Oh, dear.

[fabrisse]

Representative Paul Kanjorski said (via The Washington Post's political coverage):

"We're giving relief to people that I deal with in my office every day now unfortunately," Kanjorski said. "But because of the longevity of this recession, these are people -- and they're not minorities and they're not defective and they're not all the things you'd like to insinuate that these programs are about -- these are average, good American people." [emphasis mine]

You'll be happy to know his office is affronted to think anyone could construe these remarks as racist.

From their release:
Anyone trying to politicize this issue clearly doesn't get it. Congressman Kanjorski is fighting for all Americans who are struggling. Any statement saying otherwise is grossly misinformed.

In fairness, Representative Kanjorski is trying to protect a program for homeowner mortgage help that is currently available in Pennsylvania through state funding and creating something similar nationally. He's defending it as not helping the "imprudent, the wasteful."

While I can admire him for thinking of this type of program and trying to help the unemployed, it doesn't change the fact that his remarks are, in fact, racist.

Comments

Re: I was torn on that one

[fabrisse.livejournal.com]

I agree that this is a deep underlying racism from someone who was trying to make a compassionate statement.

And two or three years ago, I might have given him a pass because he is trying to look out for people, like me, who have no savings or have depleted their savings or retirement funds just trying to find work. I get that what he's trying to have passed is a good thing.

But after RaceFail and a few other things like that, I realize that the unconscious racism is the one that people need to be called on because it's like fighting fog.

One of the elder's finished his mission last week and we ended up talking about race and poverty before he left because he couldn't understand why black people got things he didn't and it wasn't fair and it's not like it was forty years ago and...

J is a twenty-two year old. His fellow elder is Sudanese, and J thinks of his companion like a brother.

So, we're screwed IF we don't call people on these underlying assumptions, because otherwise the rising generations are not going to do any better.

Re: I was torn on that one

[alyburns.livejournal.com]

I agree wholeheartedly and have discussed this so many times. It's actually MORE important to call out those who don't realize they're racist, who don't understand how ingrained it is in them, than to call out those who acknowledge that they're racists (like skinheads).

The people who don't realize they're own prejudices are far more dangerous.