Battersea Power Station
Member
I was listening to Tell Me More on Friday, and I missed the beginning of an interview with a Republican congressman from Florida.
He sounded a bit smug and I thought he was a dick, just as a stupid snap judgement. And at one point, as he and Michel Martin were discussing Newt Gingrich's food stamp comments, he said that maybe these politicians, before speaking about issues that are "somewhat peculiar to the African-American community" should check in with a leader or high-profile figure in the black community, to make sure things sound ok.
Before this sentence was over, I thought this sounded incredibly racist, and I was getting fairly worked up. Then, he finished off with "and get us involved in the dialogue and let us help them understand how you communicate these issues" and I realized he is one of the African-Americans he was talking about.
I had assumed he's white, and when I found out he is black, I instantly felt ok about the comments he made. Furthermore, I started thinking he sounds respectable, reasonable, and relate-able, instead of "a dick," as I had previously thought.
And, I mean, this change in my opinion was instant. I was kinda disgusted at myself.
I started analyzing why it happened. Part of it is a bias against Republicans (personality-wise, a lot of them are dicks, even though I like minimal government), so that's probably why I started with a more negative opinion than I should have had. But when I found out he's a black Republican, I took it as a statement of ambition and ballsiness. Ugh -- I can't believe I typed that. That's so freaking racist. I was probably also happy that he sounded smug and confident, and not just trying to "be nice" and being overly apologetic. Fuck.
I'm really sorry to humanity. I just discovered this about myself and I'm going to try to work it out of my system.
He sounded a bit smug and I thought he was a dick, just as a stupid snap judgement. And at one point, as he and Michel Martin were discussing Newt Gingrich's food stamp comments, he said that maybe these politicians, before speaking about issues that are "somewhat peculiar to the African-American community" should check in with a leader or high-profile figure in the black community, to make sure things sound ok.
Before this sentence was over, I thought this sounded incredibly racist, and I was getting fairly worked up. Then, he finished off with "and get us involved in the dialogue and let us help them understand how you communicate these issues" and I realized he is one of the African-Americans he was talking about.
I had assumed he's white, and when I found out he is black, I instantly felt ok about the comments he made. Furthermore, I started thinking he sounds respectable, reasonable, and relate-able, instead of "a dick," as I had previously thought.
And, I mean, this change in my opinion was instant. I was kinda disgusted at myself.
I started analyzing why it happened. Part of it is a bias against Republicans (personality-wise, a lot of them are dicks, even though I like minimal government), so that's probably why I started with a more negative opinion than I should have had. But when I found out he's a black Republican, I took it as a statement of ambition and ballsiness. Ugh -- I can't believe I typed that. That's so freaking racist. I was probably also happy that he sounded smug and confident, and not just trying to "be nice" and being overly apologetic. Fuck.
I'm really sorry to humanity. I just discovered this about myself and I'm going to try to work it out of my system.
