Bring Out Your Racists, Steve King Edition
Rep. Steve King (R-IA)When you hear the word "urban" what do you think of? I, personally think of major metropolitan areas and retailer Urban Outfitters. (Thanks, capitalism!) But if you think not-so-secret-code word for "nigger" you just might be Rep. Steve "Not Peter, The Other Crazy One" King of Iowa who recently said this about the President in regards to his support for a black farmers settlement: "Figure this out, Madame Speaker: We have a very, very urban Senator, Barack Obama, who has decided he's going to run for president, and what does he do?" King said. "He introduces legislation to create a whole new Pigford claim." King has in the past called the settlement claim "slavery reparations."
Um ...
While King is technically Iowa's problem, I'm very pro-people who tiptoe around being overtly racist to just come out of the closet already. It's time to stop hiding. Just lay it out there. I'm tired of doing the rhetorical dance of metaphorical bigotry.
From The Loop 21:
It wouldn't be pleasant to see or hear, but I think racists should start a movement to "reclaim" the word "nigger." It was their word to begin with and if they could say it, as they so badly want to, in public again, it would be much easier to get people to take off the rose colored post-racial goggles and stop being apologists for the obvious hate coming from individuals who use the term "urban" to describe all "unsavory" black people, from our President to Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele.
Urban doesn't mean what these individuals think it means, and they know it. So, I say give open bigotry a chance. Bring back the Archie Bunkers. (They never really went anywhere anyway.) Paint it as a "civil rights" movement of the bigot class, of the offensive, anti-PC politico. Sure, the general populace, even the one's who agree with you, will blanch at your harsh, unvarnished, throwback approach and you'll probably struggle to get elected and will get ousted by politicians who are better at hiding their prejudices, but you wouldn't have to live a lie. You could march the streets and say you're "taking your country back," proudly declaring "You're here. You're full of racial fear. Get used to it."
Danielle Belton | 60 Comments | Share Article | Email Article | Print Article | tagged Politics, black farmers, congress, racism, steve king, the loop 21 
Reader Comments (60)
I almost choked on my trail mix at my desk...this was hilariously great!
I would even respect racists if they just owned it, wore a shirt with "Proud Bigot" on it something...
While I agree that it's annoying to deal with people like this using not-subtle-at-all code words for more racist terminology...I still think that it's enough to understand what they mean (and really, no one's missing the venom in words like "very, very urban"), rather than allowing people to spout the most hatred things they can think of. Hardly anyone's brave (or stupid) enough to start hurling certain slurs around outside of Klan rallies, so I think we're good for now...although "post-racial America" still isn't any closer to happening. :/
Side note: I love the articles on this site, but would it be possible to show the text cited from other sites in a color other than gray? It's a bit difficult to read, so maybe use similarly darker color, instead? I'd really appreciate it!
@ Rachel
Not a problem. Made the text darker. Is that better?
@Danielle
Yes it is. Thanks! :)
Don't worry. We're almost there.
Wow, so you want bigots to stop holding back on all their racist bile, because you can't stand their so called hypocrisy.
So in your opinion black people SHOULD be verbally attacked openly and shamelessly in the public arena without the slightest inhibition. And that would improve the public discourse how?
Funny, I don't hear jews encouraging the use of words like 'kike' or other forms of antisemitism in public. In fact they fight damn hard to suppress all public insults to their ethnicity. Maybe cos they know that public insults are the thin edge of a very thick wedge and they've learnt the hard way how fast things can go downhill.
For the sake of all people who don't want to return to living in a brutal openly racist society, I hope your clever idea doesn't catch on.
@ thea - no, she saying that its gets old when people pretend not to be racists, when really they are. something only one could understand, if they have first had experiences from the civil right movement or first hand accounts from grandparent that were there are discriminated against.
back then at least u knew what u were dealing with.
its not about being racist, its about being who u are. point blank. if your friend was a ho, did all types of whorish stuff, but swears she isn't a ho. at some point (if u are a good friend) you might tell her, "we all know you're a ho, and we don't care, just stop pretending you aren't. we'll like you regardless".
but she wont admit it, because ... well ... being a ho is nothing to be proud of, just like being a racist.
get it?
sorry about the typos, but u get the point ...
