NPR Sees Tea Party Racism in 'Almost Neuralgic' Opposition to Spending
On Monday night's All Things Considered On National Public Radio, anchor Robert Siegel followed up a story on the new Martin Luther King Jr. memorial in Washington D.C. with an interview with a "longtime civil rights activist," recent NAACP chairman Julian Bond. Siegel omitted any reference to any of Bond's splenetic rages against conservatives (see below), but instead invited him to denounce the Tea Party as racist for its opposition to liberal uplift:
SIEGEL: Some people read into the Tea Party's almost neuralgic reaction to government spending, a sense that white people figure black people benefit disproportionately from federal programs. Do you suspect a racial subtext to that whole argument?
BOND: Absolutely. And I'm not saying that all of the Tea Party members are racist. Not at all. I don't think anybody says that. But I think there's an element of racial animus there and the feeling that some white people have that these black people are now getting something that I'm not getting and I should be getting it, too.
"Neuralgic" is defined by one dictionary as " intense pain along the course of a nerve, especially in the head or face." In that case, conservatives should have an "almost neuralgic reaction" to having to pay for the liberal sneers of Robert Siegel and his "objective" colleagues at NPR.
Despite the calm tones and kid gloves on NPR, Bond embraces the Tea Party-as-terrorist hardline on the left. From January 20, 2010, just days before he stepped down from the NAACP he proclaimed:
We saw hate on display this summer in town halls and tea parties, subsidized by corporations and their well-funded fear machines across the country. Our politics have been poisoned by armed and paranoid self-described patriots, drawn from the Taliban wing of American politics, a true fright wing, once called Birchers, now birthers, spreading lies and spreading myths.
(See more: Julian Bond's Viciousness Never Upbraided by Liberal Media.)
Siegel went on to ask Bond if America needs more "explicitly black" leadership, meaning "explicitly racial." Siegel suggested being "explicitly black" would hurt Obama politically, with you know, the country being so white and backward:
SIEGEL: Today, with a black president in office, is there still a need for explicitly black leadership? And if so, what kinds of leaders are needed?
BOND: Well, I think the kinds of leaders that we have, as well as others, of course there's a need for them, just as Hispanics, women and other groups that find themselves marginalized in today's society need effective spokespersons. And black America is fortunate enough to have had and to have today an effective group of such people...
SIEGEL: The Congressional Black Caucus, which has been conducting a jobs tour, highlighting black unemployment, the need for more jobs for all Americans, has been pretty rough on President Obama for his more recent focus on balancing the budget. What do you make of that conflict?
BOND: Well, it's this great tension between President Obama's race and the expectation by many black people that he is our president and the expectation by others, who are both black and not black, that he's the president of everyone. And the difficulty he's had balancing that in the public perception. Is he the black president? Is he the president of black people? Is he president of everybody? I think he wants badly to be the president of everyone, so I think it's a terrible tension for him.
SIEGEL: Do you think he is actually less vocal in support of an explicitly black political agenda because he is black than, say, had Hillary Clinton been elected president instead might have been?
BOND: I do think that's true. I think he's taken care to not be perceived as the president of black people. I think he thinks it would be harmful to his presidency. It would hurt him in other ways. He would be thought of as a single issue president and he badly does not want that to happen.
SIEGEL: Do you think he's right about that?
BOND: I think he probably is right about that. I want to hear him say more about this black/white gap, this divide, this economic divide. I want to see him act more, but I understand why he doesn't. I just want him to do it.
Speaking of black/white divides, Siegel helpfully introduced Bond with a set of data arguing that blacks have been much harder hit by recession:
The opening of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial comes at a moment when it's hard to appraise progress toward Dr. King's dream. On the one hand, a black man is president of the United States, something that seemed impossible in the 1950s or '60s.
On the other hand, black unemployment today is about twice white unemployment and the financial crisis and recession have devastated the household net worth of minority groups. White net worth has dropped by 16 percent over the past four years, according to the Pew Research Group. For blacks, the decline is over 50 percent. White households today are 20 times wealthier than black households.
