In Defense of Racism

By BJ

You know, there’s been times during this election, watching some of those opposed to an Obama presidency, that I’ve been embarrassed to be a white male.  Granted that I’m far less moronic when it comes to race than these idiots, but I certainly recognize the attitudes, and I lament the fact that people could look at me and privately wonder if I was one of them.

Now, I was also of the opinion that people with attitudes like that are a terrible drag on society, preventing others from reaching their fullest potential.  However, Ta-Nehisi Coates points out that these kinds of folks actually do serve a greater purpose.

Here is the thing. We've all noticed that the public persona of black folks has taken a tumble over the past few decades. We went from Otis Redding and the Four Tops, to 50 Cent and Dip Set. We went from Jesse Owens and Joe Louis to Pacman Jones and Mike Tyson. Are today's Negroes of a lesser breed? Nope. What's changed is that white folks are now letting anybody through the gate. White racists have taken a lot of heat on this blog. But the truth of the matter is that they may be the single biggest promoters of black excellence in this country's history. There is a reason Tony Dungy was the first winning coach in Tampa Bay's history--he had to be.

Think about this whole Joe The Plumber foolishness. There's no way in the world Barack Obama could pull off the same trick with, say, Rashid The Barber. Rashid would be laughed off the stage--as he should be--and Barack's campaign would be dead. Joe The Plumber is stupid and it isn't working. A little bit of bigotry would have prevented all of this. So to all the Ferraros out there I have one request--more racism please. It improves our stock. It makes black people, a better people.

It’s a good point.  If it weren’t for the still-present bigotry out there, there wouldn’t have been any need for the Democrats to nominate someone as inspiring as Barack Obama, and we could be left facing a nation run by a guy who thinks Sarah Palin is the most qualified VP candidate ever.

And as to those who like to bitch about “reverse racism”, seeing that all too many of my white brethren also seem to think Palin is not only qualified for the VP slot, but are salivating at the chance of her running in 2012, it is pretty clear that we have set the bar way too low and should consider encouraging such an effect so as to improve our stock as well. [/snark]

Comments

[Peter G.]

That was certainly an interesting perspective and has mare than a little truthiness at it's core. There are however different types of racism. Ferraro's strain, exposed when she accused Obama of being unfairly black is probably the most laughable type. I know I did when I heard her little rant. Unfortunately, like the common cold, though rarely lethal it is the most difficult to eradicate. Possibly incurable.

[Cheryl Rofer]

It's been a commonplace in feminism for a long time that a woman has to be twice as good as a man to get the same job. Same goes for blacks. I've thought many times how lucky that makes us with Obama.

I've thought of building a post around a similar commonplace, that we'll have equality when a mediocre woman can do as well as a mediocre man, now that Sarah Palin is a political star. But I just haven't had the heart to do it.

[ddjango]

Ah, yes.

First we had the crime of simply being black.

Then came driving while black.

Now? Running (especially for President) while black.

Next: Being white, but respecting blacks. Then, a spike in white-on-white violence.

I'm white. It occurs to me that black people don't need me one bit in order to excel.

Be at peace

[BJ Bjornson]

Cheryl,

Palin’s effect on the (in)equality of women is likely to be far more negative than positive. She fits the very definition of “tokenism”. The belief that many hold when they see some minority in a high position that said individual only got there because of their race/gender rather than their talent or skill. It’s the argument that Ferarro made, and the right continues to try and make, regarding Obama, and the argument they would have made about Hillary Clinton, that they were just the “affirmative action” candidate and really didn’t deserve the position. They were only successful because of some twisted sense of liberal guilt.

While it isn’t true for either of them, it is almost painfully certain that it applies to Palin. It was clear quite early on that the McCain camp couldn’t answer affirmative to the question of whether or not they would have picked a man with her qualifications, and as such, it is likely to reinforce the stereotype with way too many people.

I’ve been toying with a post on that kind of thing since back when Hillary was talking about those hard-working white folks. I should take another look at it and see if I can put all the threads together.