Posted on 10/12/2005 2:39:14 PM PDT by Olydawg
Republicans have a bad rep when it comes to racism — from Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott’s endorsement of racist former Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., to President George W. Bush’s slow response to Hurricane Katrina. Now conservative commentator William Bennett is adding fuel to the fire with his comments that aborting black babies will make the crime rate go down.
Racism continues to be a divisive topic in America — one Republicans would like to ignore.
Bennett, a former U.S. education secretary and national drug policy director under the Reagan administration, said on his nationally syndicated morning radio show Sept. 28, “If it were your sole purpose to reduce crime, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down.”
Bennett’s insensitive comments came at a time when America was healing from Hurricane Katrina and the slow government response to victims in New Orleans, whose population is 70 percent black.
According to an Oct. 1 Washington Post article, Bennett said crime and race have been on the minds of Americans in light of the situation in New Orleans. Bennett argued that his comments were not noteworthy because he made them on public radio.
But the fact that Bennett was a former secretary of education and national drug policy director is a testament to how insidious his comments were. The fact that a man who equates black people with crime worked under an administration that supported the war on drugs and limited funding to inner-city schools is ridiculous.
Republicans who make insensitive remarks are not a new phenomenon. According to a 2002 Christian Science Monitor article, Sen. Lott said he supported Republican Sen. Strom Thurmond’s 1948 racist campaign. Lott, who appeared in the 1990s before the Council of Conservative Citizens, a white-supremacist group, told its members they stand for the right philosophy. The media lambasted Lott for his comments and hurt his reputation.
Bennett, who refused to apologize, said his comments were simply a hypothetical argument.
“I will not bow my head to any of these people,” Bennett said in a Sept. 30 CNN interview. He also said America has real issues with race and needs to discuss them candidly.
Bennett is right, but the main issue is one that he is furthering. America continues to sweep racism under the rug, unless it threatens the lives of white Americans, such as the Los Angeles riots and Hurricane Katrina.
Bennett pointed a finger at the media for branding him a racist after its barrage of criticisms toward him. The fact of the matter is, while Bennett may claim he is not a bigot, but he is guilty of one thing — ignorance. His implication that crime is mainly a black problem is stereotypical, and even to consider the thought of genocide is despicable, especially coming from a man of his stature.
The media characterizes crime as mainly a black problem. Blacks appear disproportionately on the evening news as criminals.
According to an Oct. 3 USAToday.com article, in 2003 more than twice as many whites as blacks — 6.7 million to 2.6 million — committed crimes. Whites made up 71 percent of all arrests that year.
Rapper Kanye West noted the media vilified blacks during Hurricane Katrina as looters, while they portrayed white families as victims. Networks cut West’s comment that Bush does not care about black people for West Coast viewers during what was a live broadcast of the Hurricane Katrina Benefit concert, but Bennett’s comments broadcast freely over the airwaves.
Bush has remained virtually silent about Bennett’s comment, except for a brief statement issued by the White House deeming it inappropriate. This is proof Bush does not care what black America thinks.
This should serve as a wake-up call for Republicans to address their political platforms and crack down on conservatives for blatantly spreading racist agendas. Some may disagree with the way Bush responded to Hurricane Katrina and its racial implications, but one thing is for sure — Bennett does not care about black people.
Not a word about David Duke supporting Cindy Sheehan.
Being in an inter-racial relationship, I get incensed when people write and speak things like "Republicans are..." or "Republicans think..."
Just some commie student newspaper. Who cares.
Proof that most who attend college anymore really don't get edumacated but indoctrinated.
Ha....part of the response I posted to her said...."If you graduated from college...you got cheated."
Ha....part of the response I posted to her said...."If you graduated from college...you got cheated."
A little too much truth at one time I think.
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