Eugene Robinson appeared on Countdown on MSNBC and said, "I don't think I would disagree with what he said about light-skinned versus dark-skinned African-Americans and their acceptance by the larger society. But, clearly he didn't---whatever he was trying to say---he didn't say it the right way. "
A commonality from these discussion emerged. Lott's statement was racist but Reid's was only racist to a point. Actually, it wasn't really racist because it was a comment on political reality in America. So, Reid wasn't necessarily wrong but he said it in the wrong way. What a lousy idea for Americans to think about?
Thinking about how Reid said what he said "the wrong way" does nothing to advance the conversation on race in America. And, perhaps, that was the intention. Certainly, the media has become trained at talking about race in a manner that conveniently skirts the inequalities that all people of color face when it comes to jobs, housing, education, voting, etc.
The way markets and other systems in our society take advantage of poverty prevalent among African-Americans can easily be supported with facts and figures that one might find in Tim Wise's Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama or Paul Street's Barack Obama and the Future of American Politics.
But, the media are probably more comfortable with exploring the advantages of a "color-blind society," the kind of society that the National Republican Senatorial Committee's Communications Director Brian Walsh would like to "one day live in" but feel they cannot so long as people like Harry Reid are out making public remarks that allude to racial inequality in America.
Media pundits would rather pontificate on what's a racist remark and what isn't. And, in that case, what is a racist remark? Was Reid's comment even close to a racial slur, as many would suggest?
Well, since Reid's remark doesn't come close to equating Obama to a porch monkey, spook, spade, moolie, jigaboo, or nig-nog, it's not overtly racist. He wasn't like George Allen and didn't use the word "macaca" to describe Obama.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
