Hank Aaron calls out Republicans, gets new round of hate mail

robjvargas

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You go first.
I already have. You, on the other hand...

With your steely determination to lambaste Aaron as Louis Farrakhan's Brother from Another Mother, you've certainly colored the issue with your own ideological bias and spread paint over the walls, floors, ceilings and anyone unlucky enough to get caught in the spray.
...appear to have a determination to engage hyperbole all out of contact with what others have actually said.

Your attempt to characterize what I've said into something else, while demanding word-for-word accuracy of others, is exactly part of the problem, and nowhere in the same state as beginning the discussion.

What Hank Aaron said earns him a rebuke. And it's no generalization to say so. That says nothing about him as a person, despite your effort to morph what I said into that. I can criticize a statement without making it personal. And that's exactly what I've done.

I can forgive *any* 80=year-old man for rambling a bit, and for grumbling. But that does not mean I have to stay silent on it.

And it's not just my reading of those words. From the CBS article linked in the OP here:

...he lambasted Republicans for the way they treat this country's first black president.

Notice that even though I've quoted the others parts, it's his blanket statement about Republicans that's at issue for me.

That kind of falsity is no more useful than the GOP's atrocious lack of understanding of race-based issues. Less egregious, certainly, but just as useless.
 

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I already have. You, on the other hand...


...appear to have a determination to engage hyperbole all out of contact with what others have actually said.

Says the Master of the Game. :e2brows:

robjvargas said:
Your attempt to characterize what I've said into something else, while demanding word-for-word accuracy of others, is exactly part of the problem, and nowhere in the same state as beginning the discussion.

That's okay. There are people who lack any capacity to be tolerant and accepting of the opinions of others, deliberately distort and misinterpret remarks contrary to their own narrow, partisan perspectives, are disingenuous as they ascribe to other people dark motives while simultaneously aggressively advancing their own agenda, and demand from others adhere to the standards they don't abide by themselves.

There's nothing to discuss with people like that.

robjvargas said:
What Hank Aaron said earns him a rebuke. And it's no generalization to say so.

"Earns him a rebuke."
My, but you have an exaggerated sense of your importance to the life of Hank Aaron, don't you?

robjvargas said:
That says nothing about him as a person, despite your effort to morph what I said into that. I can criticize a statement without making it personal. And that's exactly what I've done.

Not even close, though the self-serving appraisal of your actions doubtlessly led you to that erroneous conclusion.

By willfully twisting Hank Aaron's statement to fit your own interpretation you have attempted to belittle and dirty up the reputation of a man who has forgotten more about what real racism is than you could ever dream of.

robjvargas said:
I can forgive *any* 80=year-old man for rambling a bit, and for grumbling. But that does not mean I have to stay silent on it.

Perhaps you should consider doing so, because despite your rude and snide swipe at Mr. Aaron's age, nothing you have posted in this thread disproves his remarks even slightly.

Then again, it's a lot easier to suggest an 80-year-old man is "rambling' and isn't quite all there than it is for a presumably younger man to make any effort at all to disprove Aaron wasn't dead on point in his acidly, accurate assessment of the shabby treatment of President Obama by Republicans.

robjvargas said:
And it's not just my reading of those words. From the CBS article linked in the OP here:

Notice that even though I've quoted the others parts, it's his blanket statement about Republicans that's at issue for me.

That kind of falsity is no more useful than the GOP's atrocious lack of understanding of race-based issues. Less egregious, certainly, but just as useless.

The GOP's lack of understanding of race-based issues has been mirrored in this thread by your own.
 

Gregg

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I found these comments interesting and informative. Coming from a totally different perspective than Hank Aaron, a conservative of African descent wrote this:


"The Republican base that Steve Israel says is animated by racism, nominated me -- an American of African descent and a great grandson of slaves -- for Lt. Governor of Virginia. They embraced me warmly, treated me respectfully and supported me enthusiastically. The liberal media on the other hand set out to destroy me. My white Democrat opponent was even caught on camera refusing to shake my hand. The new racism is very different in style from the old, but the same in substance. The old racists liked blacks who knew their place and stayed in it. The new racists behave exactly the same, but define our “place” as the Democrat liberal camp."...

