Forrest's Weird Encounter of the Day, #1

[ForrestGump]

...of a series...I'd say "a series of two," but the day ain't over yet.

Item: a black man wearing a Bush/Cheny '04 sweatshirt (yes, in Southern California in mid-May...sweltering enough for ya?) and matching Bush/Cheny '04 baseball cap.

Weird.

But why is it weird? In fact, is it weird at all?

Just because he's of African heritage doesn't mean that he can't be a Republican (and let us remember that there are Republicans and then there are Republicans). In fact, wouldn't putting him down for his choice of political affiliation be racist? After all, it'd be based on nothing but his skin color.

It strikes me as weird because, although racism is pervasive to some degree right across the spectrum (and, similarly, so is tolerance and 'colorblindness,' or anti-racism, or whatever), the Republican party has for a fairly long time now held the concession on racism. By that I mean that if some idiot makes blatantly racist remarks or otherwise displays true racial hatred or contempt the odds are really good that they'll be Republicans. If there's a mainstream party for racists, it'd be the Republican party. I don't profess to know exactly why this should be so -- it's not like the Democratic party, especially in its Dixiecrat form -- has been immune, but these days it's the Republicans who're more Klan-friendly. So, in a very broad sense, it's either a form of betrayal or a form of stupidity that would have a black person supporting -- especially so overtly -- characters (or lack thereof) like Bush and Cheney. Right? Not that he owes it to his black brothers and sisters, who may be brothers and sisters solely in the amount of melanin their genetic heritage happened to deposit in the skin (that 'content of their characters' idea does cut both ways), to vote Democratic. An assertion like that, no matter how well-intended, is racist. So, in short, it seems like we keep coming back to 'racist' this idea that it's rather strange or foolish for this man to be a walking billboard for The Bad Guys, and yet I'd suggest that most of us here would think his doing so is immeasurably more off-kilter than if he were some Random White Guy.

Maybe he's the head of an oil company, or a war profiteer...backstory might help here, but my knee-jerk mental reaction is still going to be a toned-down version of something like "dude, are you serious?"

What do you think?


(P.S.: I'd post this in the GD Forum but I don't want it to escalate too rapidly to some pointless contest with flamethrowers at 50 feet)

P.P.S.: Yes, he was wearing white athletic shoes...and gold jewelry. I didn't see his chair...

[Nay]

1. It has always been my contention that a black or a woman voting

for a Republican is like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders.

[Philostopher]

2. One thought ...

Perhaps he's active or ex-military.

I've known a few Republican AA men, most of them were either active duty in the Air Force or retired from one of the services. Not making any kind of call on it -- and I'm pretty asocial outside of work anymore, so I don't know what it's like now as compared to the 80s, when I knew the guys I refer to -- but that's one sector of the African American male population that does turn up a few Republicans.

[DS1]

3. One possible answer to me, is

that he's got a son or two, or daughter serving in Iraq, and supporting the President brings him some kind of comfort.

[slinkerwink]

4. or one that could really really be homophobic to the extent to vote repub

[NightTrain]

5. Similarly, today I saw a bumper sticker that said...

I STAND WITH PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH. The couple who owned the car was Hispanic. :shrug:

[smirkymonkey]

6. Could be a fundie...

or just very religious. I've met a lot of not-quite-fundie, but very religious people who really believe that the Satanic Chimp is a pious, god-fearin' holy man.

[SOteric]

7. I don't think it should come as such a surprise

that a black man would support the Republican party. Fundamental Christianity runs in columns through the African American communities of urban America, and fundies identify with the Republicans a great deal these days.

And many from the same community are military, ex-military or have family in the military. Again, a hotbed of Republican support.

I keep telling folks, 'shun the Fundies at your own peril.' Fundamentalist religions like some strict Baptist conferences and an assortment of Pentecostals are heavily populated across racial boundaries. It's a mistake to think Democrats have a lock on anyone's loyalty, or even that we should have.

[supernova]

8. Black Republicans are rare

but they do exist. It's the rarity of Whoopi's Repub brother on her show that makes him funny.

In all seriousness, the fundamentalists are trying to peel A-A voters away from the Democratic base precisely on the basis of religious issues.

We can't let that happen.