We Get Email. Yep, We Do.
Ms. Susan D. Bankston
Richmond, TX
susan@brazosriver.com
Dear Ms. Bankston,
I am writing to you in response to comments carried in the AP article of September 10 release headed on-line as, “Does Racial Bias Fuel Obama Foes? How to Tell?”
The logic or illogic of “playing the race card” or “liberal guilt,” or even “implicit bias” is maddening and I think it played a role in 2008 that many on the left, in particular, would like to see repeated in 2012.
My paraphrase of the present paradigm is as follows, “Anyone who votes for the white Republican is, by definition, racist. If someone votes that way and believes they are not racist, it is because they are unaware of their own racism. Anyone who votes for the black Democrat is certainly not racist. Since I am not racist and do not want to be perceived as racist, I will vote for the black Democrat.”
This is absurd! But it is an effective way to appeal to liberal voters’ guilt and put conservatives on the defensive. In the process, however, of labeling every conservative political point of view as “racist” this or “racist” that, we as a culture are watering down and actually distorting true racism. How each of us live our everyday lives, in harmony with people around us, people of a range of races and ethnic backgrounds, seeing others as valuable individuals rather than within a class or race or label, should be an indicator. The fact that our lifestyle and values are secondary to who we vote for and the color of who we vote for seems repugnant to me.
I think it is patronizing and disrespectful of the office of president that Barak Obama’s skin color should even enter into the equation. The man brought strengths and weaknesses, good ideas and bad ideas to the office; his performance has had high points and low points and should be debated without racial baggage interfering. I have little hope of this happening, however.
Thank you for your consideration of my views,
Sincerely,
Rick Waldemar
.
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Dear Mr. Waldemar,
You have no idea how impressed I am that you took all the trouble to find me here in Texas to fuss at me. I would think there are not enough hours in the day for you to look up the email of addresses of everybody’s names in the newspaper and write them a letter. What a fulfilling life you have! Bless your heart.
Honey, I did a 20 minute interview with the Associated Press at the convention and, apparently, one of my sentences was coherent and they used it. In all honesty, that’s about my average – one coherent sentence in 20 minutes of talking. After a glass of wine, my average sags a bit, so it’s a good thing they caught me before noon.
When asked about racism and Obama I said –
“Every time they say, `We want our country back,’ I know what that means,” Susan Bankston, a white Democratic National Convention delegate from Richmond, Texas, said at the gathering last week.
And Lord knows, being a old white woman from Texas, I do, son, I do. I know real well what that means.
Please note that I did not say that all Republicans are racists. I do, however, say that all racists are Republicans.
I just flat loved your whole Kumbaya thing and the new verse you wrote that goes like this, “ in harmony with people around us, people of a range of races and ethnic backgrounds, seeing others as valuable individuals rather than within a class or race or label…” Darlin’, did you watch the Republican National Convention on the radio or something? Seriously, where was the harmony much less the range of races? Babe, the range of races ran from real white to pretty much white. Republicans don’t even like each other. They snarl at each other. I bet they don’t even know the regular words to Kumbaya, much less the ones you wrote.
I don’t have liberal guilt. I do, however, have Momma guilt because I live in Texas and our Mommas have the distributorship on guilt. Boy howdy, my Momma can guilt me into damn near anything so I’m real happy that she never votes Republican.
I’m not happy that you feel it is disrespectful to the office of the presidency for us to notice that Barack Obama is black. It seems to me that all those years that a black man was excluded from even running for president much less getting elected still puts the scales south of fair and even.
Honey, a man stood in my front yard on inauguration day and hollered the N word so loudly and scary that we had to call the police. I wondering why you don’t worry about him instead of about me? I get racist emails all the time and the customers around here can tell you about the crazy man who keeps sending me piles of anonymous racist stuff he prints off the Internet machine and uses the Houston chapter of the NAACP as the return address on the envelope.
I’m not saying that you should vote for Barack Obama because he’s black. I’m saying that there are real live Republicans who vote against him because he’s black and that’s a damn shame and very unAmerican.
By the way, I do not label every Republican point as “racist.” I pretty much label them as stoopid or mean or greedy or holy crap what are they thinking?
One more thing. If I’m reading something and it says the word paradigm, I generally quit reading right there so try to put that word near the bottom next time.
But, thank you for what effort it took for you to hunt me down. I pretty much stay under the radar except for a few customers here at the beauty salon. I used to like it that way.
Love and Fried Okra,
Juanita’s friend Susan
Can I use the line, “love and fried okra?” I love it. Thanks for putting this nitwit in his place.
