March 21, 2008

News Alert : You May Be a "Typical White" Racist and Not Even Know It.

So, from what I'm hearing, Barack Obama's kinda racist-ish white grandmother is, according to Barack, a "typical white person" who has her kinda racist-ish attitudes "bred into" her as a fundamental part of her whiteness...or something.

Obama's campaign explained later that Barack didn't intend, of course, to imply that ALL white people harbor kinda racist-ish attitudes like his grandmother. Just MOST, I guess.

Now, Barack apparently thinks a "typical white person" is gonna get nervous if she's alone and runs into a black male stranger on the street. Although Barack didn't come out and say it directly, the context of the statement would seem to indicate that he considers this "typical white person" reaction to be kinda racist-ish.

Of course, any female (of any race), walking alone at night, who runs into a male stranger (of any race) and doesn't give at least a passing thought to what intentions that male stranger may harbor, is naive.

And whether we like it or not, just as a woman's reaction is gonna vary depending on whether the man is in a business suit or a do-rag, a "typical white" woman's reaction is gonna be at least a little bit different depending on whether that male stranger is white or black. Of course, the black dude in the do-rag might very well be a gentle, selfless missionary to the homeless and the white bread dude in the suit might be the next Ted Bundy, but random street encounters rarely involve resume swaps. Gut-level reactions are all you really have, based on experience, intuition and common sense.

If you're walking down the street and you hear footsteps behind you, would you rather turn around and see: (a) a white dude in a business suit or (b) a black dude in saggy pants and a do-rag? If you answered (a), you're probably a "typical white person." (Now, on the other hand, if you'd rather see a white thug rather than a black executive, you may very well be a racist.)

If these feelings are kinda racist-ish by Barack's own reckoning, then an awful lot of people, and probably the vast majority of people, are kinda racist-ish. If his grandmother's race-based feelings aren't a reflection of racism, then what the hell was Obama's point in bringing them up in the first place? In other words, what relevance does "typical white" grandma's vague fear of strange darkies have to Uncle Jeremiah's blatantly bigoted"I Hate Whitey" show? If none, then...WTF?!?!?

UPDATE (by Good Lt): LOL

ht: InstaGlenn