[...] speaking at the AFL-CIO Labor Day picnic at Coney Island in Cincinnati on Monday. Bookmark To: OPINION: Is Conservative Obama Backlash The New Racism? – newsone.com 09/08/2009 The decision by parents across the country to keep their children [...]

I can’t believe I’m the first to comment on this topic. Seems like we have more interests in who lil wayne is infecting or how big souljah boys chain is to comment on anything of significance. With that being said… No s**t Racism is alive and well in America. Keeping your kids home from school because the president is delivering words of advice and encouragement is ignorant at the very least and un-American at the most. The speech was what? 18 minutes? You miss a whole school day for 18 minutes. Child Please

if you feed some people sand and tell them it is steak then they will eat it with no questions asked some people fear the truth so they take whatever somebody give to them it’s just a smoke screen to cover up what has already been done divide and concour the people to control all the people it don’t matter what lifestyle you live or how much money you think you got it can be taken away at anytime cause money is not legal tender it’s just paper that tells you what it is worth why you think alot of people go broke cause they wasting money it happens but if you don’t follow orders everything you have is taken away and that’s real it all comes down to money or the truth eitherway there is a price to pay

I HEAR YOU FAM! NO ONE’S EYES’ ARE ON THE REAL PRIZE. RACISM IS ALIVE AND WELL, HELL SOME STATES IN THE SOUTH STILL CONSIDER THEMSELVES CONFEDERATES ON THE LOW, THEY DON’T KNOW THEY LOST THE CIVIL WAR. THE MAIN THING I HEAR TO HIDE A PERSON’S RACISM IS THAT’S THE WAY WE WERE RAISED. WELL THEY NEVER LIED WHEN THEY SAID THAT RACISM IS TAUGHT CAUSE THESE WHITE FOLKS ARE TEACHING THEIR KIDS EARLY. YOU DON’T HAVE TO RESPECT BLACKS EVEN IF THEY ARE THE PRESIDENT. THE MAIN THING THAT HIGHLIGHTS THE TRUE RACISM OF THIS INCIDENT WAS ILLUMINATED BY WHOOPI GOLDBERGS COMMENT’S ON THE VIEW THIS MORNING. SHE SAID, “IN THE PAST PRESIDENTS SPEECHES OR WHAT NOT WHERE WELCOMED WITH OPEN ARMS AND PEOPLE DECIDED AT THE END OF THE SPEECH OR EVENT IF THEY BELIEVED THE GUY OR THOUGHT HE WAS AN IDIOT.” THIS PRESIDENT ISN’T EVEN GIVEN THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT. THERES ALWAYS AN ATTEMPT TO DISCREDIT HIM SOME WAY OR ANOTHER. I KNOW WHAT THEY REAL PROBLEM IS. 2012 IS A LONG TIME AWAY AND THEY TRYING TO BUILD THEIR AMMO, I’M WAITING ON THEIR POLISHED DO GOOD UNCLE TOM OF THE FUTURE.

This is messed up how this is happening like this. It is out there in the open and people want you to believe that this is not about race.

It is not about race. The Republicans would be doing the same thing no matter which democrat got elected president. You have to admit that Obama is pushing a lot of boundaries and some people don’t feel like it is appropriate and others think it’s great.

Not every black person loves Obama. I know many who think he’s despicable. Just as many as worship him. Not every black has the same political beliefs. Come on… Isn’t it “racist” to think every black person thinks the same way or has the same politics?

It’s all a matter of opinion. And everyone is entitled to their opinion. This is the USA after all isn’t it? The Land of the Free? or is it? That’s something that is sadly becoming debatable.

Racism is definatly still a problem. I met a young man from the south who was proud of the fact that he was racist. Fortunatly everyone else in the room was honestly shocked and horrified that he was.

Then of course there is the problem of racist blacks who hate whites or “chino’s” or whatever, and racist mexican’s and racist chinese, etc.

This is a global problem, which is why the Cambodians slaughtered millions of people and the Kosovo wars raged for years.

Fortunatly in the USA racism that leads to death is uncommon compaired to those countries. Thank, God, eh?

Let’s call it what it really is, threats against his family rise by 400%.its putrid hearted,vermin white hate.they actually make plan to kill him and his family,they walk around buildings he’s in with guns and no one does anything and the news media loves it.no one could have done that with pres. Bush.this man is now the president,where are his protectors I’ve three good men he has protecting him but these white racist are determined. In this country they have killed white pres. What chance does this black one have against the racist republicans who are stirring up this hate which they know mindless racist will act on.they’re depending on it.white prople have always been able to make up causes and use these causes to build up their hate of blacks.genocide through lack of healthcare,homelessness and starvation are taking top long and the news media does’nt report on those things because white people don’t care about those issues.let the n****rs children be set on fire,beaten and tased,sodomised etc.you can smell the stench of white republican racist hate in the air,when walking through any poor neighborhood.