"Today’s liberal elites are the new virulent racists. When you agree with them, they honor you as an African-American. When you contradict their orthodoxy, they abuse you like a dog. Even liberal Juan Williams felt their wrath when he went off message."...

"We have largely rid ourselves of the old racism. It is time to rid ourselves of the new form. The burden is on the liberal elites in the Democrat Party and the media to end the paternalism and condescension with which they treat the black community, and renounce the hateful attempts to destroy black conservatives. They need to stop pointing the finger of racism at others and take a hard look at themselves. They are not the racial conscience of the country, but the cause of racial regression."

http://americanthinker.com/2014/04/the_new_liberal_racism.html

Is Hank Aaron wrong and E.W. Jackson correct? I have no idea since I've never been subjected to racism. Each man's experiences were different so I suspect there is truth in both stories.


 

robjvargas

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Is Hank Aaron wrong and E.W. Jackson correct? I have no idea since I've never been subjected to racism. Each man's experiences were different so I suspect there is truth in both stories.

For me, it's not that simple. Hank Aaron made one statement that I believe merits rebuke. But his other statements have merit.

It doesn't have to be all one or all the other.
 

kuwisdelu

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Is Hank Aaron wrong and E.W. Jackson correct? I have no idea since I've never been subjected to racism. Each man's experiences were different so I suspect there is truth in both stories.

They're both right. If we ignore policy, for a moment.

Despite the triumph that the election of Barack Obama represents, politics is still very much a heterosexual wealthy white man's game.

However, the racism and pervasive lack of diversity in both parties and politics in general does not make Aaron any less correct.
 

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I found these comments interesting and informative. Coming from a totally different perspective than Hank Aaron, a conservative of African descent wrote this:


"The Republican base that Steve Israel says is animated by racism, nominated me -- an American of African descent and a great grandson of slaves -- for Lt. Governor of Virginia. They embraced me warmly, treated me respectfully and supported me enthusiastically. The liberal media on the other hand set out to destroy me. My white Democrat opponent was even caught on camera refusing to shake my hand.
I quite understand why Jackson's white opponent refused to shake his hand. It has nothing to do with race – it's because Jackson has a long history of spewing hate at every opportunity. He's not just a "black conservative." He's a far right wing Christian conservative who is a nut job, winning glowing endorsements only from such people as Glenbeck.
1. On gay people: “Their minds are perverted, they’re frankly very sick people psychologically, mentally and emotionally and they see everything through the lens of homosexuality. When they talk about love they’re not talking about love, they’re talking about homosexual sex.”

10. On Obama’s Muslim sensibilities: “Obama clearly has Muslim sensibilities. He sees the world and Israel from a Muslim perspective. His construct of ‘The Muslim World’ is unique in modern diplomacy. It is said that only The Muslim Brotherhood and other radical elements of the religion use that concept. It is a call to unify Muslims around the world.”

http://www.salon.com/2013/05/20/deep_thoughts_with_virginias_new_lg_candidate/

Some more thoughts from Mr. Jackson:
“The idea that Barrack Obama is a Christian is laughable… At best he is a confused man, or at worse has the sensibilities…of an atheist and a Muslim… We are dealing with an evil presence.”


- See more at: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/brothe...ollipops-and-pedophilia/#sthash.ytmuROFn.dpuf

When one hears the word meditation, it conjures an image of Maharishi Yoga talking about finding a mantra and striving for nirvana. . . . The purpose of such meditation is to empty oneself. . . . [Satan] is happy to invade the empty vacuum of your soul and possess it. That is why people serve Satan without ever knowing it or deciding to, but no one can be a child of God without making a decision to surrender to him. Beware of systems of spirituality which tell you to empty yourself. You will end up filled with something you probably do not want.

http://m.theatlantic.com/politics/a...-yoga-opens-you-to-satanic-possession/276570/

He did try to walk back some of these comments during his unsuccessful run for lieutenant governor but it was a bit late for him. Especially since the evil liberal press kept asking him to explain his own words.
 

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Perhaps you should consider doing so, because despite your rude and snide swipe at Mr. Aaron's age, nothing you have posted in this thread disproves his remarks even slightly.

