I Don’t Steal Cars, Boy
Bill Clinton has truly been an amusing and entertaining figure this election. His most recent attempt at humor directed again towards Obama, “Next we will see ads that say, vote for me I don’t steal cars” is insensitive at best. Racist? well he would say no, after all he is our first “Black” President. It brings up old stereotypes of black men stealing cars and other illegal activity.
Fear , democratic style.
It is racist and one wonders where all this venom was or to his credit how was he able to keep a lid on it for all these years? But since racism has gone underground, it isn’t politically expedient nor is it “the right thing” to do so now the new word is he “misspoke”. Wonder will Hillary denounce that?
Rep. Geoff Davis of Kentucky. His comment in part ,” That boy’s finger does not need to be on the button” and subsequent apology, is a fascinating look into the minds of white America’s power brokers. The Old boy network is so comfortable now they think nothing of racist remarks, both right out of the antebellum south and Jim Crow. He misspoke too. He also called him a snakeoil salesman.
There was a time in this country where calling a black man a boy was commonplace, it still is in some parts of the south, where white superiority reigns, but when played out in the national arena, it is especially ugly but timely for all those who believe this part of our history is long gone and we are on our way to racial equality.
This should get a lot of air play as much as the Bitter remark, after all this is outright racism. Right?
It won’t.
Care to hazard a guess why?
“Care to hazard a guess why?”
Pretty transparent and tragic. Bill and Hillary’s racism and fear peddling isn’t serving their campaign, and it will ultimately bite them in the backside as she has alienated her best allies.
We’re tired of this stuff, all of it. From the fear mongering to the racism, she’s digging her own political grave daily.
That written, I’ve been not paying attention as I should: I’ve seen enough to know that this is a candidate whom I cannot support, and I think she’s set women back another 40 years.
What we can learn from such incidents, hopefully, is that racism has once again been pushed to the fore in this country. We’ve been living too long under the complacent delusion that it no longer exists, and that the playing fields are level and all the correlative political baggage which goes along with this delusion.
Perhaps when we can shake a few more of the shackles of racism from our collective consciousness, we can once again turn to sexism.
Because in the big picture, gender trumps race.
None of the current (and that is the operative word) women power brokers in Washington, including Hillary, got where they are by their own virtues: all have ridden on the tails of their husbands. White monied men provided them with the in road to their political careers, make no mistake. For no matter their own impressive careers, their husbands were the money and ticket to their positions. Ironically, this is their greatest liability: Hillary’s Achilles heel is her thorough entrenchment in the white male establishment norms and ways of being. Those few moments in New Hampshire redeemed her from these norms, but they were short lived, as she donned the perpetual powers that be armor rapidly after the fact.
This country is ready for change, and I think we may well embrace it.
Hillary cannot embody that change, for she is part and parcel of the old and hackneyed, and a vote for her is simply a vote for more of the same old same old, as seen in your entry.
One can hope that change is on the horizon.
This is turning point in history.
Will we embrace change or will we continues along in our comfortable mass delusion and continue down a road of cultural and moral complacency vis-à-vis John McCain?
Time will tell if the Empire chooses to sleep or awaken from its self-indulgent slumber.
Comment by bluesmokeofparadise — April 15, 2008 @ 7:03 am
Beautiful summary, blue. One can hope that the willingness for change is not nullified by the deep seated fear of the winds of change. Uncomfortable for some, it is critical.
The question as you so eloquently stated is are we ready? Racism is an issue that has to be addressed if we are to move forward.
Looking forward to the debate of gender trumping race. This defining moment will impact on that as well. Thank you.
Comment by zacca — April 17, 2008 @ 12:46 am