P.S. This is how the British destroyed the Indians. By pitting tribes against each other. Doesn’t it sound familiar? People pitting the Blacks against everyone, the Democrates against everyone, the White’s against everyone, the Chicano’s against everyone, the Republican’s against everyone, the Muslims against everyone, etc, etc, etc. It’s a common and useful war tactic.

Wonder why we can’t all see through it and get to some good old fashioned common sense…

There are plenty of white’s who commit crimes against whites too, grenshaw. And what about crimes against celebrities? Are any of those those crimes racist? What a goofy idea… Celebrity racism… Hate knows no race when it comes right down to it. People who burn others, etc are going to do those things anyway, it’s just a matter of what target they dicide to pick.

racist to the bone……..

@EldraMcCracken I would like to say I feel your pain but I can’t. The pain of such abject ignorance in not something I can relate to. I pity you and any other simple minded, or intellectually dishonest person who thinks this activity is not racist. Your defense of racist/white supremest behavior is beyond the pale.

@EldraMcCracken..I suggest you research and study what the “true” definition of racism is. I think you have confused racism for bigotry…Having said that, I agree, these attacks are NOT racist, but clearly stem from a collective, racist mindset…I do agree with Eldra when she says, this is about political ideology, but the fact that Obama is Black, appears to increase the amount of venom that is included with the so called attacks on ideas. ***WARNING*** You will see this type of sentiment increase as the unemployment number rises, and the amount of people whose unemployment benefits run out and are still unable to find work, increases..If you didn’t think this could/would get worse, keep your eyes open! America the beautiful? things are about to get really ugly in few days!!

Everytime I turn on my TV I see another angry face twisted up and screaming “Nazi” or “Socialist” because it’s not socially acceptable to scream “that N**ger is not MY President!!!!”. A quote from a White friend of mine who’s not a dumb twit. No it’s not about racism. Snark off.

A grand jury has indicted a man and two teenagers arrested last month on charges of beating an elderly black fisherman in a Baltimore park.

All three suspects are white. One, 27-year-old Calvin Lockner, is nicknamed “Hitler” and has a tattoo of the Nazi leader.

The victim, 76-year-old James Privott, was kicked, punched and beaten with a baseball bat. Authorities say his attackers yelled racial slurs and Lockner told police the beating would not have happened if the victim had been white.

Lockner, 17-year-old Zachary Watson and 16-year-old Emmanuel Miller were indicted Wednesday on charges including armed carjacking, armed robbery, first-degree assault and hate crime.

Privott lost two teeth and suffered a possible broken eye socket and spent a day in the hospital. This is not about racism, just political ideology? _A_, EldraMcCracken.

A few more quotes from some White friends of mine who don’t have their heads buried up someones ignorant ass.

The angry twisted faces are the children and grandchildren of the angry twisted faces during the Civil Rights movement. Intellectual inbreeding.

The tea bagger freaks and the town hall thugs are clearly a dying relic of the past that isn’t dead yet. They are the type of morons who scream “Go back to Mexico!” to a brown-skinned man who is a third generation American who doesn’t speak a lick of spanish and has a country western superstar’s concert shirt on.

Hell, they might scream “go back to Mexico!” at some poor guy who simply has a tan and is about as latin as my Norwegian behind is.

Who looks at that and hangs a movement on it?

How stupid do you have to be to think this is a viable path.

I find it ironic that even the freaks they kowtow to know that its not socially acceptable to scream the N word, and the Movement Conservatives know that its not socially acceptable to say ‘Obama better not be uppity when he speaks to the Congress tomorrow’ so they say “Obama should show humility tomorrow”.

But they still, bizarrely, are doing it.

Teh Stupid is powerful with these people, I guess.

One more clue to help you deniers out.

Wingnut decoder ring! (2+ / 0-)
Socialist = n****r
Muslim = n****r
Radical liberal agenda = n****r, n****r, n****r!
From a commenter on Daily Kos.

@BigJ97216….The article didn’t ask if that incident in Baltimore was about racism…clearly it is..This was asking if the attacks on Obama are..If you have been paying attention for the past 15 years you will find that the attacks by RW commentators towards liberals has always been vicious…However I did state, that these highly charged political attacks stem from racist mindsets, meaning, there IS RACISM INVOLVED!!!!!

There is no denial on my part, I’m quite aware that the level of racism has never subsided since we were brought to this country in 1555, its just not openly displayed as it once was!

