In July edition of The
WestView News, James Lincoln Collier wrote a piece he calls “THE NIGGER IN THE
WHITE HOUSE.” I used all caps, not to
scream at you the reader, but because that is how the title appears in the
heading. Often, titles are not the
purview of the writer, but some editor.
In this particular instance, that is not the case. Collier successfully fought to get the title
he wanted.
Mr. Collier suggested this
topic to the editorial staff of the paper.
He was initially rejected. But he
persevered, and eventually he won out because, among other things, he pointed
the New York Times refuses to use the N-word.
Good, bad, or indifferent, that was the Jedi Mind Trick that proved
crucial in getting the title Collier wanted in print.
To take the edge off this
post, I will reveal a few things up front:
·
The WestView
News, a monthly publication, is a liberal voice
·
The story that
follows the headline is pro-Obama
·
Alvin Hall wrote
a column appearing on the same page, entitled, “The Headline Offends Me"
Upon seeing the headline, at
first blush, one might be inclined to think, with friends like this, who needs
enemies. Yet, the gist of the column suggests that a significant portion of the resistance that President Obama
receives is due to racism. Mr. Collier
cites the recent defeat of Congressman Eric Cantor as evidence of this
contemporary racism, thinly veiled by the veneer of politics. In Mr. Cantor’s case, Collier argues among
other things, Cantor had taken a position on Immigration that allowed his
opponent to tie him too closely to the President, which ultimately was enough to leverage a
stunning defeat of the House Majority Leader.
We live in a highly
competitive media savvy age. An age in which it is
fairly common for media outlets to resort to using unconventional means to
attract viewers, newspaper sales, Internet clicks, and so forth. While I find the article interesting enough,
it was not a particularly exhaustive treatment to a complex and highly volatile
issue. When Don Lemon of CNN challenged
Mr. Collier for not referencing or explaining his use of the word "Nigger" in the
article, Collier noted that he bore no onus for people not reading the
entire article in order to glean the connection between the title and the meat
of the story. He went on to say that it
was not everyday that CNN called him to discuss something he’d written.
Bingo! Therein lies the rub. Mr. Collier apparently did not feel compelled
to labor under the burden of establishing the nexus between his title and the subsequent
assertion that a substantial number of persons who oppose the President do so
because of racial animus. That may
indeed be the case. However, the writer
seemed satisfied to have
garnered a fleeting, Warhol coined, 15 minutes of fame.
Lacking a stream of
evidence, Mr. Collier’s story fails to discernibly move the dial in a
prove-it-to-me world. I believe the
premise holds merit. Moreover, there is
a variety of readily available evidence to support the argument. Some of that evidence includes, but is by no
means limited to the 25 examples that follow:
- · Don’t Re-Nig Bumper Sticker
- · The Birther Claim
- · The Muslim Issue
- · Kenyan Depiction
- · African Tribal Chief Obama likeness
- · New Hampshire Police Commissioner Racist Obama Rant
- · Phoenix Protesters sing Bye-Bye Black Sheep/
- · Impeach the half-white Muslim
- · California GOP claims that Food stamps would become “Obama Bucks”
- · Assassination Threats
- · African Witch Doctor w/Bone in Nose
- · Limbaugh/Beck – Healthcare Act = Reparations
- · Healthcare Legislation will lead to Affirmative Action
- · Impeachment drive challenging President’s citizenship
- · Welfare President
- · Food stamp President
- · Rodeo Clown/Obama likeness run down by bull
- · Kenyan Go Home placards
- · Nigger President threat
- · 47 Percent Negro
- · Voter ID legislation to counteract the minority vote
- · Voter roll purges
- · Voiding key provisions of the Voting Rights Act
- · Jimmy Carter: “An overwhelming portion of those opposing President Obama’s policies are racist”
- · Colin Powell: “There is still a dark vein of intolerance in the GOP”
There are many Americans who
reject the fact that racism still exists in this country. Many of those same individuals point to
President Obama’s election as the reason why such claims are null and void. They argue that the vast majority of people
who oppose President Obama and his policies do so because they want less, not
more government, or some similar high-minded ideological ideal. Undoubtedly, some really do believe that’s
true.
In the mean time, they
conveniently overlook, or just flat deny the existence of the numerated items
above…and many more. That friends, is
why they say, “The Nile (denial) is much more than a river.
In summation, this story
could have been so much more. But In the
end, Mr. Collier’s column, “The N____r in the White House,” will likely be
remembered as the story that wasn’t…if, it is remembered at all.
I’m done; holla back!
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