Saturday, May 09, 2009

Everyone's Racist, But the Racists

Apparently, I'm a racist.  Why?  Because I wrote a post mocking conservative racism.  And yes, that's how skewed things are on the right: It's racist to mock racists.  It stemmed from my mockery of an idiotic post at RedState, which was premised on the theory that black people support Democrats because they've been too stupid, immature, lazy, and ungrateful to vote Republican.  And the fact that the author somehow imagined that his post wasn't racist is the greatest racial insensitivity at all.  You can claim to be my friend all you want, but if that involves you talking to me like a spoiled child, I'm going to have my doubts.

And so I wrote my post from the perspective that conservatives were right and that Democrats really hate black people and are purposefully keeping them down.  But it was all a big joke, which even conservatives couldn't take seriously.  And that's actually a big part of my nihilist posts: They're intended as object lessons in what a liberal would say, if the rightwing smears against us were true. 

Yet somehow, the obvious satire wasn't enough, and conservative stalker Donald Douglas has now cited that post as an example of leftwing racism.  Here's a quote from Donald:
What we find is that genuine, widespread, and MAINSTREAM bigotry in contemporary American politics is on the radical left end of the spectrum. See more of this at American Nihilist, "Impending Arrival of BlackState."
Yet, how can he possibly cite me as a source of "genuine" bigotry, when there wasn't anything genuine about the post?  For god's sake, I actually wrote that we had analysts in the Klan who had predicted that black people would kill 65% of white Democrats in three hours.  Only a complete nutjob would ever refer to this as being "genuine."  

Oh, and how can "mainstream bigotry" reside on the "radical left end of the spectrum"?  Either this is mainstream or it's radical.  But of course, seeing as how his post implicitly attacked black people and women for engaging in "the most disgusting racism and sexism in decades" for having supported Obama or Hillary in the primaries, I'd guess that Donald's definition of "radical left end" is really quite large.

Acting Racist

Now don't get me wrong.  I seriously doubt Donald's a racist.  He's just an anti-liberal weirdo who loves hearing any and all attacks on liberals.  And so he adopts whatever anti-liberal garbage he's fed and begs for more.  In fact, I really don't think there are many true racists on the right.  While they exist, I'm sure, I suspect most of this is misplaced antagonism towards liberals and support for their own team; ignorant of the fact that there are still true racists on their team.

But in any case, racist is as racist does, and if you write a post based upon the premise that black people are stupid and lazy, well, you wrote a racist post no matter how well intentioned you imagined you were.  And conservatives like poor Donald don't understand how any of this works.  They see TBogg displaying a racist image in order to mock racism, and insist that this makes TBogg racist.  They hear liberals call black Republicans "Uncle Tom" for behaving in ways traditionally associated with that phrase, and immediately proclaim it racist.  (For the record, I'm not sure that phrase was ever racist and believe this is yet another misunderstanding by conservatives.)

And perhaps they've got a point.  But if they do, they've failed to make it every time.  They're generally not good at dealing with arguments beyond the level of broad assertion, so even if they had a point, I'd never know what it is.  And while it's possible that their brains just can't comprehend the idea of argumentation, a better explanation would be that they can't explain themselves because they just don't know what the hell they're talking about.  

Even with this post, the best Donald could do to "refute" what I just wrote will be to focus on the insults I gave him, and insist that he doesn't need to explain himself because all his arguments are "self-evident."  And again, that's what you do when you can't explain yourself because you don't know what the hell you're talking about.  And yes, Donald has used "self-evidence" as the source for his arguments and proclaimed himself the winner of the debate.  And yes, that debate was exactly as sad as it sounds like it'd be.

Not Getting It

And it's quite shocking to see how convinced conservatives are of liberal evil-doing, without even the slightest understanding of what we were saying to begin with.  For example, TBogg's post couldn't possibly be considered racist, yet Donald accuses him of it all the same.  Why?  Because TBogg used an image that Donald didn't understand.  

To Donald, the image is racist no matter what context it's being used in.  Who cares what TBogg was trying to say; all that matters is the image.  Curiously, Donald attacked TBogg for this, writing "If any conservative blogger or columnist were to post a black Sambo eating a watermelon the entire netroots would erupt in feigned outrage at the modern day lynching."  

