This is the most racist campaign ad I have ever seen.

[groph]

I don't see what's racist about it, and learning English/Spanish is generally a good idea if you want to move to a country whose two official languages are English and Spanish.

Also the tags this thread has: "dick in sister" "southern inbreeding" do nothing to really help.

EDIT: Alright, apparently there is no federalized official language, but this guy still isn't racist. And also, saying stupid bullshit like "This guy might as well be saying THIS IS MURRIKA, IF YOU DUN LIKE IT THEN YOU CAN GIT OUT YEEEHAW" is just a retarded stereotype of the South and a generalization of all Republicans. It's also a personal attack which really isn't much of an argument at all.

 

[eaeolian]

I really don't see this ad as reinforcing that anti-immigrant mindset, clearly you do though. Clearly your reality and mine differ vastly.

Taking his statement out of the context of national (and, I'm sure, state, though I'm not as familiar on that level) politics and strictly semantically parsing it is about as ridiculous as it gets, so you're either naive or willingly blind. Nothing happens in a vacuum, especially in politics, and virtually every political ad is a play on emotion.

Of course, my bet is that you're not really that naive, and you just like to stir up shit in internet forums. But, hey, that's just my reality.

 

[daemon barbeque]

You cannot learn English in the U.S, not in the Southern Everyday Life at least. Even the guy on the Link from mmr is clear that this Language is not English
Joking aside, I agree that people should learn the Language of the country they are moving in. But how many Mexican/Hispanic people live in the south? How can you call a city New Mexico, and await people o speak in American (English) ?LOL

Is the guy Racist "You Betcha"

 

[vampiregenocide]

Man, American campaign ads are so unbelievably gay. Here, we just have a guy sitting there chatting about what they could do for our country, you guys have to make it all emo and shit with cheesy piano backing and dramatic pauses.

 

[synrgy]

And also, saying stupid bullshit like "This guy might as well be saying THIS IS MURRIKA, IF YOU DUN LIKE IT THEN YOU CAN GIT OUT YEEEHAW" is just a retarded stereotype of the South and a generalization of all Republicans. It's also a personal attack which really isn't much of an argument at all.

Okay, first of all, I tried pretty hard to distinguish when I was voicing an opinion (even prefacing it by saying it was my own prejudice) from when I was making an actual point or argument, but you seem to have ignored almost all I said because that little quip bothered you so much.

Now then, let's break it down a little bit. When's the last time YOU heard ANY politician say ANYTHING about the DMV, let alone using a theoretical DMV issue as an actual campaign platform? Can I assume never? I just ask because I've lived in this country my whole life, (won't catch me weighing in on, say, Canadian politics...) and I've never heard it happen before.

The DMV isn't part of our lives we ever thought of as being a political battleground. It's simply the 7th Circle of Hell where we go to stand in line for 6 hours just to be told nonchalantly that we don't have the correct forms.

Point being, there's a growing xenophobic trend in American media* right now, and to say that this guy's apparent crusade against the DMV translators and the citizens they provide services to isn't part of it seems rather obtuse to me.

So, I'll tell you what: I'll concede that perhaps this guy isn't a racist, but if he isn't a racist himself it's blatantly obvious that he's trying to pander to a xenophobic demographic (Hey, it worked in Delaware!) in order to gain political power for himself, which is arguably even more despicable than being a racist himself.

Let's be clear about DMV rules nationwide: If you're not here legally, you cannot even apply for a license, let alone take any tests. So, that means that the people this guy wants to fuck with are either:

1. US citizens
2. Foreigners here on work visas or employment authorization cards [which means they are here to work a specific job and we REALLY need them -- trust me, it's REALLY difficult to get a work visa if you just want to wait tables or bag groceries for a few years. These people are engineers, scientists, doctors, etc.]
3. Refugees
4. Students
5. Spouses/civil union partners of US citizens

Not even foreigners here legally on tourist visas can get licenses.

Non-US Citizen FAQs - Division of Motor Vehicles, NH DOS

THAT'S who this proposed legislation effects. Not the proverbial fence-hopper who people like this guy are so fired up about, but US Citizens and foreigners who provide us with vital services and reside here legally.