Then again, it's a lot easier to suggest an 80-year-old man is "rambling' and isn't quite all there than it is for a presumably younger man to make any effort at all to disprove Aaron wasn't dead on point in his acidly, accurate assessment of the shabby treatment of President Obama by Republicans.
Hey, I just want to take a moment to thank you for the way you jumped in to defend us older peeps against ageism. There aren't many who understand it happens. Fewer are interested in responding to it. But it's awesome that we can count on you for consistency.

"Gramps McCain" and "fading old fart of a Senator" and "the horror of Helen Thomas's ass in Playboy" notwithstanding. I'm sure glad you're there protecting us old farts from ageism. Keep up the good work. :ROFL:
 

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In the heat of the moment, things can seem a lot different. Or something like that. :)
 

nighttimer

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Hey, I just want to take a moment to thank you for the way you jumped in to defend us older peeps against ageism. There aren't many who understand it happens. Fewer are interested in responding to it. But it's awesome that we can count on you for consistency.

"Gramps McCain" and "fading old fart of a Senator" and "the horror of Helen Thomas's ass in Playboy" notwithstanding. I'm sure glad you're there protecting us old farts from ageism. Keep up the good work. :ROFL:

Speaking of old farts and ageism, it is a bit odd how the proprietor of a sub-forum since 2008 dubbed the Old Farts and Tiki Bar apparently dabbles in ageism himself when the mood strikes.

But by all means, feel free to lecture me about "consistency." :e2tomato:
 

nighttimer

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I found these comments interesting and informative. Coming from a totally different perspective than Hank Aaron, a conservative of African descent wrote this:


"The Republican base that Steve Israel says is animated by racism, nominated me -- an American of African descent and a great grandson of slaves -- for Lt. Governor of Virginia. They embraced me warmly, treated me respectfully and supported me enthusiastically. The liberal media on the other hand set out to destroy me. My white Democrat opponent was even caught on camera refusing to shake my hand. The new racism is very different in style from the old, but the same in substance. The old racists liked blacks who knew their place and stayed in it. The new racists behave exactly the same, but define our “place” as the Democrat liberal camp."...

"Today’s liberal elites are the new virulent racists. When you agree with them, they honor you as an African-American. When you contradict their orthodoxy, they abuse you like a dog. Even liberal Juan Williams felt their wrath when he went off message."...

"We have largely rid ourselves of the old racism. It is time to rid ourselves of the new form. The burden is on the liberal elites in the Democrat Party and the media to end the paternalism and condescension with which they treat the black community, and renounce the hateful attempts to destroy black conservatives. They need to stop pointing the finger of racism at others and take a hard look at themselves. They are not the racial conscience of the country, but the cause of racial regression."

http://americanthinker.com/2014/04/the_new_liberal_racism.html

Is Hank Aaron wrong and E.W. Jackson correct? I have no idea since I've never been subjected to racism. Each man's experiences were different so I suspect there is truth in both stories.


No. There isn't.

Hank Aaron is a man of accomplishment, distinction and worthy of honor and respect.

E.W. Jackson is a babbling loon and a homophobic moron whose unhinged utterances are uglier than a bag of smashed assholes.

He was such an unmitigated disaster as the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor of Virginia, even the arch-conservative (and equally homophobic) Ken Cuccinelli ran away from Jackson as if he were radioactive.

To wit, here’s a short round-up of Jackson’s statements and positions in just the last week of the campaign. On guns, Jackson says, “Every person who has a concealed weapons permit and was trained to use a firearm…should be allowed to bring that firearm to school.” On rights for gay and lesbian Americans, he says, “How in the world can we expect our military to be blessed by the hand of almighty God if we allow our military to become the equivalent of Sodom and Gomorrah? God is not pleased.” On the right-wing grassroots, he says, “It was God’s plan to beget the Tea Party.” And on the question of education, he says Obama will “force schools to start teaching all children homosexuality.”

Cuccinelli has worked hard to avoid any association with Jackson; of all the events the attorney general held over the weekend, none featured the conservative clergyman and anti-gay activist. The irony, of course, is that Jackson’s candidacy is the direct result of Cuccinelli’s decision to push for a convention as opposed to a primary. Given his strong support among rank-and-file Republicans, odds are good that Cuccinelli would have won a primary for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. And he would have walked away from the contest with a sensible nominee; Jackson, as his sparsely attended events and low fundraising attest, is a niche product for a handful of voters. In a fair election against a capable opponent, he would have fallen far short of victory. As it stands, Jackson is now one of the faces of the Virginia GOP, and his presence on the ticket has been an unmitigated disaster.

