The ugly reality of racism in Donald Trump’s America was revealed this week in a facebook post, and responses to it, made by public officials in Clay, West Virginia.
The post was made by Pamela Ramsey Taylor, the director of the Clay County Development Corporation. The mayor of Clay WV, Beverly Whaling, immediately replied “You made my day Pam”.
The story here is not, in my view, this nauseatingly racist post. It is, instead, the reaction as it went viral. Various media outlets like the Washington Post report variants of the following (emphasis mine):
Whaling did not attend the Tuesday meeting. But in a statement sent to The Post, she apologized: “My comment was not intended to be racist at all. I was referring to my day being made for change in the White House! I am truly sorry for any hard feeling this may have caused! Those who know me know that I’m not of any way racist! Again, I would like to apologize for this getting out of hand!”
…
Taylor could not be reached for comment, but WSAZ reported that she had also issued an apology. The station reported that Taylor said she understood why her post may have been interpreted as racist, but that was not her intention. She said she was referring to her own opinion about the first lady’s attractiveness, not about the color of her skin, according to the news station.
…
Tina Goode, a town clerk, said: “It wasn’t right, what was posted. We’re not like that. They are good women, and I don’t think they meant anything by it. We’re not a racist town.” Goode said she believed that Hillary Clinton’s supporters were responsible for making the post go viral.
Does any of this sound familiar?
Here’s the pattern:
1. A flagrantly and offensively racist comment is made
2. The comment is publicized and people react
3. A group of people, usually including the originator, say “fill-in-the-blank is not racist”, followed by things like “it was only a joke”, or “it meant something else”
4. Those who appropriately react are chastised, rather than the perpetrators and supporters.
This particular episode is about race. As night follows day, there will be others that focus on gender, on nationality, and sexual orientation.
We live in Donald Trump’s America. Those of us who oppose racism, misogyny, xenophobia and ugly bullying must be prepared to speak out loudly and often. It is true that these two officials were summarily removed from office, as they should be.
It is also true that these were lowly women in a tiny West Virginia town. The sentiments they voice were repeated time and again by our president elect in rally after rally. These are the sentiments defended by his staff and supporters. These explicitly reflect the views of Stave Bannon, his would-be chief of staff (until his son-in-law intervened). These are, in fact, likely to be the operative law of the land, in spirit if not in letter.
There is no such thing as “casual” racism, even though we all understand exactly what the phrase means.
I’m sure there’s a non-racist way to interpret calling a black person an ape.
(snark off)
What I’d love to know is what’s going on in the head of these people. Why is it so offensive to see someone whose only difference is a skin tone a few shades darker in a public position? How does this at all threaten the poster?