I hate most politicians on principle, but what I really can't stand are the ones who pander to and/or validate the socially regressive agendas of fringe extremists.

The biggest issue for me is still economic: Alabama's unemployment is somewhere around 10%, and this shmuck wants to erase hundreds (possibly thousands?) of jobs across his State? You tell me: How is that a good idea? How are there not more important matters to attend to?





*I would have said 'in America' but recent statistical data (no link at the moment, just something I heard on NPR -- a non-biased source I trust) suggests that the Teahadists account for less than 20% of the population, so the perception that they represent anywhere close to a majority of us is purely due to media coverage.

*edit* Also, I had nothing to do with any of the tags. I agree most of them are uncalled for.

 

[orb451]

Taking his statement out of the context of national (and, I'm sure, state, though I'm not as familiar on that level) politics and strictly semantically parsing it is about as ridiculous as it gets, so you're either naive or willingly blind. Nothing happens in a vacuum, especially in politics, and virtually every political ad is a play on emotion.

Of course, my bet is that you're not really that naive, and you just like to stir up shit in internet forums. But, hey, that's just my reality.

Whatever man, you've attacked me and my views personally in a few threads so I'm fine if the limit of your understanding of our difference of opinion rests on your view, of your reality. It sure seems as though both you and Randy share the same view on threads. That is, and correct me if I'm wrong, you're only obliged to reply if you agree with the subject matter at hand. Which is to say, a discussion is only a discussion if everyone agrees about the topic du jour.

 

[orb451]

Syn, I really don't think the DMV's requirements for getting a driver's license are as ardently adhered to as you may think. At least as it relates to being a citizen.

I'm sure in some areas they are, but I'd wager that it varies.

And where are you getting all these jobs and unemployment numbers from? I'm not arguing that Alabama may have high unemployment, I can't say, but with respect to your claim that having a DMV test in English will suddenly put hundreds or even thousands statewide out of work, where are you getting that from? Again, I ask out of curiosity and without sarcasm.

 

[Origin]

Anyone here in the USA making an effort to learn English has my respect. Those who do not try to learn English are just here as tourists, and that is fine, but I don't expect that they plan to stay here.

If it was up to me, I would not allow licensing tests, such as driving, to be offered in languages other than those that posted notices are written. Likewise, if I was in China for a visit, I wouldn't expect the Chinese authorities to allow me to drive a car, carry a weapon, or perform skilled work on the infrastructure.

Call me what you will, but I truly believe there are sound reasons to feel this way.

As far as someone from another country coming here to perform unskilled work to make money to send home, I am not thrilled about it, but I sure can't blame the person for doing this. If I could make ten times as much as I make now pulling a level in a factory in Quebec, I would be really tempted to take the opprotunity, wouldn't you n'est pas?

I forgot the double-standard aspect of expected languages in countries...thank you for reminding me, seriously okay maybe he's not a DICK for that ad, but who the fuck uses that as a platform?

 

[gunshow86de]

While this doesn't pertain directly to the original topic, I thought it would be worth sharing.

Some of you may know, but I have taken up temporary residence in Missouri for work. I drove up here from Houston, and my favorite hobby on long drives is listening to local talk radio. Now I've lived and worked in some really bigoted East Texas towns before (to give you an idea, they are within a few miles of Jasper), but I have to say central Oklahoma takes the cake for bigoted radio shows (well, in my experience so far). Verbatim, I heard a radio DJ say that "anyone engaged in homosexual behavior (he earlier had clarified that homosexuality is merely a behavior, not a sexuality that someone is born with) should be punished just like inter-venous drug users, because they pose a national health risk." This discussion continued with several callers who did nothing but agree with him. He expressed views on the other social issues of the day (immigration, etc...), but those were sort of expected and rather mild by comparison. After about 20 minutes or so, I had enough and changed the station. Guess who was on the next station? Rush Limbaugh. The sad part was, after listening to that station, old Rushy almost seemed reasonable.

 

[Customisbetter]

Black people speak English. How the fuck is this ad racist?

 

[Randy]

That is, and correct me if I'm wrong, you're only obliged to reply if you agree with the subject matter at hand. Which is to say, a discussion is only a discussion if everyone agrees about the topic du jour.

