Not wanting the American people to make the connection between the border wall and white nationalism, the Republicans attempt to force racist Congressman Steve King, the wall’s biggest proponent, from the House

I guess we should just be happy that the Republicans have finally decided to turn on Republican Congressman Steve King of Iowa. While we’re congratulating Republicans for doing the right thing, though, and joining Democrats to formally condemn King on the floor of the House for questioning whether the term “white nationalist” should be considered offensive, I think it’s probably worth noting that these same Republicans who joined Democrats in voting 424 to 1 to condemn white nationalism today, and praised House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy when he announced that King had been stripped of his committee assignments, the truth is that they should have done this several years ago.

It’s not exactly been a secret that King is a white nationalist. We knew it back in 2017, when he said that, “We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies,” much to the delight of white supremacists like David Duke. And we knew it this past summer when King was caught re-tweeting Nazi sympathizers. We knew it every time he talked about the need for a wall along the southern border, and the need for “an America that’s just so homogeneous that we look a lot the same.” But the Republicans always found it within themselves to look the other way, in large part, I suppose, because they knew, if they ever wanted to run for President, they’d need to do well in the Iowa primary, and they’d need King’s support. So, in spite of his well-documented history of racist statements, which date back to his time in the Iowa State Senate in 2002, they decided as a group to bot protect and enable him.

We knew King was a white nationalist prior to the 2016 election, when Republican Senator Ted Cruz named him the national co-chairman of his ill-fated presidential campaign. And we knew King was a white nationalist after the election, when Donald Trump invited him to the White House and bragged about how much money he’d helped him raise. [King responded to Donald Trump with a smile, saying, “I market-tested your immigration policy for 14 years.”]

But, yeah, it’s good to see that the Republicans actually have a limit, and that they won’t actually continue to defend one of their own when he says to a reporter, “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” Of course, it doesn’t really take all that much courage to stand up to King now, seeing as how no Republicans in Congress will likely be challenging Trump during the Iowa primary, and the Republican Party doesn’t really need him, as they’re pretty much guaranteed that another Republican will take his place if he’s forced out. No, at this point, King’s more of a liability than an asset… a constant reminder that this wall they’re all fighting for was the idea of an anti-immigrant white supremacist.

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111 Comments

  1. Posted January 15, 2019 at 9:42 pm | Permalink

    King, for what it’s worth, says this most recent quote of his was taken out of context, and he’s calling today’s actions “an unprecedented assault on (his) freedom of speech.”

    From today’s New York Times:

    “There is no tape for this interview that I did… There is no way to go back and listen,” said the congressman, who conceded that he might have said the quoted words but challenged how they have been interpreted. “But I can tell you this: That ideology never shows up in my head. I don’t know how it could possibly come out of my mouth.”

  2. Anonymous
    Posted January 15, 2019 at 10:32 pm | Permalink

    The Desmoines Register is calling for his removal from office.

    https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/editorials/2019/01/15/steve-king-should-resign-des-moines-register-iowas-sake-white-supremacy-nationalism-immigration/2581889002/

    Congressman Steve King should resign. He has lost even the potential to effectively represent his Iowa constituents because of his abhorrent comments about white nationalism and white supremacy.

    The move by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to strip King of his committee assignments leaves Iowa without a seat on the vital House Agriculture Committee, as well as judiciary. It also leaves King with far less opportunity to work for his constituents on critically important rural development issues.

    Not that King has seemed particularly interested in working for his district in recent years. Instead of holding town-hall meetings with his constituents, King spent many congressional breaks globe-trotting to Europe and hobnobbing with hard-right, nationalist leaders.These meetings apparently served to reinforce his own warped views of cultural purity and immigration.

    King has often made Iowa a laughing stock on the national stage with his offensive and absurd remarks about undocumented immigrants, comparing them to dogs or disparaging them as drug mules with calves the size of cantaloupes.

