Podcast: "I Feel Snitty"
Episode 2: "Calling a Racist a Racist"
Premiere Date: 7/23/19
Length: 17:41 (3,162 words)
Link: https://ifeelsnitty.podbean.com/e/calling-a-racist-a-racist/
Transcript: Welcome to I Feel Snitty. I’m your host, Craig Rozniecki. Today I will be answering the question, “Is Donald Trump racist?” The short answer is yes. Well, so I guess that’s it for today’s show. Join me next week when I provide tips on how to master the art of the 5-second podcast.
I kid, I kid.
As is so often the case, Donald Trump has come under hot water for his controversial tweets surrounding four freshman Congresswomen of color, referred to as The Squad. On July 14th, he tweeted the following:
“So interesting to see ‘Progressive’ Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all), now loudly……
…..and viciously telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful Nation on earth, how our government is to be run. Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how….
….it is done. These places need your help badly, you can’t leave fast enough. I’m sure that Nancy Pelosi would be very happy to quickly work out free travel arrangements!”
For the record, the Congresswomen to whom Trump is referring are: Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib. Ironically, three of the four were born in this country (Omar being the lone exception), so Donald Trump was unintentionally right when he said they came from a country whose government is a complete and total catastrophe. After all, he’s the one running it.
These tweets sparked a crowd in North Carolina to chant, “Send her back! Send her back! Send her back!,” in reference to Ms. Omar, a representative from the state of Minnesota. While Trump stayed silent for nearly 15 seconds as the crowd chanted, he falsely claimed he tried to combat said chant. Since then, he’s thrown his crowd under the bus, before hopping onto the bus, and then deciding to drive the damn thing.
Some of his supporters have now started claiming that Trump’s tweets and the before-mentioned chant weren’t about race or gender; they were about policy. Riiight…
This reminds me of a moment in 2015 during the Republican primary, where Trump said in a Rolling Stone interview with regard to fellow GOP candidate Carly Fiorina, “Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?!? I mean, she’s a woman, and I’m not supposed to say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious?”
After receiving plenty of deserved backlash, Trump attempted to play clean-up, by saying, “I probably did say something like that about Carly. I’m talking about persona. I’m not talking about looks.”
With that level of BS, I’m now surprised in hindsight that Trump didn’t respond to the Access Hollywood video leak by saying, “When I said I could grab women by the pussy, I wasn’t talking about any kind of like sex stuff. I was talking about being kind to rescue pets. What woman do you know that doesn’t have a pussycat? I mean, seriously!”
With regard to the “Send her back!” chants, when’s the last time you heard such a chant about a white person? Yeah, when Hillary Clinton was the Democratic nominee in 2016, the chant was “Lock her up!,” and if Joe Biden becomes the nominee this time around, I’m sure the chant will be, “Send him back!” I don’t think so…
Now that I’ve outlined why many in the media are asking the question, “Is Donald Trump racist?,” I’m now going to answer it. I’ll start by reading a writing of mine, titled, “The subtle and not so subtle signs of racism,” and decide whether or not Donald Trump has showcased any such signs. Before I start reading, please note this blog was written in 2015. If you’re curious to check it out or other entries of mine, just go to thekindheartedsmartaleck.blogspot.com. Here we go…
I often find it that many people are being racist without knowing they're being racist. Whenever I observe this, I think to myself, "Do they realize what they just said? I'm guessing not..." Here are just a few such examples (told from a white person's perspective, who grew up around mostly whites in Nebraska):
I'll start with the definition of racist: "a person who believes in racism, the doctrine that one's own racial group is superior or that a particular racial group is inferior to the others."
1) "He speaks so well!"
Ever heard someone listen to another speak and whisper to you, "He (or She) speaks so well!"? From my own personal experience with this, I'd say there's approximately a 90% chance the speaker has a darker skin tone than myself and the commentator is white. On the surface, it may sound complimentary. However, I've never heard a white friend or family member make such a comment about a fellow white person. That's because, in their mind, it's to be expected that white people will speak eloquently and black people will speak like they were reciting Snoop Dogg lyrics. Looking at our past two presidents, I find this to be somewhat amusing, for Barack Obama is considered to be one of the greatest speakers we've had running the Oval Office, while George W. Bush is commonly seen on the opposite end of that spectrum.
