# A young male African American FB friend is apparently supporting Ron Paul. Is this common? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 24, 2012, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-young-male-african-american-fb-friend-is-apparently-supporting-ron-paul-is-this-common/613791 "2012-02-24T02:02:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-young-male-african-american-fb-friend-is-apparently-supporting-ron-paul-is-this-common/613791/21 "2012-02-24T07:27:21Z")
Yeah, it’s not like Ron Paul is against Civil Rights, he just has this great love for leaving things to the states. And it’s not like he believed all the racist drivel that was printed over his name in fund raising letters – how was he to know what they said? And that part about buying mailing lists from hate groups that deny the holocaust happened: hey what’s a little bigoted conspiracy theory among friends? [https://twitter.com/#!/RP\_Newsletter](https://twitter.com/#!/RP_Newsletter) From the newsletter, which Ron Paul did not disavow during the 1990s: “I think we can assume that 95 percent of the black males [in Washington DC] are semi-criminal or entirely criminal”. “We are constantly told that it is evil to be afraid of black men, it is hardly irrational.” “If you have to use a gun on a youth, you should leave the scene immediately, disposing of the wiped off gun as soon as possible.” “The Establishment coalesced into its excuse-making mode, justifying black terrorism in various ways.” "If you have ever been robbed by a black teenaged male, you know how unbelievably fleet of foot they can be.” > **[Judd Legum: FACT CHECK: Ron Paul Didn't Decide He Had Never Written or Read...](https://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2011/12/judd-legum-fact-check-ron-paul-didnt-decide-he-had-never-written-or-read-his-newsletters-until-2001.html)** > > Judd Legum: \>FACT CHECK: Ron Paul Personally Defended Racist Newsletters: Here’s what Paul told CNN on December 21: \>\>PAUL: I never read that stuff. I never — I would never — I came — I was probably aware of it 10 years after it was written…... ---
**Author:** ![Algorithm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/algorithm/32/12204_2.png) [@Algorithm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algorithm)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-young-male-african-american-fb-friend-is-apparently-supporting-ron-paul-is-this-common/613791/22 "2012-02-24T09:29:13Z")
Ron Paul’s personal position on civil rights is beside the point. He makes some noise about what he’d support or oppose at a state level, but the fact is he’s not running for state office. He’s running for president - and as president, he would support and oppose bills relating to civil rights in a manner largely identical to a president who opposed civil rights for minorities. The same goes for his positions on marriage equality and sexual privacy. Ron Paul will uphold the power of government to oppress its people, so long as that government is a state government. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-young-male-african-american-fb-friend-is-apparently-supporting-ron-paul-is-this-common/613791/23 "2012-02-24T09:37:23Z")
I find it really creepy how people always bring this crap up, it smacks of subtle racism and has the nasty effect of making blacks feel uncomfortable being right wing or sharing their views. Why does he support him? Probably because he agrees with his political views, why does anyone support a candidate? Ron Paul thinks the civil rights act is incompatible with hard line libertarian philosophy, simple as that. But only because it forces private businesses to not discriminate, the government would still not be able to discriminate. This is the political equivalent of asking why this black chick likes Barbara Streisand, I mean crazy right! A black chick! ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-young-male-african-american-fb-friend-is-apparently-supporting-ron-paul-is-this-common/613791/24 "2012-02-24T12:10:31Z")
What a bunch of crap. I’m racist for being curious as to why a black man supports a racist? Yeah, Barbara Streisand is equivalent to Ron Paul. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-young-male-african-american-fb-friend-is-apparently-supporting-ron-paul-is-this-common/613791/25 "2012-02-24T14:31:40Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Also, he’s a global warming denialist. What **is** the libertarian movement’s general position on that, anyway, if it has one? I’ve never heard. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-young-male-african-american-fb-friend-is-apparently-supporting-ron-paul-is-this-common/613791/26 "2012-02-24T14:33:05Z")
> [@grude](#): > > . . . and has the nasty effect of making blacks feel uncomfortable being right wing . . . Well, then, so much the better! Now let’s find something that works on white people. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-young-male-african-american-fb-friend-is-apparently-supporting-ron-paul-is-this-common/613791/27 "2012-02-24T15:21:32Z")