Yet, Donald did post the image, and in a larger version than TBogg's.  I find that fairly mind-boggling.  And I could understand if Donald was attempting to defend someone who had used a racial image in a similar context, by citing TBogg's usage in defense.  But he's not.  He's outright proclaiming TBogg to be a racist, simply for having used the image; even if the point of TBogg's usage was to mock racism.  In other words, TBogg's a racist for using the image to attack someone he thought was racist, yet Donald's a hero for having used the same image to attack someone he thought was racist.  The lack of self-awareness here is simply astonishing.

And that's the biggest problems conservatives have: They have absolutely no clue what the hell we're talking about.  And so they give everything the worst possible spin and attack us for doing the opposite of what we did.  Context is meaningless to them.  But again, they don't want to understand us.  Nor do they care about racism.  It's all about supporting their team and attacking us, and that's all they see.  

And in the end, seeing as how the basis of racism is blind prejudice in support of one's own team, we really haven't seen much of a shift here at all.  They might give backhanded compliments to black people in order to openly insult liberals; but it all pretty much amounts to the same thing.  They're the best and we all suck, and it doesn't matter what color we are; they hate us all equally.  And lost in all this is that one big reason conservatives hate liberals is because we insisted upon equal opportunity for black people.  That's irony, my friends.

And now we've come full circle and they're attempting to woo black people in order to defeat us.  Well...just as long as those black people stop expecting free cars and finally grow up and start listening to what Republicans have to say.  Somehow, I don't see that happening just yet.

13 comments:

AmPowerBlog said...

"conservative stalker Donald Douglas..."

Now that's a riot, "Arlonnnnnn!!!!"

You think maybe a blog called American Nihilist designed to stalk, er, mimic American Power might actually be a closer fit? But it's your own denialist world over here, but I've pinned you down like a slimy Texas dragged polecat already ... you're still squirming your way out.

And hello, "Democrats because they've been too stupid, immature, lazy, and ungrateful..."

Ah, you're talking about Al Sharpton right?

Yes, Arlonnnnnn!! It's bigoted to back the Democratic anti-voucher agenda. Obama hates black kids, face it. Oh, except his own girls, who get to got to, wait for it ... private D.S. schools!

Change!!

God, you really think you know this stuff? Pisssss ... pathetic.

repsac3 said...

Wow!!

Does that rant even warrant a reply, or is it best left as just another piece of evidence in support of what you said in the post?

Doctor Biobrain said...

Ouch. I'm begging you, Donald. Please lay off the whole Arlon thing. I'm really starting to cry. Seriously. Look, I know I made a mistake and I fully admit that it wasn't just a minor goof, but a huge error in judgment based entirely on my anti-American nihilism along with my hatred for my mommy and daddy for making me eat green beans and spinach, but you've really got to stop stinging me with that. I'm serious. I'm having trouble seeing the screen right now due to all the tears streaming down my face. I think I might need a new keyboard soon and my wife's just left me because I'm crying so loudly. Yet that's nothing compared to the pain I feel every time I reflect back upon you calling me "Arl*n". It hurts that much.

Yes, I admit it. You're the best of the best. Your awesome skills of argumentation surpass even that of Cicero's. It's obvious that your mastery of the skills of mocking minor goofs is enough to make even the most hardened of schoolyard bullies to cheer in excitement. How it ever occurred to you to keep calling me "Arl*n" is beyond me, but the extra n's were a pure stroke of genius. You really are the master and I'm not even worthy to be the slave to your lowest pupil. I have been ever so humbled and I thank you for the experience.

Seriously though, your insistence upon highlighting this one minor misspelling is the best argument against you ever having made a good point against me. You really need to layoff the silly taunts and try making an argument for once.

Doctor Biobrain said...

Yes, Arlonnnnnn!! It's bigoted to back the Democratic anti-voucher agenda. Obama hates black kids, face it. Oh, except his own girls, who get to got to, wait for it ... private D.S. schools! Donald, I was about to write a rebuttal to this, which was the only part of what you wrote that wasn't moronic blather completely devoid of any content, but realized it'd just be a recap of what I already wrote. And that's because you didn't bother refuting anything I wrote, but rather just talked past me. And that means that my original point still stands. And heck, you accused me of racism and I refuted that quite convincingly. Any chance you'd like to explain why my rebuttal was wrong, or are you still standing by the assertion that my post expressed genuine bigotry?

