Let's Be Clear: THIS POST IS NOT CONDEMNATION OF KENTUCKY AND W. VIRGINIA ELECTING HILLARY CLINTON IN THE RECENT DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY. THIS IS AN ATTACK ON THESE STATES BASED OFF THE ELECTION'S EXIT POLLS.
21% in Kentucky
19% in W. Virginia
The above statistics relate to the percentage of voters who stated that race was a factor in their decision to vote against Barak Obama.
Don't believe it? Here are the facts:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/05/21/ec.seg.gergen.cnn?iref=24hours
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/hc-obama0520.artmay20,0,5909941.story http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/14/us/politics/14dems.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
And there is much, much more out there.
All three presidential candidates need to stop talking about how they are going to deal with the threat of Iran and shift their focus to how we are going to deal with large percentage of small minded, racist, disgusting ignoramuses that continue to live and breed in our country. Specifically, based off the most recent Democratic primaries, the folks who participated in exit polling in Kentucky and W. Virginia and stated to a total stranger that they would not vote for a black person.
For the record, I am not suggesting that Iran is small problem or shouldn't be carefully examined and dealt with, it should, but I am simply pointing out the fact that because of a failed policy in the middle east, we sometimes lose focus on glaring problems in our own country.
From the above Chicago Tribune article:
"Terry Jordan, 47, who runs a year-round garage sale in front of an old filling station on Main Street, put it simply: "It's his color."
Now, I won't even begin to address the litany of potential jokes based on Terry Jordan's "year round garage sale." Ok, well, one; Terry Jordan's whole life is a year round garage sale. Boom!
Ok, now that I have that out of the way, I would like to express my utter disappointment in the fact that such a large group of people from the country I live in would actually flat out say something so out of line, so demeaning to themselves, and so embarrassing to their state, to a national news reporter. Obviously, this is the same type of person who expressed racist feelings to exit pollers on Tuesday in KY and in W. Va last week. Do these people live in 2008? How could they feel comfortable enough to freely admit they are a racist? My only answer is sheer ignorance and an entire state that fosters that ignorance. They should change Kentucky's state slogan from "Unbridled Spirit" to "Unbridled Ignorance."
To further my point, here's Jack Bunnell from the same article:
"Right now it's not that Hillary attracts the white vote," said Jack Bunnell, 79. "It's that Obama's black."
These people are so stupid (for lack of a better term) and out of touch that they literally make up there minds like this, "Well, hell, I don't like having a woman in there but god dammit we're not gonna have some black guy running things." Why? Why can't we? I fear the answer to that question.
Now, obviously what I'm using here is a selected quote, but the three above articles, plus many more, are concentrated on the fact that there is a significant feeling of racism among these voters, quite a large percentage in the states of Kentucky and W. Virginia. It's documented:
21% OF KENTUCKIANS THAT VOTED FOR HILLARY CLINTON TOLD A TOTAL STRANGER THAT RACE WAS A FACTOR IN THEIR DECISION, REMEMBER THAT???
Those are the facts. Period. End of story. What it makes me think of now is how many people in this unwashed state feel the same way but had the one brain cell it takes to not mention it to a POLLER. My guess is quite a few.
To reiterate my point, this is America and you are free to vote for whomever you chose and you are allowed to feel any way you like. My problem is with the incredible ignorance of someone speaking out to a national survey about how they are racist and don't really care.
In a sick way, it's a good thing they've identified themselves as racists because even though we may have had an idea before we now have documented proof of the ignorance bastions of the United States.
Melody Chaney, from the Tribune article, doesn't seem to agree:
"To attribute it solely to ignorance would be totally inaccurate," said Melody Chaney, a financial adviser in Munfordville and a Clinton supporter. "It's a matter of education, their upbringing and their background."
I can only imagine what a financial adviser in Munfordville, KY says to her clients, "Well, um, I'm not really sure what 100 + 200 is, let me call the head office.......OK....they're telling me it's 300. You have $300 so that means you can leverage your own half of trailer with that. You're rich boy!" Ok, enough of that.
I was mistaken before when I said Melody Chaney disagreed with me, she actually helped prove my point. This is not is not just a case of straight ignorance. No no no. This is the result of the Commonwealth of Kentucky's ignorant education system, and these people's ignorant upbringing and the pervasive ignorance of their background.
Ms. Chaney is trying to justify racism and I will not accept it.
