I was 45 years old the first time anyone called me racist. It was a shock. In a l993 Leadership Denver diversity training class a few years earlier, the entire group thought I was racist - as a blond, blue eyed Southerner. Thankfully, no one yelled at me in the manner of the now famous You Lie.
As a practicing Buddhist for almost a decade, that first racism call shocked and hurt. I prided myself on good causes, routinely working with the homeless, mentally ill and otherwise marginalized. That was my life for another six years - all my free time, five days a week for more than l5 years. Good causes do not shield charges of racism.
My racism virginity was taken by a political opponent. For eight years I served as an elected Denver Election Commissioner. Every move my opponents didn't like was met with a charge of racism. None of those opponents ever bothered to consider that I had been a lifelong Democrat. I had even worked for then Governor Jimmy Carter. The public dialog over race today is deja vu for me
As an administrative staffer in the Carter governor's office, I met and chatted with luminaries of the civil rights era. Andrew Young, Coretta Scott King, Bob Waymer, Rita Jackson, Horace Tate and many more whose names I cannot remember. A few of us visited each others homes, which may not seem like a big deal, but I was the first on my block, so to speak. One elderly neighbor felt compelled to call me up. "Did you know a Negro was at your home last night?" Such was the South in l970.
Hence the shock when I was called a racist. My reaction was, "But I was a Democrat!" My political adversaries were not interested in who I was, or what my experiences had been. They wanted to marginalize me. Crying racism was quick and dirty, even righteous, now that I was now a registered Republican. Blogs didn't exist, so I was left defenseless.
I took those political attacks with a grain of salt until in the late l990's.Thru my Buddhist group, I befriended a black professional woman. We shared goals, and began a meditation together - sometimes daily for long stretches of time - that lasted until 9/ll. She too called me a racist, although it came as an insult to my ancestry, something like, "while your relatives were stuffing Jews in ovens...." My reaction was, "But I don't have German ancestors!"
Making good causes, being a Democrat and without German ancestors was no protection. My meditation friend shared Reverend Wright's belief, the chickens had come home to roost. I mistakenly tried to object. It ended the friendship. Again, I was shocked my friend harbored such beliefs.
Truth doesn't count for the racist accuser. As a truth seeker, I always had liberal and conservative friends, no matter what I was. I sought the intellectual stimulation of debate, which had the added benefit of fostering emotional and spiritual growth. To this day I belong to a monthly discussion group with anarchists.
Appearance is what counts with racism. My blond hair, blue eyes and Southern origins make me a dead ringer for a racist. Am I any more racist than my accusers, who see their own racist stereotype, therefore assume I must be a racist?
I think about each of these racist charges, if only fleetingly. As Election Reform Examiner.com, I'm under siege by lefties who call me racist and stupid. Internet exchanges can be ugly and utterly removed from reality. It's an alternate universe with no rules. Knowing this is no comfort when being smeared as racist for your beliefs. You are forced into vigilance and introspection.
Therefore, it was a special hurt when Jimmy Carter accused Barack Obama's critics of being racially motivated. When you are an 84 year old former President, you can do just about anything you want. I'm sure President Carter is surrounded by really smart people who adore him. It was like that when I worked for him. Someone needs to gently nudge Carter to re-think profiling all Obama's critics as racist. In fact, he should hire a no-man.
This flier was sent to barber and beauty shops, in envelopes addressed by me, when Jimmy Carter ran against Carl Sanders in the l970 Georgia gubernatorial campaign. It is racist. Hamilton Jordan, Carter's friend and long time associate, created it . In my naivete (I was 20), I didn't consider the racism, instead, it was a great way to score a win against the Republican candidate. Get that? Accusing the Republican candidate of cavorting with blacks. Reverse racism?
The flier is only a historic footnote. I do not know if Jimmy Carter was even aware we were doing those things. It shows the complexity of Jimmy Carter's character. Hans von Spakovsky, posting on The National Review Online, comments on the same. In l956 Carter attempted to halt construction of a new black school, reacting to the segregationists who wanted to keep black and white children apart.
Carter and the rest of the Sumter County School Board then reassured parents at a meeting on October 5, 1956, that the board “would do everything in its power to minimize simultaneous traffic between white and colored students in route to and from school."
