I happened to be watching MSNBC, and Rev. Al Sharpton’s show when Pat Buchanan let his subconscious control his mouth. You can see the full video here, but the jist of it was this:
Buchanan referred to the President of the United States of America as “your boy.” Sharpton was quick to call him on it, but Buchanan either was stupefyingly unaware of what he had said, or chose to ignore his racist innuendo.
Many of course would dismiss Buchanan’s stupid remark as the slightly dementia-driven meanderings of a marginalized “player” who is limited to being the honking GOP voice at MSNBC, but I found it shocking that MSNBC did nothing to repudiate Mr. Buchanan’s inappropriate remarks. Much more fuss has been made for far less when it comes to the increasingly thin-skinned media.
In any case, this is but one example. Buchanan’s remarks were wrong on two counts. First of course is the awful use of the term “boy” in reference to a black adult male. This is such a flag in the African-American community that nothing further needs be said. Buchanan shows that deep within his soul, he still “thinks” this way, whatever may be his public pronouncements.
As worse is the claim that President Obama is somehow “your” president and not “our” president. This is the second time this has happened within a week or so. Deadbeat Dad Joe Walsh (R-Il) also referred to President Obama as “your” President to Chris Matthews in their famous “hey Chris” interview.
What those who use this phrase fail to see, or perhaps see all too well, is that this is not some partisan reference, such as “you Democrats” or “you Republicans.” It is recognition that to some Republicans, the President is somehow illegitimate in their eyes. You can put that down to ideology but there is plenty of reason to put it down more to racism, acknowledged or subconscious.
When you add up all the attempts to marginalize this President as “other” you are left with the unsavory taste in your mouth that suggests that this is not politics as usual. No doubt there was plenty of hatred against Bill Clinton by the right. Perhaps then too, there were references to his being “your” president. But we have gone far beyond those paltry attempts to paint a president as evil.
Here we see a concerted effort on a broad base to define a president as not a citizen, not patriotic, not having the best interests of the country at heart, at being a plant to effect a Muslim caliphate takeover, as being a Socialist/Fascist/Nazi/Communist, even when all those things are basically contradictory to each other. Plenty of pundits give voice to the idea that this President is determined to “taking down this country” on behalf of past racial wrongs. This is an insanity that is so bizarre and so unreal that it bespeaks a deeply felt-knowing or unknowing visceral hatred of this man because of his skin color.
It’s just that those white people who feel such things are in the final respect utter cowards. If they truly believed in their rhetoric they would stand up proudly and proclaim their hatred of all things unwhite (however the hell you would define that). They would not need to hide behind a “majority” of fellow travelers. True ideologues are not afraid to buck the mainstream and stand up for what is “right.”
No, these fools know they are wrong, yet they are desperate to find a way to absolve themselves from the miserable state of their own lives. When you are told again and again that you can “be anything you want to be” in the great land of America, failure is not an option. And if you are not succeeding, if you are still that grease monkey in the local filling station after twelve years, well you need something to blame. And there are plenty of good folks you can depend on to feed your need to blame.
Pathetically these miserable folks don’t see that the likes of Rush and Sean and Glenn and all the rest of the vipers who make millions projectile vomiting their hatred, hate them as well. They sit over their three-hundred dollar meals with their fine wines and they laugh at the rabble that makes them rich. They no more care about your plight than they care about the poor moles killed by the lawn guy on their estate. You serve their purpose, short and long term.
Plenty of folks say that poor old Pat didn’t mean nothin’ by his “your boy” statement. He’s from another era, he had no clue. Well, screw that. He knew, or he should have known, and if he didn’t, then he has no business being given a public pulpit for his stupidity.
It’s time to call things what they are, and stand up. Well, what do you say?
Related articles
- Pat Buchanan Makes VERY Dicey Comment About Obama (huffingtonpost.com)
- Pat Buchanan Refers To President Obama As “Your Boy” To Al Sharpton (alan.com)
- Racey Racey Racey RACIST: Debt Ceiling Edition (passthedoucheys.com)
- Buchanan clarifies ‘your boy’ (politico.com)
- The Rev. Al Sharpton Knocks Down Pat Buchanan’s Talking Points on Reagan Being a Tax Cutter (crooksandliars.com)
- Yeah, this will do it (firedoglake.com)
Existential Ennui 