Confused? Me too. This is how I feel right now.
Last week we looked at Herman Cain’s place in the Black community…well, now CNN is claiming that Cain’s race isn’t as important to conservatives as it used to be. And it’s got me ponderin’.
See, I’m baffled. Damn near dumbfounded. I almost feel like I’m sitting in some alternate reality where Michael Jackson is Black and it doesn’t matter if you’re Black or white.
Why, you ask?
Well, for the first time in history, it seems like nobody in the Republican party realizes – or cares – that Herman Cain is…wait for it…
…wait for it…
…Black.
Now either the majority of Black people are indeed full of sh*t or something odd is going on. For years, Black folks have been shown, taught, and reminded that race was as important a factor in our lives as our education, money, or Tyler Perry. There’s a popular meme in the Black community that no matter who you are or how much money you have, you’re still just an educated n*gga with money.
Yet, somehow, Herman Cain seems to be in a plausible position to push forward and actually secure the Republican nomination for President. Is it possible that we could have two Black men competing for the nations’s highest position?
Like, for real?
Just to keep it gully, I think Justin Bieber has a better chance of making it into a BET cypher than two Black men running for President, against each other. I think that welllllll before we get to the formal nomination Herman Cain will say something else ridiculous (akin to his belief that people in that small Tennessee town were right to stop a mosque from being built on land owned by the Muslims building the mosque or electrocuting Mexicans) or somehow fall out of favor. Will it be solely because as we get closer, white people will somehow wake up and realize, “hold the phone, that’s a Black man up there”? I don’t know. And to be fair, I don’t actually think that everybody’s racist.
But I can’t lie, I’m surprised by the fact that for the first time in Black history, a man’s policies and principles seem to be touted by the party that currently and almost intentionally seems to have the least amount of color amongst their representation. I’ve seen coworkers sing his praises with happiness and tout his plans. And yes, Virginia, they’re white.
Hank Williams, Jr, in the now famous segment that got him kicked out of Monday Night Football lore, said that Herman Cain was the only GOP candidate that made any sense.
Hear ye, hear ye. Hold me.
Would his ascension to the Republican nomination be proof that we are truly living in a post-racial world and that the vast majority of us Black folks complaining about race need to shut up? No. I will forever feel like white people view certain members of our populace as exceptions. Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Herman Cain, etc. These aren’t regular Black people.
They’re different.
And they’re all politicians of sorts. Herman Cain’s biggest asset seems to be knowing how to say what white people want to hear. It’s a true skill, trust me.
Interesting enough, all of the racial rhetoric coming out of the GOP involving Cain seems to be coming from him. He seems to be touting a certain type of dissociated Blackness, which is why so many Black people don’t trust him. He’s speaking all of that “you can do it because I did it, by myself” non-sense that gets many people labeled modern day Uncle Toms. It’s an interesting sort of alienation politics that grants him good favor amongst white people (his entire base at this point) and pisses off nearly every Black person within a 1-mile radius. Even his alma mater (and mine), Morehouse College, isn’t exactly singing his praises right now. And amongst the HBCU circuit, this might be the first time nobody wants any part of this competition.
While there is some truth to what he’s saying – for a significant portion of us, our failures are largely our own doing – to ignore the centuries of institutionalized racism is probably as idiotic a mentality as one can have. We have plenty of proof via actual studies about people with ethnic names not getting called back for job interviews while “mainstream” named people (think Jim, John, Beth, Sarah) get the opportunity to interview for a job. And since jobs are a big part of the current political landscape, I think that very real study is telling.
Some of the excitement I’m reading about the Tea Party and GOP’s approval of Cain almost seems ironic. Their excitement is largely driven by proving to people that they aren’t racist. It’s like learning play jazz flute in order to tease the kid up the street who plays jazz flute. If they support a Black man, they cannot inherently be racist. Further, Herman Cain’s popularity proves that race isn’t a big deal.
Yeah, we’ll see when it comes time to pull that lever. Granted, we’re still a long way away from a formal nomination which is why I think that these conversations keep happening. Nobody really seems happy with the current crop of candidates anyway so Cain is something like a positive by not being so negative for the GOP. But I can’t lie, I might have to eat my hat if he actually were to get nominated by the Republican party.
The larger point still remains though: I’m completely surprised by Cain’s success at this point because he is, indeed, Black. It honestly seemed like so many people who disliked (and still do) President Obama did so for very little more than petty reasoning, which makes the race card seem appropriate. His entire presidency has seemed like he’s been running from behind because everybody wanted him to fail. You can’t ignore the big elephant in the room.
But somehow that doesn’t matter with Cain…yet. So maybe we are in a post-racial world. Or not.
Talk to me AFTER he gets nominated.
Does Cain’s popularity amongst the GOP indicate that we are in a post-racial America? Or are we watching an early form of the Bradley effect taking place? Or more sinister, do you Republicans are just trying to make a point??
What gives?
-VSB P aka THE ARSONIST aka THE LESSER HALF aka GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRL HE A 3
[ADMIN NOTE: At midnight on October 20, we're going to take VSB offline until next week while we finish handling all of the site issues we seem to be having. Most people seem to not be suffering from random f*ckery due to our site being hacked but enough are that we need to go offline to fix them. We'll be back on Monday. Thanks for sleepwalking with the kids and sorry for any inconvenience. Posse out.]
I think Cain has a Wayne Brady kind of effect on people…otherwise I don’t see what the big deal is about him or why his race matters so much. o.O
-.- I’m too young for this sh*t…
I think you might have called it. He’s non-threatening without trying to be non-threatening, if that makes any sense.
A Wayne Brady effect? I beg to differ. Herman Cain’s speaking style is so no-nonsense that it’s almost aggressive. The man has fire in his belly. Double Dragon. Wayne Brady? Not so much.
And Cain speaks with a Black Southern inflection (which is quite distinct from a White Southern twang) that is unmistakable. His Black style of speaking goes hand-in-hand with his fiery speech. It’s like he’s using our powers against us!
Sometimes I wonder if Cain is “Captain Pollution” to Obama’s “Captain Planet.” Did Barry Goldwater spawn him from the DNA of MLK and Malcolm X? Was he engineered in a lab by the GOP? Have we finally reached the predicted apocalyptic future when the Republicans would be come self-aware and select a Black candidate?
Probably not. Why? Please do some simplistic math with me:
Cain = Successful Executive + Christian Appeal
Romney = Successful Executive + Successful Governor + Whiteness – FlipFlops
Therefore…
Romney = Cain + Successful Governor + Whiteness – Christian Appeal – FlipFlops
End of proof
This leaves us with three scenarios…
If the average GOP voter values “Successful Governor + Whiteness” more than “Christian Appeal + Decisiveness”, Romney wins the nomination.
If the average GOP voter values “Christian Appeal + Decisiveness” more than “Successful Governor + Whiteness”, Cain wins the nomination.
There’s a third scenario where the average GOP voter values “Christian Appeal + Decisiveness” as much as “Successful Governor + Whiteness”, which would require a coin flip.
It seems like the first scenario is the most likely to occur: in terms of importance to GOP voters, Romney’s political experience (withstanding Mass. Healthcare) should outweigh his Mormon background and his flip-flopping on issues.
Profound good sir, profound….
i know you’ve allocated for whiteness as a plus…but i still think you have to add blackness as a minus, and that that’s not redundant.
having come of age in the golden years of the chappelle show, i use stereotypes–especially racial stereotypes as an analysis tool…
i agree w/you that herman cain comes across as aggressive–aggressively ignorant, although with crimson-necked crowd, this passes as “no nonsense”.
i think taking cain as a serious contender is a joke, although i actually would love to be wrong. the uncle ruckus-booker t. hybrid from stockbridge who sells the pizza is NOT going to get the republican nomination. am i saying that just b/c he’s black? why, yes. yes, i am.
i think conservatives really do believe that Cain as a candidate would help them gain more black votes, and that some white repubs would vote for him, too. but people still believe the american president is “the leader of the free world” and i do not believe the same people who were all up in arms about Obama’s birth certificate want to see an ignorant black man from GA up in the white house.
that being said, my opinion is also predicated upon continued tea party influence & occupy wall street…i see the “occupy wall street” movement catalyzing the tea party in opposition…if OWS continues to gain momentum & international support…that will push the Dems a little to the left…i assume it’s more likely that it would also push conservatives closer to the center, rather than father right…but i think the latter is a possibility.
Mathematical proofs = yummy
I think the republicans do care. They see his race as an asset to winning a race against Obama plus he’s a “real conservative.” Think Micheal Steele as head of the RNC after Obama became president. It’s a reflex, and sometimes people aren’t aware they have racial biases.
Herman Cain isn’t Black. He has re-vitiligo.
On a serious note, I feel that Black Republicans are often supported by pale skins because they both believe that Black people are disenfranchised because they just don’t work hard enough. Ideology knows no color, so as long as Herman Cain is talking that talk then he will be supported by Republicans.
I, for one, don’t trust them new n*ggas over there
Truth
And this is why McGruder needs to come back for a 4th season…
I don’t believe them, they need more people…
Herman Cain is merely a pawn just like Sarah Palin was a pawn. The GOP thinks that minorities and women are idiots. With Palin, it was like ooooh dangle a woman at them for VP they won’t vote for Hilary Clinton. Now they’re like dangle the token blackie at us and we won’t vote for Obama… but what they don’t realize is… we actually vote on some basis of policy and basic intelligence GASP ’tis true.
