TOP BLACK DEMOCRAT: NOTHING WRONG WITH USING WORD NEGRO
LET'S BE HONEST & CALL A SPADE A SPADE
THIS WHOLE BROUHAHA over Harry Reid's private remarks to Ted Kennedy (recorded in the new book Game Change) about Barack Obama's "negro dialect" is such a ridiculous non-issue that I am hard-pressed to understand how so many conservative thinkers I normally respect--Ed Morrissey and Liz Cheney--- can be swept away in such ridiculous moral grand-standing. I say this even though I think Harry Reid should be run outta Washington on a fast-rail. He ranks among the worst politicians of our and all time. Nevertheless he needs to go for dozens of other reasons and not for this remark. It was really a veiled compliment, even if could be considered a bit condescending. Is there a law against that?
Let me make myself clear: I do not think Reid's remark was racist. I do not think he should be excoriated by the right for his honest opinion/ perception or for using the word 'Negro' for heaven sake! I do not think Reid was being mean spirited; he was talking about Obama's electability. from his white political perspective. And while the left's understandable defense of Reid points out the absurd double standard of assessing political correctness along party lines (recalling Trent Lott's Strom Thurmond moment and resignation in 2007 only partially because of that, as well as Obama's mean remarks beforehand), it also illustrates that two politically insane wrongs don't make a right.
I am firmly on the side of George Will (and George Stephanopoulos) in his Sunday exchange with Liz Cheney. To wit:
WILL: I don't think there's a scintilla of racism in what Harry Reid said. At long last, Harry Reid has said something that no one can disagree with, and he gets in trouble for it.
CHENEY: George, give me a break. I mean, talking about the color of the president's skin...
WILL: Did he get it wrong?
CHENEY: ... and the candidate's...
WILL: Did he say anything false?
CHENEY: ... it's -- these are clearly racist comments, George.
WILL: Oh, my, no.
Oh, my no is right. This is political moralism and self-righteous finger pointing at its worst. Liz---well meaning as I know she is attempting to be--- is just digging herself and us further into the grave of political correctness. And I for one am not having it. No cigar to Ed and Liz on this one.
"Lets call a spade a spade." Nice.
ReplyDeleteLet's call southern people 'redneck' since they speak in that 'hillbilly dialect.'
"Yoo young'ns stop yore whoopin anna hollerin for a minit sos'n we can unnerstan what we're a-sayin."
Yes, let's call a spade a spade. You can tell as soon as they say "hi". (hah)
Glad you found my comments amusing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you.
ReplyDeletePolitical correctness is choking us. Political correctness was invented by Communists (As Casey Stengel said: "Ya can look it up." Add Herbert Marcuse to your search.) as a method of causing Americans to lose confidence in our culture of succeeding via freedom and merit.
We can't know if Harry Reid is racist unless he flatly tells us he is racist. We can't know his heart. And it doesn't matter, anyway. Only Harry Reid's actions matter. Speculation about the shadings of his private opinions is a useless waste of time.
I've been in these types of arguments on liberal blogs. If a politically correct person were to attack Harry Reid, they would do it like this:
Harry Reid ought anticipate that a significant number of African Americans would misinterpret his comments and be offended. It was insensitive of Harry Reid to make comments which could easily be misinterpreted, and thus cause pain. This is an outrage. A competent and sensitive adult would only make comments on this subject via using PC approved terminology and opinion. B/c he failed to use the terminology we demand, b/c he failed to espouse the opinion we demand, therefore Reid is insensitive, incompetent, and ought resign.
I don't like seeing conservatives espousing a PC argument which is actually a Communist argument which is designed to destroy America's culture of freedom and of success via merit.
Yes and also destroy our First Amendment rights to express our authentic opinions....we are a national of socialized little moral biddy authorities.
ReplyDeleteThe worst part, Greg, we're becoming a nation of bores.
Thanks you.
I knew that there was something troubling about the whole kerfuffle, and you did a great job of pointing out the difference between racist remarks and an opinion.
ReplyDeleteIsn't this the very thing that conservatives throw a fit about? So why do the same thing? Have some of these pundits and political commentators completely lost the ability to think rationally?
Thanks for being a voice of reason.
It seems like all these cultural straight-jackets are eroding our First Amendment freedoms.
ReplyDeleteI've added a link to a brilliant video - the equivalent of an entire semester of study condensed into one dense video.
ReplyDeletehttp://vodpod.com/watch/207098-atlas-shrugs-the-history-of-political-correctness
The video explains the history of political correctness, and shows that much of our cultural attitudes (the sexual revolution, the breakdown of "repressive" American values, the rise of "critical theory" - such as critical race theory, et al - in the academies, just to name a few) are directly descended from Marxists who were trying to destroy capitalism.