Siegel was so busy painting Julian Bond's picture for him that he excluded what the liberals at Pew acknowledged in the fine print of its study about measuring recent demographic trends: "This report measures the changing wealth gaps between whites, Hispanics, and blacks using ratios. An alternative approach would have been to measure the changes in absolute levels rather than ratios. By that yardstick, the median wealth gaps between these groups would have decreased from 2005 to 2009." (Italics theirs.)
NPR's website headlined this conversation: "How Close Are We to Realizing King's 'Dream'?" As usual, liberal media outlets only go to "civil rights" leaders on the left for the answer. There is often no debate -- and especially no black conservatives -- allowed on these "open-minded" airwaves.
- Tim Graham's blog
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Comments
This was one of the most racist NPR transcripts I've read in . .
Submitted by Galvanic on Tue, 08/23/2011 - 8:40am.
. . since I can remember. Bond is his usual racist self, but Siegel was his able straight man. If you're one of the NAACP elite, this couldn't have been scripted better.
And all this on a day recognizing the achievements and message of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who advocated equality.
<sound of duct tape ripping off roll>
Submitted by motherbelt on Tue, 08/23/2011 - 9:01am.
Absolutely dead on, Gal! Just un-freakin'-believable!!
They couldn't have done a better repartee if they were indeed reading from a script.
But then again, the script is programmed, and ingrained, so it's easy.
Like Chatty Cathy dolls, they pull each other's strings, and the appropriate phrase pops out.
More Useful Idiots!!!!
Submitted by scottyusmc on Tue, 08/23/2011 - 8:43am.
Another reason why I am now an active member of the Tea Party...
Socialist Liberals define racist as anyone who disagrees with their progressive welfare state agenda!!!!
And they are getting my Tax
Submitted by Semus on Tue, 08/23/2011 - 9:06am.
And they are getting my Tax Dollars. Hopefully for not much longer.
Apples and oranges. Will we
Submitted by amyshulk on Tue, 08/23/2011 - 9:16am.
Apples and oranges. Will we do subgroups? Like all those poor tatted/pierced people who can't get front of the house jobs because they freak customers out?
Ronald Reagan
How DARE you pass judgement on the way one chooses
Submitted by WhoIsJohnGalt on Tue, 08/23/2011 - 12:36pm.
to dress or adorn one's self!
Let's look at this logically, shall we? We're told that judging these people by their looks or manner of dress is wrong, and we're being prejudicial. Well, why do they dress that way, or ink themselves up, or walk around like they're the baddest thing since Sgt York? They dress/act that way so that they will be seen a particular way and accepted by their brethren as one of them, right? Wait a minute...aren't they ASKING to be pre-judged? Oh, so it's okay that they be PRE-JUDGED in the way that they prefer, but we haven't got the right to prejudge them based on our standards? I see...no, actually I don't get it.
Am I reading this incorrectly, or is this just typical of liberal nonsense?
SIEGEL: "Some people read
Submitted by Beukeboom on Tue, 08/23/2011 - 9:29am.
SIEGEL: "Some people read into..."
TRANSLATION: "Some people" = Siegel & Bond.
eisegesis defined:
: the interpretation of a text (as of the Bible) by reading into it one's own ideas — compare exegesis
(Source: Merriam-Webster online)
Those first four words I quoted from Siegel is clear admission of an eisegetical stance which is also unintended admission of intellectual bankruptcy. Siegel, by way of his eisegetical approach, invalidates his whole argument.
Case closed.
Yeah...they're doin' swell....
Submitted by NeoKong on Tue, 08/23/2011 - 9:34am.
"And black America is fortunate enough to have had and to have today an effective group of such people..."
Nice job Julian. They can dump the food stamps any day now.
The hell with them!
Submitted by jon_torlin on Tue, 08/23/2011 - 9:35am.
Ok, fine, guess what, everyone! (btw, I had to look up that word, and it doesn't even apply here!)
So according to these rat bastards, I'm a racist. Anyone who is opposed to spending is also a racist. Let's take it one step further.....
Anyone opposed to these rat bastards is racist.
There, it's settled, you rat bastards happy now? Oh yeah, I'm calling you guys in relation to rats, which is another species entirely, might as well make it racist!
-Jon
It's the math, stupid!