Negatory. I have little trouble debating, say, RenegadeDave. Your style of arguing involves a LOT of deliberate, willful ignorance ("Gosh, I don't know what the unemployment in Alabama is" when you could've just looked it up, etc.) just to make your point. Parts of what you say are agreeable or something that we can have an intelligent conversation about, and other parts are like... I can't even start to dignify with a response because it's totally from left (or right?)field.

As is such, I don't like steering these threads too far off-topic, as we usually do... so if you have a point I can debate you on, I'll gladly do it. If not, I won't.

 

[Randy]

Black people speak English. How the fuck is this ad racist?

1.) Not all "black people" speak English

2.) Black and white aren't the only two races on this planet worth considering, you know, especially when you're discussing IMMIGRANTS WHO CAN'T SPEAK ENGLISH.

 

[eaeolian]

Whatever man, you've attacked me and my views personally in a few threads so I'm fine if the limit of your understanding of our difference of opinion rests on your view, of your reality. It sure seems as though both you and Randy share the same view on threads. That is, and correct me if I'm wrong, you're only obliged to reply if you agree with the subject matter at hand. Which is to say, a discussion is only a discussion if everyone agrees about the topic du jour.

I think it opportunistic politics, so, hey, I don't agree with EITHER side so far. (Kinda deflates your view of me, there, doesn't it?) Creating an issue from a non-issue and using it to play against the prejudices (and fears) of a portion of the population is nothing new, although it seems to be getting increasingly vile - or, at least, the awareness of how common this practice is has been raised.

They jury is out as to the presence of racism in the candidate, at least for me, since I have no data to work with.

I'd have more respect for you if you had just said you agreed with the point, but didn't agree with the method, instead of denying the method exists. In any reality, this ad is an attempt to play on the inherently racist/xenophobic tendencies of human beings, half-hearted attempts at making look like a fiscal issue notwithstanding. We've long since determined, though, that I'm way more cynical about politics than practically everyone in this forum, which is one reason that I only chime in occasionally.

To answer Customisbetter's ridiculously naive remark, anyone can be a racist. I know black, white, Hispanic, and most definitely Japanese people that are incredibly racist.

 

[orb451]

Negatory. I have little trouble debating, say, RenegadeDave. Your style of arguing involves a LOT of deliberate, willful ignorance ("Gosh, I don't know what the unemployment in Alabama is" when you could've just looked it up, etc.) just to make your point. Parts of what you say are agreeable or something that we can have an intelligent conversation about, and other parts are like... I can't even start to dignify with a response because it's totally from left (or right?)field.

As is such, I don't like steering these threads too far off-topic, as we usually do... so if you have a point I can debate you on, I'll gladly do it. If not, I won't.

Actually I was going to ask you for the same thing. If there's a point somewhere in any of what I've written that you'd like to debate, I'm open to it. If not, let's let it go.

 

[orb451]

I think it opportunistic politics, so, hey, I don't agree with EITHER side so far. (Kinda deflates your view of me, there, doesn't it?) Creating an issue from a non-issue and using it to play against the prejudices (and fears) of a portion of the population is nothing new, although it seems to be getting increasingly vile - or, at least, the awareness of how common this practice is has been raised.

They jury is out as to the presence of racism in the candidate, at least for me, since I have no data to work with.

I'd have more respect for you if you had just said you agreed with the point, but didn't agree with the method, instead of denying the method exists. In any reality, this ad is an attempt to play on the inherently racist/xenophobic tendencies of human beings, half-hearted attempts at making look like a fiscal issue notwithstanding. We've long since determined, though, that I'm way more cynical about politics than practically everyone in this forum, which is one reason that I only chime in occasionally

At one point was I denying the method? You mean his method of what Randy called fear mongering? What you called playing for an emotional response from the audience, or rather playing to people's fears and tendencies. By the way, Eaeolian, you say you're cynical about politics, are you also as cynical about people in general? Do you have no faith in people to interpret *anything* like this and come away with a view that's not their own without thinking they're xenophobes or racists? I ask sincerely. I think what we disagree on, is the degree to which this guy's statements should be taken.

Again, it sounds like some here are reading into this guy's statements quite a bit. That's fine. That's where we disagree I guess. From his ad, and from my line of thinking, this is a *common sense* issue. To some of you, it's tantamount to kicking a hornet's nest that is the immigration (legal or not) issue.