    But it wasn’t until a few weeks before the November election that top national Republicans and corporate donors started to abandon King. That was just after the mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. It also was just after it had been revealed that King spent time on a trip funded by a Holocaust memorial organization to meet with a far-right Austrian group associated with neo-Nazis. Meanwhile, King had been under fire for tweeting his support for a Toronto mayoral candidate known for white nationalist views.

    We don’t make the argument that King should resign lightly, or based on partisan preferences. He was duly re-elected to a ninth term in November by voters who had every opportunity to recognize the Kiron Republican’s caustic, racially charged ideology related to immigration. King opened the new year by seeming to recognize a need to spend more time in Iowa: He announced a town-hall meeting in each of his district’s 39 counties.

    But then, apparently in an effort to claim credit for President Trump’s border-wall plans, he gave the New York Times what should be a career-ending quote: “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” King said to the Times. “Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?”

    He has since tried to walk back the comments, claiming the quote was taken out of context and denouncing white nationalism and white supremacy. But to no avail: National Republicans and even staunch GOP supporters in Iowa — Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst and Gov. Kim Reynolds — have expressed disgust at his original remarks.

    Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said if King doesn’t understand why “white supremacy” was offensive, he should “find another line of work.” We agree. He may as well mail a cardboard cutout of himself to Washington for all he’ll be able to accomplish if no one is willing to work with him.

    Some may argue that 4th District voters are getting what they deserve. But the entire state needs a healthy rural economy, including in King’s district, to grow and thrive. President Trump’s tariffs are a drag on farmers already buffeted by five years of low commodity prices. Iowa needs all of its delegation members working together to push for policies that will help.

    Two Republicans, state Sen. Randy Feenstra of Hull and businessman Bret Richards of Irwin, have said they plan to run in the GOP primary. A third GOP candidate is likely to announce plans soon. But that would leave a quarter of Iowa’s population without effective representation for two years. If King steps aside, it would be up to Governor Reynolds to schedule a special election for the seat.

    We don’t expect King to listen to us. But maybe he would listen to Grassley, Ernst, Reynolds and Republicans in his district. They should encourage him to step aside for the good of the Republican Party and, more importantly, for the good of Iowa.

  3. iRobert
    Posted January 15, 2019 at 10:57 pm | Permalink

    I’m here trying to imagine anything in this world that Steve King could rightfully imagine himself “supreme” over. It’s laughable. The sort of people that use the term “supremacist” are always so embarrassingly inferior in so many ways. Someone might want to tell these folks to switch to the word “separatist” instead. It’s less likely to draw immediate attention to their glaringly inferior characteristics.

    If you ever meet a so-called “white nationalist,” ask him if he’s sent his blood sample in to “23 and me” yet. If he hasn’t, encourage him to soon. You’ll be saving him a lot of embarrassment.

  4. iRobert
    Posted January 15, 2019 at 11:15 pm | Permalink

    I mean, has Steve King ever looked in a mirror?

    Uh…not the ideal.

    The guy looks like a 1922 German Nosferatu.

  5. iRobert
    Posted January 15, 2019 at 11:18 pm | Permalink

    What are those genetics supposedly superior to?

    …a 1921 German Nosferatu.

    I’m saying the guy is ugly.

  6. iRobert
    Posted January 15, 2019 at 11:31 pm | Permalink

    I mean, is all this talk of genetic supremacy effective when it’s coming out of the face of a sewer rat?

    And the guy is stupid. I mean, the US Congress has never been known for its intellect. And since Steve King’s been in, its been at its lowest in its long history in that sense. Still, somehow, in the middle of what is likely one of the dumbest Congresses, this guy manages to set himself apart by making statement so dumb even his colleagues realize they are. How is this not a demonstration of extraordinary genetic inferiority.

  7. Posted January 16, 2019 at 7:06 am | Permalink

    From someone with those looks, I don’t expect to hear talk of genetic “superiority” but rather a scratchy voice obsessing over a ring it calls its “precious!”

  8. iRobert
    Posted January 16, 2019 at 7:18 am | Permalink

    The voters in Iowa’s 4th district thought they were electing writer Stephen King , not one of the grotesque monsters from his horror novels.