A one word answer to the question YES ! Now as a people we need to do and incourage our fellow people to react and I would say the reaction should be one of which have change anything more that any other in this country.African Americans in this counrty have forgotten this word called boycott there is power in money if we have enough voices to respond to these Racist Rants of these people that get alot of attn: because of the news station and there isnt any other news that can be watched.Our leaders do not stand up for equallity or for what is right maybe from the fear of not being asked on the major network.PPL we know what to do lets GET IT done ! Answer this question and then think what should you do ! How many times in the past have you heard a sitting President called by his last name only not as President ONLY Mr. if we do not stand up for ourselfs no one else will ! simply when we see something wrong we should speak on it not hold it in

Of course it is, but neither side will admit it.
Obama wont’ say anything cause the Right will say he’s pulling the race card and the Left won’t say anything because it is so busy trying to stay above the concsiousless RIGHT

Yes, Conservative Obama Backlash is Racism, but the only thing NEW about it is that the U.S. has its first Black President. It is blended with the non-White “nuts” like Juan Williams and Larry Elder (can’t believe I looked at that ignorant man’s TV judge show). Cheney is the first former VP in modern era to “run to the press” criticizing a newly elected President before he can even get cozy in the White House. This is also the first time the media (CNN/FOX/MSNBC) give air time to the “losers” McCain and Quitter Palin every time they speak out about what the President plans to do in office. This is the first time we have a Black President, and racist White America (both Democratic and Republican) are buying guns in record number. This is also the first time I have ever heard practically ALL of Americans (politicians, media, general public, haters, alleged supporters) refer to a current President by his LAST NAME ONLY and not given the respect of the title he earned winning the election into the highest office of the land: President Obama. Yes, what the President is dealing with is what I dealt with working in Corporate America with racists. The difference – he’s being subjected to it on a larger scale for the world to see. Stop denying racism because Black men have sex with white women, and our President was conceived from such a union because it has nothing to do with racial equality nor is it a sign of “post-racial” America.

Yes, this is another comestic case of racism through the conservative agenda. Change will take forever and a day to happen in this country. The same people who are your so called coworkers, classmates, or neighbors can be the same racist bigots who secretly hate the President and Blacks in general.

racism racism racism (rolls eyes) – damn if the needle on that record isn’t stuck… – look (dear author and belligerent commentators) – welcome to politics! You can look back throughout presidential history and you will find that EVERY president feels the heat from the opposing party. Bush got it through claims of voter tampering inFlorida, Clinton got it with his 100 day in office smear, before that Bush Senior, Reagan, etc etc etc…

Of course there is a racist element in some small subset of the naysayers – but the majority of the people who speak out against Obama and his policies are doing so simply because he’s an extremely liberal democrat. Race didn’t matter when he was elected by the majority vote. Why do people keep insisting it matters now?

Most of us (independents) caught in the middle are also expressing our increasing frustration about a government (not party) that is seemly out of control. It started with Bush and these bailouts. Those that voted for “change” were disappointed to see Obama continue with the government bailout trend. Not much of a change – is it? Now the government is threatening to take over healthcare, banks, businesses – where will it stop? Those are all reasons enough to express discontent. The fact that we have an inter-racial president doesn’t even come into play here. Personally I could care less as long as long as he/she is competent. Right now I’m not seeing much competency on either side of the aisle, nor in any branch of the government – the President included.

To the question from BP “Is Conservative Obama Backlash The New Racism?”… was liberal/African American Bush backlash “The Old Racism”? Whoever writes this crap needs a swift wake up slap in the face. Simply put, to insinuate that every thing spoken against Mr Obama is potentially racist is completely ignorant. What you fail to realize is this man is in the position of most powerful man in the world and thus, his very actions will have pro and well as opponents.

Have you forgotten that President Obama, a “half white/half African” was elected President of the United States. If you haven’t realized this by now, he wasn’t elected by black Americans only. Believe it or not, many of “them” had to vote for him too for him to achieve this position.

So to question what is racist and what is not racist why not look into your own heart(s) and determine who in fact is the racist! I know this wont be popular to many of you but trust me, racism in America is fueled by those who scream racism the loudest. Oh, don’t get me wrong and assume I’m saying it doesn’t exist for ignorance and hatred shall live until the return of Christ. But get real people, sometimes I think Dr King lived and died in vain. 41 years later a “black” man is PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES and all black people can search for is what is racist and whats not!

In all our so called growth and enlightenment we seem more enslaved today in our minds then we were in our physical bondage.

I’ve reposted the following with the permission of the Author. This is for the racism deniers. I’m going to keep combating ignorance until they kick me off of hear.
Off the Deep End:
Reflections on Private Clubs, Public Prejudice and Racism 2.0
By Tim Wise
July 9, 2009
On the one hand, racism is so deeply embedded in the history and structure of the United States, that it shouldn’t be particularly surprising when a story emerges, indicating that indeed, said racism has bubbled to the surface yet again.

But on the other hand, sometimes a story finds its way into the public realm, which is of such a profoundly disturbing nature, that you can’t help but do a double-take: the kind of story that makes you go, huh? What the hell did I just read? Like for sure you must have seen that headline wrong. Like you must have been teleported back in time fifty years or more, to a period when folks didn’t even feel the need to pretend they were racially enlightened. Like you must be hallucinating, or perhaps this is a satire you’re reading, maybe something from The Onion? And then you realize, nope, it’s for real.