Mind you, I'm watching this as a minority, and an immigrant. And from some of the responses on here, I know I'm not alone. Now that's not to say that I'm right and everyone else is wrong. To the contrary, I'm just saying that the ad, at face value, doesn't offend me or make me think this guy's *that* far out to lunch with his plan. Sure if this is *the* basis for his campaign, it's pretty weak. That too should go without saying. But I don't think it is. I'm sure he has, or had, other ads noting his stance on other issues, as with most candidates.

Another aspect of politics that's not being talked about is the constant one-up-manship. In California we recently had Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner both attempting to run for the Republicans' nomination for the run for governor. During their run Steve Poizner took a more *hardline* stance on immigration. Saying no amnesty, no nothing to illegal immigrants. Meg Whitman was all the while running her campaign of "me too, me too, I'm just like Steve, I don't support Amnesty, I support SB1070" etc.

All in an effort to say she was *just* as tough as Steve on illegal immigration. Well, she won the primary and is now fighting former governor Jerry Brown for the office of governor of California. And who'da thunk it, suddenly Meg is saying she's *just* like Jerry Brown on illegal immigration. That she'd NEVER support SB1070 or anything like it California, Amnesty's OK, etc etc.

So like any candidate, they're willing to say, and do, whatever it takes to get them into office. This ad to me, is more like a soft attempt to make it seem like he's hard on immigrants. I suspect other ads would do the same for their respective issues. Point being, he's doing what he thinks it takes to get him in office. And like the people pissed about Christine O'Donnell and her run in Delaware, no one has a crystal ball, yet everyone is so very sure of all the evil that will be done as soon as they get the power.

Like you said, it's opportunistic politics. And I have no opinion of you Eaeolian, don't flatter yourself. I only see you chime into these kind of threads once in a while and usually it's to voice a quick opinion and maybe tell me how laughable my view point is if anything at all, so it's pretty much all I've come to expect from you in that regard and nothing about what you as a person think or feel regarding an issue.

 

[Randy]

no one has a crystal ball

Actually, she might.

 

[vampiregenocide]

To answer Customisbetter's ridiculously naive remark, anyone can be a racist. I know black, white, Hispanic, and most definitely Japanese people that are incredibly racist.

I don't think that was his point. His point is that this campaign is against services provided to immigrants with a lack of English skills. The guy wasn't singling out a particular race, just anyone who didn't speak English, which though not the official language of the US, is the most widely spoken. It's like here, we don't allow in immigrants that don't have skills they can offer. That isn't racist, because we're not focusing on a racial aspect, just a skill that can decide how they fit into society. Someone who doesn't speak English and moves to a predominantly English-speaking country is going to be at somewhat of a disadvantage. That's why this ad isn't racist, because it doesn't focus on race.

 

[Customisbetter]

1.) Not all "black people" speak English

2.) Black and white aren't the only two races on this planet worth considering, you know, especially when you're discussing IMMIGRANTS WHO CAN'T SPEAK ENGLISH.

I have yet to meet any "racist" with a southern drawl that only hates non-black races.

EDIT:

Ross typed it out for me.

 

[mmr007]

I have yet to meet any "racist" with a southern drawl that only hates non-black races.

EDIT:

Ross typed it out for me.

well with respect, just because he doesn't attack all the races he may be against, I repeat may, doesn't mean he isn't racist. Yes, blacks speak english so while he isn't going after them in this ad, doesn't mean he isn't still racist overall. He is just choosing his targets carefully. Plus it is more politically correct to attack other races because they they can be considered "alien invaders" and "illegal" even if they aren't, they can be portrayed that way. Blacks are hard to portray as foreigners because they never immigrated here, we brought them in chains and I doubt he wants to revisit that stain on american history

and again, he may not be racist but he knows how to appeal to an electorate that is and is clearly, if not racist, xenophobic without doubt.

remember many politicians flex non core beliefs to get elected....just look at McCain and Romney, two politicians who change their mind because tides have shifted and their base is more extreme therefore they feel they have to be

 

[Customisbetter]

Eh. Its ALL assumption isn't it.