The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
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    One Exhausting Sh*thole

    By Danny Cardwell on Fri, 01/12/2018 - 2:48pm | Personal

    “Why are we having all these people from sh*thole countries come here?”

    Sh*thole has been uttered on cable news over a dozen times. My only regret is that George Carlin didn’t live long enough to see the barrage of politicians, news anchors and pundits repeat one of the FCC’s seven banned words.

    Almost a year into this experiment, the polarization in our country is just as palpable as it was on election night. Our choices are no longer Democrat or Republican. The people who defend Donald Trump’s daily attacks on civility are at war with commonsense and decency. This is bigger than a “poor choice of words”. It’s about a defining principle of this nation. Are we still striving to be the shining city on a hill, or is it time to finally admit the American dream was never meant for everyone?

    I’m not going to write 1,000 words about this statement; it doesn’t require critical analysis. Fox news and other conservative media outlets will spin the president’s words in an attempt to drain them of their ignorance and racism. Left leaning blogs and websites will use this latest controversy for clicks. This cycle has no end in sight. Instead of engaging the superficial I want to make some statements that contextualize this moment.

    1. America was created for wealthy white men.
    2. We inherited a country that wrote a Declaration of Independence and a Preamble to the Constitution that willfully excluded everyone who wasn’t a land owning white male.
    3. The past is a great whipping boy for anyone trying to deny structural racism today; The past allows nostalgic Americans to ditch their responsibilities to future generations by pointing out how bad the past was.
    4. Skin color has always been strong enough to unite people of different socioeconomic backgrounds.
    5. Whiteness is not a blessing or a curse.
    6. Donald Trump represented the hopes and wishes of millions of Americans who advocate for a return to authoritarian white hegemony.
    7. Donald Trump’s message of restoring whiteness was electoral gold.
    8. Donald Trump has done everything in his power to make sure his vision for America is crystal clear. He has repeatedly expressed his desire to take us back.
    9. There are scholars and political pundits still trying to convince us that overt racism is a byproduct of economic anxiety.
    10. As America undergoes more racial and cultural shifts we will see more "whites only" populist movements.
    11. I’m not trying to trigger white anger, guilt, or sympathy. I’m suggesting we be honest about what the legacy of Donald Trump will be.
    12. We have all wasted too much time psychoanalyzing this president and his defenders, but we have to keep going.  

    Covering Donald Trump is exhausting. I have friends and acquaintances who make a decent living doing so, most are liberal, some are conservative, but almost all of them are worn out. This presidency is turning our beloved vocation into a dreaded occupation. I am tired of expending time and emotional energy cataloging and explaining our president’s racism and white supremacist ideology.

     

    Topics: 
    Personal

    Comments

    Trump’s appeal was based on race, not economics. Trump is openly racist. Republicans in Congress, by and large, don’t care that Trump is racist. The white Republicans who heard Trump’s comments refuse to directly confront his words. No one on the White House staff will quit because of Trump’s racist. Ben Carson, Darryl Scott, and Katrina Pierson are all cowards. Fox News defends Trump’s words as the way people talk in bars. We ignore the reality of racism at the peril of people of color. People of color are under attack.


    by rmrd0000 on Fri, 01/12/2018 - 7:12pm

    Sub-Saharan African immigrants are better educated than their European counterparts.

    https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/sub-saharan-african-immigrants-united-states


    by rmrd0000 on Fri, 01/12/2018 - 7:30pm

    The open racism will hopefully inspire enough Dems to demand and get concessions on DACA and Haitian/Salvador temp immigrant status in the 1/19 doomsday negotiations.

    If the Dems succeed it will get Dems out to vote in support, showing the Party can fight.

    A closure is on Trump, the great deal maker. 

    Who couldn't make a deal to keep the gov't open.......and the tweets would be a greatest most fantastic blame everybody else but me...in all recorded history. No one but Vlad would be spared.

    "The buck doesn't even slow down on Trump's desk"


    by NCD on Fri, 01/12/2018 - 11:06pm

    John Kasich was on Jake Tapper’s show. Kasich said that “we” need to move on from Trump’s comments because we have “important issues” to discuss. Kasich confirmed why most black voters do not see the GOP as an option. Race issues are never important to the GOP.

    http://dailycaller.com/2018/01/12/john-kasich-cnn-needs-to-move-on-from-trumps-comments-and-focus-on-real-issues-video/


    by rmrd0000 on Fri, 01/12/2018 - 11:29pm

    Kasich was on of the sane ones.


    by Danny Cardwell on Sat, 01/13/2018 - 12:34am

    "We" need to move on. Not a chance.

