So, I am sure by now most of you have caught a glimpse of some of the videos capturing hate and vitriol towards Barack Obama at the McCain/Palin rallies. If you are like me, they probably make you sick, embarrassed and even frightened for what the Republicans have come to stand for. When people tell you racism doesn't exist anymore please refer them to the picture above and the countless examples of wing-nuts screaming, "terrist" and "commie" at some of the McCain/Palin events. Epithets such as "terrorist," show us the fear and anxiety that lies at the intersection of race, education, potential political affiliation, class and sexuality and the possible threat to normative forms of white male power. But these tactics are nothing new. Adam Serwer at the American Prospect delves deeper. In discussing Congressman John Lewis bold calling out of McCain's use of racist tactics he says,
It's no wonder that the tone at McCain rallies remind Lewis of the bad old days. In recent months, conservatives have sounded increasingly retro with their attempts to paint Obama as a socialist or communist. In some ways, this accusation is typical far-right boilerplate. Obama certainly isn't the first Democrat running for president to be accused of communist sympathies. And as usual, the accusations are rarely linked to policy specifics. But the difference with Obama is that, in the eyes of the right, it's not just his political affiliation that implicates him as a socialist. It's his ethnic background.The hysterical accusations of socialism from conservatives echo similar accusations leveled at black leaders in the past, as though the quest for racial parity were simply a left-wing plot.
Obama may not actually be a socialist or communist, but his election would strike another powerful blow to the informal racial hierarchy that has existed in America since the 1960s, when it ceased being enforced by law. This hierarchy, which holds that whiteness is synonymous with American-ness, is one conservatives are now instinctively trying to preserve. Like black civil-rights activists of the 1960s, Obama symbolizes the destruction of a social order they see as fundamentally American, which is why terms like "socialism" are used to describe the threat.
Growing up in a country where overt and covert, interpersonal and institutional racism are par for the course, it is not only difficult to watch what is happening and nerve-wracking, but it is indicative of what is coming to a head through this election. This unabashed display of racism is humiliating for most Americans, but it shows us that there are two ways ideological standpoints held by the American public, one that is clinging to yesterday's racist attitudes and one that wants to move forward away from a painful history of racism and abuse against our more disenfranchised members. Also, if you look at the history of calling someone a "pinko commie fag," despite not having to use racialized descriptors, it was generally understood that this was an activist, probably a person of color or someone who fights for the rights of people of color, poor people, queer people, etc. So it is describing an emasculated and raced person, the ultimate threat to nationalist understandings and forms of white masculinity. Obama makes the white boys feel less manly, so they have to call him a "commie" to make them feel less paranoid and anxious.
So their campaign rhetoric is surprisingly on point-a vote for Obama is a vote for change. But I don't need to tell you that. You are already there.
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Quick correction: Rep. Lewis's first name is John, not George.
(There's a Beatles joke in there somewhere.)
ugh. it's sickening, and this is why I don't understand how people can support a candidate who encourages this kind of behavior.
some people will tell you (like my conservative parents) that McCain doesn't stand for racism, and that during one of his rallies, he actually defended Obama.
and a lot of people said "good for McCain" after hearing this. but I can't say the same because he's the one who started all of this shit in the first place. Him and Palin.
grumpgirl.blogspot.com
Oh, whoops I confused him with George Wallace...haha. Thanks.
What's amazing to me is the degree to which people seem to be "cloaking" racism in other racism in order to make it acceptable, i.e. it's not okay to hate black people but it's totally cool to hate "arabs"/muslims, so let's just call him "Arab" like it's an epithet.
P.S. Palin's "he pals around with terrorists" comment is amazing in terms of how many birds it kills with one stone (there's what's on the surface, the ZOMG TERRIST stuff, but then there's also the degree to which it connects up in people's minds with political systems not our own -- hence the socialist/communist fears -- and the racism as well).
Yes-idiolect, I actually meant to mention that too. Since 9/11 it is considered totally acceptable to say anti-Muslim, anti-South Asian, anti-Arab speech and it is not considered hate speech. This point is being left out.
