Right Wing World: WTF is Wrong with White, Conservative America?

I've voiced my discomfort and displeasure for the level of discourse in political discussion over the last few weeks. There is a far more strident, far more knee-jerk, hair-trigger defensiveness and offensiveness. It isn't confined to the extreme right-wing--or maybe even entirely on the right--but it is pretty much confined to white people. The same folks who are extremely defensive about being accused of racism (indeed, if they are, they'll claim the accuser is playing "the race card") seem to be eager to be openly racially antagonistic.

Image from source, NewsCorpse

After a series of high profile cases of black men killed by police officers being turned loose without so much as a slap on the wrist, many people--not just black people--have been very upset about what seems to be a pattern. Various forms of protest have sprung up, to keep attention focused on the problem. Though several of these cases can be murky to wade through, and often the victim is not as pure as the driven snow, the fact remains: if a cop kills a minority, regardless of his offense (and sometimes the "offense" isn't even a crime), it is rare for him to even be indicted, let alone tried for a crime.

Somehow, this has become a partisan issue, largely right-against-left. It's even been conflated with the torture report, with exactly the same battle lines, mostly right wingers in favor of wide latitude for torture and police use of force, versus the left against torture, and for more stringent review of police methods. Ironically, the right is usually against strong government power, apparently making an exception when it is used against people the right doesn't like. But here's where it gets really weird.

White people pointing guns at law enforcement at the Bundy Ranch.
Image from DuaneGraham.WordPress.com

Two police officers were brutally shot to death in New York City this weekend. And instantly Right Wing World turned it into a political firestorm. The killer (dead himself from a self-inflicted gunshot) is apparently absolved of the crime. Instead, it is the fault of President Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder and Al Sharpton. I have no idea why. And it's frankly disgusting.

If this were merely some anonymous internet chatter, or in the hobbyist blogosphere, that would be one thing. But it's prominent voices on the right, media personalities, elected officials. What the hell is going on here? Why is the right so anxious to turn the deaths of fellow Americans into some bizarre counter-point to a protest movement? No serious figure on the left has advocated violence against the police, and if they have, they would be instantaneously denounced (seriously, if there have been any, I hereby denounce them this instant).

I know that Right Wing World has been racially on edge for a long time, and that for 6 years they've desperately wanted to use the N-word openly. I'm honestly very surprised it hasn't popped out on FOX "News" or talk radio by now. But this is nuts. And it overlooks a very, very important fact: Two Tea Party following, Bundy Ranch protestors left that protest, went to Las Vegas, and killed two cops. How many on the right blamed themselves and their own leaders for that? >crickets<

[Excerpt]

NAUSEATING: Fox News Absolves Cop Killer Of Responsibility For Murders
 
Conservatives have long portrayed themselves as the voices of personal responsibility. They insist that the traditional values encompassed by patriotism and faith demand that individuals be accountable for their actions. But when it comes to the brutal assassination of two New York police officers, Fox News exploits the tragedy to lay the blame on innocent people that they regard as political adversaries. . .

Read more at: NewsCorpse

Blogging, White Guy, Racial Tension Blues

White vs. Black
(Seriously, don't google these terms)

Being a blogger has been challenging lately. I've got a lot going on in my life, big changes afoot. Lots to do, and lots to ponder. So, it puts blogging--a hobby, after all--kind of in the background of my brain. But there's a lot going on, so I want to come on here and opine, share and participate.

But dammit, can it get frustrating and depressing. The racial tension which has been stirred up by Ferguson and other similar cases has been hard to talk about. I'm a white guy, and though I'm gay and an atheist and thus something of an outsider, I'm aware that "white privilege" is a thing. Particularly since I fit the visual mold well enough to read as: non-threatening WASP male. I do not have to deal with the kind of crap other minorities do, and I'm aware of it. Plus, the cases are murky in places, with the victim generally less than a pillar of society, and the facts on the ground less than clear.

But beyond the deaths, and the looting and rioting, and the general feeling of tension, it's the angry white guy response that gets me down. I'm amazed how quick people are to call the victim a "thug." To imply that any bad behavior, petty crime, or even just less-than-respectful response to authority means the guy deserved to die. There's a desire to blame the victims for their own deaths. And the veiled (and unveiled) racially-tinged language just turns my stomach.

Seriously, my images may not be a terrific fit,
but if you search for it, put your filters on!



I believe that--as they say--everyone's a little bit racist. But, we should try not to be. We recognize irrational prejudice, do our best to tamp it down and/or hold it up to the light and get past it. It's the element that seems eager to drop all pretense and plunge straight ahead into full-on racism that is just depressing to me. Go read the comments section in virtually any newspaper or blog on the Ferguson or Staten Island cases (or any of a series of others), and read the Us vs. Them commentary. It stuff I thought we got past long ago, and it's not helpful in any way.

I guess it's too much to hope for that something in this country not boil down to right vs. left, black vs. white.

[Excerpt]

Police Killings Reveal Chasms Between Races

In the decade that Ashley Bernaugh, who is white, has been with her black husband, her family in Indiana has been so smitten with him that she teases them that they love him more than her. . .

Read more at: The New York Times



 

Jon Stewart on Garner "Chokehold" Case

Image from source, Raw Story

Because, I just can't. But even Stewart is all, "I can't even. . ."

[Excerpt]

Jon Stewart goes off on serious Garner case rant: ‘We’re definitely not living in a post-racial society’
 
Even Daily Show host Jon Stewart found it hard to come up with anything funny to say on Wednesday in the wake of a Staten Island grand jury’s decision not to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo in connection with the death of Eric Garner. “I don’t know,” Stewart confessed. “I honestly don’t know what to say. If comedy is tragedy plus time, I need more f*cking time. But I would really settle for less f*cking tragedy, to be honest with you. . .”



Read more at: Raw Story

Pepper Spray is Delicious... At Faux Nooz

One of the regular dipshit bimbos at Faux Nooz recently declared that military grade pepper spray is nothing more than a food product. Of course, if she were to be doused three times with military grade pepper spray she would probably feel different about adding it to her burrito. Assuming the concentrated chemical could penetrate the multiple layers of 'hot "news" hostess' make-up, that is.

Which, by those standards, makes water-boarding just a way to wash down the peppery goodness, I'd guess.

Anyhow, it got me to thinking about a great episode of The Simpsons that touches on this same subject. With humor... not with a total lack of intelligence, as demonstrated by the Faux Nooz Zombimbo.

Enjoy.