Letters to the Editor
little lord baltimore
Published Letters: 191 Editor's Choice: 9
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I'm mad now so I'm going to throw this out there . . .
[Read the article: Don't blame San Francisco for Obama's "Bittergate"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Joan, I think that Salon's coverage of this election and your posts specifically are as racist as you think the mainstream media is sexist.
Just like the Hillary supporter quoted in Rebecca's article who said that she can't always say when something is sexist, but she just knows. . . that's how I feel about racism and that's what I see happening at Salon.
For months now you have defended every racially charged statement by Hillary or Bill as being simply 'tin-eared' or 'heavy-handed.' You refused to comment on Geraldine Ferraro's clearly racist comments and instead we were treated to a nearly 2,000 word defense of her comments by Alex Koppelman. You refuse to acknowledge that Obama has faced incredible ignorance and racism in this election and instead insist on repeating ad nauseum that Hillary has had it worse. Even more discouraging, you refuse to acknowledge that African American women face both racism and sexism. I think the most galling and most offensive thing about your posts is that you continuously reference your "good work" on behalf of blacks and latinos and on behalf of racial justice as an explanation for why it's okay that you are pitting racism and sexism against each other. Anyone who was truly interested in finding racial justice in America would know how destructive and how counter-productive that battle really is. Anyone who had taken the time to try to genuinely understand the pervasive nature of racism and how deeply it is embedded in American culture and language, would understand how frustrating and how discouraging it is to see the way that the Clintons, their surrogates and the main stream media have tried to marginalize African American voters and dismiss Obama as 'the black candidate.' Anyone who had spent any amount of time honestly thinking about and discussing racism and the long term effect of racism in America would know how insulting it is to tell people of color that we should be concerned that white people are being misunderstood and condescended to. Really? 'Cause as a black woman in America, I have no idea what it feels like to have a white politician tell me that 'he feels my pain,' or tell me that I should be more excited about voting for the first woman candidate (conveniently forgetting about Shirley Chisholm) or use quotes from Harriet Tubman to call me a slave and a traitor, or to be called racist because I am black and I am voting for a candidate who is also black.
You don't speak for us/me when you say that "they/you are my people: San Francisco by way of Madison, Wisconsin kind of people (but yes, the dad from Ireland/the Bronx sent off to the Christian Brothers does mix everyone up, including me.)" And I don't appreciate the condescension of you believing that you and other writers at Salon are doing anything to represent the positions and view points of people who are not white and who are not living middle and upper middle class lifestyles in America.
Yes, I did go to an ivy league school, and yes I do live on this East Coast, so I know that you will categorize and dismiss my comments as elitist and 'self-righteous'. But my father grew up poor and Jewish in Brooklyn in the '40's and 50's. My mother grew up destitute in Ghana and came to the US in 1960 because she won a missionary scholarship. They married in the 60's before inter-racial marriage was legal in all 50 states and struggled financially and culturally to get their kids into good schools and eventually good colleges. My daily life for the past 30+ years has been a struggle with racism and sexism. But sure, if it makes you feel better to believe that all Obama supporters are out of touch elitists and that you and Salon represent fairness and impartiality in this election, then go right ahead.