What I damn well want to know is whether or not the author of this blog is being seriously pursued - at least for questioning - by government agencies? I hate how the normalized racism of this campaign makes death threats against Obama (such as those seen at the McCain/Palin rallies and on here) acceptable. Should we assume that threats against people of color are less serious ('cuz god knows racist white [read: innocent, normal, harmless] people have never hurt anyone), or are we just okay with equally potent threats against people of color? Does the expectation of them nullify the significance and threat of them?
SERIOUSLY. This isn't an issue of damn freedom of speech. Freedom of speech does not trump an individual's right to feel (and be!) safe!
[Skulks away, pissy as all hell and wondering how she's gonna work on her thesis.]
McCain is racist. So is Palin. They wouldn't have gone with the language and the themes of their speeches if they weren't, and they would have dealt with their supporters' vitriol immediately instead of having to be shown how very problematic the reactions of their supporters has been.
And for McCain to be so pissed at Lewis and demanding an apology, just....grr. That's all I have to say. Well, other than "McCain is a racist"
Okay, I can't really read what that horrible poster is saying under "asphyxiation" and "The Fucking Solution." Can someone help me out?
Also I agree with those of you that have pointed out that anti-Muslim speech has become completely acceptable in the U.S. since 9/11 and it's just ridiculous. I remember I was talking to someone a few months ago about who they were voting for and Obama got mentioned. This other person said they wouldn't vote for Obama ever because they were a good Christian and he was a Muslim. Now my first thought was, where do you get your information from because you're wrong. And then my second thought was, so what if he's a Muslim? Since when does being Muslim just automatically = terrorist or bad?
llevinso-They took it down and we didn't get the full text of the post. You can read about it more at Pam's if you click the link under the image.
Oh come on! No one is really that surprised are we?
I can't believe that Obama wasn't aware of the racism he was going to deal with and still vote for him. He is not an idiot- he knew it was coming.
I also can't vote with the Democratic party if I think the party is that clueless about what the smaller cities and towns still think, believe and act on.
Disgust, yes, but surprise? Really?
Ours is supposed to be the side that is capable of seeing all sides, seeing the big picture, not having our heads in the sand. Racism is alive and well in the U.S.
The question is how many who are not racist or are for eradicating racism are actually going to vote?
Yeah, that McCain rally at Lakeville, MN, a suburb of the Twin Cities? So much for "Minnesota nice." The Republicans are down in the polls, they feel threatened, and this is what taking the gloves off means to them. This is what they want McCain to say. And as long as he doesn't say it (which he won't), they'll just get more vitriolic.
*They're* the ones I'm scared about rioting after election day.
On the other hand, there was a Michelle Obama rally in Saint Paul, MN yesterday (I went! She's SO COOL), and it was beautiful. Everyone was positive and empowered, and so happy to be there. And you know what? Michelle didn't even *mention* McCain directly. We're not far away from Lakeville, but the experience was worlds apart.
6 more days to help people get registered to vote.
I agree with the disturbing increase in acceptability of anti-Muslim and anti-Arab hate speech since September 11th. I've always been against that kind of prejudice, knowing full well that not all Muslims are Arab, not all Arabs are Muslims, not all (i.e. not MOST) Arabs and/or Muslims are terrorists and not all terrorists are...*ahem* non-White. Considering the definition of terrorism is using fear to manipulate people, I think never every powerful government has been guilty of it at one point or another, America to a great extent. That's why saying things like "war against terror" is so stupid- the concept itself is so biased. What one country calls terrorism, another might call "home-land security". Of course I'm against using these kind of tactics, but I'm against them across the board and using terrorism to fight terrorism is a dead end. Pun intended.
But I digress. I think that since anti-Muslim rhetoric is considered okay in the US then racist attacks against Obama is considered okay as long as you actually think he's a Muslim. In a sane, non-racist mind, that seems like lunatic logic- but look at who we're dealing with. Obama challenges every racist assumption that these people have and actually represents change and for that he scares the shit out of people.
But I'm so scared for the outcome of this election. I'm scared of what happens if McCain wins and serves as president. I'm scared of what happens if McCain wins and then for some reason, can not fulfill his duties so Sarah Palin serves as president. (p.s., I wish no ill on either one of them. May they live long, healthy lives, far far away from the White House). But I'm EQUALLY afraid of what happens if Barack Obama actually gets elected. When I see this kind of racism going on against him, I fear for his safety and our future. It only takes one complete nut job to change history and I wouldn't put it past these people.
