eric ‘my people’ holder … I don’t know if that is outright racist … but very inappropriate considering he’s a public servant to all american citizens
True, the voter suppression statutes do not mention any race specifically, but excerpts from the report on police already give examples of statutes being applied unequally.
How about you give us the quote in context?
I thought it was common knowledge, my mistake …
Cite is a youtube link? Poor form.
So I googled it, and here’s the context:
Some schmuck said the Black Panther 2008 case was the most serious voter intimidation he’d seen in his career. Holder bristled at that and talked about how it’s small beans compared to voter intimidation against black Americans. And he used the phrase “my people” to refer to “black Americans” in this specific context.
And really, you think this defines him? You think this is racist?
This isn’t evidence of racism. This is evidence of contemptible gotchaism, and you should be embarrassed at bringing it up like that.
500 years of the white majority defining “you people” as a lesser kind of—if at all—American, and “my people” makes him racist? It takes a truly twisted—and dedication to apologetics for racism—attitude to date to say that in front of people.
he drew the line with that comment … showed his racial bias and tribalism … he’s the attorney general of the United States … he serves many people that are not ‘his people’ … how do you not see how that is inappropriate ?
How do I not see it as inappropriate? By thinking that you’re reading ridiculous things into the line. If I said that “my people” had had dominance over the United States for a few hundred years, referring to white people, that’s not racist. If I said that “my people” moved to Appalachia to get away from bankers and lawyers, referring to the Scots-Irish, that’s not racist.
Black people HAVE been treated differently in this country. Acknowledging that isn’t tribalistic (although referring to a black person’s tribalism more than smacks of dog-whistling). It’s contemptible to focus on such an innocuous phrase in order to make a spurious accusation of racism, and you should be ashamed.
It’s not racist to be aware of one’s race. A “people” is “an ethnic group or nation”. Unless you have a quote in which Holder states he will treat his ethnic group favorably over others, or evidence that he’s doing that, any claim of racism or tribalism remains unsupported.
Should not the Attorney General of the United States see “his people” as all Americans?
President Obama routinely uses “we” and “our” to include all of us.
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So anyone who comes from a historically disadvantaged minority is disqualified from national office.
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The majority has the luxury of having a “my people” in fact if not in words without being subject to this level of scrutiny. That’s part of the privilege of being a default American.
Again, “people” refers to two things: ethnic group, or nation. I’m fairly certain that Eric Holder is aware that he’s an American, elected to serve Americans. He’s also part of an ethnic group, which is what he was referring to in the video.
A person can have more than one group with whom he identifies. Americans are “my people.” Gays are also “my people.” So are comic book nerds and D&D geeks. If I’m talking about a situation that’s specific to, say, Spider-Man fans, and refer to them as “my people,” that doesn’t automatically imply I’m throwing gay people under a bus.
And he has never used these words to mean anything else, ever in his life, right?
Last Thanksgiving, he delivered an address that began with this:
Clearly, by using “we” to mean himself, his wife, and children, Obama is signalling that he only cares about his immediate family, and everyone else on Earth can go hang.
ETA: And his pets are part of “we,” too! Clearly, Obama’s pronoun use demonstrates that Obama thinks most Americans are worth less than dogs.
Scoundrel!
For that matter, while it’s not 100% the same it was somewhat similar to Barney Frank’s response to that infamous idiot woman at a Town Hall who kept comparing Obama to Hitler and Obamacare to a Nazi policy where he said “let me answer you in the spirit of my people”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYlZiWK2Iy8
Edit: Whoops. I misremembered. He said “let me revert to my ethnic heritage”. However, it’s still pretty similar and I don’t remember anyone screaming “Isn’t that inappropriate!” He’s supposed to represent all the people of Massachussetts, not just the Jews!"
Hell, St. Patrick’s day is coming up in a few days and lots of Irish-American politicians will be making references to “my people” “my ancestors” or similar crap.
There is a peculiar strain in American conservative thought in which white conservatives will clutch at any straw, no matter how flimsy, for a chance to call a black person racist. It’s pathetic and embarrassing for them. I won’t speculate on their motives, since that’s not appropriate for this forum, but I certainly wish they’d stop. I wish they’d hold themselves to at least the standards for calling black people racist that they’d hold white people to.
No.