According to the Blue Virginia website
David Bartholomew, Chair of the Virginia Beach Republican Committee, has been forwarding around a “joke” via email. …
MY DOG
I went down this morning to sign up my Dog for welfare.
At first the lady said, “Dogs are not eligible to draw welfare”.
So I explained to her that my Dog is black, unemployed, lazy, can’t speak
English and has no frigging clue who his Daddy is.
So she looked in her policy book to see what it takes to qualify…
My Dog gets his first check Friday.
Is this is a great country or what?
This electoral season has brought much lurking, blatantly racist framing and commentary back out of the white backstage and again into the frontstage.
It did not disappear, contrary to much public discussion of a post-racial America. Much of this stuff was only “hiding” in many white backstage settings of white friends and relatives. And notice how many elements of the old white racial frame appear in this short email “joke.” Notice the white privilege, and the numerous anti-black stereotypes.
Apparently, numerous conservative whites do not understand that the Internet is not really such a “safe” backstage.
I agree that much of this stuff was only hiding in the backstage…but still does among many white democrats too. Some have a pass to display their racism with Obama as president as far as I’m concerned. Though…I personally do not know about emails…a family member recieved some text messages a couple of years back from other apparent “democratic” family members–they began to come in after a special milestone in our own family’s lives. They were blatantly racist…but apparently funny and “okay” since these folks were “democrats” and they were “family”. The texts were sent to the individual with a note: “Do not show anybody” (meaning me)…well they were shared. One of them was sent around the last Christmas season sometime and I remember clearly that it mentioned something about black men hanging in trees making a comeback–referring to President Obama christmas ornaments…. Nice “democratic Christians” I thought to myself…. I never said anything to the folks because the texts weren’t to be shared…until recently…. After the individual who was receiving them told the people sending them he doesn’t want them, they stopped coming in. So my only thoughts on this is that white so-called democrats have their things too…but apparently it’s all okay since of course they aren’t racist afterall–it’s just funny humor and if you don’t find it funny, you’re just being too senstive and they flip the script around with guilt trips, etc., and make it look as though you are the person with the problem and not them….
On the republicans…down here, just hearing the conversations on the messages they receive on occaion, one was: “Well now it’s time to secede since Obama’s in office.” On the radio today I heard a commercial that was talking about “taking back ‘our’ country” etc., some local event that is going on accompanied with a new book that just came out. Down here it’s very open with no shame.
The fact that it is not only just this open, but that American society still puts slave holders and KKK men up on pedestals, glorifies the wicked history, etc., rather than confronting and incorportating fundamental changes says to me this is a very sick, sick society….