Some commenter named joe left a turd of a comment on my post “Going Gay for Race.” It’s been a while since I critiqued a comment in full, so I’ve decided to mark this momentous occasion by making a post out of it. (Also, blogger has a limit of 4,096 characters for comments.)
“If by tribal you mean that blacks are smart enough to realize that united we stand and divide we fall, then yes blacks are very tribal.”
Judging by the state of black-run cities (Detroit and DC, among others), it would appear that the more factually correct assertion is “united we fall.”
“Just like anyone else who wants to succeed. I am a black male who agrees with a lot of conservative principles but still tends to vote democratic (although not for Obama, not yet).”
“The reason being that conservatives just don't like us. All I have to do is listen to all the coded messages that are sent out during a republican primary to confirm that belief.”
And they should like blacks because…why, exactly? Blacks are total racists, and exploit race for every advantage they can get. Blacks commit a disproportionate amount of crime. Blacks have a very broken culture, as evidenced by the low marital rates, high bastardy rates, low educational rates, and the fact that most blacks under thirty are from broken homes. Why would anyone want to bring this to their neighborhood?
“Just like your framing of black unity as being tribal is a subtle coded racist message.”
According to Merriam-Webster’s, my assertions and actions do not meet the definition of racism. I do not believe that race is the primary determinant of human traits (I believe that it is correlative). Since my assertions were made ex post they are not by definition prejudicial, and my lack of policy prescriptions indicates an absence of discrimination. If you are using a different definition of “racism,” please provide it and explain why it’s more useful (and less inflammatory) than Merriam-Webster’s.
“Because tribal unit is considered to be of less integrity compared to other forms of unity. If blacks were indeed tribal then they would support any black republican candidate who challenges a white democratic candidate. Instead blacks vote for whomever they believe support the best interest of blacks.”
If this is true, why are heavily-black cities so politically and socially dysfunctional? Is dysfunction really in the best interest of blacks? Or are blacks incapable of thinking beyond stage one when it comes to determining personal ethics and political policies?
“That is exactly the same as every other voting group. Blacks do not necessarily fear what conservatives will do to them, but rather what conservatives might allow to happen to them. Its hard to support someone who would let harm (not necessarily physical) come to you because they think less of you.”
I see. And how have blacks been doing under liberal policies? See Walter Williams’ Race and Economics if you can’t come up with an answer.
“The manoshpere and the conservative blogoshpere tolerate quite a bit of subtle (and sometimes overt) racist comments and rarely does any well-meaning conservative stand up and chastise those comments. That alone would justify my democratic vote.”
And as we all know, racist comments=practical political policy (oh wait, it doesn’t). And blacks aren’t exactly pro-white 24/7 (remember Jeremiah Wright?). Would I then be justified in voting against Obama because he didn’t rebuke the good reverend? Or would you want me to consider policy before I voted?
“As to gay marriage, it is less about being tribal and more about being sensitive to the issue of human rights. The decline in opposition to gay marriage reflects the framing of the gay marriage issue in terms of civil rights. For example, pro-choicer exploit that sensitivity when dealing with the black community by framing the abortion issue in terms of a woman's civil rights.”
This, of course, is perfectly evidenced in how blacks swung seven points more in favor of gay marriage in three days, which occurred during black people’s annual three-day spring holiday of political introspection, and had absolutely nothing to do with Obama coming out in favor of gay marriage. In essence, all blacks who changed their minds did so out of intellectual honesty, and not because a black president said something about it.
“And it works. As a teen I initially considered myself pro-choice because I was opposed to the notion of rich old white men dictating what could be done to someone else's body. Blacks do not support homosexuality or homosexual marriage, they are just afraid of state sanctioned prejudice.”
Is that why blacks uniformly oppose affirmative action? Or do they only oppose some types of state-sanctioned prejudice?
“Additionally, gays tend to vote democratic, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
Talk about strange bedfellows.
“Blacks do what they do in the voting booth because they have a healthy and well-founded fear of conservative white power.”
Blacks do what they do because they’re racist and tribalist. Do you really think that white conservatives would, at this point, do more damage to blacks than blacks have already done to themselves?
Further reading: Blacks and Same-Sex Marriage.
Further reading: Blacks and Same-Sex Marriage.
