Divisive Conservative Tries To Drive Wedge Between People, Attacks President As 'Obama Hussein'

Once in a while I read an article, column or whatever, and am left to shake my head in disappointment at the kinds of thoughts that swim through the heads of my fellow citizens.

This all brings me to a rather hateful piece written by a woman named Lisa Carter. Now, for the record, I do not necessarily have a problem with black conservatives or conservatives in general. Once upon a time, I was a conservative.

But, articles like the one (a rather brief one) I am going to fully quote make me question why more people do not stand up to this kind of divisive us-against-them talk.

Here is the first part I am going to excerpt:

It's disappointing enough that our elected officials in Los Angeles are putting the rights of criminal illegal aliens ahead of true American citizens. However, when the federal government decides to sue the state of Arizona for trying to protect itself from criminal illegal aliens from Mexico, something has gone wrong.

According to the Los Angeles Times (not always a reliable source), the Obama Hussein administration is expected to file a lawsuit aimed at blocking the state's bid to curb illegal immigration on its own, according to people familiar with the administration's plans.

"Obama Hussein" shows how much of a hater this woman is and it also shows as much right off the bat. So, relatively early in her piece, she panders to the bigotry that exists in too many people on the far right who hate President Obama and have tried to use his name and the fact that his father was an African against him.

Here is the second part:

To uneducated illegal Mexicans who rape American culture, values, education, and finances, this is good news. To hard-working legal citizens, many who are of Mexican descent, this is an act of treason. 2012 can't come fast enough!

She resorts to bigoted, immature and dangerous stereotypes of Mexicans to make her face. She then sort of suggests that they are not hard working by putting emphasis on people legally in the country she describes as "hard-working legal citizens." To try and deflect from her obvious bigotry, she weakly slips in a part about the "legal" Mexicans (FAIL).

This was a disturbing piece to read and I hope it is not indicative of who she is as a person.

Same Old Story: Fox News Provides Platform To Rush Limbaugh Who Makes Race-Based Attack On President Obama

Republican leader Rush Limbaugh was interviewed by Greta Van Susteren of Fox News (the network conservatives trust) and, of course, the subject of President Obama came up. Naturally, Limbaugh used this platform to launch another race-based attack on the president. A major part of the reason that Limbaugh attacks the president, using race, is because it pleases his party and strengthens his position in the Republican Party and on the far right of the political spectrum. Limbaugh can say what a lot of people want to say about our first black president, but don’t have the guts to say it. This is why they defend Rush and fear crossing him to the point we’ve seen apology after apology from those who offend Limbaugh.

LIMBAUGH: I think Obama is largely misunderstood by a lot of people. … We’re finding out that this guy’s got a chip on his shoulder. He’s angry at this country. He’s not proud of it. […]

Let’s face it, President Obama’s black, and I think he’s got a chip on his shoulder. I think there are elements in this country he doesn’t like and he never has liked. And he’s using the power of the presidency to remake the country.

Take note of all of the racist stereotypes of black people: angry, chip on his shoulders, angry at his country, not proud of it …

These are all historical racist stereotypes of black people.

Think Progress:
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/24/limbaughs-obama-is-black/

The Right And The Use Of Sexism Against Sonia Sotomayor

It’s no secret that many of the extremists on the far right of the political spectrum are looking for any and all weapons they can use to attack U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor, and that includes heavy doses of racism and sexism. Sotomayor, who would be the first Hispanic woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, is a hell of a lot tougher than a good number of the far-right extremists(Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich, Glenn Beck, etc.) realize. For this blog, however, I am choosing to focus on the sexism being faced by Sotomayor.

Here is a quote (as one example) from Fox News talk show host Sean Hannity (quoting others) I found at Think Progress:

HANNITY: [W]hat do the lawyers who have appeared in her courtroom think of her judicial temperament? Well, not much. The Almanac of the Federal Judiciary solicits commentary from practicing attorneys about our federal judges. Now here’s what some lawyers who have argued before Judge Sotomayor had to say about her. Quote, She is a terror on the bench. She is overly aggressive, not very judicial. She behaves in an out-of-control manner. She is nasty to lawyers.

Take another look at the quote and consider the sexism. HINT: The sexism in Hannity’s words are coded. Questioning Sotomayor’s “judicial temperament,” referring to her as “a terror on the bench,” saying she is “overly aggressive” is “out of control” and is “nasty to lawyers.” How often do you hear these used as negative qualities in discussions of males? It’s very rare. You see, these are all aggressive qualities and women, in the eyes of weak men, are simply not supposed to be aggressive. These are words used to label many strong women … words people use when they can’t use the so-called “b-word” in our politically-correct society.

Think Progress (check out the end of the story to see how Sotomayor was really portrayed):
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/05/28/hannity-sotomayor-terror/

Try to stomach this video from Hannity, who compares the comments about Sotomayor to comments (flattering comments) made about U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Anthony Alito. It’s classic sexism. Men are allowed to be aggressive, but women are not. Men are praised for being aggressive. Meanwhile, women are criticized for it.