Trump: Almost exactly a year ago, while delivering a speech in tribute to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and CBP (Customs and Border Protection), he noted that Adrian Anzaldua, a Latino Border Patrol officer who was on stage with him, spoke “perfect English.”
Score: 1 for 1
2) "I'm not a racist, but..."
Notice that just about every time a person begins their sentence with, "I'm not a racist, but...," they follow that with a racist comment? It's as if they feel by saying they're not a racist, that will excuse them of racism. I'd like for them to attempt that strategy in marriage sometime: "Honey, I'm not an adulterer, but... I did screw your best friend Tracy while you were at work yesterday. Oh, by the way, Happy Birthday, sweetie!"
Trump: He makes more racist comments than a math major with a 4.0 GPA can count, and nearly as often, he’ll tell the world, “I don’t have a racist bone in my body” or “I’m the least racist person in the history of the flat earth.”
Score: 2 for 2
3) "That's why these stereotypes exist in the first place!"
Sure, comedians often times resort to stereotypes in their acts. However, a lot of the time, this is due to them being so over-the-top or outdated, it's become comical to believe them. In other arenas, though, stereotypes are more often than not used in a different manner, and instead of laughing at the ridiculousness of them, they're used to justify one's prejudices. During the protests in Ferguson and Baltimore, I can't count the number of times I heard fellow white people watching the news coverage and say, "Do they think this does them any good? Do they think this is the way to end stereotypes about them and earn our respect?" In response, I just wanted to say, "I'm sorry, but were you enslaved in this country at one time? Pulled over due to the color of your skin? No? Okay then..."
Trump: He’s painted Latinos as drug-dealers, blacks as lazy, Muslims as terrorists, Jews as all about the money, etc. Think of a stereotype and chances are Donald Trump has outwardly expressed it.
Score: 3 for 3
4) “You can just tell they're guilty!”
Is it just me or does it seem like many whites in the media (and generally speaking) tend to paint whites charged with crimes in a more innocent light than minorities (blacks, Hispanics, and Muslims in particular)? When I heard the coverage and commentary regarding Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, etc., I heard a lot of white people say, "What did they do to provoke that? What was their criminal history? I bet he had it coming to him!" It's almost as if they're seen as guilty until proven innocent. They also kind of see it as a trend, as fairly normal for that particular demographic. On the flip-side, however, when I hear about mass shootings by whites at schools, malls, or movie theaters, these same individuals tend to say, "Well, they must have had mental health problems. That's just not normal." In other words, they're seen as an individual, as an aberration, and not as representative of their demographic.
Trump: Three words: Central Park Five
Score: 4 for 4
5) "One of my best friends is black!"
Another way many racists like to prove they're not is by making mention of a minority friend. While this might be true of many such individuals, it's not always the case. It can sometimes take on the opposite line of thinking as in #4 on this list. The minority friend in this case is seen as the aberration, not like the rest in his or her demographic, and therefore perfectly acceptable as a friend. Granted, I find this to be quite rare, but if a person has to keep on shouting to another, "I'm not racist! I have a black friend!," in order to prove he or she isn't racist, then chances are it might be the case.
Trump: He likes talking about his nameless black friends, even going so far as to directly point towards a black man at a summer of 2016 rally of his, and saying, “Oh, look at my African-American over here. Look at him…”
Score: 5 for 5
6) "Whoa, look at them!"
Some people I've known have treated those with darker skin tones as foreign. These individuals don't seem to see African-Americans, Latino-Americans, Asian-Americans, Arab-Americans, or even ironically enough, Native Americans as truly American. With this kind of mentality, they see those with darker skin tones as not really "belonging here," as not "one of us." This mindset was used by some conservatives in the run-up to the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, when they attempted to strike fear into some people's minds about Barack Obama, due to his skin color, his name, and his background. He was painted as foreign by several talk show hosts and conservative commentators as not being genuinely American. There are still some who believe the president was born in Kenya and not the United States. As I mentioned earlier, though, it's quite ironic some Caucasians have this viewpoint since Native Americans came to this country before we did, so perhaps they don't really see us as Americans either.
Trump: Birtherism. Enough said.