Ron Paul proposes things that would be utterly catastrophic, like gutting the power of the Federal Reserve, and a lot of his positions are one that would be effective non-starters because the President isn’t a dictator and he can’t make Congress do crazy things. But you can’t deny his bravery and his willingness to actually stake out an honest position. That’s appealing to people, **and it’s especially appealing to young people who do not have a nuanced understanding of the facts**. To someone who’s never done the required reading or studied economic history, “Abolish the Fed! Gold standard!” sounds really cool. It’s a very black and white, simple issue that implies a promise of fixing something with the turn of a key. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-young-male-african-american-fb-friend-is-apparently-supporting-ron-paul-is-this-common/613791/28 "2012-02-24T15:41:40Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Why does he support him? Probably because he agrees with his political views, why does anyone support a candidate? Unfortunately, tautological reasoning doesn’t provide any insight. On the larger question, I’ve looked for polling data on the Republican race that would break down support by demographics, but have had no such luck. On the issue of why African-Americans may support Ron Paul, it is a valid question because it simply is a fact that Ron Paul has taken controversial stances on matters that are perceived as being importance to race issues in the United States. I am very reluctant to say he is a racist, I am more inclined to believe he lives in a fantasy world where the issue of race in America has been solved. For example: Paul says he did not write the racist statements in the Ron Paul Report. I will take him at his word. However, that means he exercised no oversight of his newsletter for a period of years when the racist comments were made; and when they were discovered, it appears as though nothing happened. Paul cannot or will not identify who wrote those articles. I think it is a perfectly valid question to ask, why does Ron Paul have no idea which of his employees wrote racist screeds and published them in his name? What’s more, the leading suspect, Lew Rockwell, is still a very close associate to Ron Paul. Secondly, Paul has repeatedly associated himself with organizations like the Ludwig Von Mises Institute, which takes curious positions along the lines of calling the Civil War necessary and periodically raking Abraham Lincoln over the coals. There seems to be some association and funding between that institute and various other causes that revolve around the Confederacy and intolerance, which probably would be a bit of a stretch to assign Paul any responsibility for, except in the context of… Thirdly, there was an incident in the 2008 campaign in which it was discovered that the guy who runs the flagrantly racist website (which I shall not name, but has to do with inclement weather, if you get my drift) gave $500 to the Paul campaign. There was a furor (heh) over whether Paul would return the money, as I would think most mainstream candidates would do. Paul’s campaign rather proudly kept the money, in spite of some intense criticism. Finally, we all know about his comments about how he believes it is wrong for the Federal government to legislate an end to segregation. So, Paul seems to be completely out of the mainstream American views on issues of race, because he doesn’t seem to care who wrote racist articles in his name, he continues to associate with institutes that very much appear sympathetic to Confederate causes, gladly accepts contributions from at least one notorious neo-Nazi and racist, and states that the most important civil rights legislation since Reconstruction is basically unconstitutional. The question of why some African-Americans are unconcerned with this record of his is a matter of curiosity to me; as is the question of why ANYONE would overlook his very questionable record on what I think is one of the most important issues in American society. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-young-male-african-american-fb-friend-is-apparently-supporting-ron-paul-is-this-common/613791/29 "2012-02-24T15:53:48Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Yeah, Barbara Streisand is equivalent to Ron Paul. :rolleyes: Well, she ain’t as pretty . . . ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-young-male-african-american-fb-friend-is-apparently-supporting-ron-paul-is-this-common/613791/30 "2012-02-24T16:06:52Z")
A young white man, a coworker from a previous job posted “Vote for Change, Vote for Obama” on FB. Then a young white woman (whom I don’t know) responded with a like and “Obama 2012”. How common is this? Maybe this white guy is missing something, but Obama is for affirmative action and has a history of associating with racists. Why would this intelligent educated young white man support him? ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-young-male-african-american-fb-friend-is-apparently-supporting-ron-paul-is-this-common/613791/31 "2012-02-24T16:07:38Z")
