Posted by
John Caile on Friday, September 04, 2009 1:15:04 PM
Conservatives continue to miss the underlying reason for the Left's hurling of the "racism" charge at every turn. Even veteran political observers are "puzzled" or "confused" by the accusations, or they simply write them off as the usual attempt by the Left to avoid dealing with the substance of an issue by instead demonizing their opponents. But it goes much deeper.
For starters, most (though certainly not all) liberals see everything through the prism of "race." Their definition of "diversity" is a good example - the focus is invariably on race. Those on the Left have absolutely no interest in genuine diversity, such as diversity of thought or viewpoint. In fact, they have amply demonstrated that they will do anything in their power to silence those with whom they disagree - the obscenely misnamed "Fairness Doctrine" is but one example.
We have seen how "affirmative action" - originally conceived to prevent unfair discrimination, has devolved into a de facto quota system, where racial representation "by the numbers" is the only focus. And from welfare to the housing crisis, just about every policy of the Left is somehow tinged with the issue of race. They are marinated in it. They are consumed by it. It infuses everything they see, everything they hear, everything they do.
A friend of mine, a conservative, pointed this out to another friend of ours, a liberal woman who denied having any racial biases. He reminded her that whenever he refers to his friends, he simply says "my friend, Ron" or "my friend, Lenny" - but that whenever she speaks about any of her friends, she feels compelled to include a racial reference: it's always "my BLACK friend, Eleanor" or "my ASIAN friend, Sue." She was appalled at first, but at least she eventually had the integrity to admit that, yes, she was more than a little preoccupied with race.
But when it comes to the charges of "racism" against anyone who dares disagree with the policies of Barak Obama, the explanation is even more basic. It has to do with why so many of them voted for him in the first place.
It is hardly a secret that the overwhelming majority of Obama voters did not cast their ballots for him because of his policies - we all remember those hilarious man-on-the-street interviews where Obama supporters had no idea what his policies even were.
No, most of these people freely admitted that they voted for Obama precisely because of his race. It was simply "time for a black president" or they "wanted someone who looked like" them.
The result is that, in their twisted logic, since they voted FOR him because of his race, if you voted AGAINST him, you must have done so for the very same reason - his race. And even if you did vote for Obama, if you now disagree with his policies, well then, you are - voila! ... a racist.
Got it?