#racism & the GOP

[mudwerks]

(via GOP New Jersey Official Called Cops on 9-Year-Old Black Girl Catching Spotted Lanternflies)

A former city council member of a New Jersey town and local Republican Party leader allegedly called the police on a 9-year-old Black girl when he saw her catching spotted lanternflies—an invasive species killing trees in the area—while wearing a hoodie, the girl’s mother, Monique Joseph, said at a local board meeting last week.

“There’s a little Black woman walking, spraying stuff on the sidewalks and trees. I don’t know what the hell she’s doing, it scares me though.”

An October issue of The Progress quite literally spotlights Bobbi’s work to combat the environmentally hazardous invasive species in the community. “She was not only doing something amazing for our environment, she was doing something that made her feel like a hero,” Hayden said. “Our neighbor across the street…decided it would be appropriate to call the police on my sister.”

#GOP racism #9 year old girl #he called the cops #wearing a hoodie and existing

[mysharona1987]

#News #free palestine #benjamin netanyahu #politics #israel #idf #nazis #may golan #racism #blm #gop #united states #britain #books #ww2 #New york

[odinsblog]

If you're a white guy and you have good scores and good grades, you can absolutely get in to school.

You see, white people are acting like it's a zero sum game, like there's one spot and 18 people are fighting for it, and only the Black people get in. No, that's not at all how it happens.

You can, of course, get into school regardless of your race, color, or creed.

What Affirmative Action does is that it allows the universities to look at their class as a whole, alright?

And you think about it.

Universities do this all the time, right?

The universities will say, okay, we've got 18 kids from New York. We should probably get one kid from Iowa in there, right?

And so if you're kind of choosing between kind of the 19th kid from New York or the first kid from Iowa, maybe you give the kid from Iowa a shot because you don't have a lot of people from Iowa in your class already, right? Nobody seems to have a problem with that. The Supreme Court certainly doesn't have a problem with that.

We see this all the time with gender admissions, right?

If you have a class that's like 60/40 men, historically, white women have been the biggest beneficiaries of Affirmative Action when schools say, you know what? We don't want a sausage fest, and so we're going to throw in some women, right? Right.

Now, if you look at the elite universities, they're given that bump to male applicants because in the modern context, it's men whose grades and test scores and standardized tests or whatever haven't kept pace with women, right?

So now if you're looking at a class that would otherwise be 60/40 women, you're like, you know what? We're going to throw in some extra guys here to make sure the class balances out. That's all Affirmative Action is.

And what the Supreme Court is saying, all of those other things to get somebody in from the Midwest when there's nobody in the mix, or to get somebody in to have a better gender balance is okay, but not race.

Race is the only thing that they can't look at.

So the schools can look at gender, geography, and wealth. They can look at legacy admissions. They can look at athletic accomplishments. They can look at whether or not you're good at chess. They can look at whether or not you're good at playing in the piano, but they can't look at whether or not you're a minority.

That is the incongruity and the hypocrisy of today's Supreme Court ruling.

—Elie Mystal

#scotus #affirmative action #politics #white supremacy #republicans #gop hypocrisy #john roberts #roberts court #colorblind racism #aversive racism

[alwaysbewoke]

#mlk #mlk day #mlk jr #republicans #gop #white supremacy #racism #social justice #equality #end hate #anti-racism #racial equality #stop racism #no to hate #dismantle racism

[contemplatingoutlander]

This Salon article by Ian Hanley-Lopez is well worth taking the time to read. Although it was written in Dec. 2013--BEFORE the age of Trump, it was prescient of the continued trajectory of the Republican Party towards a white nationalist agenda. The article describes:

How the indirect racist messaging of "dog whistle politics" began with George Wallace, using the language of being opposed to "arrogant federal authority," and being for "states’ rights," "law and order, running your own schools, [and] protecting property rights." Even though Wallace was a Southern Democrat (and later an Independent) the "dog whistle" strategies he employed were later appropriated by the GOP in the "Southern Strategy."

How the GOP's "Southern Strategy" slowly developed in the 1960s, when Goldwater began to push “states’ rights,” as well as “freedom of association." This strategy over time helped the Republican Party begin to appeal to those white voters who still held overt or covert racial prejudices.

How Kennedy and Johnson, by promoting civil rights legislation, turned the Democrats into the party identified with championing the civil rights of marginalized racial and ethnic groups.

