So last night Hillary Clinton called her West Virginia primary win “overwhelming.” I started reading quotes by West Virginians and I was indeed “overwhelmed,” but I don’t think HRC and I were using the word in the same way. Here are the first couple quotes I found. Then I had to stop because it was actually quite discouraging. Reminds me just how difficult this general election process is going to be.
The first one. And this guy was completely serious. Like he really believed what he was saying made sense.
“They won’t go for a black man, that’s just it,” R.K. Horton, a retired heating and air conditioning business owner, said of his neighbors. “I don’t think it’s being racist necessarily, they just don’t like black people that well.”
Seriously, Mr. Horton? I can only imagine what it takes to cross his threshold of racism.
Here is another person.
“I heard that Obama is a Muslim and his wife’s an atheist.” That was from Leonard Simpson of Mingo County, West Virginia. He went on to express that,like most people in Mingo County, he is a lifelong Democrat, but given a choice between Obama and McCain in November, he would vote republican.
This is the thing that never makes complete sense to me. People seem to simultaneously think Obama is Muslim, a part of a crazy Christian church, and married to an atheist and possibly atheist himself. So somehow you can here all those things together and never think, “Wait a second, let me think about how much sense that actually makes?
Here is the last one before I just had to stop reading.
“Undecided voter Wanda Gibson is less than excited about both Clinton and Obama, but she actually fears Obama, because he’s black.”
That one was from a video clip, and when she said she was considering voting for Obama, every single person in the room looked at her like she they had no idea who she was any more.
Filed under: Politics | Tagged: 2008 Election, Barack Obama, Racism, West Virginia Primary
You pose an interesting question: Where does the threshold for racism begin? In other words, what role does ignorance play, and what role does hate or fear play?
One definition of racism is “hatred or intolerance of another race.” Does that make ignorant people (like those West Virginian’s above) racist? A better understanding of this may help us to understand how better to educate those who are pegged as racist.
Anyway, a rather discocerting quote for me from Hillary Clinton was this, following her victory:
“There are some who have wanted to cut this race short. They say give up, it’s too hard, the mountain is too high. But here in West Virginia, you know a thing or two about tough roads to the top of the mountain. … We know from the Bible that faith can move mountains. My friends, the faith of the Mountain State has moved me.”
Since when did HRC start throwing the Bible at voters? Would she have said this in New York or California? That is troubling.
I’m pretty sure racism and ignorance are two sides of the same coin.
People hate or fear what they don’t understand.
And what’s so troubling about tailoring a speech to your audience?
It wouldn’t be troubling if she were accurately representing herself, which she isn’t. That’s the same sort of rhetoric that Obama avoided, gaining him so much popularity months ago (think how much he was lauded nationally for his speech to American auto makers in Detroit). Unfortunately, he’s strayed from that approach, which is maybe why you don’t see a problem with it.
Back to a previous comment, if we treat ignorance the same as inherent hate or fear, then we’ve approached our polemic from only one side, which is probably why it’s taken so long for America to break down only some of the barriers of racism. If we look at the problem more holistically, not writing off everyone as a bigot or supremacist, then we’ve allowed ourselves a better understanding of how to fix this problem. We can’t put everyone in the same box.
If someone inherently hates black people, for example, then that person is a lost cause in that regard. We have to move on to the next generation. However, if they are ignorant, then education and exposure could change that person’s views. I wouldn’t write them off. But then again, I’m only one person.
I understand your point and it’s a good one. And you are right.
However, I would just like to make a subtle argument. The people who inherently hate one type of person. I would also argue that they are ignorant. They hate because they don’t understand. Some experience or teaching in the past has been hammered into them and they see the world in that way. Even if that particular way is wrong or narrow-minded. And I agree with you that they are likely incorrigible as they have these beliefs and understanding (misunderstanding) of particular issues set in stone. They are in some ways beyond educating. In that sense, yes we should probably move on to someone else or the next generation.
But I just want to say that it is still ignorance, albeit one of a deeper degree and an unchangeable nature.
Actually, now that I think about it. How can we tell if someone is incorrigible or not? Seems like a thin gray line to me. How can we tell when to give up and when not to?
It is difficult to not put everyone in the same box. I mean people aren’t going to openly admit “Yeah, forget me I’m incorrigible on my racist beliefs.” or “No, please educate me, I’m just ignorant, and my current racist beliefs can be changed.”
Man, I sound like such a liberal. Now, I understand why some people hate liberals. Using “we” and always judging and trying to change others. Hahaha.
Back to the original post.
In all fairness, I have talked with plenty of voters who vote for Obama just because he is black or because they think a woman can’t be president.
This reminds me of a conversation I had with an elderly woman from Texas. I don’t remember exactly what she said, but she basically said that “a woman would not be as strong as a man”. As an Obama volunteer at the time, I didn’t start convincing her to vote for Clinton, but I didn’t justify it with a response either.
You are a crazy liberal now….
jk
Can’t you say anything is due to ignorance? Conservatives can say Liberals are ignorant and that is why they are not conservatives, or likewise liberals can say the same thing towards conservatives (though they would be wrong). What about the people that are highly educated and are still bigots and/or racists (Any of our revolutionary thinkers weren’t they wrong and racist to own slaves, but could it also be argued that they were some of the smartest Americans ever?)? The problem with that is how does one evaluate whether someone understands something else? Is it education on a topic? or what?
On you last comment please see “First they came…”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came...
To access the entry add a “.” at the end (should be three periods “…”
Yeah, I saw it. Good point, I should have said something.
In all honesty, I’d peg anyone as incorrigible once they hit the age of 25 or 30. I realize that this may be a bit pessimistic, but something like racism can be fought only from generation to generation, I think. It starts by breaking down the inherent hatred, ignorance, whatever. As soon as that gets ingrained, it’s such a tough battle, I’d rather just move on, and fight one I know I can win.
Again, a bit pessimistic, but with that attitude, we could make huge progress in just a few generations.