Tea Partiers Swear They Are Not Racist, But Their Actions Beg To Differ - Occupy Democrats

Occupydemocracy via Twitter:

Tea Partiers Swear They Are Not Racist, But Their Actions Beg To Differ - Occupy Democrats:

Salvatore Aversa writes in this analysis of the Value Voters Summit:

"It is not often I will say somebody is being racist, simply because they disagree with President Obama.  Despite that, there are times when arguments become latent with racism.  It is becoming more and more apparent that the Republican Modus Operandi is complaining because there is a black guy in the White House.  We see it when teabaggers carry signs of President Obama with a bone in his nose.  We see it when Republicans put criticisms on President Obama, that never seemed to be an issue before, like the raising of the debt ceiling, or even simply keeping the government operating.

 This has never been more apparent than with Joe Wurzelbacher, who recently published on his website an article by an unattributed author.  In it, the article states that wanting a “white Republican President” does not “make you racist, it just makes you American.”

'via Blog this'

Ephphatha Poetry: "Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black" - Tim Wise

Ephphatha Poetry: "Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black" - Tim Wise

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This blog post by Tim Wise is SO powerful! Not only does he help us to think more clearly about the Tea Party movements, but it also helps us to think about the reality of "white privilege" in a way that is undeniable.

I remember reading Peggy McIntosh's classic article, "White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences through Work in Women’s Studies," in college and being completely blown away by the experience of having been changed forever by a new way of seeing things. Using what Kenneth Burke called "perspective by incongruity," this new way of seeing was perhaps one of the most powerful motivators for me to study and understand and champion diversity and communication in my doctorate and career.

I wonder if Mr. Wise's post will do the same for a new generation of students . . . if nothing else, he has provided a powerful way to think about and talk about what's happening in this country today. It will be interesting to see what comes of this in the weeks ahead.

And this, my friends, is what white privilege is all about. The ability to threaten others, to engage in violent and incendiary rhetoric without consequence, to be viewed as patriotic and normal no matter what you do, and never to be feared and despised as people of color would be, if they tried to get away with half the shit we do, on a daily basis.

Game Over.