  9. Kim
    Posted January 16, 2019 at 7:28 am | Permalink

    Brit Hume on Fox News says what King said does not amount to racism.

    https://www.mediamatters.org/video/2019/01/15/fox-news-brit-hume-defends-rep-steve-king-bogus-claims-racism/222538

  10. M
    Posted January 16, 2019 at 9:56 am | Permalink

    Another interesting thing to note.

    Media Matters: Rep. Rashida Tlaib cursing (saying “Impeach the motherfucker” about Trump) got 5 times more coverage on cable news than Rep. Steve King embracing white supremacy

    https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2019/01/11/rep-rashida-tlaib-cursing-got-5-times-more-coverage-cable-news-rep-steve-king-embracing-white/222504

  11. Dan Rather by proxy
    Posted January 16, 2019 at 10:21 am | Permalink

    The GOP’s recent denunciations of Rep. Steve King’s comments stand in stark contrast to the silence over similar sentiments from Pres. Trump. I would offer, however, that it is best not to grade racism on a curve.

  12. dave morris
    Posted January 16, 2019 at 1:39 pm | Permalink

    A few weeks ago, I watched “A Class Divided” on Frontline. It is about a school teacher who performed a very daring experiment in 1968 in her third grade classroom. It was the assassination of Martin Luther King that motivated her to do this. She divided the (entirely white ) class up by the color of the kids eyes and told them that blue eye people are better than brown eye people the first day, and switched it the next day. The results are both terrifying and eye opening.

    This experiment was done in Iowa, not far from Steve King’s district.

    Watching the kids return nearly 20 years later to talk about the experience had me thinking about yet another division that is not based on the color of our skin or eyes, but one of rural vs. urban and all the assumptions urban people make about rural, agrarian people… myself included.

    https://www.pbs.org/video/frontline-class-divided/

    It is an hour well spent.

  13. Dan Pfeiffer by proxy
    Posted January 16, 2019 at 3:08 pm | Permalink

    Kevin McCarthy was wrestling so deeply with Steve King’s long record of racism that his PAC gave King $10,000 last year to reelect the White Nationalist to Congress.

    https://twitter.com/danpfeiffer/status/1085629178874015744

  14. Jean Henry
    Posted January 17, 2019 at 8:49 am | Permalink

    It’s funny how people assume country people are more racist than city people. I’ve never seen any evidence of that. It’s based on the assumption that the GOP are more racist than Dems. But history tells us the Dems too will tolerate racism in their ranks and will play to racism to win elections.
    I guess if you are only going to define racism and white supremacy as open expressions of such, well then the GOP may have some edge over Dems lately (and only lately). If you however included systemic white supremacy, we all have our piece. And if you include not really giving a shit about inequity except when using it to demonize member of the opposition, well we just need to look around us. Most Black citizens moved to Dem cities long ago now. How’s that working out for them? Have they experienced a sudden burst of social advancement? Are they now on par with other ethnicities in wealth and income? in health care access? in access to education? within the judicial system? Nope,

    This idea that racism in our country is the fault of open racists is wrong. It’s super convenient to judge them morally in order to avoid looking at our own responsibility.

    Steve King should never have been elected, but he’s also not the problem. He’s convenient for those of us uninterested in looking at the problem closer to our own doorstep.

  15. Anonymous
    Posted January 17, 2019 at 8:58 am | Permalink

    How can you say that cities and rural areas are equally racist when cities elect people like AOC and rural areas elect people like Steve King, Jean? Look at the representatives elected by both parties in 2018. How many non-white Republicans do you see, Jean?

  16. John Brown
    Posted January 17, 2019 at 7:12 pm | Permalink

    All Nazis must die! Don’t fucking tread on me….