@ Thea
I never said open racism should be accepted by anyone. I said that if you're racist you should just be openly racist and face the consequences of that racism instead of colorfully parsing language so you can hide behind it and pretend you are not racist.
In essence, I want King to run on his platform of hatred and let people judge him accordingly so people can directly confront whether or not they want to vote for a openly racist man. It's annoying to me that someone like King will have defenders who will say "But he can't be racist" simply because he isn't wearing a hood and hasn't said the word "nigger." If King said what he truly wanted to say people couldn't deny his racism exists. That's very different from saying people should accept racist behavior. I'm pretty adamant that individuals should fight racism in all forms. But it's often hard to fight when the other side is playing the "I did everything but say the N-word so I'm not racist" game.
Politically, I would like politicians who are racists to just come out as who they are so they can be judged by the public accordingly. Not hide behind politeness and anonymity, then stab us in the backs. The only reason why King is saying "urban" instead of "nigger" is because he knows no one wants to be associated with openly racist vitriol -- even actual racists. It's pretty much the quickest way to make you unelectable. But if he was openly bigoted people could stop pretending that we're just "misunderstanding" the hateful things he says.
But he's not going to do that because he likes being elected.
@ Thea
Or what AJ said. AJ's response was funnier, but that's essentially my point.
@ aj
Thanks. Exactly.
Can I make a blanket apology for these people that look like me but don't speak for me?
Ugh.
There's just a lot of this coded resentment. What is odd is that people tiptoe around it, which means that they're really ashamed of it, but still need to get it out there.
I'm not the kind of guy who wants people to just blast out their racism, because I'm pretty sure it's wounding to people who otherwise just want to be left alone.
But still - really, Mr. King? Is this what you really think?
Because I gotta say, you are keeping your eyes firmly shut to the reality of what it means to live in America. You keep that up and you'll walk off a cliff.
@ Stephen
That's why I want people so badly to confront it. But even the press, when reporting this story, is reluctant to call King's statements racist even though they are VERY OBVIOUSLY RACIST! But, once again, he wasn't wearing a hood, wasn't carrying a noose and didn't say the N-word, so everyone can just stick their fingers in their ears and go "Not listening! La-la-la!" And if anyone has the nerve to point out how horribly racist what King said was, King's detractors can accuse you of being a "reverse racist" for always seeing race in everything. And why are you so sensitive? And so forth and so on.
It's the same argument made regarding racism in various right wing fringe elements. The racism is obvious to anyone who wants to bother to look, but they're not wearing hoods and dragging around corpses from nooses soooo .... They CAN'T be racist!
Proving racism is almost like trying to prove rape in this country.
"But what were you wearing? And what were you doing out late at night? And were you drinking? Well, he did buy you dinner! And you did sleep with that one guy that one time on a first date, so you're pretty well known to be easy, right? And you were playing that Tupac album pretty loud and Tupac says the N-word. Why are you OK with Tupac shouting the N-word at you, but bristle when Rep. King says 'urban?' Did anyone else hear him say it? Well, if no one ELSE thought it was racist how do you know he was being racist towards you? HMMMMMM!"
I'm just sorry this is still going on. It is, on the face of it, just stupid. And yeah, it probably comes from some deeply held and suppressed racism.
There are some people who can be educated out of that state. It is difficult to do, frankly, but it is possible.
And of course, people like him - and like me - are an older generation that will soon pass. So while it is not just unfortunate, but wrong to act and speak like this, at least it will be gone and a different, more understanding generation will be able to make better choices.
But while you wait, I'm glad you keep bringing this up. It should go away, but it should go away with loud voices saying "and never come back."
@AJ and @Danielle, it seems that you don't get that the inability of people like Steve King to publicly voice his hatred of black people in today's society is a hard won ACHIEVEMENT of civil rights.