If I can take a simpler approach to this, just because someone fits into a particular demographic based on race, gender, orientation, religion, or whatever, doesn’t mean that they’re a single-issue voter on that, even if that demographic is a minority. For instance, there are plenty of gays that vote Republican even if they view Republicans as particularly more anti-gay because they hold the other values more important than that and prefer the Republican stances on those. In the case put forth by the OP, it’s possible that he is aware of his associations and may just not care that much or may care a lot more about other things he’s saying. Afterall, he may be black, but he’s also young, he may be libertarian too, and it’s quite possible and likely that those other demographics are more important to his identity and his values than that he’s black. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-young-male-african-american-fb-friend-is-apparently-supporting-ron-paul-is-this-common/613791/32 "2012-02-24T16:11:28Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > He is very definitely against gay marriage and spoke out against _Lawrence v. Texas_ (which essentially de-criminalized gay sex) and supported Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, all reason enough in and of themselves for why I would never support him (though one of my closest friends who is about as gay as you get supports him, go figure). Is his name Colton? ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-young-male-african-american-fb-friend-is-apparently-supporting-ron-paul-is-this-common/613791/33 "2012-02-24T16:22:09Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > What a bunch of crap. I’m racist for being curious as to why a black man supports a racist? What’s next? Being curios at why a black man (not AA, but BM) is eating caviar? Or, “curious” about why is BM with a white girlfriend? Or, driving expensive car? You know all those non-stereotypical things BM is not supposed to do? I bet you would be “curious” about a BM being against Affirmative Action as a principle? Are you really saying that you are not aware of the connotations of your OP question? ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-young-male-african-american-fb-friend-is-apparently-supporting-ron-paul-is-this-common/613791/34 "2012-02-24T16:30:45Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > A young white man, a coworker from a previous job posted “Vote for Change, Vote for Obama” on FB. Then a young white woman (whom I don’t know) responded with a like and “Obama 2012”. > > How common is this? > > Maybe this white guy is missing something, but Obama is for affirmative action and has a history of associating with racists. Why would this intelligent educated young white man support him? You think you’re being very clever don’t you? If you can’t see the difference then I don’t know what to tell you. ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-young-male-african-american-fb-friend-is-apparently-supporting-ron-paul-is-this-common/613791/35 "2012-02-24T16:32:12Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Unfortunately (…) How do you reconcile your assessment of RP in light of his War on Drugs claims w.r.t. African-Americans? Or, his views on “brown people” around the world where he is adamantly against war and war propaganda? How do you explain to yourself a guy who – according to you, harbours racist attitudes – points to essentially systemic racist policies and practices embedded in American society? ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-young-male-african-american-fb-friend-is-apparently-supporting-ron-paul-is-this-common/613791/36 "2012-02-24T16:33:13Z")
> [@newcomer](#): > > What’s next? > > Being curios at why a black man (not AA, but BM) is eating caviar? Or, “curious” about why is BM with a white girlfriend? Or, driving expensive car? You know all those non-stereotypical things BM is not supposed to do? I bet you would be “curious” about a BM being against Affirmative Action as a principle? > > Are you really saying that you are not aware of the connotations of your OP question? No. I’m saying that the connotations are not what you think they are. And please, show me where I said anything about caviar or girlfriends or cars. Then we can continue this. Do you really honestly sincerely think that those things are in any way equivalent to political positions? ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-young-male-african-american-fb-friend-is-apparently-supporting-ron-paul-is-this-common/613791/37 "2012-02-24T16:51:34Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > If I can take a simpler approach to this, just because someone fits into a particular demographic based on race, gender, orientation, religion, or whatever, doesn’t mean that they’re a single-issue voter on that, even if that demographic is a minority. For instance, there are plenty of gays that vote Republican even if they view Republicans as particularly more anti-gay because they hold the other values more important than that and prefer the Republican stances on those… But I don’t think it’s analogous to gays supporting Republicans in general. It’s more analogous to gays specifically supporting Rick Santorum. