McCain rally in Colorado - unreal

Whoever thinks a term like "SOCIALIST" = a racial epithet is misinformed.


The majority of SOCIALISM in the world is historically found among... Anglo peoples.

It's no more code than saying REPUBLICAN = "racist."


Why can't we ALL rise above these uninformed, childish assumptions?

A style of government has NEVER indicted a single skin color or ethnicity... why is it used that way now? And who started that assertion? Look it up.




Is "moron" or "idiot" or "doofus" a racially charged word?

No... but give it a political application in this race for POTUS and somebody will claim it is.



What about Biden's blatant racist comments? "Clean black" and "storybook" and "can't go into a Dunkin' Donuts without a slight Indian accent?"


Admit it... if the racial stuff was only on the GOP side you'd have a more valid point. The fact is, even THIS week many prominent Dems (Murtha for one) have brought race into the forefront... why?

To stir it up?



Mentioning a form of government is not racially charged. Calling people "racist" or "rednecks" or other terms of the kind, toward any ethnicity, IS racially charged..


Why some refuse to see the difference is beyond anything I can change, that's clear.

 

So Obama incited those hateful comments?

The problem is these people think they ARE the majority. I could not imagine hearing anyone say those things in public, yet they did it at the top of their lungs. Ignoring it will not make that mentality disappear.

Exposing these people, and thereby immediately humiliating themselves once they realize that the majority of America finds their kind of rhetoric ugly, disgusting, and totally un-American may make them pause for concern.

 

DD- Jowers had some good action too. Coach made George and I run the stairs because after team practice, we would go hoop with stacy,sweed and all the regulars. In fact, we thought those guys played harder than most of the guys on the team. Also, Woody's Meat Market had the best fajitas on wednesday.

Back to the topic, in a sense I think palin started all this. It was a clean campaign until she said he was hanging with terrorist. Then that cop made a point to stress obamas middles name at her rally and she said nothing. I applaud McCain for grabbing the mike from that old lady that called obama a "arab" as if its something wrong with having arabic descent. McCains control on his campaign as a whole has had a somewhat elitist feel to it. A feeling of separatism and not inclusion. I mean who would think a guy that married a millionaire and has 6 homes would care more for you than a guy with 1 and he and his wife had student loans to pay off? That's why Kerry didn't resonate with commom people. How much did he really have in common with common folk when he was married to Ms Ketchup?

 

To not acknowledge that Obama introduced the subject of race at least in part while still in the primaries is to drink in naivety.


To not acknowledge that ANY comments that are charged with racial overtones from ANY person can be both divisive AND offensive at least to someone is to drink in naivety.


This is the self same issue I addressed here. It's a good, heart felt post... I feel it expresses my views most precisely.


Race baiting is race baiting is race baiting is race baiting.

No matter who does it. Sometimes it is obvious. Sometimes it is subtle.

We should ALL strive to rise above it... and read intent, define and reconsider definitions of words, take people at their face value, apply more benefit of the doubt to do so. We can't knee jerk and scream "racism" at every critique or concern. That will freeze society in it's tracks, and it slaps the Civil Rights movement in the face. We become a society looking for chances to open wounds if we continue to analyze every word without full context.

Again.. the idiots in the videos that have been thrown around in here lately are very much racially hateful. Racists in deed... not only in word... and when are words alone not proof enough? I don't condone racism from ANY side or group. Never have.


Let's look at it though... If I simply took a similar phrase from one person I knew was a racist, and applied it to every person I ever heard say a similar phrase thus judging them a racist on that phrase alone, I do myself a disservice and that person a disservice. I may have just missed a valuable friendship. My perception or past experience does not always give me the proper view. There have been several people in my life say similar things when discussing the same topic, and only upon listening closely to them could I really tell if they thought as I might have assumed. I have friends that are liberal as the day is long, but I value their friendship and input into my life because they know the difference between a differing viewpoint and a cause to hate, and I likewise return the understanding.


Simply throwing people into categories based on some other person's actions or words is flat wrong.


The ONLY way to quickly categorize someone a racist is when they freely speak in clearly racially charged terms and use racial epithets with no regret or reason to be using it in a "quote." I don't even tell racial jokes. I simply refuse to allow it in my life, or the life of my kids.


Joking about "socialism" or "liberals" or "Dems" is not the same. That is basic political banter. That is completely different. Here's how I know this... I am a non-Hispanic white person. I have friends that are non-Hispanic white people that are in favor of a more "socialst" government, are self proclaimed "liberals" and vote "Dem." I rag on them just as much for it... Each of those terms is a universal, common to all skin tones, applicable to all ethnicity term.


There is a difference. Education and knowledge of meaning of words -not what some opinion of what a word means- is helpful in discerning these things.

Now.. if we are really saying that those terms are now, literally, generally, and widely considered "racially charged" terms. I'll drop them. That's how I am.

I doubt the consensus among English speaking people has those terms in the "racist" words column.

Otherwise, I challenge anyone to EVER find me using openly racist terminology.


Like I said, "I ain't the one."

I'm just not that person I'm being lumped with.


professorjay, I understand the concept that perhaps letting them hear themselves would cause the to pause... but hatred and ignorance of bigots is only GROWN when they know someone has listening to them, and it usually gets worse when they think others may have heard what they've said and may have agreed. Hatred is like a plague, it thrives off spreading it's message. It seeks the videographer. It seeks the camera. It desires to be printed and copied and spread around for others to internalize.


I say kill it all together. Tell it you're no longer interested in what it has to say.