The idea that you would want to roll things back to your grandmothers' era so that you don't have to use your brain to identify racists because they would be doing your work for you by loudly and proudly spewing hate, is utterly deranged.
People died so that racists could FEAR being publicly labelled a racist. Let the bigots pussy foot around with their 'code words'. As long as you know who your enemies actually are and find ways to deal with them, the lies they tell their compatriots are trivial.
"As long as you know who your enemies actually are ... "
this the point danielle is trying to make. most racists will never show their true colors, because being a racist is bad. the truth is, you will rarely know who is against you, until its already too late ...
lets say ... like ... after they have been elected to the senate. by then the alleged racist is already in a position of power and has the ability to make decisions, comments, accusations and laws which reflect their own personal views on certain groups of people.
so then what? you have to wait another few years just to try and get them out? by then the damage has been done.
so in theory you are correct. but the reality is the complete opposite.
ask a black person. any black person. if they would rather be called a nigger to their face by a racist white person, or be lied to for years as an undercover racist, pretending to be your friend only to call you a nigger around their close family and friends, while secretly laughing behind your back?
let me know what they say.
and just for sh*ts and giggles, this can be applied to any type of discrimination racial, sexual or religious.
i would rather know up front my boss was a sexist so i could deal with it and maybe contact HR about the situation. than to work my ass off for years and wonder why men constantly get promoted before me, when i'm more experienced than them all.
the point is, if you dont know who your enemies are, you can't "find ways to deal with them". it would be impossible. however if there is a way to clearly determine who is a racist (behind closed doors) and who isn't feel free to share. lol. because i damn sure would like to know. it would make my life a hell of a lot easier.
and thanks danielle! lol
Great post and comments, Danielle! I totally agree with aj and, to a certain extent, Thea and stephen too.
I think the media is part of the problem. They never confront well known bigots and ask them to clarify their remarks. If they did these people would have to worry, but they know that other Whites in the media will not confront them so they say whatever they want, in code.
@Thea
I'm with you....the constant use of urban is bothersome. I can't imagine being hit with nigger on a regular basis. And yes, I would know what/who I am dealing with...but would I want to deal with it? I don't think so. Obviously, we are able to crack the code, hell...we know when "they" is used in the wrong fashion. I truly believe that every white person is one bad experience away from being a racist. I say that because I'm a bit of a racist...okay maybe more than a bit.
"ask a black person. any black person. if they would rather be called a nigger to their face by a racist white person, or be lied to for years as an undercover racist, pretending to be your friend only to call you a nigger around their close family and friends, while secretly laughing behind your back?"
@aj I don't know what kind of black people you know, but I can tell you for a fact that they are nothing like me or any black person I associate with. They are also nothing like the jews, italians, asians or south asians that I know, NONE of whom would ever want to live in a society where such open insulting behaviour is tolerated.
Maybe you and the black people you know aren't happy living in a post civil rights society where racists are on the run and have to duck and dive to survive in the public and political arena. You seem to want them to regain the power and confidence they had in the past and don't seem to care about the ramifications.
Your views eerily echo those on websites like Stormfront and other Whitepower organisations.
Think about that...
You want what they want. Why? Because you don't like dealing with two faced people in your work or private life? Haters that pretend to like you but slag you off behind your back? You apparently don't know how to handle such people and struggle to even identify them. And because of this lack of social discernment you want black children to live in a world where racists are resurgent? Madness!
@ thea - u are still missing the point.
i'll keep it simple this time.
if you only had 2 options:
- deal with overtly racist person
- or deal with a sneaky back stabbing racist, pretending to be my friend only to really think of me as a nigger behind my back ...
most would choose the first option.
of course no one wants to be insulted. thats common sense and obvious. come on lol. lol
but that wasn't what i asked lol.
lol and just so we are clear. i am black. and i polled all the black people on my facebook page. of the ones who chose to respond the overwhelming answer was option #1.
now if you by chance know a few hundred (or thousand) blacks to question. feel free post your results. lol
the most common response? "at least i would know what i was dealing with"
the main reason why race relations will never be resolved in this country? people are always telling minorities HOW they should feel (and that how they are feeling is wrong), instead of trying to figure out why the feel the way they do, accepting it and addressing the problem.
i wasn't asking you to agree with me. lol. but by denying that there are people that feel this way (or telling them they are wrong), only perpetuates the problem.