Score: 6 for 6
7) "They only did that because of affirmative action!"
No, some don't like to give credit where credit is due. I even heard some conservative talk show hosts and talking heads make such comments about President Barack Obama, saying, "Well, he only made it this far because of the help he got for being black!" This is typically a pretty strong sign of racism, for these individuals tend to like to believe that they worked hard for everything they got, yet minorities, blacks in particular, only earned their place by receiving help from the government, due to their (intellectual) inferiority. They may deny this and say, "I was only complimenting him/her. They made it this far, right? That counts for something." That's a back-handed compliment if I ever heard one. That'd be like saying, "Wow! You got this mansion using all your dad's money? Very cool! Congratulations!" Uh huh...
Trump: In a 1989 interview with Bryant Gumbel, Trump said, “A well-educated black has a tremendous advantage over a well-educated white in terms of the job market…if I was starting off today, I would love to be a well-educated black, because I really do believe they have the actual advantage today.”
Score: 7 for 7
8) "I wonder if they stole it..."
Rarely do I ever hear a fellow white person look at another such individual driving a nice car or owning a nice house, and say, "I wonder how they could afford that." I do hear that when it comes to minorities, though: "I wonder how they could afford that. Maybe they stole it." Again, this showcases a mentality of superiority (whites) vs. inferiority (minorities), and is a pretty good indicator that a person is racist on some level. Now, if a person of any ethnicity sees me driving around in a Ferrari or Lamborghini, you have my full permission to mumble to yourself, "I wonder how he could afford that. Maybe he stole it." No, I can guarantee I didn't steal it, but how I could afford it, I'm not quite certain. I'll have to get back to you on that...
Trump: He’s referred to black-dominated countries as shitholes and allegedly stated that blacks are too stupid to vote for him, so I’d say the odds are quite good he’s said something like this. It’s not like the guy could then say, “Look, blacks come from shithole countries, are really stupid, but if they have nice houses or cars, they obviously deserved them.” No matter how hard he tries at times, he can’t have it both ways.
Score: 8 for 8
9) "Stop playing the race card!"
Yes, once in a while a minority may use what's known as the race card to take advantage of a particular situation. However, I find this to be much rarer than a lot of other people would like to believe. Anymore, it seems that whenever a minority (or even a white progressive such as myself) talks about race or racism, we're pulling out the race card. When black men are targeted, shot, and killed by police at a far greater rate than whites and we bring this fact up, we're suddenly playing the race card. These accusers seem to believe that the only way to stop racism is by ignoring it exists, and by talking about it, we're only escalating the problem. In my mind, however, many of these accusers simply want to ignore their own prejudices by pretending they don't exist in the first place. If they were truly serious on ending racism, they'd be all in favor of talking about the matter, attempting to empathize with people of different ethnicities, and trying to get to know them as individuals and not as a generalized group. How can one fully move past a problem if he or she doesn't believe it to exist in the first place?
Trump: Just look at birtherism and The Squad. Donald Trump consistently tries to simultaneously criticize minorities for allegedly playing the race card and play the race card to criticize minorities. He tends to fail in both instances, so way to go…
Score: 9 for 9
10) "Hold on to your purse!"
Lastly, while this may be partially due to biased media coverage of crime and it's alleged link to race (no, there is no such link; it's a link with poverty, as studies and common sense would somehow dictate), when I see or hear fellow whites get frightened at the sight of minorities, it's usually a pretty good sign they possess some racism. I've seen some women hold on to their purses more tightly as black men walk by. I've heard of some people asking, "Is it okay for me to be scared since a man on the plane is wearing a turban and has a really thick beard?" Whenever I hear that, I want to respond, "Is it okay for me to be frightened at this movie theater, church, school, or mall because I see a white person?" No, because hardly any white people are mass shooters, hardly any Muslims are terrorists, and hardly any black people are thieves. Oh, and hardly any racists make logical sense...
Trump: His Mexicans-are-rapists comments are a prime example of this.
Score: 10 for 10
So, congratulations, Donald Trump, for you check each and every one of the ten boxes in my subtle and not so subtle signs of racism. You should be proud, bigly.
Is It Racist?
