Thursday, July 16, 2009

A suggestion for Pat Buchanan

Pat Buchanan is an embarrassment to public discourse.

He is an (1) angry (2) old (3) white (4) man who cannot stop spouting racist nonsense.

He is emblematic of the group that has long held power in our society and knows this power is slipping from its grip. We are talking the long slow death of the patriarchy, for one thing. And the inevitable diminution of white colonial dominance over people of color (a noxious phrase as we all have color, but "pink dominance" does not have established historical overtones, etc.). Very few are those who willingly let go of power. Jesus and Buddha come to mind but the examples are still rare.

Buchanan is not alone. The (1) angry (2) old (3) white (4) men of the Senate cannot get past having to deal with a non-Anglo female put forth to be on the highest court of the land. They also seem incapable of grasping that they are products and beneficiaries of a system that privileges their gender, age, and color of skin. They think their experiences and perspectives are, and should be, the norm.

They are freaking out. They are panicked. They are angry. They know they are cornered and they are vicious.

We all need to acknowledge that what they are spouting is racism, hatred, ignorance, bigotry, and division. They are tearing this nation down, not building it up. When they spout this hateful bullshit they should be told to their faces that it is bullshit and they are spouting racism. The time for letting them get away with this by being "nice" is past. Fuck polite, folks, we need to call a spade a damned shovel if we are to have any hope of breaking through denial to reality.

Of course, they are accusing their victim, a classic ploy of abusers.

Count on it. If Republicans are denouncing something loudly, you know they are doing it. These days they are crying "racism" when speaking of Judge Sotomayor.

As we say in Spanglish circles, "Por fa-fucking-vor."

So, Pat, a suggestion. STFU. We don't need your angry thought pollution. It endangers our children, eats away at our societal structure, and is just plain bad for the planet, the nation, and your own soul.

--the BB

5 comments:

Göran Koch-Swahne said...

"They are tearing this nation down, not building it up."

Amen!

Fran said...

I saw this headline in my reader and my internal response was "shut the fuck up."

Which is of course is what you had already said.

Great minds think alike.

He is beyond awful.

Fran said...

This is a good post (i think) from my friend Karen, on this topic...

Right here.

The Cunning Runt said...

Well and plainly said, Paul. Thank you.

It's long past time for us "progressives" to stop chatting politely amongst ourselves and start takin' it to the streets and screaming at the top of our lungs.

When Phyllis Schlaffly (sp?) recently came to promote her brand of bullshit at Smith College at the invitation of that campus' Young Republicans, a butt-load of Mount Holyoke Gurrrlz (including my daughter and her wife) crashed the joint and literally laughed her off the stage.

Their actions spoke louder than PS's words, and stand as a an example to us Old Farts.

Thanks again for the always-insightful posts, my friend.

Paul said...

Ralph, Hooray for your daughter and daughter-in-law! I especially like derision as a weapon.