After Jackson won the nomination, I wrote a bit about his place in the universe of “black conservatives,” a category distinct from African-Americans who hold conservative views. Like Georgia businessman Herman Cain or former Florida congressman Allen West, Jackson’s career—and income—is earned with outrageous statements about government, President Obama, and other African-Americans. Here’s Jackson explaining how programs like Medicare and Medicaid are to blame for the deterioration of black families: “[T]he programs that began in the ’60s, the programs that began to tell women that ‘you don’t need a man in the home, the government will take care of you,’ and began to tell men, ‘you don’t need to be in the home, the government will take care of this woman and take care of these children.’ That’s when the black family began to deteriorate.” Such beliefs are similar to West’s insistence, for instance, that African-Americans are chained to the “Democratic plantation.”

An honest look at these figures will tell you that they’re grifters. They can’t succeed in politics, but—for a fee—they can tell you want you to hear about the world. And who are the voters who want to give their money and attention to charlatans like Jackson and West? Right-wing conservatives who desperately want validation that they aren’t racist and that their views are acceptable to African-Americans as is.

That isn’t true. But as long as there’s money is in it, there will be some Professional Black Conservative who shows up to tell the Tea Party exactly what it wants to hear.
Which explains nicely why Aaron's words grate on the ears of those in vehement disagreement with him while the obsequious Jackson whispers sweet nothings into their shell-like ears.
 

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Speaking of old farts and ageism, it is a bit odd how the proprietor of a sub-forum since 2008 dubbed the Old Farts and Tiki Bar apparently dabbles in ageism himself when the mood strikes.

But by all means, feel free to lecture me about "consistency." :e2tomato:
It's all about taking someone else's pejorative and claiming ownership of the term. It's quite empowering and it takes some of the sting away. But of course you already knew that and chose to ignore it.

And for the record, it's not a subforum, but a thread. Plus you got the name wrong. It's Old Farts Thread & Tiki Bar. Your link didn't work either. Try this one.

No need to thank me. :)
 

nighttimer

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Run a 100 miles and still have another 100 miles to go.

Another baseball legend weighs in on the controversy, Frank Robinson.

It is 2014, we have twice elected a black president, and Jackie Robinson is an American icon, celebrated annually on April 15. And yet: Hank Aaron is receiving hate mail, which reminds us that black people are still held to a different standard, when it comes to expressing strong opinions on race.

“Hank Aaron is a black man,” Frank Robinson told me on Tuesday, after helping to light the Empire State Building in Dodger blue to honor the 67th anniversary of another Robinson’s debut. “He only spoke his mind. I have seen and heard other people in this country say worse things, and they don’t get hate mail. It shows you we still have a ways to go.”

Robinson — a Hall of Fame player, the first African-American manager and MLB’s Executive Vice President of Baseball Development — did not list those “worse things,” but here are a few: Tea Party rallies where people hoist signs showing a Hitler mustache on President Obama, activists sending around emails portraying the president as a monkey, Braves fans calling Aaron the N-word, repeating what the home run king endured 40 years ago.

When Aaron offers an opinion, he becomes the target of threats. “Sure, this country has a black president,” the newspaper quoted him last week as saying. “But when you look at a black president, President Obama is left with his foot stuck in the mud from all of the Republicans with the way he’s treated.

“We have moved in the right direction, and there have been improvements, but we still have a long ways to go in the country.

“The bigger difference is that back then they had hoods. Now they have neckties and starched shirts.”

On Tuesday, USA Today columnist Bob Nightengale, who wrote the original piece, clarified that Aaron did not directly compare Republicans to the Ku Klux Klan. “Never in our 50-minute conversation did Aaron suggest anyone critical of President Obama is racist,” Nightengale wrote. “Never did he compare the Republican Party to the Ku Klux Klan. . . . Simply, Aaron stated that we are fooling ourselves if we don’t believe racism exists in our country.”

