Racism 2.0

“We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn't do it, but God did," – Rep. Richard Baker (R-LA)

"people who could not even spell the word 'vote', or say it in English, put a committed socialist ideologue in the White House." – Former Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Col)

"When a radical fringe element of demonstrators and others begin to attack the president of the United States as an animal or as a reincarnation of Adolf Hitler or when they wave signs in the air that said we should have buried Obama with Kennedy, those kinds of things are beyond the bounds…I think people who are guilty of that kind of personal attack against Obama have been influenced to a major degree by a belief that he should not be president because he happens to be African American.” – Former President Jimmy Carter

Welcome to racism 2.0. In 21st Century America, it defeats your purpose to go parading down main street in white robes and hoods. Burning a cross on a neighbor’s lawn will get you thrown in jail for a hate crime. Racism has unquestionably diminished in the last 50 years but to suggest that it is gone would be incredibly naïve. It has merely sunk deeper into the guts of those who still embrace it as they struggle to find more “socially acceptable” ways to express their sentiments. Tom Tancredo found his way, calling for a return to so called civics/literacy exams for prospective voters, in front of an approving and virtually all white, conservative audience. If challenged, he can try feigning ignorance as to how such tests were previously employed by southern states in order to prevent blacks from voting. He can claim that he envisions the test being used indiscriminately among all Americans. But since anyone with even the slightest knowledge of how voters break down by education level can tell you that such an evenly applied testing system would guarantee more elected liberals, it seems a very weak explanation. This is racism by implication. Stealth racism, if you will.

Rep. Baker also found his voice. He combined eye-opening insensitivity for residents of his own state with evidence that he also clings to the old testament view of a wrathful interventionist deity, a concept still very popular amidst the more religious right wing. Baker’s comment leaves plenty of wiggle room from which to deny any racist intent. He doesn’t use the “N” word or any other ethnic slur. It’s the attitude behind what he says, one which finds some of his fellow Louisianans to be far less important than others, in which you can feel racism bubbling just beneath the visible. As with Tancredo, you must first acknowledge other facts, such as the population of New Orleans’ public housing being largely minority, before racial motivation becomes obvious. Once again the racism is clearly there but hidden under the words actually spoken on the surface.

The accusations of racism which follow these kinds of remarks are inevitably fended off by turning the tables on the accuser. Since the racial intent lurked beneath the surface and you had to look deeper in order to identify it, it becomes you instead who are motivated by race. You are “playing the race card”. Baker could say, “I didn’t say anything about race, just public housing”. Tancredo might argue, “I only want American voters to understand the ballots and how their country works before they cast their vote”. But there’s an old saying, “If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. The recent revelation that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), an early Obama supporter, commented on the Illinois Senator’s electability by observing that he is “light-skinned”, “non-threatening” and has a good command of the english language, shows that racial insensitivity has not been copyrighted by conservatives. Though Reid’s words and intent lacked the malignancy which emanates from the right wing, they do indicate the fact that all of us have yet to rid ourselves of certain ingrained stereotypes. We’re not perfect and we probably never will be. We’re only human.

A friend I have known for some 25 years moved to central Florida about a decade ago. His political convictions are similar to mine but he likes to play “devil’s advocate” and debate me on public issues. He has a tremendous grasp of both domestic and international issues and a legal education and background. Because of this, he makes an extremely good sparring partner for someone who discusses politics as much as I do. Over the last decade a frequent topic for these “throwdowns” was Affirmitive Action programs, with him taking the opposition. This back and forth would always boil down to the current state of race relations and whether such “preferences” were still of any necessity. In early 2008 my friend called me to announce that he had decided to support Barack Obama in the Democratic Presidential primaries. This led to a debate for the ages since, at the time, I was helping run a Bergen County, New Jersey office for Hillary Clinton. One major agreement was arrived at during that epic conversation. By vocally supporting Obama in the largely white, and right, northern suburbs of Orlando, Fl., my friend had learned first hand the fallacies of his previous anti-affirmitive action stance. He was horrified by the extreme racial hatred he encountered. This from a midle-aged man who was raised Jewish and yet feels the need to hide this fact from both friends and strangers where he currently resides.

I have also seen in-my-face examples of how and where unapologetic racism still flourishes. Between 1998 and 2002 I made my living as an Assistant Golf Professional at different private clubs in northern New Jersey. The examples of two of those establishments point out a misperception which most of us still might carry about race in America. One club, located in the town where I grew up, was occupied mainly by folks of a certain heritage (See Goodfellas) who were no more than one generation removed from blue collar roots. Another, one of the most prestigious facilities in the northeast, was populated with some very old money, prominent family names and hosted celebrity guests so often that one got used to seeing famous faces. This club has since been included in the yearly circuit of courses which host PGA Tour events. The knee-jerk assumption might well be that racism and arrogant, ignorant attitudes would be predominant at the latter club. Nothing could have been further from the truth.

It was at the former establishment, among the far less privileged, that I encountered overt racism. For example, every caddy at the first club is white. Others are quietly turned away as is still legal for a private membership organization. The membership is obviously just as uniform. One quiet afternoon I was sitting at the pro shop counter of the first club, when an older member entered and observed the television, which was perpetually tuned to sports. He watched a tennis match on the TV for a moment and then turned to me and said, “You like her?”, refering to a young Venus Williams. When I responded that I don’t really follow tennis (this was true, although I could also sense the gist of what was coming), he replied, “I think she looks like a fuckin’ gorilla!” I simply retreated into the back office while our resident zookeeper made his way to the men’s locker room. I was momentarily taken aback but hardly shocked. I knew exactly where things stood at the club which I’d love to name here but prudence prevents me. I never once remember sensing that kind of hate among the far more upper-crusty members of the extremely prestigious other facility.

