Bigots for Equality!

Last week I posted the comments of a friend, a psychotherapist and reverend, who argued that statements like "Justice Sotomayor is a reverse racist", or that Obama-care will favor blacks over whites, or will give-away medical treatment to “illegals”, or that, as Glenn Beck proclaims, Obama has "a deep-seated hatred for white people", are all demonstrations of psychological projection. “Projection is never conscious”, she wrote, “and so is not deliberate. The person who projects sincerely believes that what they say about the other person applies.” Many here agreed. I believe the opposite.

The most virulent white supremacists have always hailed from the extreme Right, and the from the reddest states, like South Carolina, which Joe (you lie!) Wilson represents. Yet today hordes of politicians of Wilson’s ilk, and right-wing shock-jocks are holding themselves out to be defenders of equal rights!

This is the same conservative movement that instituted slavery and waged the Civil War to defend it. Then they brought us the Klu Klux Klan and Jim Crow, and fought tooth-and-nail against the Civil Rights Act, integration, affirmative action, and Dr. Martin Luther King. Now they itch for a global war against Arabs and demand a wall to keep out Mexicans.

There is nothing remotely subtle about their racism. Here’s Rush Limbaugh on Obama: “We are being told that we have to hope he succeeds, that we have to bend over, grab the ankles … because his father was black, because this is the first black president." During the campaign he called Obama a “halfrican-American” who’s "only chance of winning… is that he's black", and that he’s "an affirmative action candidate". (citations and more quotes. 13 million Americans listen to Rush religiously.)

But now we should believe that they sincerely believe they are defending racial equality? Michelle Malkin, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity all warned that white males would be excluded from jobs created by the economic stimulus package. Why? Because Obama’s Labor Secretary said the plan should "include women and minorities ". (citation)

One thing – and only one thing - is absolutely consistent with conservative attitudes about race: they have always fought for white male power and prestige against any perceived threat. To believe that their recent warnings of reverse racism are anything but conscious and cynical lies would be foolish. And I’m not buying it.

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Wearing Sandals to a Brawl

by their footwear shall ye know them.

Conservatism is an approach to life in which one’s security is maintained through dominance. Conservatives fetishize dominance in every form: of parents over children, men over women, whites over non-whites, our nation over other nations, humans over animals, over wilderness, over the earth.

Consider the iconic footwear of the conservative: cowboy boots – otherwise known as “shit kickers”.






Cowboy boots were specifically invented for “giving the spurs”
to horses and for “punching cattle”.

In contrast, Liberalism is an approach to life in which
one’s security is maintained through peaceful coexistence.
Liberals believe in strength through peace, and preach
“conflict resolution”, cooperation, and bipartisanship.

The iconic footwear of the liberal is the sandal.



Relaxation is the raison d'etre of the sandal. Sandals are
designed for inaction, for passivity. We wear them when
we want to “kick back” and be “mellow”.

A conflict between boot-wearers and sandal-wearers is like a conflict between wolves and bunnies – more of a massacre than a fight.



(Note the predator’s narrow set eyes, for focusing on the attack, and the prey’s eyes on the sides of its head, so it can watch the attack arrive. Looking over my shoulder just now, my 11-year-old joked that the bunny looks like a “demi-cat”.)

Republicans today do not acknowledge our nation's duly-elected President. They scream that he’s not even a citizen, much less our President. They’re outraged that he would dare speak to our children in school, although Reagan and Bush-senior both did so. And they don’t even accord him the courtesy due any President, to address Congress without being heckled and hollered at.

Do not mistake this for mere criticism, however harsh, nor outrage, however intense. By their actions, today’s Republicans have broken the most essential covenant of any democracy: the consent of every citizen to be governed in accordance with elections.

Remember Al Gore, after the last appeal to the Supreme Court was rejected, gracefully conceded the Presidency to George Bush. Despite election fraud. And a margin of just 600 votes.

Democrats don’t GET IT. Politically speaking, this is a fight to the death.

And we wore sandals to the brawl.

"a deep-seated hatred for white people"

Do you wonder what on earth makes paunchy old white guys like Glen Beck accuse our sharp, Harvard-educated consensus-building, moderate President of "reverse" racism against whites. There is NOTHING in his history or his policies that would give evidence for that. In psycho-jargon it's called “projection”. When you have feelings that you can't admit to, you project those feelings onto someone else – most often onto the very person who stirred the unacceptable feelings in you.

Projection is a common dysfunction, and can be observed often in family feuds, such as when an abusive husband accuses his wife of disrespect. What, after all, could be more disrespectful than his own abuse? Projection is not conscious, and so is not deliberate. The person who projects sincerely believes that what they say about the other person applies.

So these old white men have been unconsciously thinking, "Man, if my family and I had been treated the way we've treated Black folks for centuries, I sure would hate us. So here is this black guy with all this power, and well, of course he’s gonna use it for revenge. I would.” Hence the projection: Obama hates white people, because I would hate white people if I were Black.

But Obama is a better man than that, and, I might add, a truer Christian. He has more useful things to do than try to get revenge on anyone today for the injustices of the past. He would rather right past wrongs than continue them. If that sounds more like the Gospel message to you than anything Rush Limbaugh is promoting, take heed. Obama doesn’t hate any group. And neither does God.