And so it was yesterday, when a swim club on the outskirts of Philadelphia made the news after expelling from their pool a summer camp group of approximately sixty kids of color from the city. Not because they had done anything wrong–no bad behavior, no inappropriate conduct, nothing like that, as they had just arrived and most of the children hadn’t even had a chance to enter the pool yet–and not because they had crashed the private environs uninvited (the camp had paid over $1900 for the right to swim there once a week), but because, as club president, John Duesler explained in a letter: the kids would “change the complexion and atmosphere” of the club. Got that? The complexion.

Of course, Duesler, about whom I’ll have more to say in a minute, insists that the decision wasn’t racial. Yet several of the youth denied access to the pool overheard a white club member openly complaining about the arrival of the “black kids,” and all but a few of the white children swimming when they arrived were yanked from the pool by their parents, in a move reminiscent of the 1950s, suggesting that the club’s racism is not some inanimate institutional force, but a lived reality for many of its white members as well. One woman at the club, for instance, fretted openly that the black kids might “do something” to her child. Of course, because that’s what fifth graders from the ‘hood do: they roll out to the ‘burbs, pretending to be interested in swimming, when really, the plan is to find some white kids and cut ‘em the hell up, in some kinda pee-wee gang initiation ritual. Of course.

continued.
That the expulsion was racial is beyond dispute, or at least should be. The club knew how many kids were going to be there when they accepted the membership fee, so they can’t claim they were overwhelmed by the size of the group, although they seem to be offering that as their excuse now that the story has gone public. And this excuse is one they offer, despite the fact that a mere twelve days before they expelled the black kids, the same club, in the same pool, hosted nearly 80 children (78 of whom were white), from four 6th grade classes from a local school. Apparently white children, even when they are part of a group that is almost one-third larger, magically don’t take up as much space.

Sadly, to read the comments left underneath the story at the Philly area NBC affiliate’s webpage, which was first to break the news, leaves one with the distinct impression that for a lot of white folks, there is no need for the club to devise a cover story. Rather, a disturbing number of white posters seem positively exultant that these children–who had done nothing wrong except, apparently, to be born and to live in North Philadelphia–were booted from the club.

To wit, among these postings, one finds regular and repeated reference to the “animals” from the city, others who claim that blacks don’t care for their own neighborhoods, and so, presumably, a group of black children shouldn’t be let into a white one, and comments to the effect that if blacks want to be respected (and not discriminated against) they must first “clean up their act.” In other words, whites are entitled to view all black people, even 8 year olds, through the lens of presumed group pathology, all because some in the black community engage in undesirable behavior. By which logic, of course, we should also presume that all whites are corporate criminals, because of the actions of Ken Lay, or Bernie Madoff, or the Savings and Loan bandits from the 80s.

Or perhaps that all white men should be presumed serial killers because of Manson, Bundy, Gacy, or dozens of others, or pederasts, like the sick-ass high ranking staffer at Duke University who was advertising for people to come and rape his 5-year old adopted black child, as he had already done repeatedly.

continued.
Perhaps it would be fair to think all whites to be semi-illiterate, because of, say, George W. Bush, or Sarah Palin, or to insinuate that white boys are all sociopathic animal mutilators because, as with a recent case in South Florida, most of the whack jobs who butcher kittens end up being, well, ya know, white boys. Or perhaps that whites are inherently predisposed to cannibalism or that white females should be banned from teaching because of the threat they pose to their students: after all, well over a hundred white female teachers have been busted for preying upon underage kids in recent years, and indeed the perps have been white in over 93 percent of all known cases.

But of course, none of those who would defend their racism in the swim club case–and who would assure us it is “rational” to fear black kids–would find any of the above examples nearly as logical. This, despite the statistical and anecdotal evidence that could be brought to bear in each case to make sense of crass generalizations in those instances too. No, they reserve their “rational discrimination” for the dark-skinned. Indeed, to read their messages is to see racism in the raw. The kind of thing so many pundits have assured us is no longer a problem in America, now that we’ve entered the “post-racial” era of Barack Obama.