So no we are not post racial, whatever the hell that means. Once they realize that nobody is checkin for uncle Ruckus, they’ll drop that ninja faster than Alan Keys… who? right…
Alan Keyes*
I totally agree I’ve listened to this Cain off and on and I’m just not buying it….He’s saying a whole lot of nothing as far as I’m concerned…and I’m still voting for President Obama in 2012 because he has really tried but those bunch of a**holes in the House and Senate won’t cut him a break..
I agree they won’t cut Pres Obama a break. I like that Pres Jimmy Carter came to his defense about the obvious skin color issue…
I’m still voting for President Obama in 2012 because he has really tried but those bunch of a**holes in the House and Senate won’t cut him a break..
the problem is more than voting for Obama, ppl need to ALSO be voting for their reps/senators who are supposed to be there to AID the POTUS in passing legislation. ppl think its only enough to vote in presidential elections when congressional elections is just as important.
so we cant blame these “bunch of a**holes” in congress for not cutting him a break, we need to be blaming those who voted them in or didnt vote any one in at all.
yup
http://www.salon.com/2011/10/18/voting_not_ows_will_save_america/
You hit the nail on the head. They vote based on image and assume everyone else does. That’s why as soon as Obama was elected they trotted out every token they had, Bobby Jindal, Nikki Haley, etc…
If you need any indicator of how the GOP will ultimately deal with Herman Cain you have only to look at Michael Steele. He was supposed to be an indicator of the post-racial Republican party too.
Please don’t put my state’s Governor (Nikki Haley) in the same sentence with The President. Had SC Gubernatorial election fell on 2008, I’m pretty sure she would have lost by a landslide. Plus South Carolina has a history of running weak democrats.
I think Herman Cain (if he wins the nomination) will suffer the same fate as Alan Keyes vs. Barack Obama (circa 2004). Keys straight up gotten his a** whopped.
Nikki also won here because her nearest GOP comp, then Lieutenant Gov Andre Bauer is a mess. The GOP hear hates Nikki with one guy calling her a “rag head” but she won because she’s not a Democrat. Honestly, I think some folks thinks she’s a Native American and not an Indian.
According to the news, ole Andre is planning to run for the new SC07 congressional district. Even though he doesn’t own any property or never lived in the district.
Ahhh, good old SC politics. Can’t say I miss it. But I do love to hear my parents go in on all of the nonsense, both locally and in Columbia.
” That’s why as soon as Obama was elected they trotted out every token they had, Bobby Jindal, Nikki Haley, etc…”
So true…I thought I was the only one that noticed…I think Michele Bacchman is a token too…kinda like a watered down Hilary Clinton
She is Hillary Clinton minus the intelligence, reasoning, and gravitas
Yea I would rate Bacchman closer to Sarah Stupid Palin..
Are you suggesting that Libya is in Africa, then? https://twitter.com/#!/lheron/status/126477143298416641
Awesome comment and I wholeheartedly agree.
i agree
“Herman Cain is merely a pawn just like Sarah Palin was a pawn. ”
Pretty much. The latter of which just happen to REALLY backfire to the point where even members of the Republican party was like, “Um, McCain… the HAYLE are you doing, yo?!”. Choosing her as a running-mate really had a huge impact on how easily Obama won.
Though I think they both are similar in that they have ridiculous platforms, like Panama said, no one in the media really mentions Cain’s race. Whereas it was ALL about Palin’s femininity during the last elections. Maybe this is because we’re a little de-sensitized to Black men being in the frontrunning position of a political office seat, but then again… that de-sensitization doesn’t apply to Obama himself, so maybe not.
While I agree Cain is being used as a pawn, they’re being a bit more subtle with it…
just a few years ago, Obama’s race was constantly being brought up. ppl are only voting for him bcuz he’s black, not bcuz he’s qualified or the most suitable candidate. i mean, he had so little experience in Washington, how could he be a good choice?!??! Obama’s race was the only thing really attributed to his popularity.
yet here Cain is, a large business exec, with ZERO legislative/governing experience, and all of a sudden folks act like he’s this great presidential candidate who just so happens to be black.
*record scratch* (o_O) oh.
i dont think this has anything to do with being in a post-racial America. it just simply means the GOP and their sheep are full of sh*t. and we all knew that anyway. so….
carrying on….
Yep…pretty much
I thought the exact same thing. Any sane person would.
+1. We all know the GOP is full of s*it. lol. The way this it going, this ninja will probably come in second in the delegates. And probably will end up as the running mate for Mittens McFloppy (Mitt Romney).
basically.
*daps Gem Jones for this entire comment*
With the former, those folks who were seriously saying that about Obama were on their stupidity swag, whereas now, those same folks think WE’RE stupid.
Ya’ll ain’t slick. lol
Please explain what “post-racial” means to me. Yeah I could google it but that wouldn’t be fun. It sounds like race no longer matters and we are all seen as equal human (minus Drake) beings. wtdta?
Just because he’s Canadian, doesn’t mean he’s not human…
I know I heart Drake…that’s all
+ 1
He’s clearly the missing link between man and beast. His SNL song was funny though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg0DzHQrDXA
I’ve always had a thing for the Tarzan types though…
And I told you he was funny, not just funny lookin
I think Drake is kinda sexy….
So that means you think that this dog is cute. lol
http://images.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/Droopy-Dog-cartoon-classics-299389_1024_768.jpg
Omg…that pic was so unexpected that I am in tears!
I’m going to bed now! Lmao!
And yes…Droopy is sexy too! Lol
Droopy was able to get Rita Moreno at one point wasn’t he? <- Proves Droopy segsiness
lol when a man is funny its ok for him to be funny lookin (his interview on jimmy kimmel was very entertaining)
lmao! I like the Canadian’s gave us Blackberry and Caribana.
Welll… 1 out of 2 ain’t bad. Viva Caribana.
He might be an illegal alien though.
I got to the Justin Bieber/BET Cypher mention & had to stop. Literally just read that story & it made me thank basedgod that Preemo put a stop to that, quick, fast, and in a hurry! Smh.
**Ok, now back to your regular scheduled programming…**
The fact he didn’t even want to write his own rhymes? Floored me.
The fact that I’ve never heard him rap EVER and yet he wanted to be a part of a cypha….
…in ANY WAY SHAPE or FORM floors me. Even now.
*one teardrop for hip-hop*
Exactly. Stick to effin singing. He did those lil 16 bars on Chris Brown’s (another dude that needs to sit the F down) latest mixtape, so now he thinks he’s gotten the official hip hop pass. Rap is already goin down the drain & this mess would’ve made it worse. DJ P even said he might’ve had a shot if he wrote his own rhymes, but that lil twit ratted himself out! Lol. Ugh, just irks me!
#annoyed #mybadyall
By a show of hands, how many of y’all would agree to be in a Cypha with Bieber even if he wrote his own rhyme? Anyone?
Yeah I agree with you, he is a pop artist – he should focus on that.
Is he trying to cross over from pop (?) to rap or something?
I think he’s trying to Joaquin Phoenix the world with his “rapping.”
I think hes a teeny bopper that has black friends and vibes with black culture.
i think its just further proof that deep down…every young artist coming out nowadays wants to be a rapper.
I honestly feel its a re-branding strategy by his management team. They’re trying to have another bubblegum rapper to compete w/ the likes of Diggy Simmons, etc. But it ALSO proves that image is more important than actual talent these days.
*sad sigh*
Beiber was trying to rap?…*dumbface*
*in my valley girl voice*…”OmG! No Way”
His rap alter-ego is “Shawty Mane”. Why? I could say more but I’ll hold my peace.
Shawty Mane??? o.O
I want to believe ur kidding SO bad! Lol
I thought that was a little unnecessary on Premo’s part to let that out there. But i guess you gotta protect the integrity of the BET Hip Hop Awards (which was swept by a song by an R&B singer)
I thought it was interesting that Preemo would let him get in the cypher anyway. Not that I’m against the tyke’s ability to spread his rap wings but after he, Kanye, and Raekwon almost gave the hiphop community a heart attack with “runaway love” (over the “wu tang clan ain’t nuthin’ to f*ck wit”" beat, I’d think that Bieber would be on a near permanent time-out.
You hit the nail on the head with noting he says exactly what white people want to hear. He represents an ideal, safe, negro. Most importantly, it is clear that he prides himself on being an individual and not a part of “the black community”. There is a lot less power in thinking as an individual rather than thinking about collective goals.
I think a part of his point is that blacks aren’t individuals enough and for too long have voted as a collective for only the democratic party when a lot of blacks are way more socially conservative. He sees himself aligned more with republican values and isn’t afraid to vote that way.
I feel that even though Obama identifies himself as black, he doesn’t try to cater to the black community simply bc he is black. You are the president for everyone, not just the people that look like you.
I guess my question is, if you really are a part of the republican party, what’s wrong with priding yourself on having other viewpoints that don’t align with what the majority of your racial group feels? Or is it the pride in the disassociation that people seem to have a problem with?
+1. Herman Cain really ain’t much different than a lot of older black people we know. Most of them are closet republicans (really conservative views) that happen to vote democrat.
CHURCH!
THIS IS THE TRUTH!!!! they are simply conditioned to vote democrat but they are conservative as HELL!!!
I think alot of black people are more republican than they think, but the homie Pres Clinton was a democrat so they rocks with the Democrats
And so many of the Dems seem to worship Clinton the way Reps worship Reagan.
