David Sirota: Race and the Church of Denialism

[marmar]

from truthdig:



Race and the Church of Denialism

Posted on Aug 25, 2011
By David Sirota


Republican guru Karl Rove recently appeared on Fox News to dispute the idea that America is a “Christian nation.” And he was right to do so, but not because our country lacks an overarching canon. We certainly do have a national religion—it’s just not Christianity. It’s Denialism.

Some branches of this religion deny the science documenting humans’ role in climate change. Others deny tax cuts’ connection to deficits and deregulation’s role in the recession. But regardless of the issue, Denialists all share a basic hostility to facts.

As this know-nothing theology expands, none of its denominations claims a bigger membership than the one obsessed with race. Today, many reject the fact that black people typically face bigger obstacles to economic and political success than whites. Instead, they insist that whites are oppressed.

If you’ve followed politics, you’re familiar with this catechism. In the 1980s, lawmakers often implied that welfare programs persecuted whites. In the 1990s, the same lawmakers demonized affirmative-action initiatives that tried to counter college admission preferences for white “legacy” families. These days, demagogues cite Barack Obama’s political ascendance as supposed proof that black people are unfairly privileged. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/race_and_the_church_of_denialism_20110825/?ln

[rfranklin]

1. The whiney, crybaby " conservatives constantly portray themselves as victims...

while claiming that illegal immigrants and brown-skinned people are getting all kinds of special consideration and government funding. It is so amazingly stupid, yet facts have no weight in the argument.

[Number23]

2. Have seen several posts right here on DU

with folks blaming Obama for high black unemployment, blithely ignoring that black un and underemployment has ALWAYS been higher than whites and that RACISM, not government in and of itself, is the true problem.

Sirota's point:

"These representative snapshots remind us that despite Denialist rhetoric, institutional racism and white privilege dominate American society.

This truth is everywhere. You can see it in black unemployment rates, which are twice as high as white unemployment rates—a disparity that persists even when controlling for education levels. You can see it in a 2004 MIT study showing that job-seekers with “white names receive 50 percent more callbacks for interviews” than job seekers with comparable resumes and “African-American-sounding names.” And you can see it in a news media that looks like an all-white country club and a U.S. Senate that includes no black legislators."

just sails right over their heads. Not that I think these people give the first damn about black unemployment anyway. They just want to use it as another hammer to beat the president with.

[patrice]

3. All of the downside of our economy is higher proportionally amongst a SMALLER segment of our

population, people of color, especially Black Americans.