> I have no idea, actually.� What I meant was that every conservative who > even wants to think about racial issues outside of PC orthodoxies has to accept > that this is the deal - the very first tactic that will be used by those who > disagree with him is to call him a racist.� That's part of the deal.� There > doesn't have to be any evidence or anything at all.� If you want to say > anything about race beyond talking about the pervasive racism of American society > and how that's the only explanation for every problem afflicting > African-Americans, you will get called a racist. Every conservative knows it.� I > think > most leftists do to, to be honest, but it's too useful a tactic of intimidation > to admit that.� Rush certainly should have - he's not stupid.� If he knew his > employers weren't willing to deal with the firestorm from his comments > (which they obviously weren't) then he should > have either not made them, or resigned on principle - none of this > "interfering with NFL Countdown" > nonsense.� Acting all surprised that this happened is, frankly, kind of > disingenuous.� Of course he was going to be attacked.� That's what happens, right > or wrong. It's only worse that - in this case - he was wrong. >
The reverse of this is, that conservatives who are accused of being racist can say they're not, they're just the victims of the PC Police. Which is a convenient cover for when they ARE racist. Which, I really think, Rush was in this instance. If all he had said was, Donovan McNabb is overrated, no one would have been so upset. (I happen to think that McNabb *is* overrated.) By going that extra step further and assigning a far-out reason for his being overrated, Rush did something that I believe can fairly be described either as racist on its face or attempting to appeal in code to those of his listeners and followers who are themselves racists. Because, what was his point? Where the hell is this media conspiracy to elevate black quarterbacks? As far as I'm concerned, it has not been an issue since the 1988 Super Bowl. Therefore, unless he is stupid, the only point I can see is to stir the pot in a very irresponsible way. Because a lot of his listeners are angry white men who think the only reason they are not on top of the world is not because of their own failings but because of affirmative action for blacks. And they are encouraged to think this by some politicians for their own ends. And that is a racist belief, and to appeal to it, even by code is, if not racism, then a blatant and cynical use of other people's racism. Rush had to know this, and he had to know what would happen. For him to pretend otherwise is so disingenuous that even a conservative should be disgusted by it. This is not a debate over affirmative action or over racial orthodoxies. Even if not all problems are caused by racism, racism itself still exists and is in and of itself a serious problem. It does no good to say that reverse racism is to blame in a case when it clearly wasn't. For that alone, Rush should have been fired. He didn't even quit for the right reason - i.e., to atone for his error. He doesn't think (at least publicly admit) that he made an error, either of fact or of intent. Tom Beck www.prydonians.org www.mercerjewishsingles.org "I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I never dreamed I'd see the last." - Dr Jerry Pournelle _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