I don't care that its part of who they are, make it not part of who you are, get your head out of your ass. Or for god's sake, please don't embarrass your state and your country by freely admitting to strangers that you are a racist.
I know there are good people in Kentucky. My uncle lives in Louisville and he is a good man. His ex-wife is not. She is a racist, among other things. Her father literally ran from the alter at his daughter's wedding ceremony so he could go start chain smoking again. Should have been a red flag right there. I'm not insinuating that smokers are racists, but I'm trying to frame the character of a man who made some the most outrageous racist remarks, and a seconded by his daughter, that I have ever heard and dare not repeat here.
I know there are thousands of people in Kentucky and W. Virginia who are not racists and are not ignorant. But, I feel that they and their government are responsible in part for fostering those types of sentiments.
Overall, I am just flat out disappointed and shocked that such blatant disrespected for human equality still exists in this day and age. Maybe I'm the one who's ignorant.
I can hear it now, "Oh, what do you know about racism. You grew up in an affluent suburb of Chicago" or "Why do you care? It doesn't affect you." But it DOES affect me. It embarrasses me. It angers me. I am sick of the attitude that these types of remarks don't matter. They have no place in our political system and I feel obligated to speak my mind. No it doesn't affect me directly, but I'm exactly the type of person who needs to care or this dysfunctional, unfair and disgusting zeitgeist will continue to survive and prevail.
We don't have to stand for it, become disenfranchised or let evil, fear and racism win. I believe we are better than that. You will start to see if from the Republicans, as you already saw hints from Hillary, i.e. "Do you really want a black guy running the country?" There is no answer to that question because it should never be posed in the first place. The question is, which candidate best represents your interests and values? If that's Hillary or McCain, fine, there's no problem with that, that is your right as a voter. But, let us not get bogged down by racism and ignorance, please, I believe America is better than that, even though some will lead you to believe that it isn't. You'll hear, "Our country's just too racist still" or "The South isn't ready for a black president" but I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT
We can do it, we can be better (let's face it, anything is better than the President we have now) but I implore you to not let racism and the what the perceived "status quo" alter or influence your vote. If the founding fathers were alive today, they would marvel and be so proud of three lead candidates we have, a war hero, a woman and a black man. Such diversity and the way it was achieved is the model of America and something to be proud of, let's remember that all the way to November.
21% in Kentucky
19% in W. Virginia
The above statistics relate to the percentage of voters who stated that race was a factor in their decision to vote against Barak Obama.
Don't believe it? Here are the facts:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/05/21/ec.seg.gergen.cnn?iref=24hours
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/hc-obama0520.artmay20,0,5909941.story http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/14/us/politics/14dems.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
And there is much, much more out there.
All three presidential candidates need to stop talking about how they are going to deal with the threat of Iran and shift their focus to how we are going to deal with large percentage of small minded, racist, disgusting ignoramuses that continue to live and breed in our country. Specifically, based off the most recent Democratic primaries, the folks who participated in exit polling in Kentucky and W. Virginia and stated to a total stranger that they would not vote for a black person.
For the record, I am not suggesting that Iran is small problem or shouldn't be carefully examined and dealt with, it should, but I am simply pointing out the fact that because of a failed policy in the middle east, we sometimes lose focus on glaring problems in our own country.
From the above Chicago Tribune article:
"Terry Jordan, 47, who runs a year-round garage sale in front of an old filling station on Main Street, put it simply: "It's his color."
Now, I won't even begin to address the litany of potential jokes based on Terry Jordan's "year round garage sale." Ok, well, one; Terry Jordan's whole life is a year round garage sale. Boom!
Ok, now that I have that out of the way, I would like to express my utter disappointment in the fact that such a large group of people from the country I live in would actually flat out say something so out of line, so demeaning to themselves, and so embarrassing to their state, to a national news reporter. Obviously, this is the same type of person who expressed racist feelings to exit pollers on Tuesday in KY and in W. Va last week. Do these people live in 2008? How could they feel comfortable enough to freely admit they are a racist? My only answer is sheer ignorance and an entire state that fosters that ignorance. They should change Kentucky's state slogan from "Unbridled Spirit" to "Unbridled Ignorance."
To further my point, here's Jack Bunnell from the same article:
"Right now it's not that Hillary attracts the white vote," said Jack Bunnell, 79. "It's that Obama's black."
These people are so stupid (for lack of a better term) and out of touch that they literally make up there minds like this, "Well, hell, I don't like having a woman in there but god dammit we're not gonna have some black guy running things." Why? Why can't we? I fear the answer to that question.