Your social views can be as conservative as you want, but when the economic policies do everything in their power to disenfranchise you, you are going to be willing to not give two f*cks on gays getting married in order to have a place to live. It doesn’t help that Republicans utterly despise black people.
Then again, a lot of those same economic policies disenfranchise working-class Whites, but they give a f*ck about gays getting married. And don’t knock the so-con hustle. Older Blacks in states like Ohio and Michigan are what got Dubya re-elected. It’s just that no one wants to admit that now.
Thank you Todd.
Sorry to tell you but you are speaking about the majority of the Republican base – an economically disenfranchised group who only vote due to social issues. Also, saying that the republican party is full of racists is like saying that the democratic party loves minorities. It aint all true.
And a lot of older southern black Evangelical Christians only vote on social issues. I’m from SC and I see it every election cycle. People voting against their best interests.
People who aren’t from the south tend to think that everyone votes for their best interests. I have seen the poorest of white people vote republican all day every day simply because of social policy. The whole smart voter thing is, for the majority, an extreme myth. Republicans have mastered the art of appealing to people’s emotions and getting a major disenfranchised group to vote for them. If dems want to win every election down south, stop touting numbers and graphs and figure out a way to get southerners ticked off at the group that is economically hurting them.
Maybe I view the Republican ideology differently, but I don’t think most black people are under cover Republicans. It’s true that we have some conservative values, so does much of the Latino community, but I don’t think either group (based on their conservative characteristics) in ANY way embody the Republican ideology spectrum
We do not believe in a minimalist approach to Federal Governement
We do not believe in “Strict Constructionism” when it comes to the Constitution
We absolutely believe in gov’t intervention
We are not Champions of “States Rights”
We believe that gov’t has a role in helping people thus we believe in…
Affirmative Action
Head Start
Pell Grants
Accessible and Affordable Health Care
We support just about any program for the poor (cause more often than not it’s us)
We support unions
We support living wage
We see inequity in the justice system
We do not support racial profiling as a tool against illegal immigration
We do not believe that the free market is inherently fair that tax cuts create jobs and that making the rich richer somehow helps the poor (Republicans believe in some Trickle Down – we do not)
I mean I could go ON and ON. Yes we have some conservative values, but IMO we are NOTHING like Republicans and I think it’s dangerous to continue this false meme that our conservative values are essentially Republican but we just vote Democrat.
First, I think that you are giving everyone too much credit on your points above. Ask any democrat or republican, black or white, on what makes them a dem and they couldn’t list half of the points that you listed. Older blacks are more socially conservative hands down and no one can say otherwise. Many people vote the way that they vote simply b/c of the R or D beside the person’s name. How many times have you gone to the polls and only known 2 people on the ballot but b/c they either had a R or D or even I, you voted straight down party lines?
Second, my point wasn’t about whether or not blacks are more conservative, my point was simply that: I think a part of his point is that blacks aren’t individuals enough and for too long have voted as a collective for only the democratic party when a lot of blacks are way more socially conservative. In other words, people don’t look at another party’s views simply because we are all programed to vote one way.
Third, i would really like for someone to answer my 2 questions since the write above spoke about being a part of the collective.
+1. I didn’t really expanded upon my comment earlier. You will be surprised at some the views when you talk to a few well off older blacks (college ed, rich and religious).
That is why this country need a viable third party. B/C a lot of people (I would even include myself) are pretty much in the middle with their views.
First, what is socially conservative changes with context. The same black people who were socially liberal in fighting for Civil Rights you would characterize as socially conservative for also being deeply religious. But there is nothing socially conservative about the CRM.
Many people vote on core issues or ideas. We generally know who supports unions and we know who generally favors free market. We generally know who supports gun control, and who is aligned to the NRA. We generally know who is pro-life and who is pro-choice. If any of these issues (or others) are hot buttons for you – you are going to vote for the person which is best aligned to that position and generally those positions are well defined and well known because they are well advertised.
As for your second point, it seems to be a counter point to something I didn’t actually say (blacks more conservative?) I don’t understand how one can construe that we aren’t sufficiently independent because we consistently choose between the lesser of the evils. How does one prove they are sufficiently independent? Should we occasionally vote for the party that champions none of our ideas and/or causes just because?
“Maybe I view the Republican ideology differently, but I don’t think most black people are under cover Republicans. It’s true that we have some conservative values, so does much of the Latino community, but I don’t think either group (based on their conservative characteristics) in ANY way embody the Republican ideology spectrum” This is where i assumed that you were coming from with conservatism.
“We generally know who supports gun control, and who is aligned to the NRA.” Saw an interesting article in the Atlantic a month ago about how the black panther party were pioneers for the NRA. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/09/the-secret-history-of-guns/8608/
“I don’t understand how one can construe that we aren’t sufficiently independent because we consistently choose between the lesser of the evils.” Yet again, I was just explaining what I felt that Herman Cain was getting at. I was asking the question concerning the collective.
You and I can both dissect each others points all day but you are missing what i was saying from the very beginning. I would say that we could agree to disagree but I don’t even know where the disagreement began.
I see where you’re coming from, but where does the collective end? Yeah, people should get together for politics, but where’s the line? Are you ninjas gonna tell me where to eat? Who to marry? What clothes I need to where? Remember, not everyone is alike, even if we do work together.
Liking ONE, or a couple, of black person doesn’t make someone not a racist. We all know the joke about counting your ethnic friends to prove how progressive you are. We are nowhere near a post-racial America. Herman Cain has just fallen into the position of the Good Boy. He will liked as long as he stays on the right side and is consistently saying terrible things about Black people en masse that white people generally rant about each in private and ‘in private’ (Read as: on the internet). I remember Colin Powell was favored among conservatives, until he said 1 thing they didn’t like and he no longer gets ANY co-sign from anyone on that party.
****Liking ONE, or a couple, of black person doesn’t make someone not a racist. ****
****I remember Colin Powell was favored among conservatives, until he said 1 thing they didn’t like and he no longer gets ANY co-sign from anyone on that party.****
Exactly and Exactly
In the 90s, I do believe that Powell could have won the republican nomination. This is something that we will never know. It’s sad that when he pushed for Obama, people felt like he only did so bc he was black. No matter the party or circumstance, race will always get brought up and be a factor for someone. Maybe not the majority, but a big enough minority to cause a stir.
Please take my comment out of moderation.
I’m with you, but I’m broadly sympathetic to the Republicans on this charge. After all, there are a lot of liberal/progressive Whites that don’t really deal with Black people except on that “one Black friend” level, yet Black people assume that they’re down for the cause. Remember all those gay people chanting the N-word post Proposition 8 in Cali? They were all loyal Democrats.
Cosign. I find it fascinating and a little comical how white folks compulsively collect compliant Black folks to prove they are not racist. These people are like pets. They love them until they act human. And don’t you dare disagree or- white Jesus forbid- call them out on their racism. I’ve been in this position. They will turn on you faster than you can say Token. Name of the black kid on South Park. The fear of being called or thought of as racist is strong among the yts. Much stronger than the fear of actually being racist.
Sometimes I think of liberal caucasians of today like modern day Abraham Lincolns (who was a liberal conservative, thats why Obama likes him so much!) He wrote the Emancipation Proclamation and freed slaves, but only in the south! If there was a continuum for how down Caucasian liberals can be in this day and age it would be John brown, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown_(abolitionist) on one side and Abraham lincoln on the other.
Amen Malik, I was wondering when someone would notice that when Cain is on his “it’s your fault black people” rant the conservatives love him but when he tried to call Perry out for N**head-gate, they yanked his choke chain back quick!
I don’t understand the term “post-racial”; just because you can sit at the lunch counter and dogs and fire hoses are not aimed at your azz doesn’t mean it’s time to break out the marshmallows and start singing Kumbaya. Instead of “post racial” there is a new racism: more subtle, more in denial (racism doesn’t exist) less overt and aggressively angry and more importantly more “your fault” (if you notice it, then something is wrong with you, black man or black woman).
We will be post racial when unemployment, education and wealth acquisition are on a more equal footing; when government spends more money on education and less on the prison industrial complex. Also unfortunately, we don’t have the luxury of being able “to play”; we have got to be on point from day one (no drugs, no kids unless they can be afforded and there is a marriage, degree in a field where money can be made and the job can’t be shipped overseas).
He won’t get the nomination, so his race doesn’t matter.
See you can write good Panama D. Jackson. Anywho, politics and pandering go hand in hand. Cain has successfully created an image and a message that resonate with the GOPers who don’t want to abandon the ideals of their party. That same ole tired story that you can pull yourself up by the bootstraps which disregard the power of wealth, connections, and privilege. Everyone is suffering and ironically Cain serves as a symbol. If he can make it, of course everyone can. I’m baffled, but I can’t pretend that he isn’t playing the he!! out of this game.
Yeah Steele was playing the hell out of the game until he outlived his usefulness. They love Cain right now because he validates their world view and (they believe) inoculates them from accusations of bigotry.
It’s like they think we forgot the entire 2008 Election Cycle. The GOP is still a Klan rally, they just don’t wear the sheets anymore.
As much as I’m not not a Republican, I won’t say all black repubs are puppets or the party as a whole goes in the racist bucket. I totally agree that they have a race problem and Cain is a good safe negro to advance their attempts at inclusion. Steele, I can’t even get started on that one.
The ones who weren’t puppets and who weren’t racists were the moderates, and they have all but been purged. What’s left is purified ignorance.