  17. Jean Henry
    Posted January 18, 2019 at 3:23 am | Permalink

    I should have said white people in cities and in rural areas are both racist (I didn’t say equally). The Dems finally got around to putting forward some candidates of color this time around. Why did it take the Dem party so long? How much support did they actually give candidates like AOC? It took the Democratic party a fuck of a long time to honor their most loyal voters (POC and women) with some damned candidates. Waaaayyy too late. The midterms were a small step in the right direction. Maybe someday we will earn the right to pride about how anti-racist Dems are. But we have excruciatingly little to hang that pride on right now. If Dems were not racist than we wouldn’t need representation by POC; their interests would have been adequately represented in Dem cities before.

    It’s painful to hear Dems point up racism with outrage while being unwilling to look at our own utter failure to address it in the most basic ways in the places we control. I’m talking about right here in this county. I’ve heard plenty of white supremacist thinking in this area. All those high achieving people think they earned their status because they were smarter and worked harder than others. That’s white supremacist thinking. So is wanting to limit growth and so gate out the poor and push out POC– which they do under behind the shield of anti-capitalist rhetoric. Look at the education and suspension gaps. The incaceration rate locally. Look at the fine escalations for POC. Talk to anyone who works at local hospitals about the quality of care and outcome differentials.
    Racism and white supremacist thinking and beliefs are not exclusive o those who express them outright.

  18. Jean Henry
    Posted January 18, 2019 at 3:31 am | Permalink

    I have a friend who is Asian who was thrilled when he moved to Wyoming to get away from the tokenism etc being foisted on him in Ann Arbor. In Wyoming, they ignored his ethnicity entirely, which was a tremendous relief. No one gave him any trouble or had expectations about him related to his ethnicity. These are people just about as rural as you can get and mostly Republican too, My friend doesn’t share their politics but neither would he give this area a pass on its own brand of racism.

  19. iRobert
    Posted January 18, 2019 at 10:56 am | Permalink

    Nobody here on MM.com needs to be convinced of the racism on the left. We’ve all made attempts to make you acknowledge yours, Jean.

  20. Jean Henry
    Posted January 20, 2019 at 11:44 pm | Permalink

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/04/28/the-most-racist-places-in-america-according-to-google/

  21. iRobert
    Posted September 5, 2019 at 8:33 am | Permalink

    Steve King a White supremacist? More like a splotchy, wrinkled, leathery, sickly grey supremacist, if any sort. This guy got a raw deal genetically. I’ve seen better faces on doorknockers. Slime mold has better lineage. He looks like something you’d find in Picasso’s garbage. This guy is gruesome even by Iowa standards. He makes David Duke look like George Clooney.

  22. dogmatic dolt
    Posted September 5, 2019 at 9:00 am | Permalink

    Aloha iRobert, “Slime mold has better lineage.” That is a bit harsh don’t you think–I mean I always figured I would be reincarnated as a slime mold.
    For those who like the horse race, the latest Morning Consult Poll of early primary states shows Tulsi tied with Mayor Pete and rapidly closing the gap between Styer and Harris. Tulsi being forced on to the sidelines in the next debate could be a real blessing. Every time folks here Harris her numbers drop, and Styer will get tired of spending his own money soon enough.

    https://morningconsult.com/2020-democratic-primary/

  23. iRobert
    Posted September 5, 2019 at 9:23 am | Permalink

    You’re right DD. I’m sorry. I meant no offense to slime mold.

    But you have to admit, Steve King looks like his DNA was dropped in a blender. He looks like something Norwegian researchers would unthaw from the Antarctic ice in a John Carpenter movie.

  24. Anonymous
    Posted September 5, 2019 at 10:22 am | Permalink

    Where are HW and FF? Don’t they need to come in and convince us that Steve King is as wholesome as you could ask for?

  25. Frosted Flakes
    Posted September 5, 2019 at 10:45 am | Permalink

    I’m sorry to disappoint you Anonymous but I have invested zero time into getting to know anything about Steve King and this article happens to be 9 months old. Generally speaking: I think white nationalism is a dumb idea; I also think racists are dangerous idiots and should be ridiculed out of existence and out of positions of power. If Steve King fits the bill then I support the ridicule of him 100%.

