I’m getting the show ready, and there’s someone on Imus disagreeing with Maureen Dowd’s assertion that Joe Wilson’s “you lie!” was really “you lie, boy!”
This disagreement is exactly why I wish she hadn’t written that column in that way. Ultimately, it produced nothing but misguided chirping from both sides.
Right now, there’s a public discussion of whether the fervor of many anti-Obama folks is based on race. The answer to that, of course, is duh. Since it’s duh, the best move is to stop posing this as if it’s a question and state it as fact.
(If you wanna test for racism, btw, here’s a great way — how much of the rhetoric Obama is facing makes absolutely no sense at all? I mean ZERO. I’d argue that quite a bit is totally preposterous. Racism’s defining characteristic is that, on a micro level, it doesn’t make any sense and is largely irrational. See a black man, see that much irrational hatred, and you probably see racism.)
Here’s the thing — whether or not it’s fact has nothing to do with Joe Wilson, Angie Harmon or anyone else. South Carolina’s racial legacy is somewhat inconsequential. It has to do with the one fact that I’ve never heard denied by anyone credible — that racism exists in America.
Now, if you think racism exists in America, then why do you even need to ask the question of whether or not race has something to do with the national dialogue on Obama? I mean, he is black and has power, right?
Duh.
There’s a danger in writing columns that attempt to itemize every example of racism. It’s missing the forest for the trees.
When you write something like Dowd did, all you do is open the door for rationalization of each individual action. It can be done in just about every situation, save for those where someone overtly claims his or her racism. And, until Wilson says, “I just get so tired of seeing a black man sassin’ us,” he’s got plausible deniability. And since saying someone’s racist is seen as damning, people are reluctant to say it about someone. Never mind how quick many of those same people felt free to call Michael Jackson a child molester, even though a racist is much easier to spot and less dangerous on a micro level. People are remiss to say something or someone is racist.
Sorry, but I’ve been tired of the stories and excuses for a long time. I’m tired of people that know racism is there but never, ever seem to know it when they see it. And I’m not really in the business of giving those people a reason to rattle off that same ol’ nonsense. I’m too busy for that.
Don’t talk about the racism Obama faces in the form of a question. State it as fact. Then talk about that fact, one that is not open for debate.
Instead of talking about this act of racism and that one, we need to continue having a larger discussion of just what racism is and how it manifests itself. The truth is that most people have no idea what racism truly is, which partially explains why those people explain its symptoms away.
But that’s a lot harder to do than point a finger at Joe Wilson, and the results of that discussion, if it is productive, would be more chilling and jarring.
Oh well. We gotta do it.
6 thoughts on “Maureen's Mistake”
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Sadly, no one is ready to have said discussion. Not on an adult level. I think for too many, racism is burning crosses, fire hoses, dogs and police batons. To recognize that it also includes the presumption of incompetence would require too many to have to come to grips with their still subconsciously racist ways.
One thing that’s been infuriating is to watch so many from the mainstream enact the plausible deniability you speak of. To actually have an ongoing discussion about the treatment Obama has endured and compare it to Clinton is so absurd. Nonetheless, I did find Dowd’s column refreshing (while limited for the reasons you state) and also President Carter’s recent statements. Although also focused on the area of politics and not the effects of racism as a whole, Keith Olbermann’s special comment last week was brilliant.
I’m frustrated with how this debate is being held, among the perpetrators of racism. White people are too dismissive of Blacks’ claims of racism and quick to contextualize the behavior. It seems odd to be both the perpetrator of racism and the arbiter of what in fact is racist. This fact just speaks more to the problem they have with Obama, they’re used to holding all the cards and now they don’t. They want to control the conversation when in truth they’re ill equipped to participate without first confronting many things, including white privilege.
I almost feel sorry for those from past generations because they were raised with the world view that we weren’t equal and that they were better. With everything going on, it is understandable why they’re so cranky, but it doesn’t mean they should be tolerated.
Bo, there is another side to this argument. I think that Maureen Dowd and President Jimmy Carter are both on the mark and that by saying it as they did they force the media and other opinion makers to at least raise the question of the continuing impact of racism. The discussion about what racism is has been an ongoing one, beginning during the era of enslavement and continuing through every epoch of American history. Libraries are overflowing with incisive analysis of the subject. Some are ignorant of this literature and others simply choose to ignore or deny it. Plausible denial is not made cogent by the arguments offered by Dowd and Carter. Rather their assertions make it more difficult for those who control the media an mold public opinion to evade their responsibility.
We need more “respectable” white leaders to follow their lead.
“It seems odd to be both the perpetrator of racism and the arbiter of what in fact is racist.”
It’s a trap we keep falling for. That is, allowing others to frame the discussion for us.
One of the hardest parts about talking about racism with white people is that they never seem to ask the right question. And it’s not “what’s it mean to be black?” It’s “what’s it mean to be white”? What’s it mean when a segment of the population has quantifiable advantages by an accident of birth and a 400 year head start; and almost none of them actually realize this fact? If you get a chance take a look at “Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama” by Tim Wise. Between him and President Carter, it’s good to see at least 2 white people who get it. Not sure it matters, though.
Racism has to be talked about , in any way it can. I agree going after Wilson is like chasing a cockroach with a flashlight , but otherwise we just sit in the dark. You get enough flashlights it might just illuminate the whole room.
And you dont change the Wilson’s of the world by pointing them out , you hopefully let others know what’s going on and that its wrong.
Unfortunately politics doesn’t really reflect the general public. While its no surprise 80% of Wilson’s constituency is good ole boys , and some of them wear their racism proudly , a politician is a prettied up version and can deny any wrong individually or be defended with rationalizations. Stupidity has a large voting base.
Change does come slowly but it has to be broadcast every step of the way. It wasn’t easy for Jackie Robinson but it was better for Ken Griffey Jr. We have to remember Obama is still a first and the wackos have a hard enough time holding onto their delusions of how the world should be.
Also the idea of white privilege isn’t talked about enough either. When I read it above , I kinda had an ‘oh yeah’ moment. That would actually frame the conversation in such a way as to not attack individually. It is a reality that many aren’t bright enough to get but its a blanket statement and we all know how folks love the blanket statements.
And the saddest thing of all is that since the president is surunded by people who do not at all resemble him. color-wise, it makes it almost impossible for him to forcefully address racism and properly contextualize it as an integral part of the White American power structure.
Imagine the looks he would receive and the conversations he would “accidentally” overhear in the halls of the Black House the moment he stepped from the dais after making that statement!