Herman Cain is a Republican revamp of Michael Steele to prove they too are down with black folk. On that aspect alone Herman Cain makes me tired bc it seems like a transparent race card tactical move. Booo!!! Um, I like that he’s married to a sista though (I guess).
And can Hank William’s Jr get the official “stfu and sit down”. Apologizing about the Obama/Hitler comparison AFTER talks of losing his job to only recant and talk more ish when ESPN let him go?! He should have grown a pair of grand klan balls and stood by the initial ignorant comment bc his apology was insincere.
“Um, I like that he’s married to a sista though (I guess).”
Yea he probably wouldn’t have a chance if he wasn’t!Lol
And yes..Hank Williams jr needs the official STFU!
Yea I have to give the GOP the side eye on this one! Like dc1913 said I think it’s a trick to try to distract us. He and Sarah Palin have so many similarities it’s scary. Neither has any real experience but they have magnetic personalities and rhetoric that appeals to your average white American. For instance his 9-9-9 plan is fairly easy to understand and even sounds like a good idea until some real thought is put into it. Honestly it sounds like he’s taking pizza economics and applying to politics and political pizzas give me the bg’s. He’s as clueless as Sarah Palin is about foreign policy and rather than actually campaigning at some of the early primary states, he was on a book tour!
I think that he will likely be weeded out early in the primaries but I may not be surprised to see him as a possible VP candidate to try to split the African American vote. Now, in the very unlikely event that he actually is nominated, I think that Barack Obama would easily win. This is because most African Americans don’t trust Cain and because Caucasian voters would probably stick to the brotha their use too!
AD: “Get three pizzas for $9… Yea you heard me 9-9-9″
I’m with you. It sounds like a fast food promotion.
Coulda sworn Domino’s had that very same promo a few months ago…
Naw that was 5-5-5. SEE!!! Even dominoes had a better deal going than Cain!
Lol! U right.
****He’s as clueless as Sarah Palin is about foreign policy ****
Case and Point… this is one of the must stunning “Deer In Headlights” Moments I’ve seen since Kevin James got obliterated on the Chris Matthews show when they dared him to define appeasement. I’ve provided links for both btw (cause I’m cool like that)
CHRIS MATTHEW & KEVIN JAMES ON APPEASMENT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WR2_8D7tYxk
HERMAN CAIN ON RIGHT OF RETURN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaXGrqFaqB0
Ok actually Kevin James moment was FAR worse, but you get the point
Panama, I’m curious why you capitalize Blacks but not whites. Imagine if a White writer didn’t capitalize blacks. People would be up in arms. To be grammatically correct, neither should be capitalized. They’re colors not nationalities. African American and European American should be capped, but not black and white.
Grammar Girl now gets off her high horse.
Both can be capitalized if referring to groups of people. If Panama purposely or subconsciously chose not to capitalize whites, it’s more of a style issue and not a grammar one. Either way, it’s still a strawman argument. \_ <— there you go.
le sigh.
i view Black as more of a cultural group than white. White is really just a catchall for the various Irish, Italian, German, etc. <—- notice those capitlizations. Most American Black folks don’t have the ability to really group ourselves in such a fashion short of our geographic locale.
i also couldn’t care less if a white writer didn’t capitilize Blacks. Mostly because I suspect most wouldn’t even think to. My choice to do so has nothing to do with my political activism. It has nothing to do with grammer, but I do appreciate the lesson.
“Panama, I’m curious why you capitalize Blacks but not whites. Imagine if a White writer didn’t capitalize blacks.”
*butts in even though you didn’t ask me but this reminds me of something*
To be perfectly honest, I started doing this after taking a Sociology class in college. She’d PURPOSELY do this and have us doing it on our papers as well… even subconsciously. She was Asian, btw.
Just interesting how it all came to be for me. heh.
So, I guess I’m a little behind on my political bantering these days, but where in the hell did Herman Cain come from anyways? I think he is a mere distraction and like I said a couple of weeks ago… the GOP amuses me.
Race does matter to some people— okay, maybe most people (black, white, asian, hispanic, etc.). It never ceases to amaze me that folks find more things to divide them than bring them together, and most of the time the only thing that does bring folks together is tragedy (sometimes music as long as the white person doesn’t sing the words to lil wayne’s raps.)
If I were still living in Murfreesboro, TN I would knock me a few heads up side some trees for their ignorance about the Masjid that’s being built there. What those back woods rednecks don’t realize is how long Muslims have been in that community because they apparently never visited MTSU much less taken classes there! A lot of the professors there are foreign and Muslim. Ignorance has no bounds.
+1
TN reppin!!!
Where you been Corey? Cold up there yet? A company is trying to recruit me to Long Island, NY. WTF? Could be a great career move, but Long Island? Seriously? For a TN girl? Have to think on that one, hard.
My initial gut is that you all should probably stick to relationships and stay out of politics. There’s a lot at hand here to discuss and none of it has to do with buzzwords like post-racial anything.
But that being said…Cain’s ‘success with the GOP base does touch on something you’ve brought up. It’s very difficult to accuse a base of latent or blatant racism when they’re boostering a black guy to carry out their wishes (see also: Clarence Thomas) and so, Cain’s charisma coupled with his stedfast belief in the company line is making him a very popular character in a political climate that’s focused more on celebrity than substance.
Whenever Cain is forced to have deep policy discussions, it’s clear he’s a paper tiger. Also, he has absolutely no ground game, has raised little to no money and has no campaign team to speak of. This is a glorified book tour. The GOP base uses him to insulate themselves from racism charges — which is important when you’re running against an incumbent black president (the implausibility of that statement even two decades ago tells you where we are in a sense and yet where we are not..) and when the dust settles and the grown folks come to the table — Herman will go on to his existence of six-figure speaking engagements and maybe some TV talking head appearances and then serious politicians will get down to the business of ruining er…running the country.
He’s not a serious candidate, even if he’s being taken seriously. What does it have to do with black people? Not a whole heck of a lot. They’re not part and parcel of the GOP base and the vitriol he’s spouting is all part of what’s going to keep him the flavour of the week. He knows this and as such, he’s doing what he has to do to keep himself in vogue until those cards come crashing down the milk spoils. (Mixed metaphors on the rocks, anyone?)
Soo…the thing I took the most exception to is your claim about black folks holding themselves back. I think that there’s a lot of structural inequality that you have to bring to the fore before you can really attack that claim on its head. Do I get frustrated when I go to New Jersey and see cities that can’t get their act together run largely by black folks who seem to care mostly about lining their own pockets and enriching their own friends? You bet I do. Are schools a mess and are there issues that folks can solve themselves? Damn skippy.
But to say that on any level one of the most serious problems afflicting black folks in the 2.0 era is their names? I think that’s taking it a bit far. And I say that having spent most of my adult life in rural areas where white folks have some of the most colorful names you’d ever meet. Sure they don’t have the disadvantage of also being born black, but…I suspect that all of the creative iterations of Jalen aren’t stopping us from achieving and that by magically altering those names into more conventional names wouldn’t begin to address the structural issues that keep black folks from being able to help themselves.
Sorry for the rant, but if I went any longer I’d have to really break down every part of this. Recommended reading (among other things) is Leon Litwack’s book “Trouble In Mind and James D. Anderson’s “The Education of Blacks In The South 1860-1935.” Both will change your life and also help you understand a lot of the vestiges of past inequalities that have led us to a lot of where we are right now and why it’s not as simple as Meequeesha become Madeline.
while i appreciate you giving me the advice to stay out of politics, i think i’ll dip into it from time to time, mmkay pumpkin?
regarding my claim about Black folks holding themselves back…in case you missed it, i said a significant portion. miss me with all of the talk about institutional inequality etc. i know that. thanks. i’m well aware of it all and have spoken on it ad nauseum in various places. i’m not out here pretending that to not be the case. #cmonson
i only referenced the study about names as an example of where white people’s claims of a post racial anything go out of the window. be easy. i’m not saying that would fix any problems. it was a point that the very racism that white people swear doesn’t exist, does happen to manifest itself in ways that most of us wouldn’t even think about. i aint saying that’s the whole problem or even the root of it. lol.
man. it must be go at panama week or something and everybody’s participating.
i’m game.
s/he missed the point…
i’m not sure why all that condescension was necessary, since there was no revelatory info included, nor any insight but the obvious–points other commenters have made…
*shrug*
Love haters. It is the sincerest form of flattery. Even more sincere than imitation. They overestimate your influence and increase it by railing against you. They also sharpen your skill. They see you rolling, they hating. Patrolling, tryna catch you writing dirty.
LOLL… @ WC… gots to remember that one in the future! I’ve recently acquired a few haters. I know, hard to believe, huh?
I wasn’t trying to go in. [nahright] no shots[/nahright]
It wasn’t meant like that, man. It was the topic, not the man. I was just really trying to give an incisive critique on the topic at hand. It was late, too…so it might have come off more personal than it seems and I was trying to be all “barber shop conversational.” Just to clarify.
But I seriously was trying to address Cain from the political perspective and then I got irritated with the other stuff because it’s the sort of thing some right-wing blogger would write. I guess it’s especially sensitive when you’ve spent part of your career around these people and really understand how that they think to a degree as I do. That’s all.
Sorry if it came off condescending though, that’s not I how I operate. Be it far from me to come over here trying to spit venom. Big fan of the blog and long-time reader.