Let’s now play a game called, “Is It Racist?,” where I share controversial quotes uttered or tweeted by The Donald which have been largely defended by his most ardent of supporters as not racist, and substitute the original demographic he used with another.
Original quote: “I have a great relationship with the blacks.”
Trumpsters: “Not racist!”
Revised quote: “I have a great relationship with the redneck hillbilly whites.”
Is it racist?
Original quote: “Our great African-American president hasn’t exactly had a positive impact on the thugs who are so happily and openly destroying Baltimore.”
Trumpsters: “Not racist!”
Revised quote: “Our great white president hasn’t exactly had a positive impact on the crackers who are so happily and openly destroying Hickville.”
Is it racist?
Original quote: “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending the best. They’re not sending you, they’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems. They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime. They’re rapists, and some, I assume, are good people…”
Trumpsters: “Not racist!”
Revised quote: “When Mar-a-Lago sends its people, they’re not sending the best. They’re not sending you, they’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems. They’re bringing diabetes; they’re bringing oxygen tanks. They’re racists, and some, I assume, are good people.”
Is it racist?
From Snark to Finish
For my “From Snark to Finish” segment this week, I’ll be playing off comedian Jeff Foxworthy’s old bit, “You might be a redneck…,” only this time I’ll be saying, “You might be a racist…”
- If you refer to a group as very fine people and those very fine people happen to have a fetish with swastika tattoos, you might be a racist.
- If you seem to think its your life mission to culturally appropriate the Syracuse Orange mascot, you might be a racist.
- If you tweet that anyone with a darker skin tone than Casper the Friendly Ghost should go back to their home countries, you might be a racist.
- If you feel the need to constantly tell the world you don’t have a racist bone in your body, you might be a racist.
- If you spend more time questioning the authenticity of a black man’s birth certificate than you do sleeping, eating hamberders, and tweeting covfefe, you might be a racist.
- If your name is Donald John Trump and you’re the 45th president of the United States, you are definitely a racist.
That’s it for today’s episode. I’ll see you again next week. Until then, check me out on PodBean, Twitter, Amazon, and Blogpsot. This has been I Feel Snitty with Craig Rozniecki. Take care.
Episode 2: "Calling a Racist a Racist"
Premiere Date: 7/23/19
Length: 17:41 (3,162 words)
Link: https://ifeelsnitty.podbean.com/e/calling-a-racist-a-racist/
Transcript: Welcome to I Feel Snitty. I’m your host, Craig Rozniecki. Today I will be answering the question, “Is Donald Trump racist?” The short answer is yes. Well, so I guess that’s it for today’s show. Join me next week when I provide tips on how to master the art of the 5-second podcast.
I kid, I kid.
As is so often the case, Donald Trump has come under hot water for his controversial tweets surrounding four freshman Congresswomen of color, referred to as The Squad. On July 14th, he tweeted the following:
“So interesting to see ‘Progressive’ Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all), now loudly……
…..and viciously telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful Nation on earth, how our government is to be run. Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how….
….it is done. These places need your help badly, you can’t leave fast enough. I’m sure that Nancy Pelosi would be very happy to quickly work out free travel arrangements!”
For the record, the Congresswomen to whom Trump is referring are: Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib. Ironically, three of the four were born in this country (Omar being the lone exception), so Donald Trump was unintentionally right when he said they came from a country whose government is a complete and total catastrophe. After all, he’s the one running it.
These tweets sparked a crowd in North Carolina to chant, “Send her back! Send her back! Send her back!,” in reference to Ms. Omar, a representative from the state of Minnesota. While Trump stayed silent for nearly 15 seconds as the crowd chanted, he falsely claimed he tried to combat said chant. Since then, he’s thrown his crowd under the bus, before hopping onto the bus, and then deciding to drive the damn thing.
Some of his supporters have now started claiming that Trump’s tweets and the before-mentioned chant weren’t about race or gender; they were about policy. Riiight…
This reminds me of a moment in 2015 during the Republican primary, where Trump said in a Rolling Stone interview with regard to fellow GOP candidate Carly Fiorina, “Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?!? I mean, she’s a woman, and I’m not supposed to say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious?”
After receiving plenty of deserved backlash, Trump attempted to play clean-up, by saying, “I probably did say something like that about Carly. I’m talking about persona. I’m not talking about looks.”