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-young-male-african-american-fb-friend-is-apparently-supporting-ron-paul-is-this-common/613791/38 "2012-02-24T18:01:55Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > But I don’t think it’s analogous to gays supporting Republicans in general. It’s more analogous to gays specifically supporting Rick Santorum. I think that is overstating it. Santorum has made explicit statements that make it clear he is very anti-gay. Ron Paul has said plenty of dumb things on race, but he hasn’t made any comments that are as openly hate filled. The closest I am aware of is his comment about TSA workers not looking like Americans or something equally dimwitted. I think a lot of his younger supporters are drawn to him because he appears to be willing to speak “THE TRUTH” about certain issues. At the same time they rationalize things like the articles in the newsletters because he apparently didn’t write them. Even I will admit, I wish some other politicians had the balls to publicly stake out a position about the Iraq war like [he has](http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig/paul7.html): > [@](#): > > I do not understand this push to seek out another country to bomb next. Media and various politicians and pundits seem to delight in predicting from week to week which country should be next on our bombing list. Is military action now the foreign policy of first resort for the United States? When it comes to other countries and warring disputes, the United States counsels dialogue without exception. We urge the Catholics and Protestants to talk to each other, we urge the Israelis and Palestinians to talk to each other. Even at the height of the Cold War, when the Soviet Union had missiles pointed at us from 90 miles away in Cuba, we solved the dispute through dialogue and diplomacy. Why is it, in this post Cold War era, that the United States seems to turn first to the military to solve its foreign policy problems? Is diplomacy dead? He said this in 2001 during the debate about Iraq. Oddly this is still relevant today in the debate about Iran. I find it discouraging he is the only politician willing to advocate sanity on this issue. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-young-male-african-american-fb-friend-is-apparently-supporting-ron-paul-is-this-common/613791/39 "2012-02-24T18:03:15Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > Ron Paul has said plenty of dumb things on race, but he hasn’t made any comments that are as openly hate filled. There are many statements in the newsletters that easily qualify as openly hate-filled. Of course that depends on whether or not you think he wrote them or winked at them for fundraising reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-young-male-african-american-fb-friend-is-apparently-supporting-ron-paul-is-this-common/613791/40 "2012-02-24T18:19:02Z")
> [@newcomer](#): > > How do you reconcile your assessment of RP in light of his War on Drugs claims w.r.t. African-Americans? Or, his views on “brown people” around the world where he is adamantly against war and war propaganda? > > How do you explain to yourself a guy who – according to you, harbours racist attitudes – points to essentially systemic racist policies and practices embedded in American society? Claiming to be a champion of somebody’s cause does not actually mean you are one. People in the white separatist movement often claim they want to protect the purity of _all_ races. It doesn’t mean it’s actually true. Paul doesn’t give a shit about the disproportionate impact of the War on Drugs on young black men. He opposes it because he views it as overreaching by the federal government. Citing the impact on black people is just a good way of getting people to agree with him. **Ravenman** didn’t say Paul had racist attitudes, by the way. > [@](#): > > I am very reluctant to say he is a racist, I am more inclined to believe he lives in a fantasy world where the issue of race in America has been solved. I strongly agree with this characterization, for what it’s worth. It’s common among white males; you can find about a dozen of them on this board. I don’t think of any of them as racists, either; I just don’t think they take a nuanced view of the situation. At most, I’d call Paul a racism enabler; his policies attract lots of racist support, and he has rarely taken any steps to close his tent to them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-young-male-african-american-fb-friend-is-apparently-supporting-ron-paul-is-this-common/613791.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-young-male-african-american-fb-friend-is-apparently-supporting-ron-paul-is-this-common/613791.md?page=3)