How Richard Nixon fully embraced the "Southern Strategy," through his messaging of being for "law and order," and against the "forced busing" of children (to integrate public schools). As he gradually adopted this strategy, Nixon also turned against one of his own administration's earlier policies (developed by George Romney), which Nixon later derided as the "forced integration of the suburbs."

How, according to Hanley-Lopez, these changes in the racial strategies and policies of the diverging Republican and Democratic parties in the 1960s/early 1970s contributed to "the rise of racially identified parties," with a majority of white voters shifting to the GOP (which became "in fact, though not in name, the White Man's Party"), and the Democratic Party being associated with racial and ethnic minorities (as well as a smaller proportion of white voters, i.e., well-educated whites, especially white women). [color emphasis of terms, quotes added]

Echoes of Nixon's 1968 campaign ad in one of Trump's 2020 campaign ads

Hanley-Lopez mentions a 1968 Nixon campaign ad that focused on "exploiting the growing panic that equated social protest with social chaos." Above is the video of that 1968 ad: "The First Civil Right." Below is a transcript of the video:

TRANSCRIPT* (Music with snare drum and dissonant piano chords) MALE NARRATOR**: It is time for an honest look at the problem of order in the United States. Dissent is a necessary ingredient of change, but in a system of government that provides for peaceful change, there is no cause that justifies resort to violence. Let us recognize that the first civil right of every American is to be free from domestic violence. So I pledge to you, we shall have order in the United States. [TEXT: THIS TIME VOTE LIKE YOUR WHOLE WORLD DEPENDED ON IT. . .NIXON] [Color/ emphasis added.]

This 1968 Nixon campaign ad is eerily like at least one Trump 2020 campaign ad, "Abolished," which used some out of context video footage in order to exploit the fears of many white conservative voters regarding the Black Lives Matter protests and the poorly worded "Defund the Police" slogan.

Below is a transcript of the Trump campaign's 2020 "Abolished" video.

TRANSCRIPT*** [ Phone ringing/ Answering machine beeping/ background music. ] AUTOMATED FEMALE VOICE: You have reached the 911 police emergency line. Due to defunding of the police department, we're sorry but no one is here to take your call. If you're calling to report a rape, please press 1. To report a murder, press 2. To report a home invasion, press 3. For all other crimes, leave your name and number and someone will get back to you. Our estimated wait time is currently five days. Goodbye. [ TEXT: Joe Biden's supporters are fighting to defund police departments. Fox News, 6/6/20 | Violent crime has exploded. ABC News, 6/24/20 | You won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America. | TRUMP   PENCE   KEEP AMERICA GREAT   20 ] TRUMP: I'm Donald J. Trump and I approve this message. [Color/ emphasis added.]

In conclusion, the barely covert racism in the GOP's political messaging that was so prominent during Trump's administration, and currently in the DeSantis Florida administration (among other GOP administrations) was not new. It was deliberately fostered by Republicans, starting in the 1960s, as they deployed their "Southern Strategy" to woo white voters who still had some overt or covert racial prejudices. The "Southern Strategy" relied on Republicans incorporating into their messaging strategies the kind of covert racist messaging that George Wallace used.

This strategy has unfortunately succeeded all too well.

[edited]

______________ *Transcript source (before layout changes/ edits) of the 1968 Nixon campaign's ad "The First Civil Right,"(alternatively called "Law and Order"): Museum of the Moving Image, The Living Room Candidate: Presidential Campaign Commercials 1952-2012. **Note that the "male narrator" sounds a lot like Nixon (at least to me). ***The transcript of the Trump campaign's 2020 "Abolished" ad is based on the English auto-generated YouTube transcript, as well as the video text and sounds/music.

#southern strategy #how the gop became the “white man's party” #george wallace #barry goldwater #richard nixon #donald trump #covert racism #dog whistles #nixon's 1968 the “first civil right”/“law and order” political campaign ad #trump's 2020 “abolished” political campaign ad #ian hanley-lopez #salon #youtube video #the living room candidate video

[socialjusticeinamerica]

Redneck RepubliKKKlan racists.

#republican assholes #tennessee #republican hypocrisy #republican family values #infrastructure #racism #gop bigotry

[ausetkmt]

Newsweek: Ron DeSantis Accused of Being 'Pro-Slavery' Due to New Florida Curriculum

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is facing new criticism over his state's new curriculum for African-American history in which some say is "pro-slavery."

