Thursday, February 26, 2009

SO, ANN, IS RUSH'S MAN-CRUSH ON JINDAL RACIST TOO?

Ann Althouse (emphasis in original):

Comparing Jindal to Kenneth of "30 Rock" is not a nice indicator of Americans' ability to see beyond skin color. Quite the opposite! Instinctively repainting him white is -- I would say -- presumptively racial. To strip away his racial identity -- to stereotype him as an especially white white man -- is a powerful racial move. This is not nice at all. I would really like to know what makes white people so sure they are being nice about racial things.

OK, Ann, so what about this remark from Rush Limbaugh?

“When I interviewed Bobby Jindal for the Limbaugh Letter a year and a half ago or so I immediately thought I was talking to the elected version of the next Ronald Reagan, the closest thing we've got to an elected version of the next Ronald Reagan in the United States today.”

Obviously, this Reagan comparison is not a nice indicator of Limbaugh's ability to see beyond skin color. Quite the opposite! Instinctively repainting Jindal white (with, admittedly, a California tan) is -- I would say -- presumptively racial. To strip away his racial identity -- to stereotype him as an especially white deceased president -- is a powerful racial move. This is not nice at all. I would really like to know what makes Limbaugh so sure he is being nice about racial things.

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