Racism and Conservative Hypocrisy Pt. II

Let me start by saying that Andrew Breitbart is an awful, awful person. For those who don't know, Breitbart posted "video proof" of the racism within the NAACP. His edited, out of context video was played ad nauseum by Fox News, with scathing commentary by blond, blue eyed newsbots and the usual gang of idiots. By the time the day was over, Shirley Sherrod was out of a job. This was done in response to the NAACP passing of a resolution which challenged the Tea Party movement to repudiate (the proper usage of an actual English word) the ramapant racism within its ranks. This was mistakenly viewed as a resolution that the Tea Party was itself a racist organization, a laughable notion as very little about the Tea Party can be considered organized. Then the floodgates opened and the sad saga of Ms. Sherrod, whose full speech I am listening to as I write this post, was thus inevitable.

Of course the proper answer to a charge of racism is to accuse the accuser of being a worse racist. This, anyway, is the response of the conservative echo chamber and it regrettably works very, very well. The two minutes on Breitbart's website is part of a personal anecdote wherein the speaker, Ms. Sherrod, learns that her own biases, created by early experiences with White people that were resoundingly negative, caused her to act wrongly and that her objective was not to protect those of her own race, but those who are drowning in poverty.

The story, which occupies the better part of the first 21:30 of the speech, is a beautiful one of personal discovery that happened twenty-four years ago when Ms. Sherrod worked for a nonprofit organization and not the federal government. It is a shining example of how conversations about race relations and racism ought to be framed. Ms. Sherrod immediately goes on to say, "There is no difference between us. The only difference is that folks with money want to stay in power." When conservative media converge to create these kinds of monstrosities they call news, it only proves that there is a palpable need to come together and hear these stories and have these conversations. If we are called to repudiate racism and our response is a failed attempt at satire that only highlights how racist we are, something is still very wrong. I applaud the Spooners for being so quick to come to Ms. Sherrod's defense, calling her a lifelong friend who personally saved them from bankruptcy.

The boldest move that could now be made, the only way to show that we will not be bullied by racist hypocrites, is for the USDA to offer Shirley Sherrod her job back. It should be hers to keep or leave at her own discretion and not forced to resign in order to save face. The USDA, the Obama administration owes her that much.