I would like to take the opportunity to respond to two recent articles by Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post titled “Race in the sunlight” (June 28) and “Patriotism comes in many colors” (July 3 at TheTandD.com and July 10 in The T&D).
In “Race in the sunlight,” Robinson insists that in the upcoming presidential election, “race is already an issue.”
He chooses the road taken by many writers, insinuating that while overt racism and prejudice are no longer as prevalent as they once were, these concepts must have somehow moved to the underground.
Robinson wrote that Obama has chosen to bring race “into the sunlight” so that it cannot be used covertly against him. In addition, he insists, “Obama’s race isn’t something that voters could possibly miss.”
While he explicitly charges that Republicans are somehow bound and determined to use race against Obama, we must acknowledge that no Republican of note has yet to do so. The question here is: Who is actually stirring the pot?
During the Democrat nomination battle between Hillary and Obama, it was widely reported that whites supported Hillary and Obama in almost equal numbers (about 40 percent each). On the other hand, blacks supported Obama at a rate of up to 90 percent.
One can’t help but notice the glaring equality in voting among whites and the inarguable in-group bias in voting among blacks.
Robinson himself would have to admit that among Democrats, it appears that Hillary’s race was something that black voters couldn’t possibly miss. Indeed, support reaching into the 90 percent range is most often associated with the likes of Hussein, Kim Jong-Il and Castro.
Robinson was highlighting Obama’s recent address in Jacksonville, Fla., where he said, “It is going to be very difficult for Republicans to run on their stewardship of the economy or their outstanding foreign policy … We know what kind of campaign they’re going to run. They’re going to try to make you afraid. They’re going to try to make you afraid of me. ‘He’s young and inexperienced, and he’s got a funny name. And did I mention he’s black?’”
Obama insists that, “they are going to say…” And that is the key. Was this intended to be a pre-emptive strike to head off racism and prejudice or was it intended to make “absolutely sure” that race would be an issue? To make absolutely sure that people are afraid?
Robinson went on to insist that the Republican Party has a “problematic history on race.” But a critical look at the political arena at this stage shows that racism became an issue during the campaign between Obama and Hillary.
Republicans haven’t made race an issue; Democrats have.
We must also wonder why Robinson insists that critics are unfair to call Michelle Obama “feisty” as he supports her as “a tall, strong, confident black woman” who can “be threatening to some people.” If being a “tall, strong, confident black woman” is such a credible attribute, why does the Obama camp itself find it necessary to hire a team of professionals to send her to finishing school?
One other blunder that Robinson includes in his article is the seeming importance of an Obama campaign ad currently running in Georgia and North Carolina. He insists it was important for Obama to include pictures in the ad of his white mother and white grandparents.
It is not so much the pictures of a white mother or grandparents that are the issue as much as Robinson’s obvious infatuation with those pictures. He actually gives away his infatuation and it presents in poor taste as a parallel to Steve Martin’s portrayal in the movie The Jerk, where Martin’s character proclaims; “I was born a poor black child.”
Barely a week after this first article, Robinson added to his confusing remarks in writing,
“Patriotism comes in many colors.”
In this article, anticipating our July 4 celebration, he gives credible recognition to black heroes like the runaway slave Crispus Attucks (killed in the Boston Massacre), the Buffalo Soldiers, the Tuskegee Airmen, Dorie Miller (U.S. Navy cook and hero of Pearl Harbor), and Colin Powell.
Robinson uses these heroic examples as evidence of the idea that we should dare not question Obama’s wearing of a flag pin. That Obama should not be questioned about his stance during the playing of The National Anthem. That Michelle Obama should not be questioned about her faux pas statement of never being “proud” of her country.
We can all dismiss these as single, insignificant incidences of misunderstanding. But we must also recognize the many other things that Robinson and others disallow us to question about Obama.
We can’t talk about his middle name; can’t talk about the Rev. Wright or the Rev. Pflegler; can’t talk about his religion; can’t talk about his wife; can’t talk about his lack of experience as an executive. But as Robinson so authoritatively insists, “I have to wonder if it’s because he’s black.” In fact, Robinson goes on to add, “To some whites, I guess, it may seem logical to be suspicious of black patriotism.”
One wonders from what study Robinson derives this “guess?” What group of people said this? What poll did he get this information from? Or is it simply, as Robinson wrote, just his own “guess”?
It must derive from the same place as his support of Michelle Obama’s lack of pride in her country. While Robinson wrote that her statement was “impolitic,” he insists that “I know exactly what she meant.” There you have it! Robinson is a mind reader! He knows “exactly” what everyone is thinking! He knows exactly how racist whites are. And that’s the problem.
When one views everything, and everyone, from a negative viewpoint, everything that comes out of one’s mouth, and out of one’s pen, is very likely to be negative.
Robinson says in closing, “I have no patience with anyone who thinks that patriots don’t have brown skin.”
Again, we see the same, recurrent problem emerging. Not one person of note has been quoted as saying that patriots can’t have brown skin. Not one!
According to Robinson’s ideology, we must either publicly acknowledge that no one trusts a black candidate or black writers like Robinson are simply inciting racism in order to “make” it an issue.
Obama promised to be the candidate who brought a new face to politics. One can’t help but notice that Republicans seem to have moved past the issue of race. Robinson clearly has not.
Keith Pounds is a Lebanon/Grenada-era veteran having served as a hospital corpsman in the U.S. Navy and with the Marine Corps. Of English and Choctaw Indian heritage, he has participated in cultural-awareness programs throughout the Southeast, including Newberry and Wofford colleges. He holds an MBA with a concentration in organizational psychology and currently serves as the science specialist assistant for Orangeburg Consolidated School District 5. He can be contacted at keithpounds@sc.rr.com