Dems, Racism, and Fumbling Credibility

I’ve got some issues with the Dems’ current political strategy for dealing with their opponents. I like the fact that they are willing to attack racism. Needs to happen. But only stupidity can explain why they are tying Rep. Joe Wilson's isolated outburst into their short term strategy on Healthcare Reform -- a platform which is already boiling in political hot water. Due to the malignance of cancerous racism in America, a scalpel is required to achieve its remission. The Dems, however, have brought a sledge hammer to the now unfortunate operation. Call me cynical, but while I am all for rebuking racists, I just don’t think most people will respond well to the Democrats' clumsily leveled allegations. I fear their strategy may hurt their party's political aspirations, and worse, I fear it will set us on a backwards path on the issue of race.

But before I discuss the ever expanding role of Obama’s “nationality” in our present political climate, I’d like to share a story. I used to have this boss who would randomly accuse employees of stealing extra time on breaks. She was right most of the time. But it was also clear that her accusations were a cover, a proxy for her general inability to manage us with respect to bigger, more pertinent problems. Often times, it was clear that the accusations were simply leveraged for some form of personal retribution, for some non-issue over which my fellow employees and I could not be officially censured. Perhaps she was just venting. Either way, instead of working to deal with the difficulties she suffered under her own inability to cope with store management, instead of giving her own efforts a hard look, she would find a fake yet otherwise plausible, otherwise legitimate reason to take her crap out on us. True, shit rolls down hill...

But the fumes rise. She lasted in that store for a few months before middle management axed her.

By brandishing accusations of racism in a similar manner, Congressional Democrats are headed for a similar fate in 2010. Congressional Democrats, Jimmy Carter, Maureen Dowd, and the sheep in their flock may be tossing Republicans and moderates a handle for that ax head they’ve been grinding since Obama first began to run for office. To accuse all of their political opponents of being racist because of Joe Wilson’s single outburst -- even if Joe Wilson does salute the Confederate flag -- is about the dumbest thing the Democrats can do… at least right now.

Here’s why:

We all know that many if not most people are racists. Duh. Didn’t we find this out over the last, I don’t know, several thousand years of human history, let alone the last four hundred years in America, let alone the last election cycle?

We know this like my old manager knew that many if not most retail workers attempt to take a few extra minutes on lunch breaks (Yes, this is an awkward analogy). But in both cases, the accuser has to be careful about managing the specific offenses and even more careful about making accusations. Politicians have to be really careful about issuing Congressional censure.

Then again, racism is less like a time clock violation and more like a time bomb. It takes an incredible amount of skill, patience and precision to defuse. There’s a lot of risk involved. If you get it wrong, boom. If you run out of time, boom. All the while a bunch of people are running around, screaming, panicking. Some, nonplussed, question why the bomb isn’t being disarmed faster. Other more sinister minds set up shop and take advantage of the disarray. Others prepare to profit from the inevitable explosion.

In short, there are some traps you may encounter even when artfully accusing someone of being a racist. I know. I used to be one, and I accuse others all the time.

For one, if you accuse someone of something, anything, they begin to dislike associating with you. When they aren’t doing what you accuse them of (Or, in the case of most racists, aren’t aware of what they are doing) your accusation pisses them off. If they are guilty, well, then they just don’t like being caught. Maybe they just glide through some massive state of denial. But, right or wrong, the accusation creates a set of even less manageable problems. Right or wrong, you, the accuser, end up attacking someone for an otherwise justified, logical reason on a purely personal level. So instead of bringing people together, brandishing accusations of racism separates people further. It's simply the nature of accusing someone of something.

Second, a vicious cycle often ensues. The accused resents the accuser, and vice versa. You accuse them, they accuse you. Each comes to embody the flaw the one sees in the other whether the flaw ever existed or not. Roles are confused and thus potentially reversed, and the moral high-ground is lost, deservedly or not.

Third, if the initial accuser was incorrect, then we have what may be considered a genuine personal injustice. This can sting pretty badly, especially with regard to racism. Suppose, like me and many other people, you have some questions about Healthcare Reform you would like Obama and the Dems to answer. Let’s say you think it’s crazy to require people to buy insurance to the point where the uninsured will be punished with a $3,500 fine, and then turn around and refuse to offer a Public Option -- the only way those uninsured would be able afford insurance in the first place. I don’t think my opposition to this proposal has a damn thing to do with race. I think it has to do with the schizophrenic nature of the policy as proposed.

Understanding the true gravity of racism, particularly that which weighs down on many African Americans to this day, I understand why people are so defensive about certain challenges to Obama's Presidency. But please, do not confuse my rejection of Democratic policy with a rejection of Obama’s features, heritage, or upbringing. I don’t want to read his birth certificate. I want to read his Healthcare Reform. I have, and I don’t like all of it at present.