Oh, and speaking of which, here’s the kicker: remember the above-mentioned club President? The one concerned about how the black kids might change the complexion of the place? John Duesler? Yeah, well, turns out, Duesler is no knuckle-dragging right winger. He’s no Klansman. Actually, he was a supporter of President Obama, and helped coordinate a blood drive in town to celebrate the Presidential inauguration. Even worse, he’s the chairman of Peace-Action Philadelphia: a collection of presumably progressive and even leftist types. This is what I speak of as Racism 2.0 in my book, Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama: the kind of racism that allows some whites to vote for Obama, and to carve out exceptions for those black and brown folks who make us comfortable, but to maintain fundamentally hostile views towards the larger communities of color from which these exceptions come. In other words, the kind of racism that says, black folks are fine, so long as they went to Harvard Law, speak a certain way, dress a certain way, and pander to our tastes. But for the rest of y’all, oh hell no.

continued.
In light of this latest incident, let me make the following points, and let me make them in the clearest terms possible:

1. I bet’not hear one more Northerner lecture me, ever about the South again. We know perfectly well our history down here. ‘Bout time you get clear on yours. This wasn’t Philadelphia, Mississippi partner, it was the city of brotherly-frickin’-love, so you and Rocky had best go figure it out, while the rest of us watch for a while. And for y’all in Boston, and Bensonhurst, and Greenwich-damn-Village, feel free to join in. Let us know what you learn about yourself. We got phones down here now, and even, occasionally, internet access, so give us a holler when you come up with something noteworthy.

2. I bet’not hear one more white liberal act like racism is the province of the right. Yes, racism itself is a decidedly reactionary philosophy, but it’s one that has long been embedded in the white psyche, and white folks’ worldview. As Joe Feagin explains in his newest book, the white racial frame has long influenced how white Americans, irrespective of broader political views, view black and brown folks, and this latest incident only demonstrates that with a vengeance. It is the white racial frame that frames, pun very much intended, blacks–even children–as pathological, socially dysfunctional, likely to misbehave, and unworthy of the opportunities enjoyed by whites. It is the white racial frame that serves to rationalize every injustice done to persons of color, no matter how blatant.

And it is that white racial frame which must be thoroughly challenged, exploded, destroyed, eradicated, before this nation can ever hope to achieve racial equity, or even the most rudimentary levels of social justice. So for those nice white liberals who thought voting for Barack Obama was gonna be their get-out-of-jail-free card the next time somebody brought up the subject of racism–sorta like a modern day version of “some of my best friends are black”–think again.

Oh, and finally, for those who insist on changing the subject with regard to this pool story, and insisting that “well, ya know, it is a private club and so they can do whatever they want,” you miss the point, and miss it quite badly. First, if a private club advertises memberships to the public, as the Valley Club did, there is an open question as to just how private it actually is. It may indeed be far less so than many claim, and may be bound by civil rights laws just as surely as a municipally owned facility would be. But more to the point, it doesn’t matter. This is not an issue about the right of the club to be racist. It is a question about whether it is right for them to be such. One may have the right to do lots of things. I have the right to stand on a corner and shout racial slurs at passersby of color, I suppose. I have a right to publish hate literature. I have a right to join the Klan. In short, I have a “right” to be as racist as I wanna be. But if I decide to do any of those things, you have the right, and more–the obligation–to call me an a*****e. And a racist a*****e at that. And to make my life miserable.

So let us exercise our rights, and do just that to the folks at The Valley Club. You can reach them via e-mail at: info@thevalleyclub.com. Or you can call them at: 215-947-0700. Their voice mail was full last time I checked (for reasons I think I can imagine), but at some point they’ll clear it out, at which point we should fill it up again. Or, if you’re white and feeling really creative, perhaps you can pay for a temporary membership and then go swimming. Just make sure to drink a lot of water before you go, and all go together. And then get in the pool, and then, well, I think you know the rest. It would be the world’s first piss-in,* and it would serve them right.

continue.
* I cannot take credit for the piss-in idea. This concept is borrowed, lovingly, from long-time social justice and antiracist activist/educator, Sharon Martinas, to whom all praise is due for her creativity and sense of humor in the face of injustice: a critical virtue in difficult times.

Tim Wise is the author of four books on race and racism. His website is timwise.org. He blogs at redroom.com and can be reached via e-mail at timjwise@mac.com.

Sick Heil:
Racial Paranoia, White Victimology and the Hitlerizing of Obama
By Tim Wise
August 11, 2009
If you get a chance, today or perhaps tomorrow, do yourself a favor. Look up some file footage, perhaps on YouTube, of Adolf Hitler, addressing his followers. I know, it doesn’t sound like the best way to spend your day, or even a few minutes of it, but trust me, there’s a point to the recommendation. While you watch, notice the unhinged shouting, the wild eyes, the veins on his neck, the psychotic bodily gesticulations. Then, take a look at footage from yesterday’s town hall meeting, called by President Obama in New Hampshire, in which he sought to lay out his case for health care reform to an audience that included supporters and opponents of his plan. Notice: no shouting, no wild eyes, no bulging jugular vein, no apparent sociopathy whatsoever. Indeed notice as the President actually seeks out questions from people who disagree with him, and then thanks them for making good points and raising legitimate concerns, even when the premises of their questions are dead wrong, and largely originated in crazy town.

