December 14, 2010

Racist rhetoric fuels hate crimes

Racist rhetoric fuels hate crimes

By Valerie TalimanWhen Palin recklessly misinforms people that President Obama “pals around with terrorists,” and tells her followers “don’t retreat, just reload,” that language has profound effects on her supporters, some of whom are racists and white supremacists. She feeds their misguided anger.

Meanwhile, Dobbs, Limbaugh, Beck and others of their ilk use public airwaves to preach their particular brand of toxic, racist rhetoric--the kind that urge Minute Men vigilantes to hunt down brown people in the Arizona desert.

What’s most outrageous is that they’re highly paid by Fox News to stir up divisiveness, hatred and xenophobia that fuel a dangerous, growing racial divide in this country targeting people of color from all ethnicities.

Crowds of almost exclusively white Tea Baggers gathered by the thousands to hear the message that it’s time to “take our country back,” implying someone or something has taken it from them.

Ask Native America how we feel about taking our country back.

In border towns surrounding Indian reservations with long histories of racial violence, words that promote racism and hate have serious implications.

When a developmentally disabled young Navajo man was kidnapped and branded with swastikas in Farmington, N.M., I wondered how Palin would feel if that happened to her son, who is part Yupik Eskimo and has Down Syndrome.
Comment:  For more on Palin's views, see Palin:  Racism Is a Ploy and
Palin's "Real America" vs. America. For more racist rhetoric, see Conservative Website Calls Indians "Beringians" and Conservatives Giggle at Maya Goddess.

3 comments:

dmarks said...

"When Palin recklessly misinforms people that President Obama “pals around with terrorists,”

There was nothing reckless, nothing racist, and everything factual in this, mentioning Obama's personal association with Ayers, an actual terrorist.

"it’s time to “take our country back,”"

A phrase that was used by the anti-Bush crowd to the point that they practically trademarked it. A standard statement of both Left and Right in opposing the other side.

You have a good point about Beck, Minutemen, etc though.

There's enough real racism without "Crying wolf" and making claims of it where it does not exist.

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Rob said...

Ayers is one alleged terrorist, DMarks, not "terrorists." "Pals around with Ayers" might be true, but "pals around with terrorists" is a lie. It's a racist attempt to link Obama with Muslim extremists, the only group of terrorists (plural) most people know about.

Meanwhile, Donald Rumsfeld shook hands with Saddam Hussein and George W. Bush held held hands with Saudi sheiks. These Muslim parties have both sponsored terrorism. So would you agree that your conservative heroes also pal around with terrorists?

As for "take back the country," liberals were protesting a political takeover, not a racial or religious takeover. Therefore, "trademarking" the phrase itself is irrelevant.

Again, I've documented conservatives' racial and religious prejudice hundreds if not thousands of times. Your opinion that this prejudice doesn't exist is a worthless waste of our time.