1Dear Sir,
I, too, have considered your views (no need to thank me, it’s a habit of mine) and I, like my friend Juanita, find them silly. Possibly, even probably heartfelt. But waaaaaay off base, over the fence, and into the weeds.
Love and Green Chile,
2Susan’s Friend Kay
I felt no guilt at all when I voted for the smart guy, who seemed to share my attitudes about things.
3I love you so much.
4JJ, when I started into graduate school to get my PhD, in every class they talked about paradigms. Since everyone seemed to know what it was I just kept quiet. It took me 2-1/2 semesters to finally figure out what it meant even after looking it up in the dictionary. I still have to remind myself occasionally. However, I must also confess to using the word in the classroom on occasion, and I teach undergrads! I may have to rethink that.
5This gave me a real lift! ROTFLMAO. (Momma doesn’t read acronyms, does she? Uh…is “acronym” too big a word too? At least it’s at the end of this comment!)
I’ll do Mr. Waldemar one better.
I take it that the white republican he speaks of would be Mittens; unless he’s flip flopped on the presidential thing and is running for something else today? Personally I think anyone wanting to vote for the republican is asking for his ass (sorry Mama) to be kicked. His children to be uninsured and the country to be in a perpetual state of war and run by the Billionaire Boys Club.
Anyway Mr. Waldemar, I’m pretty sure Allen West is just as big of a racist toe rag and self hater—as he’s got something to prove.
Sadly, it seems to me Mr. Waldemar has got him some kind of butt hurt going ’cause the vocal part of his party tends to be loons dancing the racist toons and jumping on board the traveling klan wagon that calls itself the modern day GOP.
Sorry dude. You all should have shut them down when they reared up—now you are stuck with them.
6Miz Juanita Jean, you done yerself proud.
7That was a wonderful smackdown.
8You go girl.
9Susan wins all 10 rounds. Rick, pedantry, pompousness and preachiness can be distilled down to a simple “Republicans stop your schoolyard mentality slanderous remarks with respect to our Presidents heritage”.
10Jeebus! You coulda taught Ann Landers a couple things!
11Outstanding. Even better reading it while drinking my first cup of coffee this morning.
Mz. JJ, you are fantabulous.
12Most excellent response Miz Juanita Jean.
Seems like Mr. Rick could use a review even if it is over two years old. It’s still pertinent. [Is ‘pertinent’ acceptable vocabulary? ;)] http://www.alternet.org/story/146616/what_if_the_tea_party_were_black?paging=off
13That letter is some fine writing, Juanita Jean!
14They want to take their country back? Don’t they know, once you go black…
As for “paradigm.” I love the alliteration he drops in: “paraphrase of the present paradigm.”
Please pass him my plaudits for a post packed with a plethora of plosives.
15“Paraphrase of the present paradigm,” he left out patronizing and perduring parameters.
There are other words to describe Mr. Waldemar (help me Harry Potter groupies, isn’t Waldemar a character in one of J. K. Rowling’s books?) Insular may describe Mr. Waldemar; also unconscious and eristic, as he appears to be unaware of the state of mind of so many self-proclaimed conservatives who dominate the so called conservative party. Or perhaps he is just eristic and disputatious.
16Uncle Dave, Lord Voldemort is maybe who you are thinking about.
Those racist types jumped into the R Party just like Lyndon said they would. The Republicans have been feeding that alligator for so long, it is now biting them in their arses.
Everybody knows they can’t say that word out loud, so they just say socialist. My neighborhood votes 90% Republican. I figured out the code a long time ago
17I couldn’t look up all those big words because the dictionary and thesaurus are keeping the coffee table from tipping over.
Love and Hatch chiles,
18Juanita Jean’s customer
Pooooor Rick—sent us a real thoughty letter intended to impress us (big words) and make us feel bad about noticing our president’s blackness while he, with a powerfully developed sense of justice, can ignore color and judge him as just a….another individual who happens to occupy the office of president. Guess Rick thought those of us here in Texas are new to racism and wouldn’t even recognize it amongst ourselves. Let me suggest he lives in a magical kingdom where he can shut his eyes, click his heels, and presto, color barriers just melt away! I think all Rick lacks here is a serious, grown up relationship with a black person. Just one.
19“How each of us live our everyday lives in harmony with people around us…”. What is he talking about?! I’m weary from all the lies and hateful remarks I hear and read daily from GPOers. I ask Jesus often is He not bothered that they spew such hate while professing to be His followers? Obviously “Why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord’ — and never do what I tell you?” doesn’t appear in Conservative translations of the Bible. I can see how they can rationalize Jesus meant for individual Christians to feed the hungry not government. But do they explain “Love one another” to themselves.
