50 years ago, when Barack Obama was born, the idea of a black president in America was unthinkable. The fact that he is president shows how much racial progress has been made in America. But there is still a large core of racism in this country, reflected in the open bigotry of leading conservatives such as Rush Limbaugh.
I just received the August issue of “The Limbaugh Letter” (Rush's highly profitable 16-page “magazine” consisting of ghostwritten pieces cobbled together from his various radio rants).
The cover features the latest in Rush's racial provocations: “Obama the Burglar.” Obama is dressed as a burglar with a black cap, carrying a bag of stuff and a silver candlestick as he exits the ransacked home of a rich man—Rush Limbaugh, to be precise, who looks on startled at this black robber in his castle.
Ah, yes, Obama as the dangerous black man coming to steal the white man's property. It's an ancient racist image.
In the article, Limbaugh accuses Obama of “robbing this country blind” and proclaims: “He's a burglar. All liberals are burglars. All liberals are thieves. That's what they do. It is who they are.”
Limbaugh depicts Obama's critique of tax loopholes and breaks for corporate jet owners as an attack on technology itself, predicting that he would go after the iPad 3 and the iPhone 5 and “tax the hell out of it so it ceases to exist.” According to Limbaugh, “You leave it up to Obama, and we won't need to be defeated by al Qaeda; we'll end up in the seventh century on our own.”
Of course, I'm sure that Limbaugh and his defenders will claim that he is not a racist because he believes that all liberals, black and white, are burglars. That's true. But it's no coincidence that Limbaugh depicts the black guy as the stereotypical burglar. Limbaugh hates Obama because he's a liberal, not just because he's black. But Limbaugh's racism shapes the bigoted way that he talks about Obama.
I can't defend Limbaugh anymore after seeing that sickening image.
Sometimes it's hard to see what's right in front of your eyes. Especially when it hurts. It's the essence of the saying, "What do you call a black man with a college degree?"
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ReplyDeleteI know this lumps me in with Limbaugh defenders as mentioned, but isn't it possible that if there was Hilary or John Edwards (minus scandal) that he'd use the same image? Also, haven't burglars been portrayed as ski-cap wearing men of all races in fiction and even reality?
ReplyDeleteI'm far from a Limbaugh fan myself, but it's a question worth asking. I could see the outrage over this picture not as a standalone incident, but rather a snowball if that is how you feel.
DR, congratulations on a wonderful blog! I like you, am a former fan of Rush. His rhetoric which seemed funny 15 years ago to me, just seems mean now. Perhaps I've matured, or he just slipped. I still believe the conservative principals that Rush and millions of others believe in, are the only way to run a country. But I also agree with Obama that we can disagree without being disagreeable.
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