We DO have open bigotry T-Shirts!
Any time you see a person wearing a Obama T-Shirt. Why? Because we are openly admitting we voted for him, not based on the content of his character, but the color of his skin.
That's why I voted for him. Why would I be ashamed of my racism?
Isn't that what Dr. King begged for. That we elect folks not on the content of their character but the color of their skin!
@ Thea
I get your point, but I don't think you understood mine. I want Steve King to say the word "nigger" because he'd lose his job.
That was the whole point.
Because King said urban and not the N-word he safely gets to continue in his position of power saying everything but the N-word and his constituents can continue to vote for him under the fallacy that "he's really not racist" and me and other people like me are just "misunderstanding him."
The problem isn't that I can't see the racism. The problem is the people who vote for these individuals in the first place who refuse to see it unless it is overt. My post is a modern version of the Tar Baby story where I want the racists to act like racists so that they can be marginalized by society and certain white people who are in denial about racism can be confronted with their own prejudices. That is the point of this piece.
To force those who don't want to admit racism is still a problem to be confronted with that racism.
Also, while it is unsavory to be an overt racist, you can be as racist as you want in this country and maintain positions of power and influence as long as you don't align yourself with the KKK or say mean things. Rush Limbaugh, Don Imus, Sarah Palin, Rep. Peter King, Rep. Steve King, large swaths of the Tea Party Movement, certain parts of the Republican Party, Andrew Brietbart, Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Dr. Laura, several editorial boards of major metro newspapers and racially Balkanized cities like St. Louis, Boston and Cleveland and countless other media and political figures can get away with their borderline overt to casual, lazy racism simply because they don't say the N-word and can drop the ol' "I have a black friend" ruse. I'd hardly call these individuals, municipalities and media outlets, with their millions of dollars and seats of influence on the run from anything. If you're truly racist, all the Civil Rights Movement taught you to do was take off your hood and stop saying one word in public. That's just them adapting. What is good post the Civil Rights Movement is that when confronted with racism -- overt, ugly, obvious racism -- most white people don't like it and fight against it. But casual, passive aggressive, lazy, indirect racism coded in double-speak is much, much easier for these individuals to ignore. Some will even go as far to deny racism still exists.
This is especially true when you don't want to believe that your parents, elected officials, favorite celebrity, best friend, radio shock jock, political party or church is racist.
I don't want those white people to ignore it. I want them to be confronted with it and to deal with it so those racists can continue to be marginalized. That was the point of my piece, not a celebration of ignorance, but a goading for bigots to stand on their beliefs and get cut down for them.
We are currently fighting against racism within a public that wants to believe it no longer exists because racism makes them feel bad and is uncomfortable to deal with. But that's what the current fight is in America.
How do you make the blind see when they really, really, really don't want to see it?
Hey Danielle.
Really???
"Also, while it is unsavory to be an overt racist, you can be as racist as you want in this country and maintain positions of power and influence as long as you don't align yourself with the KKK or say mean things."
Yet the LONGEST serving member of the senate. Robert Byrd was a klansmen. But because he was of the 'urban' favored democrat party. He was allowed.
@ HipHopLive
Or maybe people voted for Obama because they thought the Clintons played dirty in South Carolina and didn't agree with the politics of John McCain -- as those were among the reasons why I voted for him.
If black people just voted for people based on skin color alone black conservatives and black Republicans wouldn't have it so hard politically. By your logic, everyone would be Clarence Thomas fans and all white people should love Bill Clinton by virtue of his whiteness as they should love all previous American Presidents.
Neither of those things are true.