And While We Are On the Subject of Race......

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varangianguard | 04/08/2008 - 07:51 |  McCain was in the Navy

Not the most progressive service (back then). Kept thinking that "mess steward" was the best job fit for Black recruits. Same mindset that brought us "Tailhook".

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Lalita Amos | 04/04/2008 - 16:46 |  I'm Voting for Rebecca's Dog

I'm including a link to the video and the transcript (referred to in Sheila's post). It made my head hurt:

...and here's the transcript (because it just wasn't bad enough to hear it)...

From the Daily Kos:

McCain: I voted in my first year in congress against it (from Lalita: He was 47). Then I began to learn. And I studied. And people talked to me. And I not only supported it, but I fought very hard in my own state of Arizona for recognition against a governor who was of my own party.  ...

Reporter: On Martin Luthor King, what do you mean you say you learned?

McCain: Well, I learned that this individual was a transcendent figure in American history. He deserved to be honored. And I thought it was appropriate to do so. In my home state of Arizona, I was not proud that we were one of the last states to recognize Dr. King's birthday as a holiday. And I was pleased to be part of the fight for that recognition.

Reporter: What didn't you know when you voted initially against it that you later knew when you changed your mind?

McCain: I had not really been involved in the issue. I just had not had a lot of experience with the issue. That's all. (Lalita:...the fuck! He was 32 when King was murdered. Where did he live? On an asteroid?)

Reporter: [couldn't hear question]

McCain: In Arizona, I came from the military where we are the greatest equal opportunity employer in the nation and still are. And I had just not been involved in the issue. There were issues that I had not been involved in when I was in the military, and then I went relatively quickly to being a member of Congress.

Reporter: You just didn't realize the large role in American history?

McCain: I think I just explained it about best I could. (Lalita's translation: Didn't you hear me say that I was dumb as a stump about racial matters--even in the military--one of the most disrciminating workplaces in US history? I didn't care because I didn't have to. Then, when I got into office, I still didn't. It was only after pressure mounted from the good white people of my state who were, frankly, embarassed at being one of the only states who didn't recognized a BIRTHDAY that I got off my duff and tried to get us off the hot seat.)

Reporter: It's not really an issue to be involved in, to be aware of his impact on this country, it's more of a knowledge of history.

McCain: I think you're entitled to your opinion on it and I respect your opinion on that, but I had not been involved in the issue. I had come from being in the military to running for Congress in a state that did not have a large African American population. (Lalita: so, if the only time to concern yourself about Blacks is if you see one? Again I ask...the fuck?)

I especially liked the part where he said that the wasn't aware of the issues. The military does have a greater commitment to diversity than other places. True, but that's because as the leaders of one of the largest US workplaces, it did one of the most terrible jobs in treating and paying people fairly. I just can't imagine a workplace where those who have been discriminated against...carry M-16's. That he never spoke with another Black soldier--soldiers who weren't bashful about the terrible irony that the "Black man was being drafted by the white man to go off and kill the yellow man"--I find completely stunning. We wrote songs about this shit. That he obviously didn't have Black friend who could tell him that there were "Negro" soldier who were denied the benefits of the GI Bill due to their color--like my father who, it turned out, was "accidentally" given a dishonorable discharge after his service, taking months to fix while losing out of loan monies needed to buy a house--shows me that he lives in a very different world than I do.

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Lalita L. Amos, CRC
http://www.totalteamsolutions.com/
http://totalteam.blogspot.com/

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Rebecca Vasko | 04/04/2008 - 16:09 |  Pitiful

My dog could've come up with a better response than that.

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