DeSantis, a Republican who is running for president in 2024, has made his embrace of right-wing social causes a cornerstone of his style of politics. He has decried "woke" education, signing into law requirements about how race can be taught in Florida schools as educators across the United States grapple with conservative efforts to limit discussions of diversity, including African American history, in public schools.

Advocates for more restrictive lessons on race have argued all sides of a political or historical debate should be presented in schools. Critics, however, are accusing DeSantis and other Republicans of attempting to erase the history of slavery, and that students should learn about this topic in its entirety.

This standard has sparked criticism from educational and civil rights leaders, who have accused Florida Republicans of seeking to whitewash the history of slavery.

Representative Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, accused DeSantis of being "pro-slavery" over the educational policy.

"Please keep this simple: If you require schools to teach the 'personal benefits' of slavery you are pro-slavery. Ron DeSantis is pro-slavery," the Democratic lawmaker tweeted on Saturday.

— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) July 22, 2023

DeSantis defended the standards when pressed by a reporter, saying that he "wasn't involved" in writing these standards, which were "not done politically."

"I think what they're doing, is I think that they're probably going to show some of the folks that eventually parlayed, you know, being a black smith, into doing things later in life," the Florida governor said. "But the reality is all of that is rooted in whatever is factual."

Newsweek reached out to DeSantis' office for comment via email.

Still, many others also condemned the new standards.

Will Hurd, a former congressman from Texas who is also running in the GOP 2024 presidential primary, tweeted on Friday, "Unfortunately, it has to be said – slavery wasn't a jobs program that taught beneficial skills. It was literally dehumanizing and subjugated people as property because they lacked any rights or freedoms."

Unfortunately, it has to be said – slavery wasn't a jobs program that taught beneficial skills. It was literally dehumanizing and subjugated people as property because they lacked any rights or freedoms.https://t.co/4JjIgeDhKX — Will Hurd (@WillHurd) July 21, 2023

Jaime Harrison, the chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), slammed the policy as "disgusting."

"The much anticipated DeSantis reset: Teaching our kids that slavery had its benefits," he tweeted on Friday. "Disgusting."

Vice President Kamala Harris, during a speech at Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.'s 56th national convention in Indianapolis on Thursday, described the standards as an attempt to "gaslight us."

"Just yesterday, in the state of Florida, they decided middle school students will be taught that enslaved people benefitted from slavery," she said. "They insult us in an attempt to gaslight us and we will not stand for it. We who share a collective experience in knowing we must honor history in our duty in the context of legacy. There is so much at stake in this moment."

#Ron DeSantis Accused of Being 'Pro-Slavery' Due to New Florida Curriculum #florida #desantis lies #gop #white supremacy #systemic racism #revisionist history of america #all lies #american history #Black Lives Matter #Black History Matters

[animentality]

#twitter #racism #gop #prageru #conservatives

[dontmean2bepoliticalbut]

#us politics #world history #world war 2 #world war ii #adolf hitler #republicans #conservatives #donald trump #gop #fascists #fascism #racists #racism #mass deportations #maga #antisemitism #islamophobia #xenophobic #memes

[ladythatsmyskull]

"Sucker."

#the gop is a terrorist organization #these dumb asses fall for it every time #racism is a hell of a drug

[mysharona1987]

#Politics #gop #fox news #tucker carlson #blm #racism #bethany mandel

[odinsblog]

Nikki Haley: I experienced racism as a child

Also Nikki Haley: but America was never a racist country and it still isn’t

Nikki Haley is just another anti-abortion Republican who will say anything to placate the GOP’s base of hateful white supremacists.

#politics #republicans #nikki haley #gop hypocrisy #racism deniers #sellouts

[gaykarstaagforever]

The actual law the GOP wants to pass is "White women aren't allowed to get abortions, unless the wealthy WASP father needs that to happen."

That's what they want. This is entirely about white male absolutism. Over "their" women, and also American society at large. Because they know that if America becomes mostly POC, those people won't quietly obey them for White Nationalist reasons when they demand exploitative labor and a huge cut of their money.

The number of anti-abortionists who sincerely care about "saving all the Unborn" are a tiny minority of religious crackpots that even the far-right Conservatives ignore.

This is almost entirely about white male supremacy. They just have to sweep everyone else up in the dragnet to get the Courts to allow it with a straight face.

Do you seriously think white GOPers have a problem with Black or Latinx people getting abortions? Do you really think they want to save those babies?

