[Vision2020] Fw: On Ron Paul and Racism

Sat Dec 31 14:41:13 PST 2011

I'm not *defending* racism, I'm commenting on the mere finger-pointing
and accusations being so charged that it's a nuclear weapon in a
political arsenal.  

It's used as a tool for distraction, and hence, theatrics.  (And, unless
I missed the mark, perhaps Mr. Rumelhart's point).

Insert story of "crying wolf".

Jay

From: keely emerinemix [mailto:kjajmix1 at msn.com] 
Sent: Saturday, December 31, 2011 2:27 PM
To: Jay Borden; v2020 at ssl1.fastmail.fm; vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: RE: [Vision2020] Fw: On Ron Paul and Racism

Jay, I would rue the day that racist behavior and bigoted views become
irrelevant in how we choose our leaders.  There are issues that truly
good people can disagree on; racism, however, is never the view of a
"truly good person," and in fact ought to, by virtue of popular outcry,
immediately make a pariah out of the one who embraces it.

Keely
www.keely-prevailingwinds.com

________________________________

Date: Sat, 31 Dec 2011 14:17:33 -0800
From: jborden at datawedge.com
To: v2020 at ssl1.fastmail.fm; vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Fw: On Ron Paul and Racism

I would agree with Paul's statement... but I would word it a bit
differently to deflect some of the immediate hatred I'm sure will be
heading my way.

I would say that racism, like abortion and gay marriage are *USED* as
theatrical issues.  

It's interesting as soon as any candidate becomes popular in the polls,
some wild-card story gets tossed about dealing with one of these issues.
Then it's pressed as long as necessary until the candidate just "goes
away".

Rick Perry (again, not a fan) was gaining traction... and then suddenly
a story about "Niggerhead" surfaced.  (He has since nearly imploded on
his own, but that's a separate issue).

Ron Paul gains even more traction this time around in the polls... and
suddenly some story connecting HIM to racisim surfaces.  (I don't recall
anything coming up about this story 4 years ago when he was running for
President).

The topics themselves are extremely important... but the *USE* of these
subjects has become nothing more than positioning and theatrical tools.

Is your opponent getting too much positive attention?  No problem...
just toss out one of these venomous statements (who cares whether it's
true or not... just phrase it in the form of an "objective question"
like Fox News does to avoid slander/libel)... and then sit back and
watch the show.

Once some story making any of these accusations hits the public... it's
like kryptonite... and it's used as such. 

Jay

From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com
[mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com] On Behalf Of Saundra Lund
Sent: Saturday, December 31, 2011 12:03 PM
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Fw: On Ron Paul and Racism

In part, Paul wrote:

"Racism, like abortion and gay marriage, are all "theatrical issues".
They are issues that are tossed out to the American public like scraps
to hungry dogs for them to fight over.  While they are important in and
of themselves, they are really meant to distract us from realizing that
we have more power than we think we do."

Yes, I do suppose it's a lot easier to look at issues like racism,
abortion, and gay marriage as "theatrical issues" when you're not the
minority family unable to rent a home due to racism, and you're not the
17-year-old incest victim forced to carry your granddaddy's baby or risk
death from a backdoor abortion, and you're not the lesbian at risk of
losing custody of your children born via IVF to your now-deceased 15
year partner because her family never "approved" of the non-marriage.

Yuppers - I guess for some, it is a lot easier to take the position that
those issues, while "important," really are just "theatrical issues"
when one isn't the target, when one lacks of empathy . . . or when one
lacks the sense God gave a billy goat.

Not in my America.  I agree with Sue's comment, "All rights and even
some privileges should belong to all citizens" and shouldn't depend on
where in the US one lives.

Paul also wrote:

"In my opinion we should concentrate on our civil liberties . . ."

I guess I'm unclear as to how you define "civil liberties," but
reproductive freedom & gay marriage both fit into my definition of the
right of privacy, which is an important US civil liberty.

Saundra Lund

Moscow, ID

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to
do nothing.

~ Edmund Burke

From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com
[mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com] On Behalf Of Paul Rumelhart
Sent: Saturday, December 31, 2011 9:37 AM
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: [Vision2020] Fw: On Ron Paul and Racism

I sent this only to Sue, when I meant to send it to the list.

Paul

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Paul Rumelhart <godshatter at yahoo.com>
To: Sue Hovey <suehovey at moscow.com> 
Sent: Saturday, December 31, 2011 9:32 AM
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] On Ron Paul and Racism

It doesn't negate the evidence.  For what it's worth, he claims that he
didn't write those newsletters that were put out in his name.  Like
you've shown, a person can be compassionate and still be racist.  Being
racist is not a black and white thing, no pun intended.  It's something
that can change over a period of years.  I grew up in a casually racist
household, and had to unlearn much of that over the years, as did my
parents.  It's easy to fall into that trap when you grow up with it and
everyone around you thinks the same thing.  As society changed, so did
those around me, and so did I.

I've said this many times on the Viz:  I'm not looking for Jesus Christ
or Gandhi when I'm looking for a Presidential candidate to vote for.  I
want someone who will perform well in the job.

So the question is, assuming he is some kind of die-hard racist from the
sixties like he's being portrayed, is he going to deny blacks the right
to vote or serve on juries?

Racism, like abortion and gay marriage, are all "theatrical issues".
They are issues that are tossed out to the American public like scraps
to hungry dogs for them to fight over.  While they are important in and
of themselves, they are really meant to distract us from realizing that
we have more power than we think we do.  In my opinion we should
concentrate on our civil liberties, and in stopping the steady power
buildup for the Executive branch that's been going on for years.  That's
far more dangerous to us in the short term than any of these hot button
issues are.  Like Sunil said in another post, it's all about priorities.

Paul

________________________________

From: Sue Hovey <suehovey at moscow.com>
To: Paul Rumelhart <godshatter at yahoo.com> 
Sent: Friday, December 30, 2011 10:34 PM
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] On Ron Paul and Racism

It's a lovely story, Paul. And a powerful instance of Ron Paul's
compassion, but how does it negate the evidence of his racism in those
published reports?  My Texas grandfather was a racist through and
through, yet he performed kind and generous acts to the people he
belittled, and to whom he would have denied the vote, the right to serve
on juries (along with women) and most especially the right to sit up
front in public transportation.  

Sue H.       

From: Paul Rumelhart <mailto:godshatter at yahoo.com>  

Sent: Friday, December 30, 2011 10:18 PM

To: vision2020 at moscow.com 

Subject: [Vision2020] On Ron Paul and Racism

Here is a video in response to allegations of racism being leveled at
Ron Paul.  It was made by "Revolution PAC", a "superPAC" whose sole
purpose is to get Ron Paul elected. It's entitled "The Compassion of Dr.
Ron Paul":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Rv0Z5SNrF4

If we're going to attack Ron Paul with allegations of racism on the
list, I thought it might be nice to see what his side has to say.

Paul

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