    Not until the disgraceful Republican Party is drown at the ballot box. Trump represents exactly what the GOP is today.


    by NCD on Sat, 01/13/2018 - 12:52am

    At the same time, even if Trump & the Republicans went away tomorrow, much of the black future in America would still be crappy. That I think is more important to discuss than over and over "who put a wheel in our spokes". Not just "how did we get here" - "how do we get out"? It's awful the plight of foreigners in these "shitholes", but it's worse that with all our money we keep maintaining and deepening our own shitholes. Where's the exit?


    by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 01/13/2018 - 2:24am

    Addressing poverty and racism is important. Poverty overseas is important. Government is an important part of addressing poverty through policy. Trump is a racist. Republicans are making excuses for him. They are creating policies that attack the poor in the United States and overseas. Martin Luther King Jr. realized that we had to address poverty worldwide. Even from a domestic standpoint, we cannot ignore Trump’s words.. The shithole countries Trump despises are the homes of the parents of Mia Love, Barack Obama, Joy Reid, etc. Republican attacks are on all of us.


    by rmrd0000 on Sat, 01/13/2018 - 1:22pm

    GOOD POINTS!

    Problem is that I am no longer 'shocked' by what our Esteemed Leader tweeks or says or....

    And I must rebel from this position.

    We all must speak up to authoritarian, racist, misogynist, ethnocentric crap.

    By not responding, we may be perceived as condoning. 

    Oh I was viewing a speech by Schwartz again so I thought I might include this.


    by Richard Day on Sat, 01/13/2018 - 10:41am

    White economic anxiety is not an excuse for racism or an excuse for voting for a racism.

    The white majority is not forgiven for voting for Trump.

    There is no evidence of wholesale voter fraud.

    Voter ID is a cover for Voter suppression 

    Blacks voters demand that Democrats address voter suppression scams and police abuse.

    Democrats need to beg blacks for votes.


    by rmrd0000 on Sat, 01/13/2018 - 10:06pm

    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/29/nyregion/bronx-fire-victims-died-fami...


    by Flavius on Sat, 01/13/2018 - 11:37pm

    Donald Trump provided shelter for the murderous Papa Doc Duvalier. Duvalier is partly responsible for the poverty in Haiti today.

    https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-tower-dictators-home-away-from-home

    Martin Luther King Jr. would be leading the yell in calling out Trump’s racism. King would be criticizing those who urged treating racists with kid gloves.

    Edit to add:

    We have to stop the Santa Clausification of Martin Luther King Jr. King was blunt when he spoke to white Conservatives and white Liberals. 

    https://rollingout.com/2010/01/18/stop-the-santa-claus-ification-of-martin-luther-king-pleads-dr-cornel-west/

    How can Democrats negotiate with this racist? When a white supremacist killed a white woman in Charlottesville, Trump praised white supremacists but never mentioned Heather’s name.


    by rmrd0000 on Sun, 01/14/2018 - 11:14am

    I hear you, Danny. I haven't written virtually anything on politics since the election. Trump has sucked all the oxygen from the room.


    by Michael Wolraich on Sun, 01/14/2018 - 2:57pm

    DHS Secretary Kirsten Nielsen is offended that people say Trump is racist. She was in the meeting where the Haiti/Africa comments were made and does not “recall” the word shithole.

    https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kirstjen-nielsen-donald-trump-racist_us_5a5b68e5e4b04f3c55a36b45?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

    Rand Paul says if we keep calling Trump a racist, DACA is dead

    https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/rand-paul-donald-trump-racist_us_5a5b839ee4b03c4189669449?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

    ​Obviously, Trump will give Democrats what they want if we don’t call Trump a racist.


    by rmrd0000 on Sun, 01/14/2018 - 4:10pm

    Here is a list of wingnuts defending Trump.

    https://www.mediamatters.org/research/2018/01/12/here-are-right-wing-media-figures-defending-trump-s-racist-shithole-comment/219065


    by rmrd0000 on Sun, 01/14/2018 - 7:13pm

    "Covering Donald Trump is exhausting. I have friends and acquaintances who make a decent living doing so, most are liberal, some are conservative, but almost all of them are worn out."

    It's like some sort of prolonged hazing, really.


    by Michael Maiello on Mon, 01/15/2018 - 4:19pm