Because I'm closeted so they think I align with them, and they actively do not. Not remotely. In fact, if they had the opportunity...

#abortion #gop #reproductive rights #racism

[contemplatingoutlander]

Contemplations on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 16, 2023

The coming Republican nightmare | Cartoon by Ann Telnaes

Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream.

Sadly, what is currently happening the in U.S. isn't it.

Given the anti-CRT movement in red states, the rampant banning of books by Black and Brown authors across the U.S., the vitriol on the right regarding the BLM movement, the unrestrained right-wing zeal of the conservative justices on the Supreme Court who have been slowly dismantling the Voting Rights Act and who are now poised to ban affirmative action programs at universities, and the acceptance of blatant racist remarks by many of today's GOP politicians (most notably their leader Trump), Martin Luther King would probably think that what is currently happening in the U.S. is indeed a nightmare.

Finally, MLK would be livid if he knew that the GQP anti-CRT, covert white nationalist movement has been repeatedly misusing his "dream" quote:

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” --Martin Luther King Jr.

According to Melinda Guerra this quote has been:

Used: to defend the incredibly patronizing and trivializing thought that claiming to be colorblind is something laudable, rather than a way of discounting the fact that people of color have the privilege of being because we have to deal with the fact that our non-whiteness dictates parts of our experiences in ways those who talk about being will never understand. Also used to defend the idea of America being post-race, which would be laughable if its very falseness lead to so many awful things. Also used to suggest King would be against affirmative action, as if he hadn't been part of a group of leaders proposing an affirmative-action-like employment program (See #5 below).

Guerra goes on to suggest that we

Remind people: 1. This speech actually consists of more than the 2-3 sentences that get quoted. (Seriously, remind them of that. I'm almost convinced people don't know that.) 2. It is foolish and trivializing to claim you don't see color or suggest America is post-race, and flat-out wrong to suggest King wouldn't support affirmative action programs. 3. The march at which he delivered this speech was the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. As a result of that march, meetings with administration, and a ton of work done by other leaders in the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights act of 1965 were passed, with provisions reflecting the demands of that march. But, contrary to popular opinion, that didn't lead King to suggest we’d “arrived” and the civil rights movement should pack up and go home [...] 4. King’s speaking and activism stretched from before this speech to after it. This speech–and even the passage of important (but baby step) laws like the aforementioned Civil Rights Act and Voting Act–was not some final “end” to all he’d said. It was but one speech (and the lines people love to claim were but a few lines) in a long legacy of things he said, and his lifetime should not be reduced to a few nonthreatening lines white people like to remember. 5. King and others actually proposed something that sounds an awful lot like the affirmative action programs people use this quote to suggest he was opposed to. He supported a “massive program of economic aid, financed by the Federal Government, to improve the lot of the nation’s 20,000,000 Negroes.” Answering an interviewer’s question about whether it was fair to request a “multibillion-dollar program of preferential treatment for the Negro, or for any other minority group,” King responded as follows:

“I do indeed. Can any fair-minded citizen deny that the Negro has been deprived? Few people reflect that for two centuries the Negro was enslaved, and robbed of any wages—potential accrued wealth which would have been the legacy of his descendants. All of America’s wealth today could not adequately compensate its Negroes for his centuries of exploitation and humiliation. It is an economic fact that a program such as I propose would certainly cost far less than any computation of two centuries of unpaid wages plus accumulated interest. In any case, I do not intend that this program of economic aid should apply only to the Negro; it should benefit the disadvantaged of all races.”*

I’m sure you’ll see plenty of your own memes misquoting King this year. If you have the emotional energy (and I do understand if you don’t), consider using some of the above responses (or researching your own) and responding, instead of just scrolling past them.

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

_____________ * http://playboysfw.kinja.com/martin-luther-king-jr-part-2-of-a-candid-conversation-1502358645

#martin luther king jr day #mlk day #dream or nightmare #us racism #us politics #anti-crt movement #gop #republican house #melinda guerra #ann telnaes #the washington post #fourth & sycamore

[socialjusticeinamerica]

#jesse watters #republican hypocrisy #faux news #gop #republican party #racism #islamophobia #corporate greed

[sbrown82]

If this white woman dipped in turmeric don’t go sit her ass down!!! 🤔🤬

#politics #nikki haley #gop #republicans #racism #black people #presidential candidate #2024 #campaign trail #yeah whatever nimrata #damage control #she’ll say whatever is beneficial to her in the moment