With that level of BS, I’m now surprised in hindsight that Trump didn’t respond to the Access Hollywood video leak by saying, “When I said I could grab women by the pussy, I wasn’t talking about any kind of like sex stuff. I was talking about being kind to rescue pets. What woman do you know that doesn’t have a pussycat? I mean, seriously!”
With regard to the “Send her back!” chants, when’s the last time you heard such a chant about a white person? Yeah, when Hillary Clinton was the Democratic nominee in 2016, the chant was “Lock her up!,” and if Joe Biden becomes the nominee this time around, I’m sure the chant will be, “Send him back!” I don’t think so…
Now that I’ve outlined why many in the media are asking the question, “Is Donald Trump racist?,” I’m now going to answer it. I’ll start by reading a writing of mine, titled, “The subtle and not so subtle signs of racism,” and decide whether or not Donald Trump has showcased any such signs. Before I start reading, please note this blog was written in 2015. If you’re curious to check it out or other entries of mine, just go to thekindheartedsmartaleck.blogspot.com. Here we go…
I often find it that many people are being racist without knowing they're being racist. Whenever I observe this, I think to myself, "Do they realize what they just said? I'm guessing not..." Here are just a few such examples (told from a white person's perspective, who grew up around mostly whites in Nebraska):
I'll start with the definition of racist: "a person who believes in racism, the doctrine that one's own racial group is superior or that a particular racial group is inferior to the others."
1) "He speaks so well!"
Ever heard someone listen to another speak and whisper to you, "He (or She) speaks so well!"? From my own personal experience with this, I'd say there's approximately a 90% chance the speaker has a darker skin tone than myself and the commentator is white. On the surface, it may sound complimentary. However, I've never heard a white friend or family member make such a comment about a fellow white person. That's because, in their mind, it's to be expected that white people will speak eloquently and black people will speak like they were reciting Snoop Dogg lyrics. Looking at our past two presidents, I find this to be somewhat amusing, for Barack Obama is considered to be one of the greatest speakers we've had running the Oval Office, while George W. Bush is commonly seen on the opposite end of that spectrum.
Trump: Almost exactly a year ago, while delivering a speech in tribute to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and CBP (Customs and Border Protection), he noted that Adrian Anzaldua, a Latino Border Patrol officer who was on stage with him, spoke “perfect English.”
Score: 1 for 1
2) "I'm not a racist, but..."
Notice that just about every time a person begins their sentence with, "I'm not a racist, but...," they follow that with a racist comment? It's as if they feel by saying they're not a racist, that will excuse them of racism. I'd like for them to attempt that strategy in marriage sometime: "Honey, I'm not an adulterer, but... I did screw your best friend Tracy while you were at work yesterday. Oh, by the way, Happy Birthday, sweetie!"
Trump: He makes more racist comments than a math major with a 4.0 GPA can count, and nearly as often, he’ll tell the world, “I don’t have a racist bone in my body” or “I’m the least racist person in the history of the flat earth.”
Score: 2 for 2
3) "That's why these stereotypes exist in the first place!"
Sure, comedians often times resort to stereotypes in their acts. However, a lot of the time, this is due to them being so over-the-top or outdated, it's become comical to believe them. In other arenas, though, stereotypes are more often than not used in a different manner, and instead of laughing at the ridiculousness of them, they're used to justify one's prejudices. During the protests in Ferguson and Baltimore, I can't count the number of times I heard fellow white people watching the news coverage and say, "Do they think this does them any good? Do they think this is the way to end stereotypes about them and earn our respect?" In response, I just wanted to say, "I'm sorry, but were you enslaved in this country at one time? Pulled over due to the color of your skin? No? Okay then..."
Trump: He’s painted Latinos as drug-dealers, blacks as lazy, Muslims as terrorists, Jews as all about the money, etc. Think of a stereotype and chances are Donald Trump has outwardly expressed it.
Score: 3 for 3
4) “You can just tell they're guilty!”
