Richardson Trying To Copy Trump With Divisive Ads
Republican gubernatorial hopeful Gary Richardson has run for Governor before and in an earlier attempt he tried to win on a single issue of turning people against the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority. Of course no one likes paying tolls and while it made early news, voters wanted candidates who were for something not just against something. Richardson must not have learned his lesson yet. This time he is trying some Trump style racism.
This time he is trying to rev up GOP voters who oppose immigration and to prime the reasoning he used the tragic death of a beloved Oklahoma City broadcaster who was killed in a traffic accident. The driver of the auto which killed Bob Barry Jr in 2015 was an illegal immigrant. Barry worked for KFOR as a sportscaster. The station told the campaign the ad with Barry’s image was legal but it exploited the death of Barry. It has since been pulled for KFOR. The campaign has doubled down saying the station should said something before.
The distasteful ad was a micro version of the Trump campaign which made outrageous claims of wide spread Mexican gangs and murder. And of course that many Mexicans are rapists. While in any other year these racist remarks would have guaranteed a loss, today racism, sexism and just plain rudeness are common campaign tactics. Oklahomans voted for Trump in heavy numbers in the 2016 race. Since then in races all over the country the contests have been tight or swung away from republican candidates. Hard to say what Oklahoma will do, but in places all over the country where republicans are normally sure fire winners, democrats have pulled off some victories.
I hope Oklahoma rejects the politics of Trump as did states like Alabama in a special election. Nobody should ever win again by turning Oklahomans against each other.
America Struggles With Race, Again
For whatever reason the problems of race relations has emerged all over the country. From Harvard to a Waffle House acts of discrimination are springing up in rapid fashion. Are there more acts of discrimination in the Age of Trump or are people talking about it more? Whatever the reason, people are talking about race in America and it bears ample discussion.
Harvard University is under pressure from the United States Justice Department for records to answer complaints Asian Americans are making about discriminatory practices against their group in admissions. Because this is the Trump administration’s Justice Department there is some discussion Trump’s interest may not be pure. Have to wait and see in this case.
Apparently playing golf while Black is a crime. In Pennsylvania a group of African American women called “Sisters in the Fairway” were out golfing at a private club they had paid memberships to. Their other crime is that apparently they play too slow and were confronted by ownership about the alleged infraction. The incident ended up with the ownership calling police to settle the matter and to refund the memberships. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and no one was arrested for playing golf slowly. Tiger Woods once wrote that America’s golf courses were unwelcoming and made Black participation uncomfortable. It seems in some courses this remains the same. One of the co-owners has apologized for the behavior of the staff and other owner. The ladies are hoping news of the incident will create an opportunity for sensitivity and diversity training.
Young people of color are not exempt from the flames of racial intolerance. In Washington D.C. three African American teens were finalists in a NASA competition and were seeking public support like the other teams to be the winner through social media. News of their efforts caught the attention of a racist group called 4chan which routinely posts hoaxes and promotes racist and homophobic rants. This time they wanted to make sure the students didn’t win. NASA shut down early voting because the voting was clearly compromised. As in movie Hidden Figures the juniors in high school are like the pioneers still underrepresented and unwanted in the more ignorant quarters of society.
Two Native Americans traveling from New Mexico drove 7 hours to a Colorado State University tour of campus because they were interested in attending college there. A white parent accompanying her child became nervous at the two teens who arrived a few minutes late. Both are decidedly shy and did not interact with the other kids but were listening to the tour guide. The parent decided to call the police who confronted the teens who produced evidence they were in fact part of the scheduled tour. But, the unnecessary interrogation took too long and the tour left without the teens. Upset at what happened, the teens drove home. CSU President Tony Frank learned of the incident and said what the Native teens experienced goes against what their university stands for. He also said if anyone doesn’t like diversity they better find another university to attend. It seems standing while Native is also a crime.
Natives were also insulted by Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin who vetoed a bill designating Columbus Day Native American Day. This change has happened in other states and cities to one recognize that Christopher Columbus did not discover anything since Natives were already living here. Second, Columbus was a butcher and killed many Natives and has been called the Father of Slavery. Fallin rationalized her veto would diminish national Native American Month held in November. The measure passed by big margins in the legislature. It’s a head scratcher for sure. President Donald Trump is proposing Native Americans be turned into a race and strip away their sovereign status. The president is powerful but it would take the help of the majority of congress to make that happen. Plus it would end up in the courts to eventually settle and treaty law has never been eliminated. But, these are strange days and nothing can be dismissed like a reality television star becoming President of the United States.
Kanye West Rambles On About Slavery As A Choice
People of color have a hard enough time without one of their own running interference for the racially insensitive system. Kayne West has long been a fan of President Donald Trump and this week he has added revisionist history to his list of outrageous actions.
Last week he called slavery a choice because there were so many African Americans on plantations they could have risen up and kicked out their masters. Of course the musical genius’s comments were roundly rejected and West condemned.
Clearly this is an opportunity to teach West some history lessons and to discuss the horror of slavery in a mature way and not as a way to score points with Trump in his racist views. Hopefully West is much better than that.