But whatever. I can take it. I don’t blame all the Dems, nor do I blame Obama (He can’t really get away with saying something about this). Plus, people have suffered far greater political and personal affronts than this implied assault on my character. Even so, it’s not right. I’m happily not a racist anymore, so I can move on while others might not.

But fourth, and most importantly, note that the truly problematic conundrum does not arise in the instance that the initial accuser was incorrect (that the person was not stealing time, or that the person was not in fact a racist). The worst result comes about when the initial accusation was correct, but the strategic and tactical nature of the initial accusation badly damages the accuser’s credibility.

This is what has happened. Because the accuser applied a truly real and heinous accusation across a far wider group of people than could possibly be guilty, they lose some credibility. Because the accuser, perhaps incensed by the truth of their convictions, jumped at the first, subtle, relatively innocuous example of that which they rightfully abhor, they open themselves up for criticism. They come off as a little trigger happy, if not a bit hypercritical. They certainly come off as a little hypocritical -- that is to say, of painting with a rather broad brush themselves. And lastly, because they have accused the very people whom they need to exact the punishment, to enforce and enact the change in racist attitudes they so desire, the accuser now stands alone. In this instance the accuser has limited recourse to bring the accusation up in the future, and even if they are able to, the positive results will be far more limited than they otherwise should be.

And we know that something inherently racist will happen again, perhaps soon. Whether or not it actually effects their positions on policy, we know that most of Obama’s opponents harbor some racist resentment towards any black person, let alone a black President. We know that Rep. Wilson would never interrupt a white President in the way he interrupted the President a week ago. We know that race was, is, and will be an issue with Obama’s Presidency and every step he takes towards enacting any reform.

But we cannot dream of winning this struggle by reducing our argument to the level of our opponents’ petty tactics. On the contrary, when your opposition is too stupid to realize the limitations of their personal perceptions, when their introspective abilities prove to be less than stellar, a broader strategy is required. I find that the best weapons against anxious, loud mouthed morons are the opposing properties of patience and intelligence. The most intelligent understanding of racism I have achieved so far is this: That racists can only truly stop being such when they make an effort from within.

So then, the best way to solve racism, at least politically speaking, is to facilitate this process. How? First, know the idiots better than they know themselves (They are racists who, not being members of an overtly racist group like the KKK, think they are not racist). Second, predict what they will do (Something overtly racist). Third, put them in a situation to do it (Elect a black President). Fourth, wait for them to do it (This is where the patience comes in, although I don’t think we would have had to wait too long). Fifth, when they do what you expect, call ‘em out and let ‘em have it!

There’s nothing quite like public humiliation for an unarguably shameless blunder. And there’s nothing like public humiliation to force introspection or force even more overt, more objectionable behavior that anyone in their right mind would soundly reject. What would constitute such a blunder? Well let’s see… a racial slur, a slip of the tongue, a candid video, or even some form of violence. No, of course violence is certainly not desirable, even if it serves to somehow solve racism in one fell swoop (That would take a lot of nasty violence, by the way).

In any event, the scope of an obvious, heinous affront would allow for a broader reform of racist minds and keep those people who cannot understand how racist they are from feeling personally attacked. I assume so because, in my experience, people are less likely to be offended by being called out so long as they can point the finger to a more egregious offense. They are willing to sacrifice that more egregious offender so that they may salvage their self respect while they change. They also have a clear example to avoid. Rep. Wilson’s outburst, though clearly racist to many of us, was not overtly racist to most. It was at worst, by the measure of our truly racist opponents, an improper way of rebuking the President. But no slurs were used, no crosses were burnt, and therefore, to most white people, there was no racism.

Finally, Joe Wilson’s remarks, though racist, just weren’t enough fuel to ignite genuine empathy for his victim, President Obama. And so, we are left with a bunch of voters who think that Dems are doing exactly what their stereotype suggests: Manufacturing a victim in order to blunt moderate opposition to increased Federal spending.

Unfortunately, Democrats and progressives had to rush into this. You could tell they were salivating, waiting for the opportunity with the patience of a five year old on Christmas Eve. Perhaps due to anxiousness, perhaps due to desperation on Healthcare reform, perhaps over genuine outrage, perhaps (as I suspect) to rush in and provide evidence against their own subtle brand of racism, or perhaps all of the above, parts four and five of the above mentioned process are far less likely to happen. Sadly, we can't do everything according to grand strategy, especially without the benefits of hindsight.

But if we are truly smarter for not being racists, let’s prove it. Let’s stop lumping everyone who opposes an Obama or Democratic policy in with the failed Confederacy. Again, sad as it is, I think we will have more than enough opportunities to call someone out for an overt racial affront against the President and his family, an overt affront against anyone who isn't white. Unfortunately, due to their short term political thinking, Democrats now have an uphill battle in what would have otherwise been an easy, noble undertaking.