When I went to vote in the primary Tuesday I was reminded of something that happened almost exactly two years ago.
I came face to face with a racist.
While passing out literature for my presidential candidate of choice at Canton First Monday Trade Days in 2008, I walked past a man camped in a lawn chair beside his camper, surrounded by junk – er, I mean items for sale. This man was a redneck in every sense of the word, the type who has a cigarette in one hand, a beer in the other, and laces his conversation with obscenities to convey what his otherwise uneducated mind cannot properly articulate.
I wasn’t planning on talking to this guy, but as we canvassed the area, he asked me what I was passing out on my second time past his setup. He quickly told me he was a Democrat and wanted John Edwards to get the party’s nomination for president. “But I guarantee you one thing: I will never vote for Barack Obama.”
He repeated his sentiment again before the end of our brief conversation, making sure to emphasize the “never,” without giving me a specific reason why.
We both knew the answer to that. This man was a racist.
It’s unfortunate that such people still exist, but it seems strange to me that some people associate racists with the Republican party. Apparently, many believe that not voting for Obama or supporting his agenda constitutes racism.
I beg to differ. The fact is, racists have no party.
They also have no color. Last month, Jason Whitlock, a black columnist for FOXSports.com, senselessly elected to play the race card in his post-Super Bowl column.
“In the biggest sporting event in the world, with a record number of people watching and on the game’s most important play, a black defensive back outsmarted a beloved white quarterback. I know. That’s a truth many of you can’t handle. It makes you uncomfortable.”
Wow, I didn’t see that one coming in a column titled “The 10 greatest QBs of all-time.”
It’s unfortunate that some people think the best way to fight racism is to give these buffoons the attention they crave. Last year HBO aired “Right America, Feel Wronged: Some Voices From the Campaign Trail,” which was a documentary by Alexandra Pelosi.
Rather than spotlight the “hope” and “change” that was the signature of the 2008 election, Pelosi, daughter of House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, uses her time to highlight racists. Pelosi then had the audacity to tell USA Today, “I don’t want to stir the pot.”
Really? Then stop doing it.
It’s not that I want to protect uninformed bigots – quite the opposite. My problem is with continuing to give them credence. Their day has come and gone.
Racists are by far the minority in this country and I think it’s time we ignored them. The media have learned this tactic when it comes to half-crazed fans who run onto courts, fields and rinks in hopes of getting on television. The cameras appropriately turn elsewhere to discourage such activity, thus allowing the fan to be escorted to jail without publicity.
Why don’t we try doing that with irrelevant racists?
Unless it is a high-profile member of society making a racially inappropriate remark (the kind which caused Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott to step down in 2002), let’s just forget it. By shouting these positions from the rooftops, we are actually serving to legitimize the position.
Unfortunately, some racists still lurk among Democrats and Republicans. We can only hope time will heal this black eye in American politics. Those who really do hate Obama because he is black are not Democrat or Republican; they’re racists. I say we remember that – and forget them.