[lbo-talk] I guess I offended the black people

c b cb31450 at gmail.com
Mon Apr 25 11:29:59 PDT 2011


Dennis Claxton

latimes.com/news/local/la-me-banks-20110423,0,6676348.column

Even if not racist, Obama-chimpanzee email wasn't funny

Orange County woman's Obama-chimpanzee email wasn't just a political swipe, or a single thoughtless moment. It reflects a demeaning mindset, a collective confirmation of stereotypes, openly shared.

Sandy Banks

April 23, 2011

Marilyn Davenport might be a racist. Or a moron. Or just a dotty old lady with a warped sense of humor, and a scant understanding of history.

For whatever reason, Davenport didn't seem to realize the potential for offense in a cartoon she circulated depicting President Obama as the offspring of chimpanzees. It was just a joke, shared among friends ­ many of them, like her, leaders of Orange County's Republican party.

"I simply found it amusing regarding the character of Obama and all the questions surrounding his origin of birth," Davenport told the <http://www.latimes.com/news/local/http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2011/04/racist_orange_county_republica.php>OC Weekly, which broke the story last weekend. "In no way did I even consider the fact he's half-black when I sent out the email."

^^^^^^^

CB: His country of birth ? What country is populated by chimpanzees ? LOL

That anybody could with a straight face claim that this is not white supremacy demonstrates how far the specific Reaganite type of racism, i.e. _denial_ of the existence of racism, has developed. The vast majority of white people engage in this denial but at lesser levels. So, for example, a big white majority voted to make affirmative action unconstitutional in Michigan.



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