I warned you not to attempt a rebuttal because you wouldn't understand what I wrote, and you've completely confirmed that. Look, I laid out the case for why RedState's post was racist and if you want to offer a rebuttal, go for it. But you didn't even attempt to address anything I wrote; just as I had predicted. Now, if you'd like something explained, ask me for clarification and I'd be glad to do so. But what you wrote was an obnoxious rant that I'm hoping was fueled by alcohol.


And here's an example of how to ask a question to get someone to clarify their point: Would you care to explain why the same black kids that you think should have the government pay for their private school shouldn't also have the government pay for their healthcare?

I believe that the government should pay for both, but if someone wants healthcare or education above what the government can provide, they should be able to pay for that themselves. That's generally how we do things in this country: The government provides public libraries, pools, and security; but if you want something better, you have to pay for it yourself. Or perhaps you're just too big of a socialist to handle that sort of thing.

Anonymous said...

Despite the unintentional humor that Donald brings to the internet, and good God, between this hilarity and the post over at his place, I'm in tears. I really hope there are people close to him who will form an intervention. I realize he's not going to listen to nihilists tell him he's lost touch with reality, but there it is.

AmPowerBlog said...

"... moronic blather ..."

You know, that really does characterize your posting. That you can't seem to grasp the notion the black kids on D.C. voucher are really pissed off because this president could give freaking flub about them, while he sends his own kids to private school, really does take sheer stupidity.

And to give Sadly No! a pass the way you did, frankly, is one of the more bothersome episodes I've ever had with you. Thomas Sowell de-Nazifying a toilet is really digging to the depths.

God, you're depraved.

AmPowerBlog said...

Since you love "satire," so much, thought I'd share this (which is safe to click, trust me).

Broadway Carl said...

Donald, can you please explain how the picture you've linked qualifies as "satire"?

sat⋅ire  –noun

1. the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.

2. a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule.

3. a literary genre comprising such compositions.

To me, the comment made of the photo was just a silly, little homosexual joke.

Anonymous said...

Not sure if the photo rises to the level of satire, but it is kind of funny in a Mad magazine sort of way. Jeez Donald, and here I thought you were totally humorless.

repsac3 said...

As usual, Donald proves he has no concept of the subject about which he speaks. To him, that's satire; as long as no one asks him to explain why. (Adhering to dictionary definitions is not his strong suit...)

Funny?
Well maybe a little...

But satire?
No, Donald. Not satire.

Doctor Biobrain said...

Donald, could you please explain the satire in the picture you posted? I actually wrote a long post explaining why it wasn't satire, but decided it'd just be easier this way. If you like, I'll gladly explain the satire in my nihilist posts. But you might not be interested, so I won't bother.

So, please, explain the satirical nature of that picture. I know it was just a joke, but I fail to see how it involved satire.

Doctor Biobrain said...

That you can't seem to grasp the notion the black kids on D.C. voucher are really pissed off because this president could give freaking flub about them, while he sends his own kids to private school, really does take sheer stupidity.Yes Donald, it would take sheer stupidity for me to not understand why these kids would like to go to better schools. Similarly, it'd be stupid if I didn't understand that they want free healthcare too. And similarly, it'd be stupid if I didn't understand that they were upset that they were born poor and in bad neighborhoods. But you see, I DO understand these things, so I don't know why you mentioned it. I'm sure they want lots of things that I can't give them, but what does this have to do with racism? We oppose voucher programs for ALL races. What does race have to do with the voucher program?

Look, the basis of that RedState post was that black people are too stupid, lazy, and ungrateful to vote Republican. For christ's sake, he implictly said that black people are too stupid to listen to Republicans, and vote Democrat because they want free cars and candy. Do you agree with that? If so, then you're as racist as the dummy who wrote that garbage.

What's sad is that you guys have finally decided to play some identity politics in order to guilt liberals into supporting a voucher program we'd never support. And what's sadder is that Sadly No's satire of this silly game you're playing totally nailed you and you don't even understand why. You guys are forty years behind the times and imagine you're five years ahead. How sad.

repsac3 said...

Free clue for Donald:

It could potentially be satire when Cynthia Yockey posts it... ...but based on the comments--a must read, for those who enjoy the wit and wisdom of some of our rightward lurching friends--it probably isn't.