*sigh*
I agree that this is disgusting and horrible. However, liberals seem to be treating this as an unprecedented level of hatred against a candidate. While Feministing keeps their statements reasonably clean, there are plenty of Obama supporters who are just as vile as the creator of this image. I think both sides should be judged to a certain degree by their supporters. Time to vote third-party.
For a sample of how some democrats treat their opponents: http://doqz.livejournal.com/362432.html
I always have to wonder at people who use "Muslim" as an insult and fear mongering tactic. "Muslim" isn't interchangable with "scary, violent Taliban extremist."
It seems like, when looking over American history, our country has done a really great job of villefying entire groups in ways that make us feel really sheepish a few generations later when we look back and say, "Oh...yeah, that wasn't so brilliant of us, was it?"
Andrew, while I agree with you that most of those examples are vile and unnecessary, some of them are completed legit forms of expression. "Love My Country, Fear My President" is not hate speech- it's just the truth. It's a patriotic statement. And "End the Illegal Occupation"- while it's a play on words about terrorism, it also makes a comments on the war in Iraq actually being illegal and how many people feel that Bush weaseled his way into the White House.
I'm much more disturbed though, by the commentors on your blog having no idea who Palin is or why people might want to boo her. And btw, I think booing a politician is a completely legitimate form of protest. The message is pretty clear, "We do not approve" without demeaning one's self to tactics that are racist or sexist.
And voting 3rd party helped Bush get into the White House in the first place. I think the system needs to be reformed so that 3rd party candidates can actually have a chance of winning, rather than making a silly rule about getting a percentage of votes that won't happen, because they don't stand a chance (see the cycle?). But voting for, say, Nader, right now is just a way to screw everyone else. Considering he doesn't even put any effort into running anymore, putting his name on the ticket is just self-righteousness. I refer to his candidacy as a "because I CAN-paign".
Fascinating (and terrifying) post. To me, "pinko commie fag" reads as coded anti-Semitism, along with the homophobia (which feeds into stereotypes of Jewish men). Sort of like saying something is "too New York". There was some interesting discussion on Feministe a while ago about how we Jews came to be identified as white, which really made me stop and think, as did this post. Thanks for looking so clearly at this stuff - I can barely stand to read progressive blog posts about it, let alone go and actually luck at it. Yikes.
Not my blog, just felt it provided some good examples of the extreme hatred coming from democrats. There are examples in there that I wouldn't consider excessive either.
By voting third-party, I'm not taking a vote away from either side. There's no way in hell I'm voting for either of the horribly corrupt and incompetent main parties. The only reason third-party candidates don't have a chance is because people aren't willing to vote for them. Also, I live in Idaho. Ron Paul has a better chance of taking this state than Obama does ;).
This is unbelievable. They're not even hiding under the rock anymore.
The Obama signs on our front lawn have been set on fire. They have also been stolen (new signs) once and had another theft attempt that was interrupted. The police department in my conservative small town said there was nothing they could really do even if I got the license plate number and despite the fact that burning the signs at night could have meant the nearby dry leaves and trees could have caught fire and even our house could have gone up. (Luckily somebody driving by stopped to let us know they were on fire). The democratic office here said that a bunch of Obama signs in town (we live on the outskirts in the country) were burnt too. Despite this the local news chose to report on a woman who was giving a reward for her McCain sign being stolen and made no mention of the rash of Obama sign burnings. I have heard out right racist statements from people here and I have heard the slightly veiled racist statement that "this country isn't ready for a black president and would be assassinated so we shouldn't elect one." It really is sickening.
Is it just me, or do accusations of communist and socialist leanings seem incredibly ironic coming from the Republican party right now? Isn't it the Bush administration that's been running around yelling about how we have to dump all this public money into our business institutions? Ah, the delicious irony...
MLK Jr. said himself that he ascribed to a "democratic socialism". I don't see how that's a bad thing. Some argue that he was the greatest leader our country ever had. Whenever I hear people using "socialist" as an insult, like it means you're evil, that's ridiculous, too...hold your heads up high, socialists :-)
God. I'm not going to lie. That ad almost brought tears to my eyes. Can't believe there are still people this fucking racist around in the 21st century. Fucking scary.