Whether or not Aaron meant to invoke the KKK, the ensuing hate mail is a larger story. The Braves received hundreds of calls, emails and letters eviscerating Aaron, according to USA Today. “Hank Aaron is a scumbag piece of (expletive) (racial slur)," read one of the notes.

I asked Robinson the obvious follow-up to his initial comment: Are we still in a place in our society where a black person makes controversial comments, and is more vulnerable to vicious criticism than a white person?

“I think so,” he said. “We have made great progress, but we still have a different standard. And it’s too bad. But we keep fighting, and we keep going forward, and taking the cause forward.”
I'm not even a fan of baseball. Don't like the game and don't watch it, but I know what men like Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson have done for both their sport and to make this country a less blind, less backward and less racist place than it has been.

The fact that Aaron's wisdom prompts such knee-jerk reactions and bigoted invective is proof of how blind, backward and racist America still remains.


 

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"Politicians and the media like slogans. They’re simple and don’t necessarily need to be true. The past week, we got two whoppers, which are likely to set the tone of the 2014 campaign, that Republicans are sexist and racist.

No. 1: President Obama said, “Today, the average, full-time working woman earns just 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. In 2014, that’s an embarrassment. It is wrong.”

No. 2: Baseball legend Hank Aaron “reportedly” compared Republicans who oppose Mr. Obama to the Ku Klux Klan."



I've read Mr. Aaron's statement several times, and I'm still not sure what he's trying to say.
 

Roxxsmom

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"Politicians and the media like slogans. They’re simple and don’t necessarily need to be true. The past week, we got two whoppers, which are likely to set the tone of the 2014 campaign, that Republicans are sexist and racist.

No. 1: President Obama said, “Today, the average, full-time working woman earns just 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. In 2014, that’s an embarrassment. It is wrong.”
How does this accuse Republicans of anything? He didn't even mention Republicans in this comment.

Now the fact that Senate Republicans overwhelmingly voted to block the Pay Equity bill could be interpreted as sexist by at least some women.

No. 2: Baseball legend Hank Aaron “reportedly” compared Republicans who oppose Mr. Obama to the Ku Klux Klan."
I've read Mr. Aaron's statement several times, and I'm still not sure what he's trying to say.

I got that he thinks that racism is still a thing in this country and that at least some of the knee jerk opposition Obama's gotten from Congressional and Senate Republicans could be motivated by race. Aaron's not the first person to posit that this might be the case.

In any case, why are people flocking to the defense of the party which has been hostile to the rights of both women and minorities for the past 30 years?

If someone votes for racist and sexist legislation, then maybe they're racist and sexist. If someone hangs out with and tolerates racists, maybe they're racist too. Or if they're not personally racist, they're at least not fussed enough by racism to let it stop them from supporting racist candidates. The notion that Republicans are currently the more racist (and sexist for that matter) of the two major US political parties is not something Hank Aaron invented. So why is he getting the hate mail and the name calling for making a much more restrained statement about racism and US politics than many others have?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/republican-racism

http://republicansareracists.com/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...ul-lot-lately-is-it-a-smart-midterm-strategy/

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_..._of_southern_voters_bolster_its_chances_.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_strategy

http://www.salon.com/2013/12/22/how_the_gop_became_the_white_mans_party/

http://prospect.org/article/rising-tide-anti-black-racism

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/...le-who-hate-Obama-more-than-they-love-America

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/02/why-do-appalachians-love-clinton-and-hate-obama.html


And I am not personally endorsing the views represented in any of these articles, nor vouching for their veracity. But they do illustrate that there's a popular perception that the Republican party has a problem with racism these days.
 
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Apparently the word 'Republican' slipped by your scan of the comment, Roxxsmom?

“President Obama is left with his foot stuck in the mud from all of the Republicans with the way he’s treated. We have moved in the right direction, and there have been improvements, but we still have a long ways to go in the country. The bigger difference is that back then they had hoods. Now they have neckties and starched shirts.”

Sure, there is racism in this country, and the world. However, I always thought it was more of a matter of political policy that slowed the President's agenda, rather than just a knee jerk reaction.

As for hostility to the rights of women and minorities, that is a perception also. If you're convinced that this is true, then there is no point in arguing.