I feel you homes. no sweat.
but as a point of pseudo-full disclosure…re: sensitivity bc of your career…
…well, mine too.
I just wanted to come and say:
Who’s bad?
After the October 20 VSB blackout ends, there will be a lot of Panama Jack love up in here!
i dont know. i feel like folks are gunnin’ for the kid. except i kind of enjoy those types of patriot games. i’m all for it.
* lmao *
LOL… well, I’ll try to make you feel more loved in the future.
There are some long work days ahead without my VSB
I for one like the political discussions. I’m in DC and have become a junkie for that ish in the age of Obama.
Do what you do Monsignor Jackson
I think they’re just attempting to fight fire with fire…or melanin with melanin. They tried that same ish with Bobby Jindal’s response to Obama’s first aState of the Union address. I don’t think Cain would have stood a chance if a white guy was the incumbent.
Fight melanin with melanin! *dead
Herman Cain is gonna be the next Bradley Effect. I’m fairly certain because the smart strategy would be to make it a Romney/Cain ticket. Cain as VP would be serving the same function as Palin did — saying the crazy things Republicans want to hear, while Romney holds down the so-called “respectable” image.
That said, if he gets the nomination I think we’ll have to rethink racial politics in America. Two Black men running against each other for president IN AMERICA would be too strange not create a new poly-sci theory for.
We could call it… The Obama-Cain Effect, which would state: “When one Black man in political office is disliked by a significant portion of the voting population from the opposition party, the opposition party will always pick a Black man to run against him.”
Something like that.
+1. That’s what I am thinking. He is jockeying for position. Its either going to be Mittens/Cain or Cain/Mittens. The problem the GOP has with Mittens is that they think his religion is basically a cult.
It will probably be a repeat of 2008 when the GOP thought just because Uncle Fluffy’s running mate has a vagina that women will vote en masse for another woman. But it backfired.
Basically what Hillary tried to pull with Barack at first until he was like “Vice President?…nah have a seat sweetie i got this”. However Cain isn’t that big a threat to Romney to be put on the ticket. He will eventually concede, he will eventually publicly endorse Romney but be put on the ticket? I dont think so.
I’m honestly trying to decide if Herman Cain would accept the offer to run as VP. He strikes me as a little too cocky for that, but maybe.
Yeah this. He enjoys being the head boss entirely too much to be legitimately the #2, but knowing they’re not going to win…it seems like he’d opt out and just “support the party’s nominee.” He’s real good at being a company man. He only got Godfathers by being a really good company man at Pillsbury and they sold it to him and some other employees.
He did go to Morehouse.
It’s about selling books, not about actually governing. I don’t think Cain gets on a ticket. I can see how/why it might happen, but I think that everyone knows this is ’04 revisited with an incumbent that isn’t universally popular, but where the alternatives are worse and so status quo reigns.
But for Cain, there’s no way he’s doing the things he seriously needs to do to get elected and everyone knows that. It’s why this is nothing more than a vanity campaign that’s getting hot and the flavor of the week.
04 was a disaster, Howard Dean spazzed out and they aint really have a back up plan. Its all love Sen. Kerry
Either way we look at it Obama will always be the lesser of two evils (hence why he will get reelected). Can you imagine Santorium trying to govern.
Herman Cain’s recent GOP approval..is a delightful ironic absurdity to me.
We all know that the GOP is fulla that bullshyt, but they are making it into performance art now. Much like Sarah Palin, Herman Cain’s popularity, and thrust into the limelight are a result of affirmative action. If Obama and Hilary had never of ran, Palin would still be grilling moose nuggets in Willawhatthefkcu Alaska, and Cain would be somewhere contemplating what other words rhyme with pizza. While right winger’s constantly mock white liberals for touting their minority friends to prove how racially tolerant and progressive they are…we currently find ourselves looking at GOP polls with Herman..Freakin Cain as the front runner. ..almost to say as if “see! we too are colorblind, hark a negro!”
As disappointed as Cain might be to hear this, the GOP is very much aware of his color. The jig is up ni**a. However considering the current pool of republican candidates, which is a veritable manifestation of Mad TV’s “Lowered Expectations” skit, heralding a colored tv personality such as Cain is the most advantageous, until Mitt Romney’s motherboard downloads a personality,and becomes unmormon, Rick Perry reaches an average IQ, or by some happenstance miracle the new Tea Party driven GOP produces a worthy general election candidate.
Until then, I for one delight in every new “hermanism” that comes into my life..I’d like to post an excerpt from one of his literary musings that asserts Jesus (the 1st conservative) was killed by liberals:
“He helped the poor without one government program. He healed the sick without a government health care system. He feed the hungry without food stamps,” wrote Cain. “For three years He was unemployed, and never collected an unemployment check.”
….. Don’t tell me nuthin bout my Jesus
This made me laugh several times.
Also two mo’ things
1. VSB, can we get #HarkANegro to trend? We missed the boat yesterday on #HeresSomeBacon. Let’s not let another opportunity go unrealized
2. The Bible has so many socialistic principles, I’m surprised it doesn’t spontaneously combust in the hands of Republicans when they pick it up to thump it. Someone ask Herman Cain about Leviticus 19:10 if there’s a next debate… PLEASE
They’d actually have to read it, and not glaze over the parts that they don’t like. sadly, the skill I picked up in tearing apart fallacious repub/evangelical christian beliefs was honed in baptist churches calling them on their allergy to the actual text they were supposed to follow.
Good point on #2. It’s part of the long list of reasons I’m NOT a Christian. I don’t want anyone having any sort of control over my life. Giving people control only leads to abuse.
applause for Misty Knight…. well done!
*applause*
Yes, very well done. “Willawhathefkcu” should be an official city lol. Too funny.
How could Jesus have been a conservative when he 1. Lived off the rich to work for the poor, 2. Paid taxes, 3. Gave the bankers whatfor?
Spit out my coffee
“Until then, I for one delight in every new “hermanism” that comes into my life..I’d like to post an excerpt from one of his literary musings that asserts Jesus (the 1st conservative) was killed by liberals:
“He helped the poor without one government program. He healed the sick without a government health care system. He feed the hungry without food stamps,” wrote Cain. “For three years He was unemployed, and never collected an unemployment check.”
….. Don’t tell me nuthin bout my Jesus”
*DEAD*
I want to know about the insurance policies, pay scales, etc of people who work at Godfather’s Pizza. He likes to talk about how successful he is, can his employees do the same?
part of comment didn’t post. I realize it’s an aside with the race issue, but I want to know about Herman Cain’s equality in his company. And if Mr. Electric Border fence has illegal immigrants working there (don’t all say “duh” at once)
No. I think as long as you say what white people wanna hear they will love you. White people love when their privilege is affirmed by other races. Also, if Romney wasn’t Mormon it would be “Herman Cain who??” I still think Romney will get the nom. Didn’t know he went to Morehouse which further proves my theory: he wants to be the 2nd black president & he will sell his blackness (make it a non factor) to do it. He’s been called a n*gger more than once prolly based on his age & time in the South. His dissociation is just to prove all those people wrong…he’s not secure in his blackness & it prolly causes him some double consciousness dilemma. Obama 2012. I could care less what these GOPers are saying; it’s all idiotic & makes me mad. I’ll vote next year.
****White people love when their privilege is affirmed by other races. ****
There it is folks, the simple basic truth that has put wind in Herman Cain’s sails
During the 08 election the Republicans tried to fight the Democratic Party minority vs minority and they failed terribly. For 2 reasons nobody wanted McCain as President and Palin couldn’t keep her foot bout of her mouth. A lot of Black people were making statements such as “I’m voting for him because he is black.” They did not know anything about his platform they just saw color. Now the Republicans saw this and knew they had to get a Minority of some type to represent their party and just like P said Cain says what white people want to hear. This is the Republicans attempt to say “hey we got a black guy too” Just being able to split up some of the voting between Black people and now allowing White Republicans the chance to say “hey i voted for a Black person, so I’m not racist” I honestly wonder if this was Obama’s second term if they would even be pushing a Black Republican so hard
I’m wondering if the GOP made a plan so try to a get a black man upfront right after Obama got elected. But I hate to be cynical, but what if they use that to their advantage. If the presidency goes well, they’ll say, WE are the ones who elected him to that position, making the right decision and getting full of themselves. But if he FAILS, then maybe they’ll say, see a black man can’t run the country whether Rep or Dem…so past race…I’m not fully convinced!
I caught a part of the debate last night. One thing bothered me. Why did they keep calling him Herman? Everybody else is getting called Mr. Romney, Gov Perry, Rep Bauchman, etc, but he’s called “Good Ol’ Herman”. At first I thought it was just a slipup, but for the 30 mins or so that I was listening on my drive home from work, I heard it at least a dozen times and at least once from everybody on the stage.
And I’ll say this. I don’t agree with his plans, but he did a good job of calling them all wrong last night. Everybody was trying to bring up the “facts” about his plan and how its got all these wrong things with it, and he hits them with the quote about how the accountants and people profiting from the current tax system are gonna say these things because they want to keep things the way they are. I thought that was a good move.
Did you catch ol’ Newt referring to him as “brother”? That was so cringe worthy.
I didn’t catch that. But I did notice Newt’s tone throughout the night (or at least the part I heard) and it was kinda creepy. But its Newt so its not surprising. What was funny was when Kerry was like his Mass health care plan was inspired by Newt and then Newt was screaming like no it wasn’t, only to later be like, oh yeah, i did say that.