Submitted by PrincetonTiger on Tue, 08/23/2011 - 9:56am.
Let's explore Mr. Siegel's inane suggestion implicit in his question for a second.
Let's say I make $100K per year, but I spend $140k per year. The $40k overage I spend exclusively on fancy dinners at Italian restaurants. Under Mr. Siegel's veiled line of questioning, if my bank refuses to extend me credit any longer, it must be because the bank is viscerally opposed to me having fancy dinners at Italian restaurants. Clearly, the bank is anti-Italian. Surely, it is because the bank must have some deep down hatred and bigotry against Italians, right? Of course, there can be no other reason why the bank would suddenly and viciously cut of the spigot, right? The bank is anti-Italian, anti-immigrant, anti-working man, anti-small business restaurant owner, right?
No. The bank doesn't give two licks where that $40k goes, only that it's unsustainable.
The MATH does not work, Mr. Siegel. We are spending TOO MUCH MONEY. Period. It doesn't matter where that money is going...it only matters that it's TOO MUCH MONEY. Period.
Tea party activists and their supporters are "neuralgic" because of the math. And so should everyone else.
When Reporters Go So Far Out of their Way,
Submitted by Comrade Jim on Tue, 08/23/2011 - 10:23am.
And go so far off topic, to slander the Tea Party, it is pretty good evidence that even the dumbest of the dumb recognize the effectiveness of The Tea Party.
It encourages even stronger support for the Tea Party.
Siegel and Bond
Submitted by NVRAT on Tue, 08/23/2011 - 10:28am.
If I remember correctly, being around for a long-long time, Dr. King had no use for the NAACP and said that the organization would do more harm to the Black peoples quest for freedom and equality than any other organization in America. Its to bad that he was killed before he could realize his quest and prove to America that the Black people were proud, hard working and were a value to the American Society. Dr. King was right in making his assessment that the NAACP and people like Bond, Sharpton, Waters, Jackson and NAACP et. al., would hold the Blacks back for another 100 yrs and it looks like that is what is happening because he is not here to defend his original concept. The NAACP took over his march and contorted it into what they wanted it to be and I think that is being proven today. He held them in contempt then and, I believe he would do so today. Dr. King was a proud man and the NAACP held him in contempt you can see it today if you look close and not listen to the rhetoric.
I am of the opinion that Dr.
Submitted by Beukeboom on Tue, 08/23/2011 - 10:45am.
I am of the opinion that Dr. M.L. King would not condone the words and deeds of such individuals as Julian Bond, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Jeremiah Wright, Maxine Waters, and a whole host of people who claim either explicitly or implicitly to speak for black Americans.
"All Things Considered", except Rational Thought
Submitted by locomotivebreath1901 on Tue, 08/23/2011 - 10:48am.
National Priggish Radio can say whatever it likes - But not on my dime!
DEFUND THIS SCURRILOUS AGITPROP OUTLET NOW!!
Another "If he were white"
Submitted by jaywl on Tue, 08/23/2011 - 11:21am.
It is sad commentary on many people and groups of people that this type of comment so often occurs. If Bond were white he would never have been elected to an organization dedicated to the advancement of white people (for many reasons) nor elected to lead any legitimate, historic, and honored group dedicated for any purpose.
If Bond were white and attacked other races with such vile he would be ostracized by all except the fringe, contemptuous small minded idiots always looking for someone to reinforce their bigotry. I seem to recall a time were Bond was considered an educated man with purpose and wit, an example for all. He was an example especially for those black kids in inferior schools who must chose between life in the inner city or the hard work needed to break free: between rap, ghetto speak or Bond's English. As Biden or Reed would have said he was clean and/or articulate. Instead, somewhere he became another black race hustler. If he were white he would be ripe for a robe, a white hooded robe.
cajun is still confused*
Submitted by cajun2 on Tue, 08/23/2011 - 11:36am.
The media really has my head spinning.
The TEA Party had no influence until Nov 2010. Then there were 25 fiscally responsible republicans elected to the House giving R's a majority. Notice the Senate still has a D majority since 2006. When those R;s take office in Jan 2011, they are promptly faced with a $14T deficit. I doubt seriously that blacks were the only recipients of that $14 T . So how can the TEA Party be racists by trying to control wasteful spending in order to fund those entitlement programs?