Is he getting more hate mail than others have? I don't know. I should imagine there are politicians with an 'R' in front of their name that are getting some pretty nasty emails and letter too. In other words, everyone is stirred up.
 

kuwisdelu

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:Shrug:

I guess some people call "whoppers" what many of us would call "stating the obvious".
 

benluby

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Apparently the word 'Republican' slipped by your scan of the comment, Roxxsmom?

“President Obama is left with his foot stuck in the mud from all of the Republicans with the way he’s treated. We have moved in the right direction, and there have been improvements, but we still have a long ways to go in the country. The bigger difference is that back then they had hoods. Now they have neckties and starched shirts.”

Sure, there is racism in this country, and the world. However, I always thought it was more of a matter of political policy that slowed the President's agenda, rather than just a knee jerk reaction.

As for hostility to the rights of women and minorities, that is a perception also. If you're convinced that this is true, then there is no point in arguing.

Is he getting more hate mail than others have? I don't know. I should imagine there are politicians with an 'R' in front of their name that are getting some pretty nasty emails and letter too. In other words, everyone is stirred up.

It really comes down to 'which side are they on' I guess.
I remember Colin Powell being called an Uncle Tom, same as USSCJ Clarence Thomas labeled with the same label by the left...and not one peep about it.
Condileeza Rice caught pure hell from the left, and a lot of it was both racist and sexist, but...it was pretty much ignored by the left, again.
Wasn't it Biden that made the brilliant comment about Obama being very well spoken 'for an African American'?
Yeah...lets all take a good look at one thing. Racism exists on both sides of the aisle. It is definitely a lot less prevalent, to the point where a small percentage scream and cry and get headline credit as though they are some types of mass number.
But reality is? I know just as many on the left who are racist as I do on the right. Not a large number over all, but reality is, it's not assigned to one party.
 

Roxxsmom

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Apparently the word 'Republican' slipped by your scan of the comment, Roxxsmom?

“President Obama is left with his foot stuck in the mud from all of the Republicans with the way he’s treated.

Not at all. The Republicans have been more obstructionist with him than an opposing congress has been with any president in my lifetime at least, even Bill Clinton, in spite of his being an extremely moderate Democrat whose despised health care bill was heavily influenced by plans proposed by Republicans like NcCain and Romney. The level of rancor seems to be about more than politics.

Maybe there's something else at play here that's not about political differences or race, but no one has proposed what they might be in this thread at least.

We have moved in the right direction, and there have been improvements, but we still have a long ways to go in the country. The bigger difference is that back then they had hoods. Now they have neckties and starched shirts.”

I don't know whether he's specifically referring to congressional Republicans here or not. Another interpretation is simply that racists of all stripes hiding behind a veneer of respectability these days, which is certainly true. It's less socially respectable to be openly racist than it once was.

However, the number of hate groups in this country has increased since Obama was elected, so I'd disagree that all the bigots are hiding their true colors. Maybe the hate groups have reemerged for other reasons, but I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that the election (and reelection) of our first African-American president might be a factor here.

Sure, there is racism in this country, and the world. However, I always thought it was more of a matter of political policy that slowed the President's agenda, rather than just a knee jerk reaction.

As for hostility to the rights of women and minorities, that is a perception also. If you're convinced that this is true, then there is no point in arguing.

I don't know why there's no point in arguing here. I'm curious why you'd think the Republicans aren't less sympathetic overall to the rights of women and minorities. Their party platform has been hostile towards women since I was in high school (when Reagan was first elected). And there have been enough racist, sexist comments on the part of Republican candidates over the past few years to suggest that it's more than just a few loose cannons and bad apples.

And of course women and minorities in general are less likely to vote Republican than are white males. This suggests at least that the groups of people who are most affected by racism and sexism also perceive the Republicans as less sympathetic to the issues that matter most to them.

Is he getting more hate mail than others have? I don't know. I should imagine there are politicians with an 'R' in front of their name that are getting some pretty nasty emails and letter too. In other words, everyone is stirred up.

I don't know. Some other folks who have been posting in this thread are under the impression that there's been a lot of venom spewed, including racist slurs, that go beyond what most of us would consider to be merely vehement disagreement with Aaron's assertions.

