In a demonstration that blacks like Condi Rice, Michael Steele, Ron Christie, Artur Davis, Allen West, and Tim Scott are less tokens than statistically insignificant, a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll showed zero percent support for the Romney/Ryan ticket among African-Americans. That said, the GOP ticket probably isn’t too pleased with headlines about two conventioneers getting ejected for throwing nuts at a black CNN camerawomen and saying, “This is how we feed the animals.”
There are bad apples in every crowd, but it’s hard to imagine the level of hate those two people must feel toward black people to behave that way. The RNC Convention released an official apology, but that won’t change the bad optics.
There are bad apples in every crowd, but it’s hard to imagine the level of hate those two people must feel toward black people to behave that way.
Hard to imagine? No, given the bubble in which most of them live, it is very, very easy to imagine. In fact, it is entirely predictable.
I’m not at all surprised that people like that are part of the GOP base. The real tell here is that they were conventioneers, presumably meaning either local officials or delegates (or both) – meaning they’re not just people off the street, but they had to be selected at the local, county, and state levels in order to attend.
Political parties screen their delegates in this way precisely in order to eliminate the whack jobs. That system fails when the inmates are running the asylum. That’s the real takeaway here – at least in whatever state the conventioneers came from (and there’s 50 solid possibilities, plus territories), these people didn’t raise any red flags at all.
No surprise there either. These are the people who thought purple-heart bandaids were cute back in ‘004. Check out the buttons in this pic if you need further evidence of who’s in the crowd this year.
Is it sad that the thing I am surprised about is not that those two conventioneers did that, but that they were ejected for it?
I assume it was caught on video, whether by the target or another member of the media. Otherwise the RNC would’ve ignored it, and if CNN complained the RNC would have simply played the “liberal media” card yet again. (Because, after all, member of the media who’s also a woman of color? Clearly biased against Real Americans ™, amiright?)
You cannot cultivate a culture of hate and then expect people to restrain themselves. Most of the racist followers of the Limbaugh-type crowd have already grown up in a society of anger and distrust, so having their political leaders reinforce it with dog whistles or outright hate speech is just part of their lives.
While this will make me sound like an old geezer, I think society as a whole has shed a lot of restraint in dealing with our fellow humans. I was talking to a mail clerk at the post office yesterday and he said he’s seen it too. People don’t want to wait their turn, they are snappy and rude, and they complain to him about things over which he has no control.
Sad to say, the ugliness is getting worse.
In terms of the mail clerk that you mention, I don’t know about where you are, but here in this red red state, 98% of them are African-Americans. That fact has enabled the conservative media, particularly talk radio hosts like Neal Boortz, to hate on the USPS. Sadly, I remember the very same people who, within my lifetime viewed a job with the rural post offices as one of those good “gubmint” jobs with great benefits, now join in the chorus to eliminate and privatize it.
Many of them supplemented their family incomes with jobs in those post offices and delivering mail on the rural routes and actually retired on its pensions, which is the real issue with the financial viability of the USPS. They all, without exception, became Republicans and now all they want to do is destroy it, which is far easier when most of the employees have a different skin color. That whole thing with our postal service makes me sad, angry, and frustrated all at the same time. I just don’t get why ANYONE in the working classes would vote for a Republican.
In our rural county the mail clerks are all white. And these jobs are still very much appreciated. There aren’t a lot of good jobs with decent pay and benefits. The PO has already eliminated one job (sorter), meaning local mail travels over 100 miles to Denver to be sorted and then returned to be delivered.
In our rural county the mail clerks are all white. And these jobs are still very much appreciated.
Think there’s any chance those two facts are related?
Back when the Soviet Union collapsed, I mentioned to my friends that we will probably see a lot more open racism. Having an external enemy had actually served as an outlet for a lot of that hate.
What we did see was the rise of the Christian RW to more prominent position, until it was smacked down a little in 1996.
Then came 9/11 and the new enemy were the Muslims. However, since Obama took office, they are not quite as scary, though the Republicans still try to use them as a rallying point.
So the racism is once again becoming more open and even condoned.
People need someone to hate so they can blame their own problems on others. As the common enemies are removed from the table, people go after those that live next door.
To your interesting point about the USSR, I’ll add this one. Tolerance comes more easily when the economic pie is increasing in size. There’s often a strong correlation between depressions and intolerance. Prime example being Germany in the 1930’s. I think we are going through this with the double whammy of good jobs going overseas and a recession at home.
Not to get all science-y but when the ethylene gas starts to flow, he whole box of apples is rotten, not just a few.
They sowed it, nurtured it, and now they reap it.
It is what they are.
I’m with Josh Marshall here: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/08/cnns_exquisitely_awkward_spot.php?ref=fpblg
The fact that this has bascially gotten no coverage on CNN itself is just sad and CNN producers should be ashamed and frankly pissed on behalf of their employee.
Add to that Erin Burnnett’s bullshit “I had to wipe a tear” after the Ann Romney speech, just reinforces why CNN is bleeding viewers.
BTW, there was one shining light on CNN last night and that was Roland Martin when Artur Davis sat with the panel. Roland had been tweeting about Artur all night. and he was really laying into Artur, they actually had to go to Alex Costallanos to give Artur a break.
Roland was going in on Davis, but someone needs to reintroduce Roland to a Gillette – that mangy facial hair thing is not a good look.
Instead of throwing nuts at him, they should have fired a missile at him then written “militant” on his file. We Democrats would have no problem with that.
…him?
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/alan_clemmons_amen.php?ref=fpnewsfeed
I am shocked
Just some folks whose momma never told them not to act ugly. Hate is OK; just don’t act ugly.
Come on — You just know what everybody at the GOP hate-fest really wants to hear and say: “Get the ‘N’ out of the White House.” They want to take “their” country back to the imagined golden days of the 1950s, exactly the time warp from which the Romneys seemed to have emerged from. Would be a fantasy come true if the Romneys came with only a Bible and not that weird companion book.
They’d be even more pleased with the latter 19th century period, I’m guessing.
Some would prefer the mid-19th Century, but the later date removes the pesky religious abolitionists from the equation; so, am sure they could compromise on the best period for white guys.
Don’t forget the all-important 12th Century lobby.
In spirit not much difference between their fantasy version of those two periods. But in the USA, it might be too tall an order to sell the divine rights of kings.
Divine Right of the job creators – easy sell, already sold.
NO SHOCK in the least that something like this happened.
you should amend this post with what they did to a GOP delegate from Puerto Rico.
From my diary …