People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
For more info: http://www.examiner.com/x-1818-Denver-Election-Reform-Examiner~y2009m9d17-Yo-Jimmy-grab-Maureen-and-get-outa-heah, http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZTViNzM0ZmUxOTdhMzU3MDYyZmIzNTdlNWFkMWVkOTc=, http://www.examiner.com/x-1818-Denver-Election-Reform-Examiner~y2009m9d15-Jody-Powells-Passing,
Comments
"...Therefore it was a special hurt when Jimmy Carter accused Barack Obama's critics of being racially motivated. When you are an 84 year old former President, you can do just about anything you want. I'm sure President Carter is surrounded by really smart people who adore him. It was like that when I worked for him. Someone needs to gently suggest he think about painting all critics as racist. In fact, he should hire a no-man..."
very condescending to a great southern gentleman...and speaking of glasshouses, shall we compare your path to President Carter's?
Which one of the 2 was pimping girls' goodies for Bob Guccione?
Which of the 2 was spending time in the sodom and gomorrah of Studio 54?
Which of the 2 was caught up in a huge cocaine/studio 54 scandal?
Jan, this article here is your Joe Wilson moment...you owe a great southern gentleman an apology.
Walrus: Laugh out loud! I like the personal nature of your screed. One thing working at Penthouse taught me - men enjoy talking dirty. For some, like you, it is just saying the name of someone like the now forlorn and disgraced Bob Guccionne. By the way, I was a failure as a chaperone. The girls pretty much did whatever they wanted. After a few trips to Vegas, I realized my job was just for show.Another thing, I note how ithe Penthouse thing brings out feelings of superiority in others. They would never do something like work for a pornographer! And, they are definitely not racist! Thou dost object too much! As for Studio 54,everyone was there,but I did observe a preponderance of Democrats, dignitaries and the ubiquitous stars. And, how many times do I have to tell you. I do this on purpose. I'm not apologizing to anyone. I enjoy getting people like you rankled.
Jan Tyler says:
"...I enjoy getting people like you rankled. "
I didn't rankle, I was disappointed...you had the honor of working for and with a great man, and now, you sound as if you think yourself above him...even if you disagree with President Carter, you should ALWAYS have respect for him as you would a father or mother...you would have served him and yourself better to quietly disagree than to be publicly condescending towards him...sometimes less is more.
Jan, I think I know you well enough to just imagine you being a racist is foolish. However I fear the Mr. Carter has gone over the edge. In my opinion he views all things through the eyes of race. He has become an anti-Semite in word if not deed. He needs to understand the power that the words of an ex-president carries and review an impartial history of the Mid-East.
Walrus,Walrus,Walrus: You are seeing my revelations as condescending. They are not. Furthermore, I appreciate your sit down and shut up sentiments, the need to shame and feel superior you feel when confronted with an opponent like myself. Good for you. You are projecting your own, limited perspective, however. If disappointment is what you feel, I'm pleased. I don't agree with you. I wouldn't expect you to be pleased.
Hi, Howie! Thanks for commenting. I'm afraid personal testimonies do not matter in any bloggosphere debate. That was one one my points. My opponents have never considered who I was. They only sought to discredit me. It's funny how that seems to be an absolute. Carter's positions on the Middle East are indeed appalling. While I am reluctant to say he's gone off the deep end, those views are certainly extreme. When I knew him, he was capable of seeing both sides of a controversy.
I was 52 years old the first time someone called me a racist. It was a little over a year ago during the DNC when I was standing on the 16th Street Mall. A young white woman wearing an Obama tee shirt resplendent with Obama buttons and carrying a clip board asked me, "Have you signed up to help Barack in your community?" I replied, "No thank you." and she responded, "I can't believe how racist people in Denver are."
White liberals trivialize the real problem of residual racism by labeling anyone who opposes the left-wing agenda as racists.
I am an admirer of Jimmy Carter. I want to remember the Jimmy Carter of 1970, 1976 and his service to America in his post-presidency and not the Jimmy Carter of 2009.
