Misdirection Play 0
(Link fixed.)
The Philadelphia Inquirer speaks sense on Teabags, the NAACP, and racism. A nugget:
Case in point, the beat-down the NAACP has been receiving for having the audacity to point out the obvious: that racists have been infiltrating tea-party movement gatherings because any criticism of America’s first black president gives them a buzz.
A resolution passed by the NAACP at its national convention this week didn’t say being a tea-party member was equivalent to being a racist. It asked the movement to condemn the extremists too frequently seen at its meetings who carry racist signs and make bigoted comments.
(snip)
Tea-party leaders such as Matt Kibbe, CEO of the conservative public-policy group FreedomWorks, say the movement has already made it clear that it doesn’t tolerate racism. Apparently, they need to make the point more strongly. Instead of acknowledging that fact, however, tea-partiers have tried to turn criticism away from them to the NAACP.
Two thoughts:
- No racist I have ever known has admitted to being racist. They have always had elaborate justifications to convince themselves that they have respectable, acceptable reasons for hatin’ on the black or the brown.
- Polls suggest that Teabaggers represent less–some indicate substantially less–than 20% of the population
while seeming to get 18,000% of press coverage. Take away the ones motivated significantly by racism, and the movement turns into a burp.
