[Newsbot]

Filibuster Cartoons
Title: Dealing with Reid (click to view)
Date: January 12, 2010
So some guy who wrote some book caught Harry Reid, the Democratic majority leader in the Senate, saying some rather undelicate things back in 2008 about why he figured Barack Obama was such an electable candidate. I haven't been able to find a media source with the full quote, but evidently Reid said that white voters would accept Obama because he was comparatively "light-skinned" and spoke with "no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one."

Now that the book is heading to market, a brouhaha has predictably ensued, with those who have something to gain from exploiting Reid's embarrassment (ie; Republicans) exploiting away. The chairman of the GOP has called for Reid to resign, and other prominent conservatives have been generating all sorts of blustery outrage about what a double standard it would be to allow a liberal politician to get away with saying such things when we'd almost certainly crucify a right-winger who said anything comparable.

But other than his admittedly insensitive use of the word "negro," was there anything really that vile about what Reid said? It's obviously true that an enormous part of Obama's appeal was that he was articulate and handsome, and, rightly or wrongly, a lot of us tend to think fairer-skinned African-Americans without accents embody these qualities better than pitch-skinned ones with low, drawly voices. That's a controversial matter unto itself, obviously, but why do we insist on punishing people for reminding us of awkward facts?

[ManifestDestiny]

What if Sarah Palin sad the same thing?

[ManifestDestiny]

Quote:

But other than his admittedly insensitive use of the word "negro," was there anything really that vile about what Reid said? It's obviously true that an enormous part of Obama's appeal was that he was articulate and handsome, and, rightly or wrongly, a lot of us tend to think fairer-skinned African-Americans without accents embody these qualities better than pitch-skinned ones with low, drawly voices. That's a controversial matter unto itself, obviously, but why do we insist on punishing people for reminding us of awkward facts?

So in other words you are saying the light skinned blacks are smart and the dark skinned blacks are stupid!

incredible just amazingly incredible!!!

[Brenda]

Talking about the word "negro"...
On the 2010 US census forms, it is added. When you have to fill out your race, you can choose between:
-white
-black, african american, negro
-alaskan native, american indian
-japanese
-vietnamese
-korean
-chinese


and a couple of other countries that are named as RACE. I mean, seriously, WHO THE FUCK makes those forms??? Don't they have an editor???

http://2010.census.gov/2010census/how/i ... e-form.php

[commanderkai]

Brenda wrote:

Talking about the word "negro"...
On the 2010 US census forms, it is added. When you have to fill out your race, you can choose between:
-white
-black, african american, negro
-alaskan native, american indian
-japanese
-vietnamese
-korean
-chinese


and a couple of other countries that are named as RACE. I mean, seriously, WHO THE FUCK makes those forms??? Don't they have an editor???

http://2010.census.gov/2010census/how/i ... e-form.php

I remember, I think my family had to fill out the large census form back in 2000, and the words "Negro" let alone the various Asian choices weren't on there.

I can understand some of the options, due to those being US territories (Guam and American Samoa, for example) but not specific Asian nationalities.

[Ombrageux]

Nice cartoon. Poor Republicans and their hurt feelings.

[commanderkai]

Ombrageux wrote:

Nice cartoon. Poor Republicans and their hurt feelings.

I don't get it though, if this situation was reversed, and...hmm...let's say John McCain, when first hearing about Obama, said the SAME EXACT thing, absolutely nobody would pounce on him and call him racist?

[Zipperfish]

This would definitely be intersting if I knew who Harry Reid was.

[commanderkai]

Zipperfish wrote:

This would definitely be intersting if I knew who Harry Reid was.

Senate Majority Leader.

[Zipperfish]

ManifestDestiny wrote:

So in other words you are saying the light skinned blacks are smart and the dark skinned blacks are stupid!

incredible just amazingly incredible!!!

Well, I wouldn't go so far as stupid, but blacks score signfiicantly lower than whites in the US on IQ tests. About 15 points I think. This is borne out in worldwide studies from those scholars self-destructive enough to study such things.

They've crunched the numbers every which way, and tried to account for all variables--socio-economic, cultural--and blacks still come out lower. Drives liberal academics crazy, and is probaly one of the reasons that no one talks much about IQ tests anymore.

[Psudo]

Zipperfish wrote:

This would definitely be intersting if I knew who Harry Reid was.

Senator Harry Reid is the Senate Majority Leader, making him one of the top three most powerful people in US politics. Trivia: he's also the most prominent LDS Democrat politician in the history of that religion.

[N_Fiddledog]

commanderkai wrote:

I don't get it though, if this situation was reversed, and...hmm...let's say John McCain, when first hearing about Obama, said the SAME EXACT thing, absolutely nobody would pounce on him and call him racist?

Actually there was a case of the Republican, Senate majority leader making a perhaps racially insensitive comment.

Remember Trent Lot's comments, at Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday celebration?

[Zipperfish]

Psudo wrote:

Senator Harry Reid is the Senate Majority Leader, making him one of the top three most powerful people in US politics. Trivia: he's also the most prominent LDS Democrat politician in the history of that religion.

CommanderKai wrote:

Senate Majority Leader.

Thanks. Admittedly I get most of my news from this site, which probably isn't the best, but the underhanded point I was trying to make is that I've never heard of him up until now. But I guess he is actually a somebody, so my underhanded point ios kind of a dud anyways.

[martin14]

ahh, I see.. a person is only important when the Zip acknowledges
the existence...

So, if Zip doesn't know him, he isn't worth knowing...





So Zipp's homework will be to name the current minority leader.

[Zipperfish]

martin14 wrote:

ahh, I see.. a person is only important when the Zip acknowledges
the existence...

So, if Zip doesn't know him, he isn't worth knowing...





So Zipp's homework will be to name the current minority leader.

Googled it--Mitch McConnell. Never heard of him neither!