Is it just me or does it seem like many whites in the media (and generally speaking) tend to paint whites charged with crimes in a more innocent light than minorities (blacks, Hispanics, and Muslims in particular)? When I heard the coverage and commentary regarding Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, etc., I heard a lot of white people say, "What did they do to provoke that? What was their criminal history? I bet he had it coming to him!" It's almost as if they're seen as guilty until proven innocent. They also kind of see it as a trend, as fairly normal for that particular demographic. On the flip-side, however, when I hear about mass shootings by whites at schools, malls, or movie theaters, these same individuals tend to say, "Well, they must have had mental health problems. That's just not normal." In other words, they're seen as an individual, as an aberration, and not as representative of their demographic.
Trump: Three words: Central Park Five
Score: 4 for 4
5) "One of my best friends is black!"
Another way many racists like to prove they're not is by making mention of a minority friend. While this might be true of many such individuals, it's not always the case. It can sometimes take on the opposite line of thinking as in #4 on this list. The minority friend in this case is seen as the aberration, not like the rest in his or her demographic, and therefore perfectly acceptable as a friend. Granted, I find this to be quite rare, but if a person has to keep on shouting to another, "I'm not racist! I have a black friend!," in order to prove he or she isn't racist, then chances are it might be the case.
Trump: He likes talking about his nameless black friends, even going so far as to directly point towards a black man at a summer of 2016 rally of his, and saying, “Oh, look at my African-American over here. Look at him…”
Score: 5 for 5
6) "Whoa, look at them!"
Some people I've known have treated those with darker skin tones as foreign. These individuals don't seem to see African-Americans, Latino-Americans, Asian-Americans, Arab-Americans, or even ironically enough, Native Americans as truly American. With this kind of mentality, they see those with darker skin tones as not really "belonging here," as not "one of us." This mindset was used by some conservatives in the run-up to the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, when they attempted to strike fear into some people's minds about Barack Obama, due to his skin color, his name, and his background. He was painted as foreign by several talk show hosts and conservative commentators as not being genuinely American. There are still some who believe the president was born in Kenya and not the United States. As I mentioned earlier, though, it's quite ironic some Caucasians have this viewpoint since Native Americans came to this country before we did, so perhaps they don't really see us as Americans either.
Trump: Birtherism. Enough said.
Score: 6 for 6
7) "They only did that because of affirmative action!"
No, some don't like to give credit where credit is due. I even heard some conservative talk show hosts and talking heads make such comments about President Barack Obama, saying, "Well, he only made it this far because of the help he got for being black!" This is typically a pretty strong sign of racism, for these individuals tend to like to believe that they worked hard for everything they got, yet minorities, blacks in particular, only earned their place by receiving help from the government, due to their (intellectual) inferiority. They may deny this and say, "I was only complimenting him/her. They made it this far, right? That counts for something." That's a back-handed compliment if I ever heard one. That'd be like saying, "Wow! You got this mansion using all your dad's money? Very cool! Congratulations!" Uh huh...
Trump: In a 1989 interview with Bryant Gumbel, Trump said, “A well-educated black has a tremendous advantage over a well-educated white in terms of the job market…if I was starting off today, I would love to be a well-educated black, because I really do believe they have the actual advantage today.”
Score: 7 for 7
8) "I wonder if they stole it..."
Rarely do I ever hear a fellow white person look at another such individual driving a nice car or owning a nice house, and say, "I wonder how they could afford that." I do hear that when it comes to minorities, though: "I wonder how they could afford that. Maybe they stole it." Again, this showcases a mentality of superiority (whites) vs. inferiority (minorities), and is a pretty good indicator that a person is racist on some level. Now, if a person of any ethnicity sees me driving around in a Ferrari or Lamborghini, you have my full permission to mumble to yourself, "I wonder how he could afford that. Maybe he stole it." No, I can guarantee I didn't steal it, but how I could afford it, I'm not quite certain. I'll have to get back to you on that...
Trump: He’s referred to black-dominated countries as shitholes and allegedly stated that blacks are too stupid to vote for him, so I’d say the odds are quite good he’s said something like this. It’s not like the guy could then say, “Look, blacks come from shithole countries, are really stupid, but if they have nice houses or cars, they obviously deserved them.” No matter how hard he tries at times, he can’t have it both ways.
Score: 8 for 8
9) "Stop playing the race card!"
