8.24.2012

Birthers

Dear Baby Jesus--

I am trying so hard, so very, very hard, to be apolitical on Facebook.  My conservative friends post all sorts of crap about how Obama is the Worst. President. Ever.

They seem to have all forgotten that George W. Bush is the asshole that dragged us into this mess.  And even though, according to some Facebook test I took, I agree more with the Green Party candidate's platform than I do with Obama's, I will still vote for him. And I even don't comment on their crap. But bless me Jesus, for I have sinned.  Tonight, I just coudn't take it anymore. Today, Mittington Romney III went there and made a joke about how no one ever asks hiim for HIS birith certificate. Gee, Mittens, could it be because you're a pompous prick who is so obviously WHITE, despite the fact that you belong to a religon that most people consider a cult, and in spite of the fact that your family fled to Mexico so that they could practice polygamy?

And yet somehow, you're now questioning the validity of the President's nationalism? Really? Because what, he's black? And a Kenyan Muslim, Socialist, Communist, Facist, Nazi? (Note to detractors: you have to pick one--he can't be a Socialist AND a Communist.)
Oh, but he IS black, so all bets are off. He's obviously not a "Real American" (TM) because he's BLACK. Did I mention that he's BLACK?

I personally don't care what race, religion, or creed my president is. I would prefer he not be a complete and total idiot (27%, I'm looking at you--again). Other than that, if he wants to be a Muslim--or a Mormon, I don't really care. Wear weird holy underwear in the White House and get us back to the (Clinton) days when we had a surplus instead of a deficit.

I'm pissed now, so I'll just quote this article:

Romney's implicit pledge of allegiance to the birther movement is as revealing of his character as anything else in his campaign of half-deliberate opacity. He appears to lack a core capacity for empathy. He literally cannot see himself as someone not white, as someone accented or a newcomer.

In fact, Romney's tactics suggest that he's the one whose Americanness should come under question. True Americanness is not about how WASPy your surname is, how pale your skin, or how many generations your family has lived here -- or how much you can lord those facts over others. Nor is it about how subtly you can stir up secret prejudices against people who could be deemed outsiders.

True Americanness is about fidelity to a creed that by design transcends color or place of family origin. Yes, we as a nation have often subverted that creed, or averted our gaze, but it still stands in timeless judgment, measuring our willingness to deliver on the promise of equal citizenship. True Americans see in a sea of colored faces a chance to bring everyone into the fold, so that the team is stronger and the creed redeemed. Mitt Romney can prance all he wants but his words today were those of a second-rate America.

And now, I will follow my seven-year-old daughter's lead, chant "namaste," and hope I make it through election season without blowing a gasket.

1 comment:

bayoucreole said...

Excellent post! A lot of folks are using this election to justify their racism. It's just crazy!