Richard: Thanks for stopping by! It's refreshing to read a comment from someone who does admire Carter, and is capable at the same time of perceiving the change in him. Your story captures my point. Everyone who opposes health care, Obama or a progressive agenda is not a racist, or afraid. Jan
Wow,your pretty full of yourself! What exactly did YOU DO to get called a racist? And all those good deeds you did for the homeless, mentally ill etc....did you do it out of love or just to make you look good? What does being blonde, blue eyes and from the South have to do with racism? It's your actions and words of how you treat other people that usually levels the charge of racism.
Donna: Welcome and thank you for taking a moment help illustrate my points. I opposed politicians and was called racist for doing it. My friend harboured feelings of racism herself. She projected those on to me because of the way I look. If you ever encountered the early diversity movement, you would have recognized their mindset. As acceptance was preached, white stereotypes were teached! Trust me, as a Southerner, I regularly encounter profiling, especially by progressives. I also often quote Camille Paglia, "since when did the Democrats become the party of intolerance?"
"RACIST!" Is the new battlecry for those who wish to conquer any opposition - to Obama, health care reform or the progressive agenda being forced on the rest of us.
There is no cause. It is an aggression rooted totalitarianism.
Ms. Tyler, President Carter suggested there was an element of racism behind specific actions certain people have made that attacked the President Obama personally, especially ones using certain images and phrases. Did you listen to the statement. So, whether you agree or disagree with this statement, my suggestion to you is to get your facts straight before going vitriol. You might then take your own advice about throwing stones at glass houses. Also, as we can see from you piece we invite you might want to keep practicing and take some more diversity training classes.
cesm: Welcome, and thanks for commenting. You might try reading my posts and comments. Early diversity training was not helpful. The oppressed became the oppressors. I listened to Carter's statements, and re-read them. He believes that critics of Obama are racially motivated. The left has replaced the right with sanctimonious, self righteous and self acclaimed moral superiority. The left is demonstrating they are just as blind, arrogant and judgmental as anyone on the religious right. My experience in the Buddhist cult taught me the nastiest people often described themselves as loving, kind and compassionate, when they were not. As for vitriol, criticizing and opposition are not always vitriolic, but it is the lazy person's defense - to brand opposition as racist, vitriolic....
Your commenter, cesm, got it right. Mr. Carter generally speaks with a degree of nuance which, sadly, is lost on many listeners, apparently including you. In this address, he referred specifically to certain people performing certain actions as racist. Reasonable people could not but agree that racism was at least a factor in these peoples' decisions to act as they did.
MDzmura: Welcome, and thank you for contributing. And what embues you with the insight, knowledge and authority to know what anyone thinks? That is my point. No, reasonable people do disagree.And, Carter's words were not nuanced, they were direct. Re-read them. I've noticed a trend with commenters and pundits to proclaim "everyone believes" or "reasonable people could not but agree." Dangerous. I hope we all continue to disagree.
Jan, these all these people nicely trying to tell you that you might be wrong...have you ever thought that just possibly, maybe, could be, they could be right? Do you ever think that you might, possibly, could be not right on every subject?
Walrus: Those "nice people" are anonymous bloggers! Right away your credibility is diminished, since I post under my name. I've never claimed to be right, only have the right to my opinion! From my perspective, the "nice" ones are either trying to convert me, or brand me. Please try to grasp, I'm asserting my right to have an opinion. I do not claim to be right, and will disagree with anyone I with whom I feel like disagreeing, for any reason I choose to do so. So there!
Walrus: Jan has already made it clear that this is not a thinking person's blog, which is why when it inspires thinking rather than entertainment, she either tries to discredit her critics by pretending to condescend to them or, failing that, defends herself by trivializing her purpose as being just another voice in the goofy blogosphere. (Occasionally, one that will be silenced by the coming totalitarian regime rather than the more likely starving on its own inherent lack of substance).
Jan's readership (the apparently accidental beneficiaries of her writing whom she dismisses as "anonymous bloggers") ought to suspect the penchant for nuance of one who responds to Carter by writing: "Everyone who opposes health care, Obama or a progressive agenda is not a racist", not realizing that her misplacement of "not" is parallel to her misrepresentation of Carter's words.