20Oh, girl-FRIEND….BODY SLAM! Heh, heh.
I adore you.
21Last sentence should read…But how do they explain “Love one another” to themselves? Just thinking about the hypocrisy gets me worked up!
22Amen, Susan…voting Republican doesn’t mean you’re a racist. But if you’re a racist, you vote Republican. When I point this out, I usually get that old saw about how 94% of black people voted for Obama so that makes black people racist. Um, no – African-Americans have voted <90% for every Dem presidential candidate since the Rs decided to go full bore Southern Strategy almost 40 years ago.
I wonder to myself how it's possible in less than 100 years to so thoroughly alienate people you freed from chattel slavery.
23Mr. Waldemar –
24President Obama receives at least 30 death threats a day. 400% over what President Bush received. Those threats are a free for all of blatant racism. I do hope you can connect the dots. Democrats (and those, like myself, that are still registered republican but have avoided the brain sucking vacuum) called for Mr. Bush to be impeached (well kinda since I do believe Cheney scared us more), we did not, as the figures above show, threaten to kill him. Yet when Mr. Obama was elected the vicious, hate filled racism came screaming out of the woodwork. The majority tippy toed around it, just as you have, but the sick bottom line is that they are offended that a black man was elected president and didn’t know his place. He has done nothing to be impeached for (unlike Bush/Cheney) so the vast majority fall back on their base nature and stonewall the economy and/or threaten his and his family’s lives because they are black. I am sorry the brain vacuum gotcha before you could run.
Great response to Mr. Waldemar’s letter. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps he doesn’t have newspaper the Interwebs or a teevee. While I can’t agree that racists only vote Repub, I’m not sure how he missed the coded language, secret handshakes and whatnot disseminated by the TOP of the national Republithug ticket over the last 45 years, starting with Richard Nixon. I’m pretty sure even RMN would be appalled by the vitriol we’re sopping up now.
25Love and maple syrup, VeeGee
Rick is attempting to write as George Will. Big words and all. 12 out of 10 people who use the word paradigm don’t know what it means.
26Forgot to add, I am not too fond of Gouge Will. Not a mispell.
27My dear,
That was (sniff) beautiful!
28Oh, JJ, We’ve missed yew…. Glad you & Bubba are home safe & sound. Give Truman an extra treat from me.
Dear Mr. W,
We don’t do guilt. We do smart.
Love and Philly Cheesesteaks wit,
29Another Beauty Shop Regular
Rick, I’d like to give you 1/2 pt. for attempting to use the POTUS first name, unlike the rethugs who routinely refer to him solely by his surname. His first name is correctly spelled “Barack”, but I don’t give points. I’ve tried to think back to the George W. Bush years, and I just can’t recall any of his opponents publicly refer to him as “Bush.” Nope, I’m just not hearing that rhythm in my head. Nor can I recall any of the behavior as has been exhibited by Congress. Some fat bully-boy cracker, calling out “liar” and texting on his portable electronic hand held device during the POTUS address to the nation. Kumbaya my keister (does that call for a “sorry Mama”?).
30Oh yeah, love and lutefisk. I’ve never had it, but I live in Minnesota.
31While, of course, I love JJ’s responce the one I really get behind is “Norma says:” It is just beautifully and sparsely written.
32Sorry – I know I’m late to the party here, but that was a superlative smackdown.
Love and Mississippi tomatoes…
Lorinda P.
33JJ,
Has your interview hit the U-Tubes yet?
Oh, and do ya think Mr. Waldemar would let one of those “valuable individuals”use his bathroom or is that just reserved for the folks he is ya know “in harmony with” or would that just be “playing the race card” ?
This guilty liberal wants to know!
Love and alfalfa hay!
34LongRider
Awesome throw down, Juanita!
My own addition to the snark: Yeah, Rick, when you learn the difference between a paradigm and a syllogism, come talk to me. Thesaurus abuse is a terrible way to waste perfectly good words.
35The gentleman’s noble and pious declaration of diversity calls to mind some of the sentiments expressed by the fine young ladies in the movie, “The Help.” Sir, why not have a seat at the dining room table so that you can enjoy a nice big slice of … chocolate cake …
36My word!
I am in awe of your wonderful response. This is why we love you!
37Oh, and Ms. Norma…spot on!!!!
38What a joy and delight to discover you. I live in Austin but am more than willing to drive to Juanita Jean’s just to bask in the atmosphere of mama-lovers and the Texas-sense-of- Where’s-Molly-Ivins?
As a life-long Texan with silver hair and silver spoons, I too know the code. Maybe the nation is catching on….
39