What would the republican party have to do to be more receptive to issues in the black community?
What proactive solutions would they propose that get to the core of these issues?
Sadly, I’m actually looking for real answers. No crickets.
Well, as a libertarian, I have a few ideas. Give me 3 issues, and I’ll lay out my beliefs. Let’s rock.
umm…
i think that especially now that the GOP is being heavily influenced/led by the tea party, their platform is antithetical to a large contingent of “the black community”.
from my particular vantage point in black america, the biggest issues facing “us” are: education, poverty, incarceration, unemployment. these issues are interrelated.
i no longer have a TV and don’t read the news as often as i should, so i could be totally off base, but i don’t see a whole lot of movement in the black community around education in a systematic way…i guess republicans could capitalize there…stop the union-busting, and keep focusing on this whole standardization movement. continue the destruction of the public school system with vouchers and charter schools–unfortunately (in my opinion) a lot of black people are really supportive.
in terms of unemployment, what i see republicans doing is a lot union-busting…all this does is piss off the black people in regions and industries where unions have served them well. they also are not in favor of extending unemployment benefits, or having citizens’ taxes go towards food stamps, medicaid, public housing, etc.
it does sadden me that so many of us have to rely on these crutches, but that’s the reality…the only black people who are really in favor of that are of the Herman Cain/Bill Cosby variety…and as stated above by other commenters, there will always be Black people who share this mindset.
as far as incarceration…this is a long shot. unless the tea party & libertarian denominations within the right-wing get a lot more sway…black crimes will continue to get heavier sentencing. but if people take the argument to heart that the government should not dictate people’s personal lives, & there was decriminalization of drug related crimes, that would gain some black support, while losing other black support…
Actually, I think you nailed a lot of stuff there in terms of issues. My issue is that not only are the teachers unions bad, but the screw-ups tend to be in ways that don’t neatly fit party lines. On one hand, they fit for better pay and working conditions, which fits neatly into progressive economics. However, a lot of their fight to protect seniority rules in determining who gets what teaching job effectively turns schools in the Black community in farm teams that develop teacher for the “Big League” suburbs…the precise opposite of what needs to happen.
In terms of benefits, I am with the Cain/Cosby mindset broadly, but I’m also a pragmatist. What I’d prefer is replacing food stamps, Medicaid, public housing/Section 8 (and everything else that isn’t Social Security) with a Negative Income Tax scheme (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_income_tax). Simply put, imagine replacing the Earned Income Tax Credit with something a LOT bigger. While there would be some real 1st-of-the-month party ninjas, on the whole it would benefit people by giving them capital to do as they see fit to improve themselves. Also, done right, you’d eliminate the implied high tax rates as people start earning just enough to get off of public assistance. Instead, the support would gradually drop away as needed, causing fewer problems. Plus it would be simpler to administer than current benefits.
And sadly, I don’t think a lot of Black people “get it” with incarceration. For everyone who sees the problems with mass incarceration, there is a critical mass of Black people who just wants the dope boys and gunplay off of their block, and is willing to support a lot of foolishness just to get them out of here. Also, with the War on Drugs specifically, so many people have their hand in the cookie jar with that so that even if some Black people come to Jesus, way too many people would miss out on a check otherwise.
this is out of order, but re: your last comment about drug dealers & the cookie jar…
do you mean in the sense of the prison industrial complex and all the people who make their livelihood depriving marijuana & cocaine pushers of theirs (livelihood)?
or do you mean the people that the dope boys feed? b/c if you mean the latter…from what i see, most d boys & girls don’t make enough to support themselves, much less anyone else.
with the teachers…tenure for public school teachers doesn’t operate the same way as tenure at a university…it just means if your contract isn’t renewed, it has to be for a reason. you may already know this, but a lot of people don’t…it doesn’t provide immunity against being terminated. in my urban public school experience…the majority of the teachers who had been there forever were really good teachers, most were black. there were some who had been there forever & sucked, but usually they taught a specialty subject that was a hard-to-fill position. then there were the young (almost always) white teachers you’re talking about, who were just gaining some experience before moving onto somewhere better…i don’t know how you remedy that with policy…
the negative income tax…sounds worse to me than the current infrastructure of medicaid, pell grants, section 8, food stamps, etc. i believe in taxes from a human/civil rights standpoint. there are certain things that benefit everyone: EMS, Firemen, Police, Roads…and then there’s a certain baseline standard of living i think everyone in this country should have: decent education, housing, health care & to have a fair trial & earn a living wage for their work, with some basic security, freedom & the pursuit of happiness.
with the rampant consumerism in our culture, i think people pocketing extra $ could easily result in clothing shopping sprees…as a taxpayer, i don’t mind having my $ go towards little kids who need antibiotics…but i don’t want my $ going towards some lil kid having a fresh pair of jordans.
I see this- too much. People getting unemployment checks buying MaryJ with the money. Balling out on stamps with enough left over to sell. It’s hard to let my heart bleed when I see this. There are so many “poor” who are not categorized that way because they don’t get a check.
I know I’m later rolling, but to answer your question about the hands in the Cookie Jar, I was thinking the Prison Industrial Complex. In terms of the Negative Income Tax, if it takes 2 idiots balling on gummint checks to get 8 poor Black people a chance to come up in the world, so be it. Hell, maybe the 8 will get rich selling stuff to the 2 idiots.
****What would the republican party have to do to be more receptive to issues in the black community?****
For them to be receptive to issues in the black community? They’d have to change their whole outlook, the entire philosophical perspective would have to shift…
…and I don’t think it ever will.
They don’t need to be “receptive” to issues in the black community. They need to be receptive to issues that people in a lower income bracket have. I don’t think that the democratic party caters to blacks as much as I think that they push policies to help the less advantaged. Due to history, blacks wouldn’t take a republican shift seriously anyway.
IMO the powers that be want Obama in for 2 terms. The only way that can happen is to have someone run who hasn’t a snowball’s chance against him. Another thing is that if you look at the way repugs are vetting their candidates, none of them can measure up.
Repugs have moved so far to the right that a normal candidate has no chance. Its hard to find someone that far right that can co-exist in the real world thus they have moved on to the most far right crazy coon shyt you can find…a black man who went to morehouse who says he has never seen racism?!?
I think Obama is very beatable but i think the Republicans did nothing about it. They got Brian Scalabrine trying to guard LeBron at this point. You attack Obamacare by sending the man
who let Democrats run the state and just signed a bill without even looking at itwho gave him the idea. Sarah Palin killed McCain’s campaign so you sit and wait for HER to run. Black people complain Obama isn’t doing enough for them and you expect them to vote for a black republican who doesn’t even think racism exists. Fails all around for the Elephant crews.Mittens gets the nomination and healthcare will be his achilles heel. Just like Hilary (with her Iraq vote) in the 08′ democrat primaries.
Look guys for decades the Dem.s have been telling you that you’re only important as a voting block…period. And after you vote for them what do you actually get? Aid? Better schools? Better housing? A chance for your kids to grow up in a crime free area? So basically they are saying “You can’t do it on your own. You need the help of us white liberals” And then you get …none of this?!
And then there’s the Reps. Who say work hard. Try. Do it yourself. So when someone like Mr. Cain, or Gen. Powell, or Jus. Thomas comes along we celebrate them. Because we respect hard work. We know there’s still racism in this country, so we appreciate their success even more!
You people that call successful black people “Uncle Tom”, or “Oreo cookie”, or “house nigger”, why? Are they any less black? Or are you just envious?
Here’s a shocker for you, while I don’t agree with the Nation of Islam on a lot of things I admire their “Nobodies gonna do it for us” attitude.
So who really has the racists attitude, the Dem.s or the Rep.s.
I agree on the do-for-self mantra. However, it’s one thing to push doing for self when you are looking out for Black people. It’s another thing to say that as an excuse not to do ANYTHING worthwhile for Black people. Remember, it’s not that long ago that the Republican Party spent a lot of time talking about Black people need to do for self…while telling White people how much they’d do for them if it wasn’t for the Black people.
Look at the Dixiecrats, the people who were members of the Democratic Party while riding hard for racism before joining the Republicans. While they were saying do for self, they were steering billions of dollars toward White people for their economic development. Look at people like Trent Lott and the late Strom Thurmond. They rode hard for the Klan and for massive government subsidies for White economic interests. It’s hard to believe “do for self” when self only mean Black people. Heck, when you think about it, Jim Crow was the biggest and most successful program of Socialism ever enacted on Earth. It’s just that Black people were the ones whose resources got redistributed.
****And then there’s the Reps. Who say work hard. Try. Do it yourself. So when someone like Mr. Cain, or Gen. Powell, or Jus. Thomas comes along we celebrate them. Because we respect hard work. We know there’s still racism in this country, so we appreciate their success even more!****
These are ALL reasons why Republican attacks on Obama are so transparent. Everything you are asking (work hard, try, do it yourself), he did, and yet you do not praise him for it. Look how Republicans treated Powell when he endorsed Obama. Your words are fine talking points but I think as a collective you have proven time and time again that you don’t really believe this (or frankly many of your other beliefs, when push comes to shove)
What you have proven however, is that your are political opportunist, who spend like drunken sailors when in power, and then blame your counterparts across the aisle for failing to clean up your mess when you’re out of power. Your rhetoric doesn’t match your record.
Instead of making painfully obvious and awkward attempts to divide and conquer by focusing on what you say the Democratic party hasn’t done, how about you start telling us about what the Republican party HAS done.