Then ask yourself, is this the man that much of right-wing talk radio would have us believe is a Nazi? The political reincarnation of Hitler–ya know, the lunatic I asked you to watch first? Really? Really? Wow. Sometimes, it’s hard to know where to begin.

On the one hand, the comparisons seem literally bat-s**t insane. Especially when considering that at the same time folks are comparing Obama to the world’s most infamous right-wing fascist, they are at the same time calling him a Marxist, and a left-wing radical. Oh sure, they try and say that Hitler was really a leftist, ya know, because the Nazis were National Socialists. Of course. And hot dogs are made from puppies.

Anyway, it seems at first blush to make no sense. Any reading of the Nazi era makes it all too clear how far afield from the Third Reich the Obama administration is. After coming to power, the Nazis moved to outlaw all opposition parties, suspend the nation’s constitution, round up and detain their political adversaries (or better yet, kill them), and destroy the trade unions. All this, well before initiating the murderous campaigns against Jews, Romany, homosexuals and others deemed “life unworthy of life.” Needless to say, Obama has done none of this, has proposed none of this, and only the most truly unstable person could really believe such things were just around the corner. Although there are such persons to be found in the body politic, such as Ron Paul acolytes, Ayn Rand devotees and real estate agent/dentist/professional whack-a-doodle, Orly Taitz, surely even the most cynical would have to agree that the numbers of persons who seem to buy into this rhetoric far and away exceed the likely national percentages of the truly mentally ill.

And those propagating the comparisons–the Limbaughs and Becks and Savages, and Hannitys (who have the top four radio talk shows in the nation right now)–despite their fervent commitment to right-wing ideas, surely cannot believe that an American Reich is on the horizon. In short, they can’t possibly be serious.

So why then, do they keep saying it? It is this question that I’ve been pondering for the past few days. What could possibly be the purpose of making an argument that has so little intellectual validity; so little indeed that it can be easily shot down by the average 12th grade European history student (who, it should be noted, would have as much education as either Limbaugh or Hannity)? What would be the value, symbolically speaking, of putting forth on protest signs this Obama=Hitler meme, and visually representing that meme, straight down to the little mustache, side-swept hairdo and swastika adornment?

And then it struck me. This analogy, as absurd as it is factually, and as offensive as it is historically, makes almost perfect sense politically, to a movement that is trying desperately to create a groundswell of support behind the notion that white people are the new victims of massive discrimination, the new victims of the Obama era: the ones who don’t get picked first for the Supreme Court, and who can no longer take for granted their hegemonic power. And that is precisely the kind of movement they are trying to build, what with their equally facile rantings that white men, according to Limbaugh, are being sent to the “back of the bus” under Obama, because he literally hates white people, and that white men are now experiencing, to hear Pat Buchanan tell it, “exactly what black folks” experienced during the days of Jim Crow. Within a politics of white resentment and white victimology, the Hitler meme works. After all, Hitler was not just a fascist, but is understood to have been a racial fascist: one whose dictatorial and murderous schemes were directed at a distinctly racialized “other.” So to make the black man atop the U.S. political system into Hitler, is to plant the idea in white minds that he too will be a racial fascist. And if that is the case, the question is quite obviously begged, which race will he be coming for? Ah yes, white man, see? Now are you scared?

continue___

By playing upon white fears–fears of a black President with a funny name, fears of a country that within about 30 years will no longer be majority white, fears of the inability to take for granted that our Leave-it-to-Beaver, Norman Rockwell, Boy Scout-approved national narrative will continue to predominate–the right hopes to prove resurgent, and the GOP hopes to remain a living entity. They have all but abandoned any hopes of attracting large numbers of people of color. The writing in that regard is on the wall and they seem to very much know it. So they have retreated into the laager–South African imagery very much intended here–and decided to go all in as the party of nostalgia, a white nationalist party, in effect, whose only hope is to claim that the nation has lost its greatness, and that everything that made America, well, America (ya know, back in the days of segregation) has been lost. And that such a transformation, from a formal white supremacist state, to a multicultural society, is of course a bad thing.

In addition to rallying the troops of white backlash, the Obama/Hitler analogies also serve another function, one that would be immediately recognizable to most any psychologist. That function is called projection: when someone recognizes a trait within themselves, and then, ashamed of that trait seeks it out in others and locates it there, displacing the shame and self-hatred that might otherwise manifest onto someone else.

For these right-wing louts to accuse President Obama of being a racist, let alone a potentially genocidal one at that, is the ultimate in projection. After all, it is the right whose authors regularly publish books with hateful and prejudicial comments about racialized others, not Obama, whose own writing reveals a deep and abiding love for his family–all of it, including the white half.

