Last month, Senator Harry Reid made a comment about stating that President Barack Obama could be successful because of his "light-skinned" appearance and speaking patterns "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one." After receiving negative feedback and criticism because of this remark, Reid made a public apology,” I deeply regret using such a poor choice of words...I sincerely apologize for offending any and all Americans, especially African Americans for my improper comments." He also apologized to various black white house officials, and even President Obama himself. The president accepted Reid's apology and later stated, "I accepted Harry's apology without question because I've known him for years, I've seen the passionate leadership he's shown on issues of social justice and I know what's in his heart. As far as I am concerned, the book is closed."
Was the senator's remarks racist or simply a bad choice of words? Years ago, it was very evident when someone was racist. This traditional form of racism was portrayed throughout various outlets of the media. Now, a more modern take on racism makes it difficult to differentiate between who is racist and who is not. Today, racism is more settle and more hidden. Whereas, years ago it was more blunt and obvious. However sometimes people do simply use a poor choice of words. Only Senator Reid knows his intensions.
It's important just to keep an eye on racism while coming to the realization that it does still exist, even if it is not as obvious as years ago. Personally, I think it is sad that some people can not accept the fact that Obama is president. The lightness of his skin or even dialect should not be the only factors that define his presidency.
Any thoughts?
-Dominique
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/01/09/obama.reid/index.html
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I'm going to try a comment here.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I think a lot depends on context, and we're getting Reid's comments out of context, so it's hard to speak with much certainty to the nature of his comments. But here's my take...
If what Reid is saying is that a light-skinned black man who is very comfortable speaking in "standard English" (the form of English typically taught in schools and generally expected in professional, formal, official, and or public settings) had a better chance of getting elected than a darker-skinned black man who spoke "black English" or "African-American Vernacular English," my sense is that he's absolutely right!
As I understand Reid's comments, he's stating a pretty uncontroversial fact about racism in America, rather than making a racist utterance of his own. He's saying that American voters, as a whole, are still more comfortable with members of ethnic minorities who appear to have accepted dominant (white?) cultural norms than with those who represent too strongly an ethnic or cultural "other." That's sad, but I really don't know too many people who would disagree.
I think other people responded to Reid's use of the term "Negro," and I'll definitely admit that the word made (and makes) me cringe, and I certainly wouldn't use it. Also, Reid is smart enough to know that it's not a word that's generally accepted the present generation. Even so, I have to say that his word choice seems more like an ignorant, out-of-touch misdemeanor than some kind of unpardonable crime. (It's FAR, FAR less offensive than Trent Lott's nostalgic lament that the country would be better off if segregationist Strom Thurmond had been elected president--a comment to which many on the far right compared Reid's words!) Although I'm not trying to make excuses for Reid's use of the term "Negro," I do think it's relevant to acknowledge his age and the fact that the term "Negro" was added to the 2010 census application this year--not because white people like Reid think it's in current use, but because there are many African Americans who still identify with that term.
(Incidentally, I heard an editorial on the radio in which the speaker said that the most offensive word in Reid's remarks was "dialect," but I don't remember the argument well enough to reproduce it here, so I won't try.)