MSNBC explains Rick Perry’s racist ‘code’—again

posted at 11:52 am on October 30, 2011 by Howard Portnoy
[ Race Hustlers ]   

In its quest to expose the rampant racism in the current presidential race (whoops—make that “contest”), MSNBC could save mightily on production costs by creating a montage of conservative racist comments and looping it every night during primetime. The video reel could feature deep analyses into the right-wing psyche, such as Karen Finney’s explanation this week of how Herman Cain’s particular shade of black fits in with conservatives’ racist worldview.

Naturally, there would be some redundancy since the same culprits tend to reemerge. One frequent sinner is GOP candidate Rick Perry whose “coded” reference to a “big black cloud that hangs over America” was analyzed in August by network host Ed Schultz.

Now Perry is back in the spotlight following his ham-handed response last week to a question about Barack Obama’s birthplace. For those lacking the analytical skills needed to the see the racism in Perry’s original comments or in his efforts on the campaign trail to put the controversy to rest, here is MSNBC contributor Touré (video clip here):

Look, all you need to do is just put this suggestion [that Obama was not born in the U.S.] out and people hear the associations…. It’s a coded, subtle, nuanced way for a white man to say he’s really not one of us—he’s black.

About that code… is there somewhere where you can buy a copy? I am loath to give offense to people of color, and much as I appreciate the guidance of Touré et. al., their analyses always come after the fact. How can you avoid slipping up if you don’t what words and phrases are deemed offensive?

Besides, what kind of “code” is it where the people who are meant to be talked about in secret know the language and the intended users of the code don’t?

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• 2012 campaign slogan: A vote for someone other than Obama is a vote for racism

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