It really comes down to 'which side are they on' I guess.
I remember Colin Powell being called an Uncle Tom, same as USSCJ Clarence Thomas labeled with the same label by the left...and not one peep about it.
Condileeza Rice caught pure hell from the left, and a lot of it was both racist and sexist, but...it was pretty much ignored by the left, again.
Wasn't it Biden that made the brilliant comment about Obama being very well spoken 'for an African American'?
Yeah...lets all take a good look at one thing. Racism exists on both sides of the aisle. It is definitely a lot less prevalent, to the point where a small percentage scream and cry and get headline credit as though they are some types of mass number.
But reality is? I know just as many on the left who are racist as I do on the right. Not a large number over all, but reality is, it's not assigned to one party.

I know that there have been a small number of African American politicians who have been Republicans, and I support their right to support the party they wish to. I've always had a great deal of respect for Colin Powell, in fact. I also feel that the Democrats have done less than they could to eliminate racism. Were there lots of liberal Democrats using racial slurs when they criticized Rice and Powell? I didn't see a lot of it in internet threads and letters to the editor during the Bush years, but I've no doubt that there are racist Democrats also. But this doesn't change the fact that there are far fewer African American Republicans.

I have no idea what percentage of political conservatives are openly and un-apologetically racist, closet racists or simply complacent in their privilege (as are many people who consider themselves liberals, including myself in some ways). But There seems to be a core of really unpleasant people who listen to Limbaugh and Beck and watch Fox News, and they scare the crap out of me, to be honest.
 
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RichardGarfinkle

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Hank Aaron is one of the people whose experience of racism is most likely to be analogous to that of President Obama. He knows what it's like to be on the receiving end of racial attacks and death threats because one is doing something that had been thought the exclusive province of people unlike him.

I would argue that his view is not a simple matter of opinion, but the result of similar experience. I would therefore give more weight to what he says than I would give to that of many people disputing his views.

I do so for the same reason that I would give weight to the experiences of a combat soldier over an armchair general when describing the realities of war: real world, in the field, experience.
 

robjvargas

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I don't know. Some other folks who have been posting in this thread are under the impression that there's been a lot of venom spewed, including racist slurs, that go beyond what most of us would consider to be merely vehement disagreement with Aaron's assertions.

This is true. I think Hank Aaron made one point with which I disagree and that I believe was stupid and worthy of rebuke. But that doesn't invalidate other points he also raised. Nor does it validate the venom that he's truly received.
 

nighttimer

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Nothing Hank Aaron said was remotely "stupid" and the condemnation of haters unworthy of carrying his bat is totally and utterly meaningless.

There is nothing anyone here or outside of here can say that in way diminishes Aaron's standing as the man who broke Babe Ruth's home run record and was reviled, vilified and had life threatened by bigots every step of the way who could not their tiny little minds around the idea that a "nigger" could surpass the legendary Bambino.

It is laughable that someone tapping on their tablet or laptop can even slightly tarnish the luster of Aaron's accomplishments. This is a man who took the worst the most hostile racists could throw at him and emerged triumphant and his pride intact.

And you really think there's anything someone can say that will hurt him now more than that bigoted trash said then?

Aaron was asked in the same interview why 40 years after the fact he still keeps all the hate mail he received.

"To remind myself that we are not that far removed from when I was chasing the record. If you think that, you are fooling yourself. A lot of things have happened in this country, but we have so far to go. There's not a whole lot that has changed."

Can a brother get a "boom shakalaka" from the choir? :TheWave:

The mouth-foaming frenzy of Aaron's conservative critics proves him to be a prophet. He's still hammering home the truth.
 

robjvargas

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It is laughable that someone tapping on their tablet or laptop can even slightly tarnish the luster of Aaron's accomplishments. This is a man who took the worst the most hostile racists could throw at him and emerged triumphant and his pride intact.

The mouth-foaming frenzy of Aaron's conservative critics proves him to be a prophet. He's still hammering home the truth.

I see the hyperbole continues unabated.

The worst they could throw at him? Ask Medgar Evers how much that's true. Or the 16th Street Baptist Church.

Trying to equate idiotic statements on the Internet with that, now that's mouth-foaming.