You want black voters to give you something, what are you willing to give black voters?
“What you have proven however, is that your are political opportunist, who spend like drunken sailors when in power, and then blame your counterparts across the aisle for failing to clean up your mess when you’re out of power. Your rhetoric doesn’t match your record.”
+1
Post pic: A biracial cat in the dark? Poignant, Panama.
“Is it possible that we could have two Black men competing for the nations’s highest position?”
Ya know, as many possibilities that were awakened when Barack was elected (such as me getting a quadra-corn for Christmas 2011), I never actually thought of the possibility of TWO Black running mates. Like, of course that would up the ante in terms of the world maybe imploding… but in all seriousness, it would make for quite the political feast. As glued as I was to the TV when John McCain did the ultimate disrespect and haphazardly pointed to Barry O on some “That One” steez, I’d be even MORE glued to the TV to see if Barack Obama eats a piece of pizza at the podium right before the first 2012 presidential town hall.
“I will forever feel like white people view certain members of our populace as exceptions. Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Herman Cain, etc. These aren’t regular Black people.”
Definitely Will Smith is hiding in that “etc.”… his ears were poking out. Wow, I just took it back to the 90s with that joke. Aw. Nostalgia. #reminisce
Oh, and Godspeed with ya’lls journey into offline troubleshooting. Speed with God. Ya’ll shall return with several vengeances and a souvenir.
“I’d be even MORE glued to the TV to see if Barack Obama eats a piece of pizza at the podium right before the first 2012 presidential town hall.”
That would be kinda awesome.
Contrary as to what Black Walnut says he is the flavor of the month. Most of his counterparts are. The GOP is so messed up they don’t know who or what they want. They constantly contradict their own talking points also. Cain is just the current manifestation of that. He’s the unfunny black joke in a stand-up routine with mostly unfunny white jokes. This isn’t post-racial, it’s just stupid.
“where Michael Jackson is Black and it doesn’t matter if you’re Black or white.”
Why hasn’t it been bigger that Michael Jackson’s autoposy showed he REALLY DID have Vitiligo? Why don’t we care? Post-Racial?
Because he had 3 white kids.
Wouldnt it be something if Cain was just saying what he needed to to get into office then turned into a radical militant pro black negro? That would be awesome. I just can’t imagine that he believes the words that are coming out of his mouth… Can’t be possible.
Hahahah! I thought about that too. If he turned extra super black militant (with black glove and extended fist) after winning the nomination, he may actually get some of Obama’s votes. Repubs would be confused because they would no longer know who was the enemy.
People had similar musings about Justice Clarence Thomas during his confirmation…
…but he was what we thought he was. Shout out to Denny Green
It boils down to this:
“Their excitement is largely driven by proving to people that they aren’t racist.”
Giving Cain their support allows they to say they don’t hate Obama because he’s Black.
It also allows them to say “See, a black man said race no longer matters. See?”
Yep
“This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected.” – Mr. President
That’s essentially how i feel. I wouldn’t say we are a post racial society but things are getting better (although part of it is the far right seem more preoccupied with middle easterners and homosexuals than us right now).
here’s to a more perfect union…
Hogwash….They finally realize the power of the black vote so they figured a black face would win them some favor. He won’t get the nomination because those rose colored glasses will fall off way before that happens. It would be something to see…two black men running for Pres. but I don’t see that happening.
They are trying to use him and he is allowing it thinking he can get the upper hand. Oh when the curtains fall.
I don’t think he’ll get the nomination because he doesn’t have government experience. IMO, that’s what this will come down to. Romney may be behind Cain, but he has been popular for a lot longer.
With all American racists on deck, we secured a Black president. If anything that represents the beginning of a post-racial America to me- not Cain’s party support.
That notion seems to be rooted in a belief that the Republican party somehow has a higher concentration of racists- which I believe is flawed thinking. I don’t believe the Democrat’s vilification of the rich is any healthier for minorities than Republicans vilification of the poor…
I would say Republicans have taken their acceptance a step further because Cain isn’t light, bright, and next to white, but I don’t want to offend any one.
“That notion seems to be rooted in a belief that the Republican party somehow has a higher concentration of racists- which I believe is flawed thinking. I don’t believe the Democrat’s vilification of the rich is any healthier for minorities than Republicans vilification of the poor…” THANK YOU!!!!!
The rich and wealthy have LONG had undue influence over policy and legislation that the poor have NEVER had. While no demographic is beyond criticism I dare say that the rich have done more to earn their vilification than the poor ever had… I mean afterall, it wasn’t the poor that crashed Wall Street,.. and the poor have NEVER oppressed the rich. I don’t think this is an example of 2 sides of the same coin.
Worthiness of criticism, sure, but to spout “Republicans are racist” which is a sentiment repeated here frequently (not always in those exact words) and my other black people bothers me because it implies that our Democratic brethren are not racist. We know racism is not limited to a political party, or a race, or an income group. That idea gives us an excuse not to listen.
I have one person that is very close to me and I swear he can argue his conservative views without emotion and a level of intelligence that has me even shutting up b/c i have nothing to counter him with (not all the time but sometimes he gets me). He just goes in it with facts. I have seen him argue with Democrats (and I always feel the need to defend him) and those same democrats are some of the most close minded individuals I have ever seen. It is amazing. This guy is literally like my little brother so when I hear people say that ALL republicans are racist, or that the republican party should be hated, i have to ask myself, do you actually have any friends that have a different view from you or do you just hang with people who agree with everything you say?
It’s just sounds like “I’m closed off” when I hear it- like when a guy says a girl is “crazy.” Once a girl gets the “crazy” label nothing she says or does is has any merit. LOL
With greatest respect, your logic has a hole in it. An observation about Republicans does not inherently imply anything that about any other group (not Libertarians, Green Party, Independents, or Democrats).
You are certainly free to make your own inferences, but you can’t impute your inference to other people’s observations. They may be making these observations with a completely different rationale than that which you assign to them.
It’s not only the observation of comments being made, but the observation of those not made. More importantly, IMO the foundation of this post was ‘does herman cain’s popularity really mean something since republicans are so racist?’ I wonder if that question was asked specifically about the democratic party when Obama was elected? (Not here, but in general).
you’re right. that was the context i asked it in b/c of how so many people perceive the republican party. i cant say that i generally view them as racist, but if i had to guess what party a racist belonged to, i’d guess republican if he had one. that isn’t to say that democrats cant be racist. but let’s be real, the same question i asked, we asked here in 08 or 09 when we asked if folks were just voting for obama because he was Black.
in the case of Cain, and quite frankly many of the individuals in the Republican party that we mostly hear from (not speaking about the debates necessariily) there are obvious racist undertones as well as classist undertones b/c of the affected parties. while i would never make a blanket statement that all repubs are racist (even said everybody aint in the post), i am surprised by the absolute LACK of a mention of his race by anybody but him…which to me is damn near racist in and of itself. trying to pretend race doesnt exist is the same as claiming everything is racist.
Again, those exact words weren’t said often but that’s the general sentiment I got from reading (and I tend to summarize). I hear it in real life too.
I think in ’08 we asked the same question you posed to the nation, as a nation, like hey- have we changed? I haven’t found Reps to be particularly racist. I don’t know that they’re trying to pretend race doesn’t exist as much as trying not to mistakenly say something that, appropriately or inappropriately, labeled inflammatory. They won’t be the first ones to bring it up, LOL
“i am surprised by the absolute LACK of a mention of his race by anybody but him…which to me is damn near racist in and of itself.” So in other words, dang if they do and dang if they don’t. That party will always be considered racist.
probably, but i also didn’t create that stereotype.
however, you have to admit that it is somewhat odd that NOBODY is even remotely touching the race thing. nobody. whether we like it or not, race does still matter and everybody made a deal out of Obama being Black but somehow, it matters NOT at all anymore? Not even matters in a he can’t be nominated way, but a complete non-acknowledgement.
it reminds me of when folks are trying to describe somebody to me but refuse to mention race as to pretend that it’s not an actual facet of life. so its not damned if they do, damned if they don’t. you can mention race without it being lighter fluid. but to not mention it at all makes it seem ‘spicious.
‘it reminds me of when folks are trying to describe somebody to me but refuse to mention race’
I’ve actually had someone attempt to (politically) correct me about this when I used race to describe a person whom she was trying to find in a group. Why would I use a million d@mn words instead of the single most obvious description??
People need to free their mind.
“it reminds me of when folks are trying to describe somebody to me but refuse to mention race as to pretend that it’s not an actual facet of life.”
This made me LOL because a thousand people work in my building and there’s no way to remember the names of all the people we have to work with. We have to describe people physically all the time and you can see the pain in people’s faces (more often, white people) when they try to describe a person with saying “she’s black.” I usually put it out there for them- “black or white?”
When I started my first job, I had to describe a coworker with a lazy eye. I went all around the world. The lazy eye (or cock eye) was my last option. He got immediately. Then he looked uncomfortable…then we looked at each other. I just shrugged my shoulders.
What was I supposed to do though?
Don’t fool yourself, unless the world is now evolving backwards ain’t nothing never changed. In the white folks’ eyes a n@gga is still a n@gga. And if you forget it they’ll remind you.
They find one black person, (who seems black only in appearance. If I closed my eyes he could be white) who will support their agenda, and say all the right things. If they support him then they can’t be racist. so then their criticism of Obama was not because of his race. Kind of like when white ppl say they’re not racist because they have ONE black friend. Then you meet that one friend and he hates black ppl more than the KKK.
