As a child in the mid-60’s, my parents drove the family back east, to see the country. One stop, was especially memorable. It wasn’t crossing a river, or seeing a skyscraper…it was lunch at a Kentucky horse track. All five of my family members sat down and realized we were not getting any service. My dad walked up to the server and she told him “you’re sitting in the colored section”. When he returned to the table, he said we can find another place. I was very proud of my dad. It was moments like that, that helped open my eyes to the sins of yesterday, but also that the times were changing and that things would get better. While some barriers persisted, many were broken down.
Fast forward to 2021…all of sudden whites are bigots and have to take courses on how horrible their whiteness is. Incremental change is never fast enough for the progressive left. They look for every opportunity (crisis) to prove how open minded (woke) they are and try to devise remedies that do more to divide than to bring us together. Critical race theory, different graduations ceremonies for different ethnic groups, playing two national anthems before NFL games, easing of academic standards for ethnic minorities. These devices only serve to keep us apart, not bring us together. If you oppose legislation that basically panders to a certain ethic group, even though there would be no way to determine if it was helpful or not, that’s bad. You’re a racist.
I know, like you, it makes my blood boil…to be called a racist for being a Republican/conservative (by the way…it doesn’t matter if you’re a white or black Republican/conservative…more on that later). It’s the accusation the left makes because they have basically run out of good arguments. They lose every time in the arena of ideas…so they resort to insults and name calling.
The irony is, most right of center folks are more color blind than voters on the left. To the right, everything is not about race. in fact, most people I associate with do what they can to NOT make an issue out of it. Most of us grew up with affirmative action, equal opportunity in schools and at work. We were told the whole point of those programs was to create a level playing field. Most conservatives believe in equality, fairness, opportunity and American Exceptionalism…that if you put yourself out there, and work hard…you’ll be rewarded no matter what your skin color. I’d agree, there are still people out there who aren’t accepting and are intolerant of people not like them. But I could make a case that they are far out of the mainstream. Now, if an associate or acquaintance starts spouting off anything close to a bigoted remark, they are either called out or ostracized.
To the name-calling and finger-pointing left…they probably need to take a good look in the mirror. So many progressive policies either cause great harm to racial minorities, or are just out and out demeaning and bigoted. It’s time we flip the narrative and call them out for what they are.
Let’s start with the left’s obsession with voter ID. To most Americans, as late as 5 years ago, voter ID was considered a reasonable way to prevent voter fraud. But somewhere along the way, the left thought they would sound sensitive and magnanimous if they called out voter ID as racist…saying racial minorities have a harder time getting an ID, and therefore would be denied their right to vote. You talk about the “soft bigotry of low expectations”. Why is it that poor white people are resourceful enough to get a voter ID but people of color are not? It’s demeaning and patronizing.
Let’s move on to what happens to blacks who commit the blasphemous act of espousing a conservative viewpoint. It’s reminiscent of slave owners…how dare they move off the plantation? The satirical site, Babylon Bee, recently ran a headline saying “Sirens Blaring at Democratic Headquarters as Black Women Expresses Unapproved Opinion”. It’s funny, because it’s true. The level of bigotry on the left is no longer just a whisper among a few miscreants, it’s part of their platform. We saw the ugliness of their double standard illustrated in the past few weeks…when conservative, black commentator Larry Elder had the nerve to run against the patron saint of progressive causes, Gavin Newsom, in the California recall election. The racist campaign against Elder was vicious…and where did it come from? The left, the progressive left. They called him the “Face of White Supremacy”. It’s obvious to the left, if you are black, and don’t toe the line you must be racist.
Another issue, such as defunding the cops, can and should be considered racist as well. Most of the left leaning advocates of reducing the police presence represent urban areas, dominated by racial minorities. All cutting back on law enforcement would do, would be to increase the chances of being victimized by a violent crime.
Being called a racist used to be reserved for only the David Duke’s of the world. Now it’s anyone who disagrees with left’s world view. The right might be better served by flipping the narrative. It might serve the purpose of putting the progressive left on the defensive.
Next…The Fraudulent World of Fact Checkers
Can you provide some examples of how "progressive" policies have caused harm to racial minorities?
What is the "right" doing to help more minorities get voter IDs so they can vote more easily?