# I like that the light is shining on the racists. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 17, 2009, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-that-the-light-is-shining-on-the-racists/503337 "2009-07-17T14:21:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-that-the-light-is-shining-on-the-racists/503337/201 "2009-08-04T06:08:14Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > For starters you’d have to explain why I am trying to keep myself in line. :rolleyes: I was saying that attacking people for _questionable sounding remarks_, rather than legitimately racist deeds or statements, is a waste of time. Thus it’s not a measure of progress that people got on Sotomayor’s case, particularly since many of the people who were up in arms over her statement were just wrangling for political advantage. There’s no point in jumping on white people for statements that sound bad but are non-racist, and there’s no point in jumping on nonwhite people for it either. The ‘wise Latina’ thing wasn’t a marker of racial progress, it was a sign that some white voters (largely conservatives I guess) continue to be scared that people of color are taking over and are out for payback. I have no idea what you mean by your first sentence. Aside from that, we’re more in agreement. I don’t see Sotomayor’s remark as progress, I see it as a racist statement. I’m not of the mind that this equates to her being disqualified for the job or a racist, there is much more to consider. But that statement is plainly racist. It’s a poster child for a racist comment. If you refuse to grant that, we’ll just have to agree that I’m right. 😉 I will admit that I am afraid that there are plenty of people who think that what happened two hundred years ago justifies racism in the other direction. I think it was morally reprehensible then, and morally reprehensible now. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-that-the-light-is-shining-on-the-racists/503337/202 "2009-08-04T06:14:44Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > I have no idea what you mean by your first sentence. Aside from that, we’re more in agreement. I don’t see Sotomayor’s remark as progress, I see it as a racist statement. I’m not of the mind that this equates to her being disqualified for the job or a racist, there is much more to consider. But that statement is plainly racist. It’s a poster child for a racist comment. If you refuse to grant that, we’ll just have to agree that I’m right. 😉 > > I will admit that I am afraid that there are plenty of people who think that what happened two hundred years ago justifies racism in the other direction. I think it was morally reprehensible then, and morally reprehensible now. Why are you so extremely concerned with pointing out the racism of non-white people, like Sotomayor and Henry Louis Gates, but also willing to expend a great deal of energy on apologia for Pat Buchanan’s equally racist statements? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-that-the-light-is-shining-on-the-racists/503337/203 "2009-08-04T06:15:08Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > I have no idea what you mean by your first sentence. I was referring back to this gem: > [@magellan01](#): > > You want to insulate all people of color from any charges of racism so the label can only be applied to whites—to keep them in line. > [@](#): > > I don’t see Sotomayor’s remark as progress, I see it as a racist statement. I never said her remark was progress. I was disputing **Rigamarole** ’s statement that the fact that people went nuts over the comment was itself a sign of progress. He said it shows we won’t tolerate racism from anybody. > [@](#): > > But that statement is plainly racist. It’s a poster child for a racist comment. Sneaking in words like “plainly” does not actually make your case more plain. 😉 And no, ‘Latinas have more experience with discrimination than white men’ is not a racist comment, it’s a statement of the blindingly obvious. Only by divorcing the remark from its context and by getting touchy about any comment that refers to race can anybody hold this up as a “poster child for racist comment.” ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-that-the-light-is-shining-on-the-racists/503337/204 "2009-08-04T06:21:59Z")
Getting back to Sotomayor’s supposedly racist comment, **magellan** , do you dispute that white males probably have less experience with recognizing privilege than women and non whites? Buchanan’s remark about how this is was historically a country of white people is just one example of a privileged person not realizing that what he said could be seen as very offensive. Which is not to say that all white people and all men are unaware of their privilege–just that it’s a very easy trap to fall into. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-that-the-light-is-shining-on-the-racists/503337/205 "2009-08-04T06:26:55Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Getting back to Sotomayor’s supposedly racist comment, **magellan** , do you dispute that white males probably have less experience with recognizing privilege than women and non whites? Buchanan’s remark about how this is was historically a country of white people is just one example of a privileged person not realizing that what he said could be seen as very offensive. Which is not to say that all white people and all men are unaware of their privilege–just that it’s a very easy trap to fall into. I direct you to the thread about Buchanan. I’m not going to rehash all that again. I maintain that her remark was racist and Buchanan’s wasn’t. For all the reasons I gave in that thread. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-that-the-light-is-shining-on-the-racists/503337/206 "2009-08-05T05:22:18Z")
Rudyard Kipling’s [Song of the White Men."](http://www.europeanamericansunited.org/school1/Fiction/kipling/whitemen.htm) Offered without comment, save for [this link to George Orwell’s (mostly sympathetic, surprisingly) commentary.](http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks03/0300011h.html#part17) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2009, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-that-the-light-is-shining-on-the-racists/503337/207 "2009-08-05T05:24:41Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > I maintain that her remark was racist and Buchanan’s wasn’t. You can’t (and don’t) seriously, honestly mean that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-that-the-light-is-shining-on-the-racists/503337.md?page=10)