The woman behind the racist anti-Obama bumper sticker defends her product.
Paula Smith, whose online store stickatude.com sells the “Don’t Re-Nig in 2012” bumper sticker, has been quoted by Roger Friedman from Forbes as saying this:
“According to the dictionary [the N word] does not mean black. It means a low down, lazy, sorry, low down person. That’s what the N word means.”
Friedman points out that in the Webster New Collegiate dictionary, the N-word is defined as a “…Member of any dark-skinned race. Taken to be offensive.”
Among Ms. Smith’s other ignorant gems:
“And besides Obama is not even black. He’s got a mixture of race. It’s his choice of what his nationality is.”
I guess the best we can hope from this whole experience is that the world is talking more openly about how the words we choose to use carry weight, and have very profound meaning. As someone who lives in a major metropolitan area, on the liberal West Coast, it’s easy to forget that people like Paula Smith exist, people who think that the N-Word is just a word like “lazy” or “low-down”.
And lest we forget why any of this matters, why it matters that there are still people in our country who are racists, let’s remember Trayvon Martin and his heartbroken family, whose unarmed teenage son was gunned down in Florida; and the man who pursued him-George Zimmerman-chased him down against police advice, threatened him, terrified him and finally murdered him in cold blood at close range, is still walking the streets, never having been arrested.
Racism is alive and well. And we all have a duty to put an end to it.
For more on the Trayvon Walker case, read Shoot First, Ask Later by Jackie Summers and Walking While Black, by Cornelius Walker
To hear 911 transcripts of the calls made by Trayvon Martin’s killer, read “Is this Justice?”.
About Joanna Schroeder
Joanna
I’ll spot you the n-word and overbid you with the kid who assaulted my teacher daughter is back in school. The kid and the principal are both black. Same thing with another white teacher there. The teachers are, my daughter says, livid. Looking for other jobs. Thing is, the better ones will be the ones hired to other schools, leaving….
I could go to trump with the knock out game.
It isn’t the tu quoque defense. It’s the difference in reaction, depending on the racial line up.
I guess it all comes down to the reason she choose that word. So many others that might even have a better impact.
Funny she was quoted as of mentioning nationality instead of race. We can see how this confused individual got more attention than she deserved.
Aubrey, are you serious right now?
Correct me if I’m wrong but are somehow justifying the use of racial slurs ecause one kids got violent?
Or are you saying that because of one instance where a black kid was let back into school, by his black principal, that there isn’t racism?
Really? So one anecdote outweighs years of well documented oppression, well established research, and even the obviously race motivated death of a child?
I will be sure to remember that, about anecdotal evidence, the next time we debate any other topic where people want to see research.
Sorry for the bad typing, I’m on my phone.
A black kid was treated leniently by the system, therefore racism is passé. Checkmate, liberals!
I believe I said this isn’t the tu quoque defense. I gave you all an opportunity to read it. And to understand it.
But you biffed it. You know I was surprised, righ?.
As I said, the issue is the difference in reaction according to the racial lineup. You made my case, and I even gave you a chance not to.
Sometimes reflexes are just too much faster than rational thought.
I truly don’t know what you’re talking about then, Aubrey. I’m not trying to be difficult.
I just don’t understand how what you said doesn’t amount to excusing racism.
Maybe we just biffed it, Cornelius.
Joanna. You don’t understand. I tried to make it clear.
Racism exists. What is interesting is that when it’s white on black, it’s an issue. See Duke lacrosse. When it’s black on white, it’s a……huh? See Katie Rouse, a Duke student. Search away. Compare hits. Contemplate that the first didn’t actually happen. Which should make a difference, but doesn’t.
James Byrd is a martyr, Kenneth Tillery–just as dead–is a nobody. The Knoxville Horror. Not much ink there. But a bumper sticker. Stop the presses.
We have an entire column on a bumper sticker and nothing on the racist violence of the knockout game. At least one incident of which resulted in death. A number of serious injuries. One case was dropped because a thirteen year old witness wouldn’t show up on court. Speculation is that somebody threatened her. Maybe that was the two kids set on fire at a high school…… No, that was a different case. Wrong racial lineup. Doesn’t count.
Point is, it’s an issue to you, or it’s not, depending on the racial lineup.
Using “you” in the plural.
Richard, you’re boring me with this nonsense. Stop fighting your racism and go get some help, please. The more you post about this, the clearer it is that you’ve got a huge blind spot. You think you’re just being logical, but you’re not.
