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October 05, 2008

Racism in Virginia

For those interested in the politics of race during this campaign,

but in general in the U.S. (so many folks I still hear say that racism

is a thing of the past), here's an article that came out in the L.A. Times re race and campaign efforts in Virginia (Whitewood, VA). A snippet from the article:Ben

and Beth Bailey sat in the back and clapped politely, but they remained

unpersuaded. They said they were likely to break from their tradition

of voting Democratic and might well not vote at all.

Obama "just doesn't seem like he's from America," said Beth Bailey,

25. Ben Bailey, 32, noted that Obama's middle name is Hussein, "and we

know what that means." And here's another one: "Am

I racial? Am I prejudiced? No, I'm not," said Viers. Still, he is

frustrated that his job is to persuade other Democrats to back a black

man.

"Somebody in Buchanan County or in the United States can look at him

and say, 'He's not my color,' " said Viers. "Why put yourself in that

position?Hmmmm.... I guess race doesn't play a part in his fears eh?

It always befuddles me how folks can claim they are not "racial," or

prejudiced, but still oppose mixed marriage, or refuse to vote for a

person because of the color of their skin. These folks probably truly

believe themselves not to be racist, and how do you go about convincing

them otherwise? Or is that even the best strategy? Thing is, some of

these communities are so isolated, and young folks grow up so insular,

that these attitudes are recycled and entrenched. Organizers for the

union, and Obama supporters are trying religious arguments but

apparently those do not work as well in persuading folks as they might

expect or wish.

Here's a link to the .PDF of the racist column penned by Bobby May, "treasurer of the Buchanan County Republican Party and...county['s] representative on McCain's Virginia leadership team."

Oh, and check out Nicholas Kristof's recent column claiming that Obama is facing "racism without racists" (what world does he live in I wonder?)

There really is no shame. I hope McCain and Palin come out clearly

and strongly attacking such racism and making clear that it is, among

other things, morally repugnant. I would invite Kristof on a walk down

some parts of Virginia, but who am I kidding? I'd be the one worried.