Still playing the race card

[VTA]

This is how stupid Holder, Sharpton and the others are. Zimmerman isn't even white. He is Hispanic and black as well. But they keep drumming the race narrative like they know what they are talking about. I freaking can't wait until we are rid of all of these assholes. They are evil. All of them.

Some are claiming the trouble is with the Sanford Police and their actions or inaction following, but frankly I think the truth of the intent will only be seen after the trial, which for some odd reason is situated right around election time.


The Sanford police aren't on trial Zimmerman is and if he's not found guilty I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's not going sit well, despite all the tertiary talk of 'how it was handled' by the police. Some people aren't going to be satisfied with anything less than guilty for Zimmerman.

[Cajuncowboy]

Some are claiming the trouble is with the Sanford Police and their actions or inaction following, but frankly I think the truth of the intent will only be seen after the trial, which for some odd reason is situated right around election time.


The Sanford police aren't on trial Zimmerman is and if he's not found guilty I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's not going sit well, despite all the tertiary talk of 'how it was handled' by the police. Some people aren't going to be satisfied with anything less than guilty for Zimmerman.

You are more than likely right. Unfortunately.

[erdawiro]

Dude. 30 fucking years ago.
I'm surprised having the internet and all you haven't seen some of the advances this nation has made.

Then what about President Bush's speech to the NAACP? Again, most of the same content: civil rights, the role the NAACP has played, continuing inequality, the governments role in fixing structural issues, etc. Surely that's race baiting, or at the very least pandering and not a discussion of real issues, both historical and contemporary. Right? Or do you think we have made such great progress in the past 6 years that those issues are now squarely behind us?

[erdawiro]

Yes.
Yes.
And Yes.

This country is facing far greater problems than the pretense that racism is any where near the top of the list. Our AG has bigger fish to fry than to try and keep his administration in office by appealing to phantom precepts, based on over-bloated ideas of racism.

The fact is 99% of this country is simply trying to get by, working shoulder to shoulder and get through the day. Black and white. But if you listen to and mindlessly swallow the propaganda you'd have no choice but to believe this country is a bunch of overweight racist slobs.

The fun thing about democracy is that different constituencies get to determine what is important to them. You may think some issues are trivial and others may think they are of great importance. Holder's speech, Bush's speech and Reagan's speech all did the same thing: they spoke to a constituency about matters that are specific to them and which they value more than other groups.

And it's not as if the government deals with one issue at a time, it has a responsibility to respond to the multiple and diverse issues from multiple and diverse constituencies.

[VTA]

Then what about President Bush's speech to the NAACP? Again, most of the same content: civil rights, the role the NAACP has played, continuing inequality, the governments role in fixing structural issues, etc. Surely that's race baiting, or at the very least pandering and not a discussion of real issues, both historical and contemporary. Right? Or do you think we have made such great progress in the past 6 years that those issues are now squarely behind us?

The fun thing about democracy is that different constituencies get to determine what is important to them. You may think some issues are trivial and others may think they are of great importance. Holder's speech, Bush's speech and Reagan's speech all did the same thing: they spoke to a constituency about matters that are specific to them and which they value more than other groups.

And it's not as if the government deals with one issue at a time, it has a responsibility to respond to the multiple and diverse issues from multiple and diverse constituencies.

You're acting as though all speeches to the same organization are equal, so I'll ask you this: did Reagan and or Bush highlight a questionable crime that was currently agitating racial tensions? Did they continue to paint a situation as racist, when after it became clear to everyone else with a brain the situation was not a civil rights problem?

Are you defending Holder because the guy you voted for hired him or do really not see what Holder is doing? He's still searching for the phantom bit of racism in an altercation gone wrong. Still keeping fresh in the minds of people that that angle is to be held fast to, no matter how much the evidence contradicts it.''



EDIT: And let me add, yes they were playing the race card. In a different manner, but playing upon race none the less. NAACP is an organization explicitly for 'coloreds' as the C stands for and part of the problem with this is the United States is not supposed to segregate by groups and be politically acknowledged as separate. I have no clue what Reagan said in his speech, but I do remember the NAACP complaining about Bush's lack of attention for them, so I would suspect he was pacifying them and nothing more and in the process doing something equally as stupid.

Does any of this make Holder less of an ass for his acts?

[erdawiro]

You're acting as though all speeches to the same organization are equal, so I'll ask you this: did Reagan and or Bush highlight a questionable crime that was currently agitating racial tensions? Did they continue to paint a situation as racist, when after it became clear to everyone else with a brain the situation was not a civil rights problem?

Are you defending Holder because the guy you voted for hired him or do really not see what Holder is doing? He's still searching for the phantom bit of racism in an altercation gone wrong. Still keeping fresh in the minds of people that that angle is to be held fast to, no matter how much the evidence contradicts it.''



EDIT: And let me add, yes they were playing the race card. In a different manner, but playing upon race none the less. NAACP is an organization explicitly for 'coloreds' as the C stands for and part of the problem with this is the United States is not supposed to segregate by groups and be politically acknowledged as separate. I have no clue what Reagan said in his speech, but I do remember the NAACP complaining about Bush's lack of attention for them, so I would suspect he was pacifying them and nothing more and in the process doing something equally as stupid.