For the last time I care to explain it to you… racism happens as a personal thing AND a system thing. I’m sure you can find plenty of examples of what looks like persona racism of all sorts. But I challenge you to show me systemic black on white racism. It doesn’t exist; it hasn’t existed. There is no black on white equivalent of lynchings. There is no black on white equivalent of Jim Crow. No black swimming pools were filled in lest white folks be allowed to swim in them. No black governors blocked the doors of black schoolhouses to prevent little white girls from entering.
Now if I can dispense with this knockout game nonsense once and for all. IT’S NOT RACISM. The perpetrators: not all black. The victims: not all white. The crime: not racially motivated. I’ve read the stories, the witness intimidation, the dismissed charges, the frustration. It’s an awful, terrible, horrible thing. Still, not racism.
James Byrd was killed by three men, at least two of which self-identified as white supremacists. The crime was motivated by racism. They intended to drag him behind the car and kill him, not for drugs, not for money, but because he was black.
Kenneth Tillery was killed over money and drugs. He was inadvertently dragged under the car after being intentionally hit by it. The crime was not motivated by race.
James Byrd: racism. Why? He was killed because of his race.
Kenneth Tillery: not racism. Why? He was killed over drugs and money, not because of his race.
See the difference?
Now let’s play make-believe and imagine a world in which whites were subject to systemic racism. In that fantasy world, the Kenneth Tillery case gets more attention because it echoes the history of systemic black-on-white racism, the lynchings of white people, the enslavement of whites by blacks. Still not racism. Why? The crime was not motivated by race.
If you’ve made anything clear, it’s that you’ve lived over six decades and still don’t have a clue what racism is.
Re: Aubrey. Amen Nick! You very well have said just about everything I was thinking to tell Aubrey. Just one more thing Aubrey. Do you know what white privilege is, and are you aware of it on a daily basis? Plenty of folks claim it does not exist? Plenty of others might have a suspicion that exists, but they rather not bring it up since it’s not hurting them?
Do you think the lady who made the stickers is at all aware of her white privilege? I believe she is and she’s proud of it too. That makes her racist. Where do you belong in the picture Richard?
Re: Aubrey. Amen Nick! You very well have said just about everything I was thinking to tell Aubrey. Just one more thing Aubrey. Do you know what white privilege is, and are you aware of it on a daily basis? Plenty of folks claim it does not exist, but plenty of others might have a suspicion and rather not bring it up since it’s “not hurting anyone”.
Do you think the lady who made the stickers is at all aware of her white privilege? I believe she is and she’s proud of it too. That makes her racist. Where do you belong in the picture Richard?
Thanks, Nick.
Excellent response, Nick. I just blogged a conversation with someone who shares Richard’s views. Engaging in a conversation is usually futile. You’re taking time to articulate what should be obvious to anyone with a shred of empathy and a memory more than a gold fish. Still entertaining to read the exchange though
)
Richard: The attention given to the Duke lacrosse case over the Katie Rouse case probably had more to do with the perpetrators than the victim (or her skin color)–but mostly about sensationalism. Women of color and women in the sex industry face sexual violence EVERY SINGLE DAY, and most of it goes unnoticed or brushed aside. The fact that the accusation came against a popular group of rich, young men from one of the most prestigious universities in the country is what drew the attention. Had Ms. Magnum (a black woman) accused Joe from down the street of rape, the case would not have made any headlines. Had she been a white woman and accused the Duke lacrosse team of rape, I believe that the case would have gotten even MORE attention. Yes, what happened to Ms. Rouse is truly terrible, and the harassment she recieved afterwards unnacceptable, but the lack of attention towards the case had nothing to do with her being white and the perpetrator being black. It just wasn’t sensational enough. A man who doesn’t even go to the school accused of raping a woman at a late-night frat party? A popular team that represents the university and its values accused of gang raping a woman at a team party? Add to that a corrupt, attention seeking lawyer (Nifong).
And if you’re that worried about media attention, do you think white or black kids who go missing get more airtime? It’s not even close.
If that’s not a tu quoque defense, then it’s paranoid confirmation bias.
RIchard, please stay on topic. Your comments do not address the subject, which is a bumper sticker. If you insist on violating stated policy, your comments will be deleted.
Jackie.
How about the bumper sticker in a larger context? How about the bumper sticker as small potatoes?
Referring to a sitting president by a racial epithet and profiting from the sale of printed material spreading this message, is not small potatoes.