 

It's impossible at this juncture to change the attitudes of most people. I agree with you though--public humiliation is a good way to keep their harmful practices to themselves and ensure that the next generation of human beings will be able to live more worthwhile lives. A lot of those children might one day grow up regretting what they were brought up to do, just like all of us here, myself included, have regretted things we did when we were young and rectified ourselves accordingly.

It's also a shame that race and politics had to intersect like this, but you knew it was inevitable after Obama won the nomination and McCain fell behind in the polls by >8 points.

I'm looking forward to a better Republican party in 2012, one that will have rebounded from the severe beating it will take in 2008 by returning to its ideological foundation of fiscal responsibility, smaller (and more constitutional) government, and respect for its constituency rather than underhanded manipulation. A party with policy arguments rather than baseless slurs. And none of this gunslinging global interventionism without any sort of multilateral backing from other countries.

 

IROC- That last statement was pretty good. I also think when some of the older people like those born before say like 50 start to die off, then the gen x and y will be more uniform. I mean we see it already with the youth of today with the blending of music, fashion and culture. I think if the GOP message had been about what they can do vs talking down obama, then he would be doing better as we speak.

 

I definitely agree.


Too much pointing at the other guy.

Change is coming, either way... eventually. Problem is, some are breeding this hatred into a new generation.

 

In 20-30 years, we will see the same thing with the hispanic presidential candidate. Hispanics will make up the majority of the voters in Texas, California and Florida. 90% of them will probably vote for the hispanic candidate regardless of party. Claims of the white candidate inciting racism will appear again.

 

it's really disappointing that some conservatives on this board would rather litigate the subject of racism and hatred (or worse yet, try and make utterly ridiculous comparisons) than just outright denounce what is going on at these rallies.

 

Very well said! It may not happen by 2012, but it WILL happen and America will be better off for it.

At this point, I doubt it will be 20-30 years before a hispanic candidate is nominated and the level of racial "incitement" won't be nearly as intense as this year.

 

This is the same state that wanted to have U.S citizenship check ups in catholic churches. Doesn't surprise me

 

DD, it scares me that I agree with you so much in D&D. Now all you need to do is come to your senses when discussing the Rockets.

"Moderates" aren't necessarily the answer for the GOP. What they have to do is drop the demagoguery, scare tactics & hatred and nuke the kooks who hold sway within their party. There are a good number of very conservative ideas they should hold on to, but they must stop the demonization of people that disagree. From my view, their tactic of dividing the public against each other with talk of the "real America", "more patriotic parts of America" is disgusting. This will be my first time to ever vote for the Dem candidate for president.

 

As a white man I understand Obama did not introduce race in to this election, years and centuries of demonizing and persecuting blacks in America makes race so important.

 

YYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSS!

 

While the grown adults not knowing what socialism and communism are is sad, what really pains me are the little girls who have been taught by their parents to be openly racist.

Another thing about these videos that keep popping up is that I think most of these people would probably never say anything like that alone but get caught up in the mob mentality and throw some really hateful words out.

 

Ah yes, the "Everybody does it!" defense.

We've been over this many times - the tone of ignorance and hatred on display at the McCain-Palin events is pretty much unparalleled.

Everythime we do this thread, somebody, this time it's you, says " this kind of thing happens on both sides!"

Then somebody asks for some visual confirmation of it happening on both sides, such as on the ol' youtube.

Then.....crickets.....

 

The kind of racism people normally talk about is the overt kind like the kind in these videos. Only stupid racist idiots who feel secure enough from living in an all white community, town, city, region, state, country, what have you would voice their stupidity. And yet suppositely 'normal decent' Americans still turn the other way and speak falsely. On the other hand, the smart ones or let's just say people who would stand to benefit from 'racism', many of whom are rich and yield measurable power do not make their true feelings so easily known or partake in such overt racism on youtube. But of course they're not racist like those 'overt' types.

It will take more than the death of an older generation to have any type of real change or meaningful discussion occur. Stupid people do breed and pass on their worldview and stupidity to the next generation not to mention that stupidity is not only limited to people from a certain era or limited to people from a certain upbringing or bloodline. The topic of race and racism in this country in all its roots and manifestations is much more complicated and insidious.

 

I completely disagree. Long before Obama mentioned any dollar bill comment His opponents were coming out trying to tie him to Farrakhan, and saying there was a tape about Michelle talking with Farrakhan and calling people whitey. That happened first. None of that would have happened if Obama looked like all the other presidents on the dollar bill. Furthermore after GOP ran candidates that used Willy Horton, and McCain fathered a black child out of wedlock stories previously, then anyone would have to be a fool to not think race would be an issue.

Furthermore, to bring up race as an issue, is not to invite racist statements and actions from anyone. We should be able to talk about and discuss race without people saying Obama isn't a person but a monkey out of Tarzan which is what they were yelling the video from Colorado. To try and act like somehow that kind of behavior is ok because you believe Barrack introduced race into the campaign. Even if you were right about him introducing it, that doesn't excuse that kind of behavior.

This is what troubles me, is that rather than just condemn it, you try to rationalize it.

If a racist gets offended by someone bringing up race that still doesn't excuse racism.

I'm very happy to hear that.

I think the problem is that there is a pattern of people showing up at these rallies and having these attitudes and shouting all the threats and racial slurs. Even the weak-in-comparison incidents of Barack supporters doing something, they are scattered incidents rather than a trend that happens every rally.

I agree. Those things aren't the same as racism nor are they as bad. They are divisive, and seek to frighten people into believing something that isn't true about a candidate and plays on fear rather than uniting and bringing out the best in our nation. But you are right it isn't racism.