She hopes to be judged by her past when it comes to racism, but clearly not when it comes to her proclivity for cults
Buckley: Thank you again for contributing. What I especially appreciate about your posts is your high opinion of your own intellect. Why not go public? Earn a living with your brilliant commentary? See how many accidental readers you can attract, before starving? Then, too, I do like the new big lie disinformation campaign you promote. Carter didn't really say everyone was a racist. Obama really didn't say 45 million uninsured. There are really no death panels (except for Veterans). Just because something is believed to be true by a large number of anonymous internet commenters doesn't make it true. Please don't stop. I do find it entertaining.
Look. I live with these people that hate Obama. I work with them. I see them at family reunions. They are what used to be called "Northern Racists." They have learned to keep a low profile and to be careful who they talk to about their hatred of blacks, but they can't help but let it slip at times. And it is more than just the hatred of minorities. Consider the extreme anti-government rhetoric. People who are on Medicare saying they don't want the government involved in theor health care. You can trace these attitudes back to resentment of the Kennedy's who sent Federal troops to enforce the anti-segration laws. When these folks say "this is not the America they grew up in," they are referring to the loss of white supremacy. In fact, for many of these people, you can trace this all the way back to the post-civil war times.
Charles: Welcome and thanks for contributing. The question is, are there more secret Obama haters than say, blatant Bush haters? And,are the Obama haters not "nice people." And, the Bush haters are....? The double standard and hypocrisy are endlessly entertaining. Of course, I can always rely on the superior enlightenment and intellect of other commenters if I'm bored with the double standard folks. Or turn to the commenters who compulsively tell me how wrong I am. Or my salvation lies in converting and bowing to the right-ness of anyone Who brands me racist or stupid. I prefer my authenticity to the stampedes of the anoited disciples. Let them trample me!
Ms. Tyler, thank you, your points are well proven in your reply,
Ms. Tyler,I appreciate your story - it is uniquely yours and at the same time I believe many of us have experienced threads of its fabric in our own stories. As a "domestic engineer" during the eighties and nineties I experienced much abuse for having had more than my allotted 2.3 children and was verbally maligned by strangers in public for not living the "narrative". To live a clean lifestyle and cherish a personal faith in a Creator was also derided...now I am called a racist because I believe that our Fed govenment is trying to garner a vast and steady illegal income in the guise of "health insurance"; gov mandated flood insurance has proven so profitable(?) I would put a bumper sticker on my car that said "impeach Obama" but I know my car would be physically altered by self righteous zealots who live in a world of double standards. You and I may be very different in some of our outlooks on life, but we can agree with the profound beauty of our Constitution. Take care.
Kate: Welcome and thanks for contributing. I was always a rebel. It seems weird to be rebelling against the idealogy and propagandists who would have been my contemporaries 40 years ago. Now they are the establishment. They seem amazed to find out they are prone to same the range of human weaknesses and strengths as all those establishment icons they loved to hate. How is it that Maureen Dowd and Arianna Huffington arrived at the pinacle of power, only to find darkness and despair? If I were a progressive, I'd be seeking, not insulting.
Ah, yes, but jealousy and disappointment has it's bitterness and rage. If I were a progressive, I too would be angered to see others with a different paradigm who were experiencing a peace (which cannot be understood in such a world as this), and name call, also. Especially if those "persons to be despised" were confident with their purpose in life and strong in their convictions. If progressives are still seeking, while hurling insults and slurs, they will always come away from their efforts disappointed. Why do you say Maureen D and A. Huffington are despaired?
Kate: Maureen's latest column, titled something like, "Black and Blue..."
ok- i'll check it out. Thanks
Jan I agree with you wholeheartedly as another blond haired blue eyed white devil I can appreciate your sentiments. I am called on race all the yet my colleagues of color can impune character without a second thought. I can't believe some of the spew that your detractors are using to counter your argument! I was with a co-worker the other day that told me Republicans should cut the racism out or they will lose big! It is amazing that some signs drawn by a small minority of the extreme right fringe exact the charge of racism on the entire party - yet mainstream Democrats spew racism all the time and you hear nothing! And yes a former Democratic President counts as a Mainstream Democrat.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!