Listen to your heart,
there’s nothing else you can do.
That was my thought as well. “ok, maybe the next thing they say will be racist. Oh. Maybe the next point is really sexist. Oh. Maybe there’s a huge bombshell at the end. Wait, that’s it?”
Doesn’t speak well for Ms. Turner to respond to an ad like that.
I may vote 3rd party. Guy seems alright.
They showed her in black and white. They showed him in color. So that has to be racist right? Pretty standard. In fact they went kind of easy. They usually find the most unflattering pictures they can of the other person. They didn’t exactly use glamour shots but I’m sure they could have found worse.
I suppose there might be racism in there somewhere, in that the particular unflattering shots they chose of her were ones which overaccentuated typical African-American facial features. But that’s an awfully thin basis for a complaint, and if that’s how she’s responding to the ad, then it reflects more negatively on her than on her opponent.
nothing at all ‘racist’ about that video …
also, it’s one thing if it was actually racist and she’s legitimately pointing it out, but the fact that it’s not racist shows that she’s just desperately using the ‘race card’ and that makes her look terrible
According the US population clock, there are more than three hundred nineteen million people in this country, which one of the richest and most literate on the planet. How the heck did it come to pass that I’m apparently the only one with a dictionary?
No. This is not racist, and it is not sexist.
I could see how someone with no political experience whatsoever could argue that the ad is racist. It attempts to cast Turner as an other who “we” can’t trust with “our” issues, using the voice-over, black-and-white imagery, ominous music, and lots of close-ups, then cutting to the color shot of the other candidate’s white family and happy music. The selection of issues–her being a slumlord, not paying taxes, not wanting to protect “our” kids–is also clearly part of this same theme.
But, of course, the same tactics are used all the time in races across the country not involving candidates of different races. Casting your opponent as not quite a member of the community who cannot be trusted is utterly commonplace in American politics, and its resemblance to racism is largely coincidental.
So she’s either very naive or very cynical in claiming the ad is racist. I go with the latter, I think.
I try to be very sensitive to the dog-whistle phrases used in political campaigns, which seem innocuous but have a very strong message to some listeners. My radar peaked a little with the questions about whether we could trust this candidate, because it is vaguely reminiscent of the “s/he just isn’t like us” sort of attack.
However, the “we can’t trust her” judgment is in context with the other attacks made on her: she supports higher taxes, doesn’t run her rental business well, etc. In my view, those attacks on her, and the conclusion that she is not trustworthy, don’t seem to have anything to do with her race.
Well, you and everyone who posted before you, I guess.
The overt message is not at all racist.
I don’t think it’s a racist ad but one could make the argument (and they have) that the subliminal message appeals to people’s latent prejudices. The opposing candidate is portrayed in black & white photos; one photo shows an animated pose, others are unflattering. Then the candidate is shown in full color with his lily-white family in an idyllic setting. Take away the voiceover and the on-screen text and look at what’s left.
However, I suppose we could be watching the same ad could work equally well if the opponent were a white male.
So intent is everything. I can’t say whether there is a conscious attempt to put forward a racist message or whether this is a case of finding whatever you’re looking for.
Nope, I don’t see any racism or sexism there. It’s just your standard political attack ad where you use unflattering shots of your opponent (and often in black and white). Nothing here to see.
Depends. Are you black or are you white?
I see local TV news “investigative” “report” segments where they show allegedly rundown properties in black and white to make them look worse. The news is supposed to be objective*, so that bothers me. In a political ad? Sorry, not seeing the requirement there.
- the sky is blue in my world, thanks for asking. Probably just a coincidence though.
Those are characteristics of an attack ad, yes- but how is that racist? Shoving someone into the ‘them’ (as opposed to the ‘us’) category may be a jackassical thing to do, and could relatively reasonably be called discriminatory, but if it’s not based on race, it’s not racist.
This is very troubling. With all the activist work she’s done, she should know better than this.
Heh. If there’s anything racist or sexist going on, it’s in the other direction due to her making a patently false accusation.
I live in Ohio, and after researching these two I’ve decided to go with the Libertarian instead. Thank god for third parties.
It could be considered racist in that all of the pictures of Turner are of a lone black woman with stark expressions, while the closing shot of Husted are of his cute white family on the porch.