Lost in the news of the Mark Foley page scandal were the ugly revelations about Virginia Senator George Allen and his questionable past on the topics of race relations. The discussions and the punditry on the subject matter release a very ugly fact that man of us may know but it manages to float below the surface. Racism is quite alive and well. We know that racism is quite alive and well because no one will talk about it, it can not be intellectualized or legitimized with research... Why? Because if we were to objectively look at racism and its effect we would see quantitatively how prevelent it remains in society.
As a backdrop George Allen is the son of famed football coach George Allen. He is not a southerner but he was always entranced with southern culture. Long live the confederacy and all of that. He found his way into politics in Virginia and eventually became Governor, than Senator and was mentioned as a front runner for the Republican nomination for the Presidency, mostly because he was affable in the system and had good Southern roots or connections.
Then came macaca. He called an indian boy who was video taping one of his speeches for his competitor Jim Webb 'macaca.' not really good but that is an obscure racial slur. Wouldn't be a major problem, except he had three stories about where he got the term from. 1. "I was just saying mohawk." 2. I was saying caca (which really isn't better.) or 3. I just made up something funny sounding. That might have been fine and good if not for youtube to prove what he said, and the fact that his mother is from the area of north africa where the phrases originated and is in heavy use. Hmm... quite the coincidence, huh? It gets worse though, because as it goes on the stories come out about Goerge Allen the racist. To which he offers heart felt denials and minimizations left and right. Particularly to the charge that he used to frequently use the "N word" (gasp). Now I don't know about anyone else, but I think it is fairly ridiculous that someone could be known as such a fan of the confederacy wearing the stars and bars and all of that and have anyone expect us to believe that this would be the same person who never used the word Nigger? I mean EVER... Some lies aren't worth telling, but they are in this society because we want to believe them, we need to believe them, because slavery, and in certain ways to ma much greater extent Jim Crow, provide our country with an inexplicable taint on our so called principles and moral standing.
Which leads me to the main point of all of this, which is the belief that has been accepted through both parties that Southerns must be catered to to win elections. Southerns, yes the people who seceeded, are considered the most patriotic Americans. Despite the history of racism and that less than 50 years ago, the federal government had to make the governor of one of these states let a Black person go to college. Despite the fact that after the Civil War which you could argue had some ideological basis outside of race, the Southern democratic establishment left the party of the civil rights act, and the concept of giving Black people rights. Despite the factthese same dixiecrats were still in existence as late as 1980 because Ronald Reagan made a direct plea towards them when he lauched his campaign in Philadelphia, Mississippi, the place where the three civil rights volunteers were slain. and Despite the fact that the South has been able to remain republican largely because the states have used the felony code to permenantly disenfrachise major percentages of the Black population by making them permanently lose their right to vote. Something below the Mason Dixon line ain't right. How did we get to the point where we are supposed to not only recognize what the people believe in the Bible belt but respect it as correct. Even though they did not grow up with any diversity or respect for differences, whether it is race, gender, suxual orientation or religion. Forget what you heard, somethings are plain right, and some things are plain wrong, and a lot of times, the majority, particularly the rural majority when it comes to social issues are wrong. At least if you are going to continue to say that as a principle you believe in freedom.
But you can't say these things in America. Bush can leave Black people stranded on buildings and dying in the Superdome but it is unfair to say that he does not care about Black People. Conservatives like Dinesh D'Souza, can make all sorts of snide comments about Black people being the cause of all of their issues, and being the blame for whats worng in America, but its wrong to call them racists. In fact, in order to be white and racist you need to wear a white hood, or a Swastika since the confederate flag isn't enough, because if we only recognize the extreme charactures of the problem we won't have to Deal with the problem.
These are the ghosts that follow every black person who is trying to make it in this society. At some level consciously or subconsciously we have to deal with the fact of trying to survive and achieve in America that through their ever action whether from government to pop culture expresses their contempt for us while not giving up, nor giving quarter. We have to grin and bear it, when co-workers ask to touch our hair or make comments about our names, or how we are not like "those others" and then we are told we should be greatful because we are not being hung from a tree. That, they say, is progress. It's the story of the Dutchman by Leroi Jones, every black american on some level is willfully insane just to make it, and America's worse fear is that we wake up... Me Personally, I'm still hitting the snooze button.
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