Politics of Hate category archive
The Meaning of Trump 0
Werner Herzog’s Bear looks at the news and hazards a guess:
By embracing Trump, the GOP may finally be admitting that they are indeed the White Man’s Party.
Follow the link and find out why he says that (and, no, the Republican Party will not admit that “they are indeed the White Man’s Party”; “plausible deniabilty” will be maintained).
The Dispossessed 5
Werner Herzog’s Bear ain’t buying the hype. He’s fed up with the
Since the first black captives were sold off the boat in the English colonies in 1619, racism and economics have been mixed.
Chattel slavery was an economic system in which a few gained wealth from the forced labor of others. Racism is a legal-social-political construct developed largely in the late 1600s in Virginia to justify that servitude as something that was “meant to be.”
The two are consequently intertwined, even as they differ in kind.
Racism has been a powerful tool to control not only black and brown people, but also poor white people, a misdirection play to get them to look away, look away, look away from political economy. As Lyndon Johnson said,
Mr. Bear is quite correct. That many of Trump’s supporters may be economically disadvantaged, as well as racist, does not make them or him any less racist. It does, nevertheless, provide cover for media to ignore the racism.
Indeed, media in the United States are adept at not seeing racism, even when the “whites only” and “colored only” signs stare them in the face. One needs look no further back than Andy Griffith’s gentle, mythical Mayberry to see this: A Piedmont North Carolina town with no, nada, zilch, not one black person.*
There are persons running for President who speak capably and knowledgeably about political economy (you and I may or may not agree with their conclusions, but they speak neither from nor to ignorance).
Donald Trump, serial con artist and recidivist bankrupt, is not one of them.
(Follow the link for the rest of Mr. Bear’s post.)
__________________
*It just occurred to me to wonder, was Mayberry a sundown town?
The Gathering of the Klans 0
Know them by the company they keep.
Final Notice: Payment Due 0
At the Bangor Daily News, David Farmer reflects on the docility as Republicans fall in line (and, sometimes, fall all over themselves) to support Donald Trump. A snippet:
In reality, only a few people had the courage to oppose the powerful forces of bigotry and hate.
(snip)
Today, Republicans must decide if they will support Trump, the authoritarian, the bigot and the misogynist, the reality TV villain who handily beat the Republican primary field and is on his way to the GOP nomination.
For Democrats, it’s an easy call. There’s no risk to me or other progressive columnists or politicians for calling Trump what he is.
But it’s a different story for Republicans, fearful of the short-term political consequences of bucking their party and their nominee. They’re worried about angering an already angry Republican base, about offending donors or being labeled as disloyal — or even worse, as a RINO (Republican in Name Only).
Richard Nixon sold the soul of the Republican Party when he adopted the odious southern strategy. Now the debt collector has come to call.
Plus Ca Change 0
Tony Norman suggests that the past is repeating itself once more all over again redundantly.
Read it.
Meanwhile, comes this from Paul Berge:
Image via The Bob and Chez Show Blog.
Variety Homogeneity Vacationland
0
At the Raleigh News & Observer, Jai Kumar, immigrant son of immigrant parents currently attending graduate school at UNC, cuts to the essence of North Carolina’s wingnuttery. A snippet:
Read the rest.
A Ticket To Rude 0
One more time, persons who complain about “political correctness” want nothing more than license to be offensive without penalty.
Chris-Crossed 0
Alfred Doblin marvels at Chris Christie’s allegiance to Trumpery. A snippet:
So I don’t understand how Christie can stand behind Trump with either a wide-eyed grin or a blank-eyed stare — depending on the moment – when Trump promises to ban all Muslims from entering the United States. Has the governor no shame at all, no respect for the Muslims living in New Jersey? Has he no respect for the good people of Jersey City who were defamed by Trump?
Doblin should not have to marvel. Even the most cursory reading of American history teaches us that, time after time in America, those selling hate find a market.
“Do unto Others” 0
A snapshot of Donald Trump’s America.
Dis Coarse Discourse 0
(Warning: Pap has been feeling the Bern. Take what he says about Hillary Clinton and down-ballot candidates with a grain or maybe even a whole damn lick of salt.)
Shaun Mullen offers his own take on the role of the media. Here’s a snippet:
Maine Governor’s Secret for Success 0
Shorter Greg Kesich: Hate sells.