It is the right that channels Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebells, every time they spew lies about the health care bill’s euthanasia provisions, or about how Obama is going to confiscate all the guns, or casting doubt on Obama’s citizenship, or about how Mexicans are looking to “reconquer” the American southwest, or about how illegal immigrants are a major source of leprosy and disease. All of these things have been debunked, time and again, and yet they are repeated daily, as if facts don’t matter. Because to anti-intellectual brownshirts, they don’t. continue_

It is the right channeling the thuggishness of the Nazi bullies by sending folks to public forums to shout and disrupt, and to intimidate people by carrying weapons.

It is the right that would like to smash the trade unions.

It is the right that stood by while the last president circ**vented the Constitution on such matters as wiretaps, torture, the primacy of international treaties to which the U.S. is a party, and the suspension of habeas corpus for suspected “terrorists.”

It is folks like Michael Savage–perhaps the most truly psychotic of the right-wing radio set–who has staked out positions of overt racism and even murderous intent. To wit, his comments of May 11 and 12, 2004, to the effect that Arab Muslims are “non humans,” who should be either forcibly converted to Christianity or slaughtered. Or his statement of April 17, 2006, to the effect that the United States should kill 100 million Muslims. Or his more recent comment to the effect that he hopes “far extreme, violent motorcycle gangs” show up at the health care town hall meetings around the country. Or his statement about liberal advocacy groups, suggesting “they have no place in America,” and that he would like to “round up every member of the ACLU and of the National Lawyers Guild and…put them in a prison in Guantánamo and…throw the key away” Or his pithy paraphrasing of a statement previously made by Nazi leader Hermann Goering, to the effect that when he “hears that someone is in the civil rights business,” he “oils up (his) AR-15,” and presumably not so as to have an intelligent conversation.

And speaking of Nazis, it was Pat Buchanan who said, in a 1977 column that the early Adolf Hitler–the one who suspended civil liberties, murdered his political opponents inside Germany, and set about to invade surrounding countries so as to broaden the boundaries of the Reich–was for all intent and purposes, a model leader. Prior to initiating the Holocaust of European Jewry, Hitler seems to have done little with which Buchanan could find fault, thus his claim: “If Hitler had died in 1937 on the fourth anniversary of his coming to power, he would undoubtedly have gone down as one of the greatest figures of German history.” Hitler was, to hear Pat tell it, “an individual of great courage, a soldier’s soldier in the Great War, a political organizer of the first rank” whose “genius” was in having such an “intuitive sense of the mushiness, the character flaws, the weakness masquerading as morality that was in the hearts of the statesmen who stood in his path.” contiue_

Yet Pat Buchanan, who also called for the U.S. to annex parts of Canada back in a 1989 column, so as to expand the size of our nation’s “white tribe”–an idea that Herr Hitler would have no doubt found exhilarating–remains a commentator in good standing on major networks. And so the right, which regularly espouses ideas resonant of the very fascism they would ascribe to Obama, gets a free pass, as they project their own darkest authoritarian desires onto others, with whom they cannot intellectually compete. And so they must bully. They must shout. They must drown out reason with volume.

And beneath it all, they hope that just enough people will listen. Just enough to build a movement rooted in white anger, white fear, white victimology, and the reassertion of white nationhood that they feel has been taken from them.

The question is–and it may be the only one that matters right now–what are we going to do about it, and by “we” I mean especially those of us called white? Are we going to let the hateful throngs define us, for us? Are we going to sit back while they seek to organize a politics of racial backlash in our name? Are we going to merely laugh at them and then move on, figuring that the threat they pose is minimal? Or will we stand up, demand that there are other ways to live in this skin, and choose to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our black and brown brothers and sisters who are, as they have long been, under such attack in this nation? Will we choose the road of antagonism or allyship?

Make no mistake, the future of the country may very well depend on how we answer.

Tim Wise is the author of four books on race. His latest is, Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama (City Lights, 2009).

@_KeithMD_and Papa-Jon, I dare you to check out Tim Wise’s website. I guarantee it will blow your mind as Tim is White not Black, you will find 10,000s of Whites that will tell you and other racism deniers you to wake. Part of the healing process is admitting you have a problem. I’m ready for the hate mail.

As far as I know and frankly am concerned, conservatives hate liberals and will oppose them at every turn. Do you think for a moment that conservatives would have welcomed a school speech from either Clinton? Or any legislative proposal?

There are plenty of examples of racism throughout our society without having to resort to reducing the issue to meaningless political sportsmanship.

Meaning, if you’re truly serious about racism in America, you should keep focused on issues which are singularly racist and thus easily identifiable as racist and not easily confused with everyday politics….

