This Is But A Small Example Of The Trash We're Dealing With...

Smug Racist Fucker: Exhibit A.

The Coded Racism of the McCain/Palin Ticket

Six or seven years ago I worked at a video store in Takoma Park, Maryland. It was one of those independent type of video stores -- heavy on foriegn and cult films, with movies categorized by their director -- nestled in the charming Old Town square of a wealthy, white, pseudo-liberal enclave. One Sunday, I worked the morning shift alone. I liked Sunday morning shifts. Almost nobody rented or returned movies, and I was free to get high, get some food, and watch movies all day. This particular Sunday was especially slow because there was some sort of art/folk/hippie fest going on down the street to distract my usual customers. Some time around mid-morning, this white lady rushes through the door with a video to return. She slams it down on the counter and says to me, "This is late, but I'll have to pay for it later. There's a bunch of black people standing by my car."

I remember being stunned. I can't believe she just said that to me. I can't believe I look like a person that another person would look at and think, "Yeah, he looks racist. We can be racist with one another." Fuck me.

After that brief shock, I looked out the window to where she had parked, and the "bunch of black people" standing on the curb by her minivan was, in fact, a family of four. A mom, a dad, and two preteen kids, no older than 10.

This is what racism in America has become. It's no longer explicit and out in the open. It lives in cul de sacs and board rooms and the neighborhood bar, where white people feel comfortable with other white people and feel free to say what they truly feel. And when it does see the light of day, it lives in carefully coded messages that only those who share similar feelings would even pick up on.

This is how John McCain has chosen to run his presidential campaign.

John McCain, at last night debate, speaking about an energy bill that was supposedly rife with evil earmarks: "You know who voted for it? You might never know. [pointing at Obama] That one. You know who voted against it? Me."

John McCain is one racist motherfucker. "That one?" Really? The backbone of bigots everywhere is to dehumanize the targets of their hatred. But more importantly, "that one" allows McCain to cast his opponent as "the other," as "one of them." It's code for "the blacks" or "the gays" or whoever is different and must be feared. It's an easy, covert way to call Obama a terrorist, a Muslim, an elitist, a black guy. These are things that John McCain is counting on that you'll fear, but more importantly, that you'll hate. You wouldn't vote for one of them, would you?

So every time you hear Sarah Palin say community organizers don't have job responsibilities (read: "black people don't work"), or you see the white lady on "The View" say that Obama is hiding facts about his life (read: "you just can't trust blacks"), or you watch anything on Fox, just remember: the white sheets and burning crosses might be absent, but the sentiment remains the same.

The More Things Don't Change, The More They Stay The Same

Hmmmmm...notice any patterns when comparing these two images? Hmmmmm...







(This one is the 2004 Presidential Election electoral map, but I think the pattern holds for at least the last 3 or 4 elections)


"Progress, progress, pleasant myth..."

The Obama Tank

Many Conservatives argue that the mainstream media is "in the tank" for Barack Obama. But why stop there? I did a little research and found that there are numerous people, places, and things in the tank for Obama:

-Kharma
-Truth
-Justice
-Freedom
-Peace
-Knowledge
-Intelligence
-Diplomacy
-Meritocracy
-Sanity
-Ethics
-Mother Earth
-Antarctica
-Penguins
-Polar Bears
-Glaciers
-Wolves
-Caribou/Moose
-Pit Bulls (the ones without lipstick)
-David Letterman
-The Economy
-History
-Science
-Integrity
-Alternative Sources of Energy
-Political Satire
-Comedy Shows (sketch and otherwise)
-Clean Air
-Clean Water
-Coral Reefs
-Logic
-Rational Thought
-Allies of the United States
-Enemies of the United States
-Hip-Hoppers
-Share-Croppers
-Accountability
-Common Sense
-Objectivity
-Equality
-Good Ideas
-Sound Judgment
-Civil Liberties
-Progress
-The Electoral Map (by the grace and glory of God)


Whew. The tank's getting pretty full, isn't it?

Do You Have Any Race Cards? Nope, Go Fish.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/31/mccain-camp-obama-playing_n_116081.html

Hey guys!

Where can I sign-up for one of those race cards? I'm white, so it should be pretty useful for playing against "those people" with less fortunate race cards.

I'd be using that thing all the time! It would help to get into better colleges, get a higher salary at my job, get in less trouble at school and in the justice system, get loans at the bank, buy a better house, get awesome healthcare, cops would pull me over less, people would have to speak the language I want them to, band-aids would match my skin tone, and everyone would subscribe to my definition of beauty. !!Sweet!!

Oh man, I can't wait!!

Let me know when production starts on those sex cards. Religion card might come in handy, too. Fuck it, put me down for a sexual preference card while you're at it.

People of the United States, and in Particular, Republicans:

I have some bad news for you. You have chosen to ignore a critical piece of the equation this election season: American Youth. For as long as we have been alive, our voices have fallen on deaf ears: our numbers won’t show up on any Gallup polls and our opinions don’t carry any weight on any public stage (except when advertisers are trying to sell us something). Certainly, American Youth are a difficult bunch to motivate, but after the election of a clown to the presidency (twice!) and the tarnished legacy he is leaving behind, you have managed to stir a sleeping giant. We feel like our future is being threatened in the name of greed and corruption.

We are tired of having America’s name being dragged through the mud because of the actions of our crooked government. We are tired of watching other nations advance and evolve socially and economically, while America continues to lose ground on the world stage. We are tired of discrimination based on age, race, religion, sex, country of origin, and sexual preference. We are tired of the infringement of rights that you claim to fight for. We are tired of seeing the cost of a college degree skyrocket, while the returns on that investment continue to plummet. We are tired of seeing Mother Earth raped and pillaged in the name of industry. We are tired of endless war and the proliferation of weaponry for the obliteration of families in foreign countries who have the gall to think differently than us.

We will not let your fear and smear tactics beat us into submission. You have cried “wolf” far too many times for this to be effective. Ad hominem attacks are merely a signal that you have nothing positive to say about yourselves. We know that 'experience' is not a substitute for 'good ideas'. We are immune to the wedge you are trying to drive between Clinton and Obama supporters because we know that this isn’t a battle between two candidates, it is a war of ideals—a notion lost on some of our elders. We may look different, come from different places, speak different languages, and practice different religions, but we are nonetheless united.

You’ve had your time and you squandered it; now we are the ones who have to pay for your mistakes. But if you go outside and put your ear real close to the ground, you can hear and feel something powerful rumbling in the distance: it is the sound of American Youth wrenching the future that is rightfully ours out of stubbornly clenched fists, and it is the sound of the status quo being smashed to pieces. On November 4th, not only will you hear our voices loud and clear, but our echoes will reverberate across the planet.

We are angry. We are frustrated. We are legion. And with the help of other forward-thinking individuals who care about their children, we are about to make history.