Yes, once in a while a minority may use what's known as the race card to take advantage of a particular situation. However, I find this to be much rarer than a lot of other people would like to believe. Anymore, it seems that whenever a minority (or even a white progressive such as myself) talks about race or racism, we're pulling out the race card. When black men are targeted, shot, and killed by police at a far greater rate than whites and we bring this fact up, we're suddenly playing the race card. These accusers seem to believe that the only way to stop racism is by ignoring it exists, and by talking about it, we're only escalating the problem. In my mind, however, many of these accusers simply want to ignore their own prejudices by pretending they don't exist in the first place. If they were truly serious on ending racism, they'd be all in favor of talking about the matter, attempting to empathize with people of different ethnicities, and trying to get to know them as individuals and not as a generalized group. How can one fully move past a problem if he or she doesn't believe it to exist in the first place?
Trump: Just look at birtherism and The Squad. Donald Trump consistently tries to simultaneously criticize minorities for allegedly playing the race card and play the race card to criticize minorities. He tends to fail in both instances, so way to go…
Score: 9 for 9
10) "Hold on to your purse!"
Lastly, while this may be partially due to biased media coverage of crime and it's alleged link to race (no, there is no such link; it's a link with poverty, as studies and common sense would somehow dictate), when I see or hear fellow whites get frightened at the sight of minorities, it's usually a pretty good sign they possess some racism. I've seen some women hold on to their purses more tightly as black men walk by. I've heard of some people asking, "Is it okay for me to be scared since a man on the plane is wearing a turban and has a really thick beard?" Whenever I hear that, I want to respond, "Is it okay for me to be frightened at this movie theater, church, school, or mall because I see a white person?" No, because hardly any white people are mass shooters, hardly any Muslims are terrorists, and hardly any black people are thieves. Oh, and hardly any racists make logical sense...
Trump: His Mexicans-are-rapists comments are a prime example of this.
Score: 10 for 10
So, congratulations, Donald Trump, for you check each and every one of the ten boxes in my subtle and not so subtle signs of racism. You should be proud, bigly.
Is It Racist?
Let’s now play a game called, “Is It Racist?,” where I share controversial quotes uttered or tweeted by The Donald which have been largely defended by his most ardent of supporters as not racist, and substitute the original demographic he used with another.
Original quote: “I have a great relationship with the blacks.”
Trumpsters: “Not racist!”
Revised quote: “I have a great relationship with the redneck hillbilly whites.”
Is it racist?
Original quote: “Our great African-American president hasn’t exactly had a positive impact on the thugs who are so happily and openly destroying Baltimore.”
Trumpsters: “Not racist!”
Revised quote: “Our great white president hasn’t exactly had a positive impact on the crackers who are so happily and openly destroying Hickville.”
Is it racist?
Original quote: “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending the best. They’re not sending you, they’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems. They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime. They’re rapists, and some, I assume, are good people…”
Trumpsters: “Not racist!”
Revised quote: “When Mar-a-Lago sends its people, they’re not sending the best. They’re not sending you, they’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems. They’re bringing diabetes; they’re bringing oxygen tanks. They’re racists, and some, I assume, are good people.”
Is it racist?
From Snark to Finish
For my “From Snark to Finish” segment this week, I’ll be playing off comedian Jeff Foxworthy’s old bit, “You might be a redneck…,” only this time I’ll be saying, “You might be a racist…”
- If you refer to a group as very fine people and those very fine people happen to have a fetish with swastika tattoos, you might be a racist.
- If you seem to think its your life mission to culturally appropriate the Syracuse Orange mascot, you might be a racist.
- If you tweet that anyone with a darker skin tone than Casper the Friendly Ghost should go back to their home countries, you might be a racist.
- If you feel the need to constantly tell the world you don’t have a racist bone in your body, you might be a racist.
- If you spend more time questioning the authenticity of a black man’s birth certificate than you do sleeping, eating hamberders, and tweeting covfefe, you might be a racist.
- If your name is Donald John Trump and you’re the 45th president of the United States, you are definitely a racist.
That’s it for today’s episode. I’ll see you again next week. Until then, check me out on PodBean, Twitter, Amazon, and Blogpsot. This has been I Feel Snitty with Craig Rozniecki. Take care.
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