LOL

these white folks need to Shut The F**k Up ! look how the economy is ! did a black man do it ? NO ! Whites are the ones that built and run this government the way it is now today even with obama in the hot seat. And now they are mad because their ways got our country into deep s**t ? Every body in this entire world thats racist needs to grow the f**k up and realize that we are all the got damn same just with different background , beliefs and cultures along with colors. Just because you see a pink crayon in a box doesnt make it a crayon or a crayola. Its still a damn crayon and we are all still people. This country makes me sick ! The United States Of America ? Thats bulls**t ! It should be renamed to the Divided States Of America ! And this is exactly why I would not and will not go to war and fight for this country because I live in a country that tells me I am not equal or less than. We all need to be starting rallies in each state and city just like malcom x and martin luther king jr did and march our city streets country wide until every racist and every hate group takes notice so much that even their unborns will witness this movement ! Its time to do something ! now is a great time. We have a black man as a president and now its our turn to show him some support instead of being on this b***h bloggin and complaining. And i hope some celebrities read this too. And i hope they can contribute to a movement. any one with television access we need to start a movement. Lets bring back the days of history and start the movement once more.

[...] more here: OPINION: Is Conservative Obama Backlash The New… Posted in Black America Tags: bigj97216, election, health, nation, racism, sphere, white [...]

There are some White people that simply don’t get it or refuse to see truth. They are the “I have Black friends so I’m not racist, I date Black women but I’m not racist”. If you weren’t racist you would not be commenting on this story. Who do you think you’re kidding? Yourself. You need to read xl-611 stop talking stop denying the truth will set you free. By the way just because you have a few self loathing Black folks supporting your denial, what’s going on with the truthers, deathers, birthers, is racism/white supremacy.

The Obama critics are extremely harsh but I don’t think it’s all racism, even though racism is alive and well in the US. And if the secret service wasn’t doing their job, then Obama would have already been dead.

I think too often we give that part of White American too much rent space on our conscientious and sub conscientious minds respectively. I think these particle white brothers sisters, are still stinging from Obama’s momentous defeat of their way doing business as usual and most dangerously, their way continuously,conscientious imposing their will mentally on our peeps
As the question of newness,… no this part of the same ol Un Kool Aid, different flavor and a new, and thank God.. different day, and just a new twist of the same ol …..well you know..

Frankly I am not an Obama lover…I make this point to say that as president of the US he is and will always be subject to critism. Meanwhile…Bush…I hated the man for evrything he represented and he represented nothing good about this country.

Obama is president and as such he and those who beleive in his retoric will have to simply have thick skins afterall he is representative of ALL the people, not just some…..

Meanwhile many of the attacks, as we all know, are simply because he is a man of color…But hell..SO WHAT! We’ve been going through that for ages no matter how high we achieve….let’s just continue to achieve and live up to our true potentials and ignore the race haters and race baiters—from whatever hole they crawl out of—–

You know first off, i shouldn’t of even have to grow through this route, and i’m not even gonna say anything, but take a deep look at yourself! living in denial! But just like that old movie script goes, DAD, they just can’t handle the truth! An as far as the new racism, hell! when have we determined the point of origin on the old! I personally think the President should stick to the script, of the Obama House, and two, i’ve never seen one president in my life win the award of LEAST HELPED, OR COOPERATED W/ PRESIDENT! and the people’s choice award, should go to the people living in denial! But then again, that’s another movie script, but i’ll leave w/, don’t let that movie script be the reason why, karma grasped you!

Yeah this is the second try, but anyway i’ll make it plain and simple, I LOVE YOU OBAMA, BUT YOU DO WIN THE AWARD FOR LEAST HELPED, OR LEAST COOPERATED W/! i could go on for day’s, but as far as the new racism, when did we determine where the point of the old! Some times the old and new maybe the same thing! but that’s a whole nother movie! and believe me, the script might just have karma catching up w/ ya! but don’t worry, living in denial ain’t my thing! DAD, it’s like that ole movie script, they just can’t handle the truth! anyway news one i’m out, and Barack, get back to Baracks House, meaning if it ain’t helping, and moving in the direction Barack’s going, then it can’t be nothing but a BUMP! owww! and like i was saying in my first attempt, because, it take’s about ten times of determination and stubborness, just to get in a e-mail in!

I am pretty sure Obama was ready for this and worst but he has already been a success in the fact hat he has gotten elected and for the most part he has kept his cool and been about his business. The problems of this country were not going to be fixed in one term no matter who won. Obama is doing what he is doing and hopefully he can help start turn things around. The hate will always be there unfortunately. It is sad to say this but to say that hate will not exist in this world is to say that the devil does not exist so all you can do is have enough God in your heart to spread to people one at a time and do you best to help people see the truth.

Just because its clouds outside dont mean its gonna rain. Same rules apply with Hate/Love, Love can survive without Hate but Hate cant survive without Love

I see american hasnt changed much with the attitudes pertaining to color.
MLK said it best in the 1960′s interview.
“It is easier for a white person to let a black person eat at the lunch counter then to have a change of heart about people of color.”
The current events prove MLK to be right on point.
We shouldnt waste precious time worrying about what others hate about us. Life is to full of dreams and goals to be accomplished.

[...] RELATED: Is Conservative Obama Backlash The New Racism? [...]

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