Does any of this make Holder less of an ass for his acts?

Both Bush and Reagan talked about current events which were impacting minority communities - respectively, Katrina aftermath and the serial killer who was targeting black children in Atlanta. However, none of the speakers, Holder included, made the event out to be a racist issue. As I already said, Holder made one reference to Martin and didn't bring race into the issue at all. All he said was that the Martin killing had brought the issue of youth and violence to the forefront of the national conversation. He never said Martin was killed under racist pretenses, he never mentioned Zimmerman let alone run with the white v. black narrative that has been mentioned in this thread, and he never mentioned anything about profiling. Merely mentioning a controversial current event does not count as race baiting. I'm defending Holder because he didn't say anything wrong. The full quote reads:

This is an issue that has – rightly – garnered significant national attention in recent months – as our nation has struggled to make sense of the tragic shooting death of a Florida teenager named Trayvon Martin. * As this case moves through the legal system, Justice Department officials will continue to communicate closely with state and local authorities to ensure that community concerns are heard, tensions are alleviated, and – as with every investigation at every level – appropriate actions are guided by the facts and the law.
*
But – as we all know – the reality is that certain aspects of this case are far from unique. * And incidents of violence involving young people are anything but rare.
*
Nationwide, homicide is the leading cause of death for black men between the ages of 15 and 24. * More than 60 percent of all young people are exposed to violence at some point in their lives, either as victims or as witnesses. * And one report even showed that – here in Detroit – an average of two young black men are killed every week – a murder rate nearly seven times higher than the population at large.
*
I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that this is shocking. * It is unacceptable. * And it’s why the leadership of organizations like the NAACP – and the engagement of activists throughout Detroit and across the country – remains as vital as ever.

That's not inflammatory at all and I'm not sure how anyone can read it as "playing the race card".

As to your edit, the NAACP is a constituency group no different than NOW (National Organization of Women), The Chamber of Commerce, League of Christian Voters, or PETA. They are all groups who share common experiences and common concerns that are often outside of mainstream constituency concerns.

[VTA]

Both Bush and Reagan talked about current events which were impacting minority communities - respectively, Katrina aftermath and the serial killer who was targeting black children in Atlanta. However, none of the speakers, Holder included, made the event out to be a racist issue. As I already said, Holder made one reference to Martin and didn't bring race into the issue at all. All he said was that the Martin killing had brought the issue of youth and violence to the forefront of the national conversation. He never said Martin was killed under racist pretenses, he never mentioned Zimmerman let alone run with the white v. black narrative that has been mentioned in this thread, and he never mentioned anything about profiling. Merely mentioning a controversial current event does not count as race baiting. I'm defending Holder because he didn't say anything wrong. The full quote reads:



That's not inflammatory at all and I'm not sure how anyone can read it as "playing the race card".

As to your edit, the NAACP is a constituency group no different than NOW (National Organization of Women), The Chamber of Commerce, League of Christian Voters, or PETA. They are all groups who share common experiences and common concerns that are often outside of mainstream constituency concerns.

A serial killer targeting black people is a specific case that needs addressing. How on earth could anyone object to that? Bush shouldn't have needed to address Katrina to anyone because natural disasters are not based on race and human beings, no matter how high the office they hold control those things. His participation in that was obviously stupid and he's a fool for playing along. And let's not kid ourselves in that regard, the 'aftermath' conjecture was entirely partisan based garbage that's been argued ad nauseam.


Holder continuing on the tact of trying to affix racial connotations to the Martin/Zimmerman case is a clear cut case of playing the race card. If 'youth violence' is the subject he could cite any number of worse cases than this (in that shit hole city of Detroit no less), including gang violence and any other crime. Prefacing his remarks with this high profile pressure cooker is playing politics with racial sensitivities. Especially while the NAACP has chapters out 'rallying' for Trayvon Martin. Sorry, he's an ass and he's wrong.


And for those groups, they don't need to be given the privilege of being held aloft because they banded together. Each of the individuals in those groups are American citizens and enjoy the same rights we all have. People need to stop looking for special dispensation because they've joined a group. In case you haven't noticed, it's what's destroying this nation. Divisivee cliques looking for special treatment.

[Cajuncowboy]

Don't you just love, love, love how the liberals can't have the light shined on their own party for long to expose them before they have to shout, "Yeah, but look at the other guys"? This is a perfect example of the lunatic left not taking responsibility for their own actions. They are not about responsibility. "Don't look at what we are doing to screw you, look at what happened 30 years years ago!" Some of the best examples of stupidity on display by the left.

[JBond]

That's not inflammatory at all and I'm not sure how anyone can read it as "playing the race card".

Holder has been attending rallies with racists. The guy is a pig. Your support of him is very telling. I wonder why a leftist such as yourself would support a racist? Hmm...Not that difficult to figure out. 1+1=2 At least you are showing your true colors, so to speak.

[iceberg]

How exactly do you read that excerpt of Holder's speech as an example of "playing the race card" ? The Trayvon Martin shooting was mentioned once and only in the context of how the need to prevent both violence against young people and exposure of young people to violence has recently become a more visible national issue.

that was one time too many. one has nothing to do with the other except assholes keep pushing it out there as if that's the core reason for these actions.