Overt racism, though, is increasingly relegated to places of privacy, such as that small pro shop, where the unashamed racist knows that they won’t be called out publicly for their hatefulness. The more militantly liberal among you are likely angry at me right now for not telling off that “gorilla” individual. Suffice to say that it too would have been inappropriate as well as pointless. Most public expressions of racism these days resemble the remarks from the opening of this piece. The type which force you to read between the lines. Those who sympathize with such remarks fully understand the meaning behind them as well. If the speaker were to give an overly dramatic wink to his audience just as he made such a statement, the message could not be made any clearer. In the political world, stealth racism is far more prevalent on the right. It may not be an exclusive domain, as I pointed out, and yet, from Rush Limbaugh to Glenn Beck to folks like Savage, Coulter or Dobbs, disapproval of different cultures has long been and still is a top priority of America’s right wing. “Multiculturalism” is as much a Tea Party taboo today as socialism, budget deficits or taxes.

When Jimmy Carter, in his above quote, insinuated that some of the most severe opposition to the new president stemmed from a place of racism, right wing voices portrayed the former president as nothing more than a foolish old jackass spewing a tired liberal mantra for which they no longer have patience. Methinks the teabaggers doth protest too much. If they’re capable of a guilty conscience, they were exhibiting one loudly. When former Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) clumsily attempted to compliment Strom Thurmond on his birthday by stating that if Thurmond, the 1948 Segregation party Presidential candidate, had only been elected, “we wouldn’t have all of these problems we have today”, he provided preemptive proof of the veracity of Carter’s remarks. That most on the right were all too ready to defend Lott only adds to the evidence. A quick search of Google Images or YouTube will net you enough ammunition to adequately affirm Carter’s thoughts on right wing racism.

The fact that an African-American with a name like Barack Hussein Obama has been elected President of the United States by no small margin, shows us that we have come a very long way from where we were in the early 1960’s. We have indeed come far and make no mistake about that fact. However, the way that too many conservative Americans view Mr. Obama and his presidency indicates that we still have quite a way to go. From conspiracy theories about his place of birth to internet postcards depicting him as a monkey to t-shirts and bumper stickers from “religious” sources which offer up prayers for his imminent death, some on the right appear unable to even accept as reality that this man is their president. It is this extroardinary level of personal contempt and disrespect for the man himself which indicates that racial undertones may be to blame. As I’ve said elsewhere, the right has no one but themselves to blame for this perception. Not TV pundits from that “liberal media”, not political correctness, not nefarious multiculturalist plots and not even liberal old me.

I’m not going to bore readers with statistics like how many young black males are in prison as opposed to college or the striking differences in likely causes of death among whites and blacks. There will be no comparisons of median income levels here. No tales of crumbling school systems or gang violence ensnaring kids who have yet to see their 10th birthday. We all know these things, though some on the right prefer to live in that alternate universe I often speak of, the one in which there is no longer any need to increase opportunity for some because everyone already has the same chance at success. That attitude, in itself, is just another excuse to hate or, at the very least, dismiss someone else. “It’s their own fault. It’s how they choose to live. Look at me, I wasn’t born rich either but I worked hard and made something of myself.” The twisted logic necessary to convince oneself that opportunity is equal between a white male from even a humble middle class upbringing and a black male from the projects of New Orleans, for example, is further indication of ignorance.

I grew up in a predominantly white, upper middle class suburb of New York City. My neighborhood was extremely safe. Our school system had the best of everything. I was never pulled over by the police for no apparent reason. No one has ever viewed me suspiciously because of how I look. No woman has ever clutched her purse with both hands when she saw me walking toward her. I have been interested in politics all of my life but I never had to swallow that none of the historic leaders of my country looked anything like me. They all looked like me, until now that is. If I tried to claim that I had no advantages in life as a result of these facts, I would be guilty of tremendous ignorance. I, like Tom Tancredo, Rush Limbaugh or any of those other right wing activists, must admit ignorance as to the experience of African-Americans as well as other minorities in this country.

What sets left and right apart, in regard to race, is a willingness to examine yourself and your attitudes and try to progress. There is also a genuine desire on the left to treat others with respect. The right wing choose to mock these principles as political correctness and multiculturalism. How can they demand respect that they are not willing to give others? I know that I carry with me certain stereotypes about those who are different from me, I acknowledge it and I try to evolve as an individual. If this makes me a “bleeding heart” then so be it. I would rather have a bleeding heart than a dead one. From literacy tests to regretting segregationist losses to angry Tea party crusades against immigrants, America’s right has chosen to see our differences as a threat rather than a continuation of a beautiful American legacy. They have enjoyed decades of political triumph from this stance but, as American attitudes continue progressing in the decades to come, it will only serve to further isolate them from most of this country. It’s going to take more than the laughably crass GOP appointments of folks like Michael Steele or Sarah Palin to remedy their ailment. Talk about affirmitive action! Some very deep soul searching is in order before the right wing can move forward on the issue of race, if they ever do. If Mr. “Gorilla” is still alive and kicking then, I doubt he’ll ever join them in advancing down that path.