I apologize about the double posting. Saw some typos I thought I could fix. : )
Lord, I’ll be glad when the human race is just a nice shade of light brown… I am really sick of being a part of my particular “tribe”.
I was over at my grandfather’s last night and he was showing us his genealogical research. I couldn’t help but marvel at the variety of surnames my North American cousins have. From Kelliher and O’Sullivan to Goldman and Chen. In many ways I envy Americans for living in such a diverse country, even if there’s a price paid for it.
“Lord, I’ll be glad when the human race is just a nice shade of light brown.”
So like in the South Park episode, ‘Goobacks?”
“And besides Obama is not even black. He’s got a mixture of race. It’s his choice of what his nationality is.”
Wow… just wow. So black people can choose to be white if they’re of mixed race? Does this mean they won’t have racist bumper stickers printed about them, or that they’ll get arrested less? “Its ok officers, I’m white this week.”
@Richard: I hear what you’re saying, you feel that crime against white people is being ignored. I agree to an extent, a victim of a crime is no less of a victim because they happen to come from a racial majority.
The trouble is that racial minorities face a double jeopardy. While its possible for a white person to be victimised due to their race its alot less likely, and white people have more power to avoid such victimisation. Normal crime happens to them too, but hate crimes are less common.
Non-whites, on the other hand, have to contend not only with non racially motivated crimes but hate crimes too. This is why its news when someone prints a bumper sticker using a word associated with such violence.
“And besides Obama is not even black. He’s got a mixture of race. It’s his choice of what his nationality is.”
The real stupidity of that comment is the equation of race with nationality, as if all whites are Americans and all blacks aren’t.
exactly.
In a perverse way the sticker is a good thing because it illustrates the intelect (typo) of Ms. Smith and the African Amerincan rappers who use the N-word for commerical gain (Free Enterprise at it’s Best).
Sometimes I wonder if people like her are secretly working FOR the re-election campaign, because this bumper sticker and her defense make Obama’s opponents look like ignorant racists. I see this as something that will not really hurt Obama’s popularity so much as boost it. The people who love these stickers were not going to vote for him anyway, and I doubt that this will turn people against him. Because of this bumper sticker, conservatives will try to distance themselves from other conservatives, while others rush to Obama’s defense. The Democrats ought to be paying her if they aren’t already.
(I am assuming that she is a conservative and a Republican, though I could be wrong. Maybe she’s actually an old-school white supremacist Democrat like my grandmother was and she wants the Democrats to nominate someone else in 2012? Perhaps I shouldn’t leap to conclusions.)
Just about possible, but Ockham’s razor says not. Also, presumably she has neighbours and friends who are aware of her political beliefs, it would be an enormous risk to take given that someone could go to the press and call foul.
If you want to know what Obama opponents are saying about Young Mr. Martin’s murder: http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/40088_Fox_News_Commenters_React_to_Trayvon_Martin-_Good_Shot_Zimmy
Good point, though with human behavior I tend think Occam’s Razor is not as crucial. Politics is fundamentally irrational in many ways, and with irrational human activity I tend to assume complexity and not simplicity. If only the simplest explanations were the best when it comes to American politics. Millions of people vote contrary to their own interests all the time and rationalize to themselves that they’re not. That suggests a ridiculous level of complexity to me.
I was just thinking that she could be some sort of local Stephen Colbert satirist. Perhaps I am just naïve in thinking no one could really believe those bizarre things.
Hmmm… you’ve not traveled through the South then, have you?
This was aired on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher the other week.
Yeah, I’ve bent over backwards scraping up the benefit of the doubt, but it’s just not working. I remember seeing a poll recently that suggested that the majority of Mississippians thought that Obama was a Muslim. Considering that Mississippi has an African American majority, that means a sizeable number of black Mississippians think Obama is Muslim.
Not as crucial, but still applicable. Its more likely that she’s just one of thousands of extremely racist people out there than that its really some secret plot to make conservatives look bad.
My point about the whole thing being horribly vulnerable to exposure still stands I think.
I might have given her a tiny bit of slack if she had said something like, “I didn’t mean it to be racist, but I can see how you might think that,” but to act like no one would ever have any good reason to see the bumper sticker as racist is just willful denial.
One “glass half full” way to look at it, though: the fight against racism has been successful enough that virtually *everyone* says that racism is bad. Even people who are clearly racist do not want to be called racist. Even they don’t want to be associated with it. That’s pretty amazing. A victory, in a weird way.