Sunday, January 24, 2010

You Can't Say That!: A Lesson In Crime-Speak


I picked up a liberal little book called, "They Said What?" by Jim Hunt, which the editor of The Progressive, Matthew Rothschild, describes as "a compendium of reactionary statements by American officials. Outragous in content, pitchy in style, the quotations reveal the long history of jingoism, racism, exism, and elitism that so mars our country. You want the evidence? Here it is." on the back cover.
Well, anyhow it's a collection, mostly, of quotes from Woodrow Wilson and TR era type politicians identifying difficult, impolite, un-PC truths about race, gender, intelligence, culture, and the like. Hunt makes use of the changing mores surrounding the word "negro". Many quotes within the small book would be prefectly unremarkable if you merely replace the word black with "negro". They are saying all the crucial difficult things that we are not allowed to say today thanks to the likes of Mr. Hunt and are dying as a nation because of it. For instance, coincedentally, the first quote i flipped the book open to see was the following quote from Woodrow Wilson's Secterary of State, Robert Lansing discussing a subject that has boomranged its way back into the forefront of American news media: Hiati and why the Dominican Republic is so much richer than it.


"It is well to distinguish at once between the Dominicans and the Haitians. the former, while in many ways not advanced far enough for the highest type of self goverment, yet have a preponderance of white blood and culture. The Haitians on the other hand are Negro for the most part, and, barring a very few highly educated politicians, are almost in a state of savagery and complete ignorance."


- Sectetary of State Robert Lansing, 1917.

The funny thing is that just 2 weeks ago when Haiti went nuts, i read Jared Diamond, PC as one can be, gently pointing out the exact same point Lansing points out here almost a 100 years ago about why Haiti is so poor and the Dominican Republic is so much richer and well off (cause Haiti has hardly any white blood).

Why was Lansing discussing this recently resurgent subject of the root of Haitian poverty? Because as alarmingly few people have pointed out since the Haiti earthquake America has occupied Haiti before for as long as 15 years. Woodrow Wilson got the Marines into Haiti in 1915 and they quickly came to the conclusion about Haiti (that its virtually helpless under black rule and would do better back under a French protectorate).

This is 1984 the nation we live in today, in which pointing out such things is simply against the social law.

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