Cosign. Because the first time he forgets he’s still a n@gga, they’ll remind him. He better say what they want to hear and stick to their agendas
This already happend. Rick Perry’s own property that had a rock in front of it that read “Nigga Head” hunting ground or something. When Cain called that insensitive, the conservative blogosphere went crazy. Cain had to later apologize for calling Rick Perry out. They like him because he wont stray out of line.
Too it’s apart of the act. The act this “thing” becoming all encompassing. When it’s time though for the true nominee to represent the Republican Party he will have been weeded out. What’s so sad is that he believes they believe in him.
And if the opposition to Obama for nearly four years is not the obvious sign that they’re going about things a different way then I don’t know what else would clearly resonate we are where we were 200 years ago.
I can’t be serious about this cause I’m too cheap to have cable. But this is too funny and fascinating to miss. And I hate being the uninformed one at work, so I might be calling up Comcast. Cain reminds me of that guy who joins your church just to sell insurance. Did y’all see this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmkvtfEEFT0&sns=em.
I want a large thin crust with four Beckys and two Stans. High Larious.
that actually hurt a little to watch. like…did he really just say that about all of those countries? LMAO. wow. that’s still not as bad as his “electrocute them” soundbyte about the fence he wants to build to keep illegals out.
still stupid nonetheless.
I bet the alumni at Morehouse is doing this: http://gifsoup.com/NzQ4MjE0
People can say shiggady like that when they run for city council, dog catcher or even some state offices. But not for the office of the President. And you think I want to vote for this guy. lol.
Imagine what it would be like during a cabinet meeting with Herman Cain
Aide: Sir we need to talk about Ahmadinejad
Cain: Oct Man Dinner Job?
Aide: No sir. Ahmadinejad
Cain: I don’t have time for these small insignificant countries
Aide: Sir Ahmadinejad is the President of Iran, and he’s destablizing the Middle East, this is something you have to deal with right now. What is your strategy?
Cain: 9-9-9
If the people have no bread, LET THEM EAT PIZZA!!!
You know, I have finally learned NOT to drink and read VSB!
Another reason he won’t be taken seriously. He knows a lot about a little. He needs to be an adviser or something.
LOL…and he would be dead serious too. He’d have a different number set though. I watched him on meet the press (maybe last weekend?!), and he offered a few number schemes for different topics. I couldn’t help but laugh. His 5-6 blame, triple 3 plan, or something or another. Hilarious.
blame=plan
Cain knows the math. The minority vote has nothing to do with presidential outcomes. White people put Obama in office and no one else. Cain knows that. He has no need to think about how he comes across to blacks and latinos simply because….Our votes dont matter in the bigger picture of winning the presidency.
That is true. Even with massive turnout in 2008, White people were still 76% of the electorate. If you get enough of them with you, you can get a rounding error out of the non-White vote and still win.
Obama killed them with the young voters, and i think its gonna happen again. How many people who will be 18 by election day is really gonna be like i’m voting for Herman Cain -__-
True…but you’re also counting on them showing up. Blacks, Latinos and the Youth vote had record turnouts. While I wouldn’t say it couldn’t happen again, assuming it will is a fools errand. Also, none of the Republicans has really gotten their college organization going yet, as the primary electorate skews older in the Republican Party. All of that to say that we don’t REALLY know yet.
Since the midterm elections, republicans that have control their states legislatures, all over the country really, have been making it harder to vote, and even register to vote. Limiting what documentation can be used, requiring ID, disallowing student IDs, decreasing early voting, and making people that are registering to vote jump through hoops is par for the course.
So yeah we really dont know how things will go but I wonder what Mr. Cain thinks of such things.
“But I can’t lie, I’m surprised by the fact that for the first time in Black history, a man’s policies and principles seem to be touted by the party that currently and almost intentionally seems to have the least amount of color amongst their representation. I’ve seen coworkers sing his praises with happiness and tout his plans. And yes, Virginia, they’re white.”
This isn’t the first time in history that this has happened. The republicans were begging Colin Powell to run back in the early 90s. They would have stood by him and I believe that he would have received the nomination. Let’s not forget that there was no twitter, or Facebook, or any other social media outlet back then to push garbage down our throats all day everyday. I mean, most people didn’t even have the internet. If Colin would have ran, and won the nomination, I do believe that he would have been the first person to split the black vote. I was a kid then so maybe I am mistaken but it seemed that most really liked him. He didn’t disassociate himself with blacks but he also didn’t march the “b/c I am black, my life sucks” nor the “I pulled myself up by my bootstraps” tag lines. He was/is a great man, who happens to be black.
Does Cain’s popularity amongst the GOP indicate that we are in a post-racial America? Not anytime soon. Black “leaders” that continue to push the racism card and the white commentators that can’t stand them hold the microphone captive, the media will give them a platform (liberal and conservative media) b/c it causes emotional ratings, and conservatives and democrats will always have people within their base that are just straight out racist/bigots. When we can all recognize that race can’t be blamed for every single problem that we have but at the same time understand that race has and can cause problems and be able to express this rationally, then we have moved to a post-race society.
Or are we watching an early form of the Bradley effect taking place? Or more sinister, do you Republicans are just trying to make a point?? Yes, this is the Bradley effect. Let’s be honest here, non of the GOP candidates are standing out. I really haven’t seen much about them in the news. Cain is the Howard Dean of the republican party (albeit Dean was much smarter). He has his popularity now but it takes only one mistake (Dean screaming during a rally) to lose all support. This transcends race. Politics is about having a great team, almost ruthless cut throat team (Carl Rove for Bush), charisma, making people feel like you are one of them, and a whole lot of luck. I don’t think that Repubs are trying to make a point with Cain. They really don’t have any good candidates right now (except for Huntsman) and they know it.
{Off-topic} Wayment wayment. Somebody hacked the site? 2520 conspiracy theory?
i wonder how many people dont know what the actually meaning of uncle tom is and not the perceived meaning.
know the actually meaning vs dont know….damn i need my 40oz of red bull
I’ve been a part-time token black friend for YEARS. Everyone has their prejudices ie: asians are smart, mexicans are superior at menial tasks, black men in baggy clothes will rape me…etc but all in all, barely anyone is a hardcore racist anymore, that went out in ’95. If you say things that white ppl can agree with, they’ll be your friend and support you to the death, or until you do something niggerish that they don’t agree with.
i think that has more so to do with who you are around. people who are like 45ish and under aka “the mtv generation” are less racist. But it tell ya what get around folks who are older than that they throw around “Ni**er” like they are talking about the weather. And always remember my “token” friend….Whats not said in your face for you to hear cant hurt you…..
I have felt that as well- racism is somewhat out of style. I don’t think outright racism is really the ideology of this generation- like the idea that black people are biologically inferior is somewhat outdated. But there is definitely a perception of black people by other ethnicities as being our own downfall and our own worst enemies.
i’m sorry, i just had to say that i hated everything about this comment…unless it’s satire.
Herman Cain is the real life version of UNCLE RUCKUS….period.
how come nobody calls bill cosby uncle ruckus when he has stated the EXACT same things about black folks.?
i do
as do i
You know black folks don’t turn on our entertainers. That’s Cliff Huxtable!
Pretty sure there was a bunch of Black backlash for Bill Cosby’s statements. Hell, the backlash is how I even heard about some of the ish he said.
Bill Cosby understands that there is racism in this world and how it affects Black people. He just stresses the point that we need to do the things to combat it and overcome it as best we can. Uncle Ruckus?…”I don’t be see no racism, massa Gilmo”
I think Republicans like his ideas better than other candidate’s ideas, but they excuse the blackness because he aced the test. The test that all blacks get when rapidly moving up the latter or (potentially) finding success among whites: Who is better, us or yall? This answer determines your fate. If you agree that whites are better, you get to pass go and collect 200 dollars (to be returned with a penalty fee if you pull the ole bait and switch).
The question is never directly asked, but any flagrant negroing like telling poor people to suck it or telling blacks to work harder while simultaneously taking a more objective stance with none blacks will get you praised.
I do want a good candidate to go against Obama though. He shouldn’t cake walk it to re-election without having to promise things to progressives who voted him in office. I miss the days of Perot. That dude was odd, but he made the conversation interesting. I’d like to see someone challenge corporate greed or so called lazy poor people…any extreme…someone polarizing, smart and articulate to force a firm response from the President.
I’d like to see Obama win, but not because the other guy sucked worse than our economy.
I don’t think Obama is going to lose no matter who the Republicans choose. All of them hate healthcare and some of the Republican reaction to the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ repeal was ugly.
I agree, and I don’t want him to lose. I just don’t want him to coast. I think we all win when it’s a race to the top and not the bottom.
Ace the test? Brilliant observation! So, so true!
Herman Cain is secretly a white man (a la I got the Hook Up) and boo for no post tomorrow because……it’s my birthday!!
sugahoneyicedtea.. ~*~* happy belated birthday fellow Libran! ~*~*
You shouldn’t be too surprised by the fact that you’ve been brainwashed since childhood by your parents, your schools, your culture, and by the liberal mainstream media into believing that conservatives are the racist ones, even though history proves that it’s always been the Democrats who were–and still are–the true racists.
Some reading material for you, if you can handle it:
HERMAN CAIN’S RACE AGITATES SOME ON THE LEFT
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203914304576631180294981302.html
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