baseballs at a black, jug-eared Obama figurine, winning a prize
if they managed to smash it. As seen in a video posted on the Gawker
website, this object closely resembles the grinning "lawn jockey" statuettes
that used to festoon suburban lawns in a less decent era.
Most conservatives were late in taking responsibility for their movement's
immoral opposition to civil rights. It is time for them to step up and
denounce the racism that is again disfiguring our country in their name.
Joe Conason writes for the New York Observer.
© 2010 Creators.com
***
From: aSharpShow
THE EMMETT TILL PROJECT
Fri/Sat Aug. 27th and 28th 2010 8:30 p.m.
Kevin Spicer, curator of the 2005 "The Murder of Emmett Till - Fifty Years Later," returns
to Highways with a new group of performance works and visual arts commemorating the
55th anniversary of the lynching of 14-year-old Emmett Till on Aug 28, 1955, a murder that
mobilized the Civil Rights Movement.
Join performance artists Christopher Benson, Mark Broyard, David Crittendon, Jason
Luckett, J.M. Morris, Paul Outlaw, S. Pearl Sharp, Kevin Spicer, Pat Taylor, and visual
artists Alisa Adona,Lori-Antoinette, George Evans, Candace Hunter, Robert Lowden,
Toni Scott and others.
at Highways Performance Space, in the 18th St. Arts Complex
1651 18th St, Santa Monica, CA 90404 1/2 block N. of Olympic/access from Olympic only.
$20 ($15 students) Reservations: 310/ 315-1459 (also check Goldstar)
S. Pearl
323/ 993-6006 v.m. aSharpShow@live.com www.aSharpShow.com www.youtube.com/aSharpShow
______________________________________________________________________________________
The Healing Passage/Voices From The Water "Beautiful and challenging" - Los Angeles Times
Higher Ground (CD) " Like honey to red clover tea, oh so sweet "- Truth Theory@ Mic Check
Black Women For Beginners "A voice of humor and passion" - Booklist
______________________________________________________________________________________
The Healing Passage/Voices From The Water "Beautiful and challenging" - Los Angeles Times
Higher Ground (CD) " Like honey to red clover tea, oh so sweet "- Truth Theory@ Mic Check
Black Women For Beginners "A voice of humor and passion" - Booklist
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