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June 3, 2008
Geraldine, The Race Card, and Clueless White People
While I can't discount some of what Geraldine Ferraro had to say in her recent Boston Op-Ed concerning aspects of sexism in the current Democratic Primary -- because all you have to do is look at every president we've ever had in our history, as well as the candidates who've run, to know that sex has mattered and continues to matter in who as nation we elect -- I just can't believe she's talking about race and racism again after she went completely batshit in March and then got her ass canned from the Clinton campaign.

I mean did Geraldine feel that demoralized (as she should have) from being called a racist that she now has to take up for clueless white people who think Obama is playing the race card, and are worried about "reverse racism" because she thinks it's going to vindicate her?

Apparently so.

The Race Card

I'm not saying the race card doesn't exist. Because it does.

It's nothing more than an ad hominem argument when a person is on the side of a losing battle, and even though there's absolutely no legitimacy to the claim of racism whatsoever, it's used so they can slither their way out alive.

But let's get it straight in saying that when people usually say someone is "playing the race card", that when the majority of pundits use that term, it's simply done because they can't see or won't admit to the real and legitimate part that racism has and still plays in our society; that many times it's people's own racism, indifference to racism, or simply a defense mechanism (because it's too hard to look at themselves) that makes them use that term in the first place.

It's an easy bandwagon for people to jump onto, and one that Ferraro seems intent on fueling.

The fact that she wants to be talking for the people who think Obama has been playing the race card throughout the campaign, and are frightened because no one's "calling him on it" is just mind-boggling, because Obama has every right to talk about race and racism in this country and how it can also affect his bid to be the Democratic candidate and President of the United States.

Just look at the white only club, good or bad, that has taken office, or the history of racism and equality for some that has permeated our nation, or simply a recent Washington Post article about the racism that his street teams have encountered.

Saying that Obama is playing the race card is like saying Sharon Stone really had something important to say when she said maybe it was karma that killed all the innocent people in China during the recent earthquake.

It's just fucked up.

I've heard that before

Ferraro also claims she and her new found supporters aren't racist but they just have "racial resentment", and that their fears of "reverse racism" are justified because Obama said "Our Time Has Come" and because essentially they're white and he's black, and because white people can't open up their mouths without being labeled a racist.

Are you kidding me?

Racial resentment is just a nice white way of trying to cover up being a racist.

Being afraid of Obama without any justification simply because he's black and they're white is like trying to justify the lynchings of black men because they dared to look at a white woman.

You can't.

It's rhetoric like this that also gives power to the notion that if a person of color is prejudice against someone who's white (wrong as this is), that this in some way is the same as the systematic racism that's been going on for hundreds of years when clearly the two aren't even close, even though we like to throw around the term "reverse racism" as if they were; in effect minimizing institutionalized racism.

At the same time, Ferraro tries to lump the segment of the white community who's educated themselves about race, and who aren't afraid to have real and courageous conversations about something like white privilege and who work to help end racism in this country, into the same boat as the people she's speaking for and supporting, even though each are at opposite ends of the racial awareness spectrum.

Put it all together and it's the same type of fear and hate mongering and obfuscation of truth that has been going on for years, and that's been the foundation for every piece of oppressive legislation against people of color since our inception as a country.

Did Geraldine think people really wouldn't notice that?

Posted by Slanty at June 3, 2008 9:33 PM


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5 Comments

hmm.... said:

i really want to agree with you, Slanty, and in fact i come into the issue already on your side--but your analogies are, well, just not very analogous. sloppy comparisons don't make your argument stronger...

claire said:

hey, why is someone posting under a pseudonym on the hyphen blog?

Slanty said:

hmm....: thanks for the laugh before my coffee *LOL*

claire: check out http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/2008/05/blogging-from-slantyville.html

Pauline said:

Geraldine: "It's not racism that is driving them, it's racial resentment."

What the fuck? "Racial resentment" sounds like a euphemism, if you could even call it that, for "racism" or some weird twist on white victimization. And what exactly is Geraldine Ferraro referring to, as the source of this resentment? If black people support Obama (nevermind the fact that this population has also voted for Clinton), this constitutes "reverse racism?" If white politicians make ignorant comments and are criticized for it, this is "reverse racism?" Is Geraldine concerned about "oppressing" the voice of white politicians? Give me a break.

And don't even get me started on the fact that one of the presidential candidates (rhymes with McBlain) has absolutely no qualms about including the derogatory term "gook" from his vocabulary - an issue that is BLATANTLY racist, coming from a white politician who is a POTENTIAL leader for this country - has not nearly splashed the headlines and political "race" conversations as much as the issue of Obama's campaign.

Plenty of white commentators (such as on NPR or BBC) have spoken intelligently and with cultural awareness regarding race politics. FACT: When you are white and talk about race, that does not mean you are racist. FACT: When you are white, black, Asian, Latino, etc. and you espouse racist beliefs - you are a racist. I don't believe in this bullshit "reverse racism", because racism IS racism - no matter what race it is coming from!

The key folks that have been playing the race card have been the mainstream media and politicians - the same ones she complains about as treating Clinton unfairly.

Thanks for posting this article Slanty. You've just revved up my morning...

autonymph said:

This is a fantastic post! Thank you for articulating just what is wrong with what Ferraro has been saying. I get so angry I can't even respond.

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