There
has been a flurry of racially insensitive rhetoric swirling
around the politisphere. We’ve
always known there are racists in the midst, but election
time seems to embolden the venom that lies within the fangs
of the latent ones. I want to take this opportunity to remind
you so that when they come calling for your support - and
vote - that you not only tell them no, but tell them why.
Now,
let me exercise full disclosure here: President Obama is
not guaranteed my vote come November. I’m no longer a registered
Democrat. I’m still highly disappointed that he elected
not to close Guantanomo,
he chose not to prosecute the purveyors of the financial
crisis we’re in, and his compromises with the Republicans
empowered them and hurt the people. I will vote, but one
thing for sure, I won’t vote for the Republican candidate.
Former
Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum is quoted as
saying, “I don’t want to make black people’s lives better
by giving them somebody else’s money. I want to give them
the opportunity to go out and earn the money and provide
for themselves and their families.” Santorum was addressing
entitlements at a town hall in Iowa, as he does at almost every campaign event,
but it’s unclear whether the GOP candidate actually said
“black” people or simply stumbled on his words.
When
asked for an explanation by Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Santorum neither confirmed nor denied his wording, only
saying that he didn’t recall. Like most Republicans do,
he gave a disingenuous excuse: “I haven’t heard the context
of the question,” he explained. “I haven’t heard it. All
I can say is that I don’t single out any one group of people.
That’s one thing I don’t do. I don’t divide people by group
or race or class.” Well geez, the entire country has watched
the video! How many words can you replace “black people”
with?
Santorum
was speaking on his opposition to Obama’s economic plan;
how he sees more people being dependent on social programs.
He
then launches into Black people? He was talking about people,
period; how did black people even get into the conversation?
I’ll tell you how. When Republicans pander to the conservative,
traditionalist base, and they’re desperate, they must identify
the common enemy; this will always be Black people. But
later, he added, “I condemn all forms of racism.”
My
chief reason for not voting Republican lies within their
dangerous domestic agenda to balance the national budget
on the backs of the poor and working class. Their insistence
on not raising taxes on the richest Americans while ignoring
the rising tax burden on the working class is yet another
reason. But for me, as a Black American male, I strongly
despise their persistent racial attitudes and belief system
as a reason not to even consider voting Republican.
I
went in search of definitive findings that demonstrate which
race benefits the greatest from welfare programs (there’s
no doubt which race needs them more). Being that race is
the most sensitive political issue that can ever come up,
those results are virtually unattainable. That’s part of
the systemically divisive paradigm.
But
I did find Martin Gilens’ book, Why Americans Hate Welfare: Race, Media and the Politics of Anti-Poverty
Policy. In it, he contextualizes public perception
of this public policy. In almost every program area, the
majority interviewed believed that spending should be increased.
The data indicated that the general support for social welfare
is not limited to just programs benefiting large numbers
of Americans, such as social security and education but
also for more targeted populations, such as the poor. According
to those surveyed, 71% believe that spending should be increased
to fight poverty.
The
results seemed to indicate that Americans do support social
welfare programs, but when asked about whether welfare
spending or support for people on welfare should be
increased, Americans indicated they were strongly opposed
to these general programs. 63% believe welfare spending
should be decreased and 71% indicate spending for people
on welfare should be decreased. These two results are essentially
contradictory - Americans support
helping the poor but don’t support welfare, the primary
program designed to help the poor.
The
question Gilens poses is, how do we account for these
perceptions of welfare recipients as undeserving and the
racial attitudes, in particular, the attitude of Blacks,
as lazy? To understand how the poor have been portrayed
in the media, Gilens traces the media representation of the
poor over the past forty-five years in Time, Newsweek,
and U.S. News and World Report as well as
television news coverage for three historical periods, 1968,
1982-83 and 1988-1992.
From
1950 through 1964, the poor people portrayed were predominantly
white, but from 1967 through 1992, blacks averaged 57 percent
of the poor portrayed, almost double the proportion of blacks
among the poor in the U.S.
In addition to an increase in the portrayal of blacks in
pictures of poverty, during the period of 1972-1973, when
there was general widespread public opinion of problems
with welfare, Blacks were represented in 70 percent of the
stories indexed under poverty and in 75 percent of the stories
indexed under welfare.
It’s
widely held that roughly the same percentage of the Black
and white populations receive welfare assistance, respectively…about
39%. But since Blacks are only 12.2% of the U.S.
population and whites make up 63%; of their respective numbers,
Blacks receive more welfare benefits. What’s always left
out of the conservative’s attacks on black recipients is
how the system has iced Blacks out of the job market, thus
promoting wealth disparity and a imbalance in the unemployment
rate; how the dismantling of unions strips Black workers
of job protection; how the criminal justice system instantly
disenfranchises a significant portion of Blacks or how under-funding
for education promotes lower earning potential for America’s
Black population.
This
misrepresentation in the media contributes significantly
to Americans’ opposition to welfare. Republican candidates
running for president take advantage of this disingenuous
representation of the poor. The deserving poor - the elderly
and the working poor - are typically portrayed as poor white
individuals, whereas poor blacks have appeared mostly in
stories about welfare abuse or the underclass. The stereotype
of blacks as lazy is an image that has prevailed throughout
American history, and as stated earlier, this perception
was found to be a strong determinant to non-black’s opposition
to welfare.
What
I know is, after the primary, when the Republicans choose
their nominee, that nominee will then revert to a reality
in his rhetoric that seeks to court the Black vote. Later
on, they will act as if none of this misrepresentation was
ever spoken. I
hope you’ll play the video - not only in your mind, but
in your community groups, meeting halls and special events
- to remind all who will be affected of the true intentions
of the persons clamoring for the job of chief executive…and
the one charged with looking out for your interest.
BlackCommentator.com
Columnist, Perry
Redd, is the former Executive Director of
the workers rights advocacy, Sincere Seven, and author of
the on-line commentary, “The
Other Side of the Tracks.” He is the host of the internet-based
talk radio show, Socially Speaking in
Washington,
DC.
Click
here to contact Mr.
Redd.
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