Heard the segment, was furious
Submitted by Missouramule on Tue, 08/23/2011 - 11:31am.
I'm a conservative, a Limbaugh listener, as well as a regular NPR listener -- I see value in all sides . . . .BUT, I was listening to this segment as it aired, and was simply furious, without knowing what to do . . . . this was not a political discussion - it was a discussion of the dedication of the memorial to MLK . . . . and Siegel just (with no segway at all) turned the discussion to the question of 'racism in the Tea Party' . . . . as it turned out, Bond came out the more moderate of the two. There is NO WAY that the US TAXPAYER should be paying any portion of NPR's funding.
you want an almost neuralgic reaction?
Submitted by Rackie on Tue, 08/23/2011 - 12:35pm.
you can't handle an almost neuralgic reaction
I watched as much as I could stomach of the CBC's "why evil white run america sucks and how blacks can get over on "the devil" by keeping us in office" panel.
What a bunch of lying, two faced, ignorant lowlifes. I mean really freakin' ignorant. As in clueless as concrete. Stump stupid. Imagine a whole country governed by machete politics. How would that turn out? There must be examples of this form of hell on earth somewhere. I know what boys and girls. Let's look for smoke from burning tires.
I swear, AA's couldn't be any worse off if they elected animals from the local zoo or any thug on death row.
Mark me down in the "no longer gives a rat's ass about their sorry condition" column.
Screw'em.
About neuralgias...
Submitted by drsamherman on Tue, 08/23/2011 - 12:46pm.
Neuralgias are chronic pain conditions that can arise from short-term (acute) diseases or from long-term irritation.
In this case it is both. America is suffering from a chronic infection caused by Democratus imbecilus, a highly irritating pathogen that divides and causes nerve damage. A very low intelligence is found in Democratus imbecilus, and the species is known to use constant meaningless buzz phrases and is considered incapable of individual thought. Acutely, America is facing a flare-up of this horrible pathogen that is manifesting as incompetent leadership and malignant behavior in the executive authority and the complete absence of any intelligence in the leadership of the upper house. My prescription is a landslide 2012 election, sweeping away Democratus imbecilus into obscurity forever.
Pathogen
Submitted by jaywl on Tue, 08/23/2011 - 3:23pm.
You are wrong on the name of the pathogen. Science Digest had an article on it the other day. It is Taxamoreus Allaucan. Life cycle consists of infecting rat brains in the Ahmygodia, the small section of mammal brains associated with satisfaction and "feeling good". The rat loses normal fears, like that of cat urine and happily thinks his needs will be fulfilled, somehow, not to worry. After the cat dines, the microbe passes through the cat and other rats eat the cat feces to renew the cycle. Our problem is that about a third of our population (awful close to the number of democrats!) has been infected (more women than men) by contact with cat boxes. Those people have this pathogen in the same place as the rat. Scientists think they lose normal fears and think the govmint will take care of everything. Funny isn't it, rats, govmint, that Rusky Pavlov and what he got his rats to do (with the Commies following up). Now we know. Maybe we can develop a pill to destroy the pathogen and balance the budget and restart industry and develop our energy and ....
There is no black caucus jobs
Submitted by LAM SON 719 on Tue, 08/23/2011 - 1:23pm.
There is no black caucus jobs tour, it is a apoligize for obama tour, "Poor obama wanted to help you stupid negroes but
whitey wouldn't let him" Now get back on the plantation and vote for obama.
Blacks are content with being a permanent under class. A conservative black in the US has no chance of being elected, not because of whitey but because of his or "brothers".
neuropathy
Submitted by dmacleo on Tue, 08/23/2011 - 8:02pm.
as someone who suffers from these conditions (pain levels approach end stage cancer level) I can assure you this has nothing to do with race.
its all about them being idiots and we have all had it.
One more benefit of the Tea Party movement....
Submitted by thescoots on Wed, 08/24/2011 - 11:51am.
Electing enough conservatives to terminate public funding for NPR and PBS....That will be a glorious day!