Now, obviously what I'm using here is a selected quote, but the three above articles, plus many more, are concentrated on the fact that there is a significant feeling of racism among these voters, quite a large percentage in the states of Kentucky and W. Virginia. It's documented:
21% OF KENTUCKIANS THAT VOTED FOR HILLARY CLINTON TOLD A TOTAL STRANGER THAT RACE WAS A FACTOR IN THEIR DECISION, REMEMBER THAT???
Those are the facts. Period. End of story. What it makes me think of now is how many people in this unwashed state feel the same way but had the one brain cell it takes to not mention it to a POLLER. My guess is quite a few.
To reiterate my point, this is America and you are free to vote for whomever you chose and you are allowed to feel any way you like. My problem is with the incredible ignorance of someone speaking out to a national survey about how they are racist and don't really care.
In a sick way, it's a good thing they've identified themselves as racists because even though we may have had an idea before we now have documented proof of the ignorance bastions of the United States.
Melody Chaney, from the Tribune article, doesn't seem to agree:
"To attribute it solely to ignorance would be totally inaccurate," said Melody Chaney, a financial adviser in Munfordville and a Clinton supporter. "It's a matter of education, their upbringing and their background."
I can only imagine what a financial adviser in Munfordville, KY says to her clients, "Well, um, I'm not really sure what 100 + 200 is, let me call the head office.......OK....they're telling me it's 300. You have $300 so that means you can leverage your own half of trailer with that. You're rich boy!" Ok, enough of that.
I was mistaken before when I said Melody Chaney disagreed with me, she actually helped prove my point. This is not is not just a case of straight ignorance. No no no. This is the result of the Commonwealth of Kentucky's ignorant education system, and these people's ignorant upbringing and the pervasive ignorance of their background.
Ms. Chaney is trying to justify racism and I will not accept it.
I don't care that its part of who they are, make it not part of who you are, get your head out of your ass. Or for god's sake, please don't embarrass your state and your country by freely admitting to strangers that you are a racist.
I know there are good people in Kentucky. My uncle lives in Louisville and he is a good man. His ex-wife is not. She is a racist, among other things. Her father literally ran from the alter at his daughter's wedding ceremony so he could go start chain smoking again. Should have been a red flag right there. I'm not insinuating that smokers are racists, but I'm trying to frame the character of a man who made some the most outrageous racist remarks, and a seconded by his daughter, that I have ever heard and dare not repeat here.
I know there are thousands of people in Kentucky and W. Virginia who are not racists and are not ignorant. But, I feel that they and their government are responsible in part for fostering those types of sentiments.
Overall, I am just flat out disappointed and shocked that such blatant disrespected for human equality still exists in this day and age. Maybe I'm the one who's ignorant.
I can hear it now, "Oh, what do you know about racism. You grew up in an affluent suburb of Chicago" or "Why do you care? It doesn't affect you." But it DOES affect me. It embarrasses me. It angers me. I am sick of the attitude that these types of remarks don't matter. They have no place in our political system and I feel obligated to speak my mind. No it doesn't affect me directly, but I'm exactly the type of person who needs to care or this dysfunctional, unfair and disgusting zeitgeist will continue to survive and prevail.
We don't have to stand for it, become disenfranchised or let evil, fear and racism win. I believe we are better than that. You will start to see if from the Republicans, as you already saw hints from Hillary, i.e. "Do you really want a black guy running the country?" There is no answer to that question because it should never be posed in the first place. The question is, which candidate best represents your interests and values? If that's Hillary or McCain, fine, there's no problem with that, that is your right as a voter. But, let us not get bogged down by racism and ignorance, please, I believe America is better than that, even though some will lead you to believe that it isn't. You'll hear, "Our country's just too racist still" or "The South isn't ready for a black president" but I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT
We can do it, we can be better (let's face it, anything is better than the President we have now) but I implore you to not let racism and the what the perceived "status quo" alter or influence your vote. If the founding fathers were alive today, they would marvel and be so proud of three lead candidates we have, a war hero, a woman and a black man. Such diversity and the way it was achieved is the model of America and something to be proud of, let's remember that all the way to November.
3 comments:
Taking these facts into account, it's surprising that West Virginia ranks last in % of its residents with a Bachelor's Degree.
http://www.epodunk.com/top10/collegeDiploma/index.html
And Brian, it's Iced Tea.
Anything to stop HILLBAMA
YUCK
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