The Elephant in the Room is a Racist
Politico’s lead articlediscusses, in cautious tones, Democratic leaders saying, in cautious tones,that some people are telling them, in cautious tones, that maybe some of the opposition to Obama is fueled by race. Rather than pretending that the problem might go away if we ignore it, let’s just state explicitly what everybody knows: much of the most vehement opposition to Obama is fueled by racism. It isn’t all the opposition. For every protester who has photoshopped a picture of Obama with a bone nose piercing, there may be a dozen people who are embarrassed to be standing near that guy. But if the right wants their tea parties to be considered a mainstream upwelling of opposition to big government rather than a racist and nativist backlash, they need to disown that guy.
And then there are people who are only partially motivated by race. They are pretty sure they’re not racists but just don’t want that man to talk to their children he just doesn’t seem very American. Most of them would probably still be out protesting if Joe Biden were President—though they might see him as a little bit more “American” and a little bit less threatening. They might be concerned—but they wouldn’t be terrified. They might be upset, but they wouldn’t be irate. And they never liked the government that much—but suddenly their country doesn’t look like it used to. And they’re pretty sure that Obama is somehow their enemy—even if it’s unclear whether that makes him a communist, a terrorist, or a Nazi.
And this is the group that’s worth talking about. They combine ignorance with legitimate grievances. On one hand, it would be a shame to wholly dismiss somebody whose concerns are 95% valid over their 5% paranoid, racially-tinged delusions. On the other hand, you won’t get a lot of customers with the slogan, “Try our new coffee. It’s only 5% urine!”
Obama’s center-left policy proposals aren’t unprecedented. The angry reaction they have received from a sizable minority is. Even if you’re categorically opposed to Obama’s proposals, this should concern you. Some of the reaction may be economic anxiety—but we shouldn’t pretend that is all of it. Forty-five years ago, we turned fire-hoses and police dogs on high-schoolers to protect segregation. That sort of hatred doesn’t evaporate entirely in a few decades. Pretending it doesn’t exist, or that its influence is limited to a few tin-hat-wearing outliers gets in the way of actual policy discussion and dismisses something harmful and hateful as a mere eccentricity.
Here’s where my thoughts on the matter fizzle. I don’t know what to do about it.
