A reader who began a conversation by calling me a racist — a lovely way to ensure further discussion and a good-natured exchange of views — charges that I never denouce racism from the right.
But even a blind squirrel finds an acorn*, and a guy who charges racism with the frequency that most people blink will, at times, come across real honest-to-God examples of actual racism. He points today to this example of a newsletter by a Republican women’s group depicting Obama surrounded by a watermelon, ribs and a bucket of fried chicken, and it is indeed appalling, egregious, and inexcusable.
Beyond that, the excuse — “I didn’t see it the way that it’s being taken. I never connected. It was just food to me. It didn’t mean anything else” — does not fly in the slightest. Not only does the creator have repugnant views, she is a bad liar.
The article cites another local Republican group in California that wrote, “The difference between Osama and Obama is just a little B.S.” and that encouraged members to “Waterboard Barack Obama.”
Folks, as twenty-two months of blogging will tell you, the record, positions, associations and judgment of Obama are target-rich environment for legitimate criticism. Nobody ever needs to go to these bile-generating stereotypes. His skin color and his culture have nothing to do with why he would be a terrible, terrible president. I am shaken when I see people contradict this.
*The acorn, of course, then goes on to register 2,000 blind squirrels as registered voters in Ohio.