Thursday, September 17, 2009

Racism According to Rush

Not sure how to respond to a story like this.  It defies imagination.  The fact he can say these things, facetiously or no, could coin a new phrase "hysterical hubris". 

In a remark extraordinary even by the standards of conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh, the right-wing radio heavyweight declared on his program Wednesday that the United States needed to return to racially segregated buses.
Referring to an incident in which a white student was beaten by black students on a bus, Limbaugh said: “I think the guy’s wrong. I think not only it was racism, it was justifiable racism. I mean, that’s the lesson we’re being taught here today. Kid shouldn’t have been on the bus anyway. We need segregated buses — it was invading space and stuff. This is Obama’s America.”
A full transcript of Limbaugh’s comments on his radio show is available at MediaMatters.org.
Limbaugh’s comments came after a called complained to say that local law enforcement said the attack probably wasn’t racially motivated. The incident had been hyped by the conservative Drudge Report, which posted a video of the fracas.
“Police initially said the beating of the white student by two black students appeared to be racially motivated,” the Associated Press wrote. “But police on Tuesday backed away from that.”
That didn’t stop Limbaugh from making his comments Wednesday.
“In Obama’s America, the white kids now get beat up with the black kids cheering, ‘Yay, right on, right on, right on, right on,” Limbaugh also said. “I wonder if Obama’s going to come to come to the defense of the assailants the way he did his friend Skip Gates up there at Harvard.”
“White Americans are racists who have created what they call free markets that really just enslave the rest of America and her trading partners,” Limbaugh also mocked. “I mean, it was white Americans that ran off Van Jones. No, look, let’s just follow Eric Holder’s advice and not be cowards about all this. Let’s have an open conversation, an honest conversation about all of our typical white grandmothers. You had one, I had one. Obama had one. They’re racists just like our students are. ACORN — hey, nothing but racism fueling the pursuit of ACORN.”
Limbaugh also suggested that racism itself was acceptable.
“If homosexuality being inborn is what makes it acceptable, why does racism being inborn not make racism acceptable?” the talk show host asked. “I’m sorry — I mean, this is the way my mind works. But apparently now we don’t choose racism, we just are racists. We are born that way. We don’t choose it. So shouldn’t it be acceptable, excuse — this is according to the way the left thinks about things.”
The second set of comments occur in the audio clip below.


Make that "dangerously hysterical hubris".

17 comments:

Coffee Messiah said...

please delete, I just wanted to let you know I left who the artists were on the blog. i'm off to see her as she won't come home from her job until late oct.

anyway, thanks for asking and sadly, it wasn't the peter pan artist ; (

CU

verification: poo-il (really works for anything limbarf says

secretfragileskies said...

This is disturbing on so many levels...So happy to discover your blogs:)

Susan said...

God, that man makes me want to retch! He is the most disgustingly foul human being to ever open his pie-hole on radio or TV. Reading the comments was bad enough...I couldn't stomach listening to him, too!

Rosaria Williams said...

I'm not even going to push the play button. The man is sick.

Bonnie Zieman, M.Ed. said...

This is beyond belief. How antiquated, primitive and downright stupid can you get!!!!

Did he miss the last 50 years of progress? He is just inciting violence. I am disgusted.

Thanks for putting this in print for all to see.

California Girl said...

He is disturbing and I did consider not posting because on one level I feel as though I'm giving him credibility or something to that effect. But, if he's going to be this open, this arrogant, this crazy, then, okay, let everyone know it. He's not benign. He influences millions of people. At one point, that count was around 20,000,000 nationally. No shit. What does that say about the hidden agendas of people in our country?

ellen abbott said...

It makes me heartsick. So much loathing and hatred.

Ruth said...

Rush and the others like him must LOVE the power to make up what they want, then stoke their little embers into huge flames as the idiocracy of America join the conflagration.

California Girl said...

My husband has always believed in the pendulum theory whereby the pendulum swings from one side to another, back and forth, throughout time. Our job is to climb up the anchoring portion of the pendlum because the farther up you climb, the less radical the swing.

Blogging, the internet, town meetings, email, conversation gives us the ability, the power if you will, to influence others as well. We may not have Rush Limbaugh's audience but we can do alot in our own small way. Just remember to climb the anchor stick of the pendulum or you'll be swept from one radical side to the other!

Minka said...

This is horrifying.

California Girl said...

Hi Minka: it must be particularly horrifying to you in eastern Europe. I often hear the Swiss point of view (POV) from my Swiss girlfriend. She comes back from there each year and fills me in on the opinions of her friends and relatives. When Bush was president it was understandably negative towards the administration. this is radio's biggest syndicated broadcast show. Can you believe that?

Minka said...

You mean it doesn't sound horrifying to you? And about being biggest syndicated broadcast show, that is one of those things, that fall into "So American!" category around here...

About Eastern Europe, let me tell you something kinda funy - many people where I live prefer the term "Central Europe". I don't mind it though. Geographically, well... check it out for yourself:

http://www.vegova.si/home/egd/1.jpg

We should arrange it one day to post our posts a the same time - you about Europeans and me about the Americans... LOL

(I still think it's horrifying some people think about the racism that way)

California Girl said...

Yes. His thinking, this line of thinking, is horrible. I do not understand hatred on any level whether it's racism, religious differences or ethnic cleeansing.

I will happily reference your region as Central Europe. I apologize. My East/West thinking is left over from the Cold War & the Berlin Wall and all that good stuff.

Minka said...

No apology needed. I know why we do or don't belong to Eastern Europe. Geographically, well, maybe not so muuch. Politically, yes, we do, but again, maybe not just quite as much as you probably think.

Nancy said...

It is so sad that someone like Rush can just lie and say what he wants to the ear of 20,000,000 listeners. It just tells you what some Americans want to hear. That is the scary part.

lettuce said...

this really is unbelievable

often the worst thing about news stories like this is that they ARE too believable.
But this...

and comparing homosexuality and racism

I am speechless

Debo Hobo said...

Although racism does still exist in America and the election of Obama is simply highlighting how many racist there really are.

Not every person in America is a racist and NO simply because one is born white it does not make them a racist. Rush is a total idiot and he is trying to incite violence in America to a level higher than it already is. Once it happens as he plans it he will simply sit back and say "See I told you so, Obama's America caused this"

It's everyone's America regardless of race and everyone is responsible for how they react and I hope no one falls in line to support this Rush idiot, but there are those hard core conservative that can't think without being told what to think. I know I almost married one.

Christina

Christina
by Cole Scott