    However, idiots come in a variety of different packages. Who else ought to be classified as dangerous idiots? Who else should be ridiculed out of existence and out of positions of power? Answer: People like you, Anonymous, who, have a track record of using lame tactics, in order to attempt to smear people, by using canned-innuendo which has zero connection to reality.

    You should be ashamed of yourself, Anonymous.

  26. Lynne
    Posted September 5, 2019 at 2:37 pm | Permalink

    How come I just know FF doesn’t consider himself a target worthy of ridicule no matter how many racist things he says or racists he supports. I am totally down with ridiculing the likes of FF, Nick Sandmann, and Steve King. I don’t think it will help though. My observation is that few people have any good self-awareness of their biases. Yes, myself included.

  27. anonymous
    Posted September 5, 2019 at 2:53 pm | Permalink

    HW is kind of funny. EOS and FF are never funny, ever. There are a lot of Anonymouses and the are all funnier the EOS and FF. Lynne is sometimes funny. stupid hick and iRobert and Jean Henry are never funny. Mark Maynard is funnier than everyone. John Galt is sometimes funny. The dolt is rarely funny. John Brown is often pretty funny. it might be funnier to ridicule the people who aren’t funny.

  28. dogmatic dolt
    Posted September 5, 2019 at 3:09 pm | Permalink

    Aloha anonymous, I am sure I am funnier than John Brown. I mean look how I set up iRobert up above on the “slime mold” comment. We can’t all have zingy one liners, I’ve always seen myself as the set-up straight guy, Dick to Tom Smothers, Cheech to Chong ( you get the humor ?)

  29. anonymous
    Posted September 5, 2019 at 3:23 pm | Permalink

    dolt, you’re right, that was pretty funny.

  30. iRobert
    Posted September 5, 2019 at 5:33 pm | Permalink

    Anonymous hurts the most feelings, but ain’t gonna kill my dreams of being a superstar stand-up comedian. Some day soon my ship will come in.

  31. Frosted Flakes
    Posted September 5, 2019 at 7:48 pm | Permalink

    Add Lynne to the list of idiotic and unethical people who should be ridiculed out of existence and ridiculed out of positions of power because she also has a long track record of using baseless innuendo, which is not connected to reality, in her attempt to tactically smear others. Essentially Lynne is a liar.

    She claims I say many racist things. Great! If Lynne wants to prove she is not a liar then she should be able to give one example of me saying something racist. Why doesn’t Lynne offer one example? Answer: Lynne will not offer an example because she has no examples. Lynne is liar.

  32. iRobert
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 6:50 am | Permalink

    I think the belief is that everyone is racist, except for a certain group of like-minded people. And when I say “like-minded” it doesn’t mean the people in the group have thought anything through. It’s more of a reference to a set of similar expressions, attitudes and assertions which by their very nature have to remain unexplained. Because attempting to explain any of it reveals the inherent contradictions within it and undermines the imagined agreement.

    It’s more like a clique to which you can never belong, FF. You’re an outsider because we say so. When and if you decide to join us, you’ll have to stop questioning, adopt our expressions and language, and then and only then will we be willing to consider removing your designation as a racist. If you relapse into asking questions or use any unapproved language, you’re back outbon your ass you fucking racist.

  33. iRobert
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 7:09 am | Permalink

    What I meant to say is “you’re back out on your ass you fucking racist.”

    But now I want to apologize for that. For a moment there I thought I’d try to win some favor with the clique by calling someone a racist. I forgot that I was excluded from the clique a while back. Jean and Lynne kicked me out because I couldn’t keep up with the changing language and fashion of the clique.

  34. dogmatic dolt
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 8:06 am | Permalink

    Aloha iRobert and Lynn, Did a google search of clique. It almost seems that your use of the term is sexist. Though the search showed clique used in other circumstances, the overwhelming majority of returns dealt with “female cliques”. Many of them associated with young women in their adolescents.
    Growing up in the dark ages, I witnessed “cliques” both male and female. Being the kind of dolt that I am, I was mainly excluded. My simplistic response was to form a “gang”–notice how masculine that sounds. Of course being young testosterone driven creatures we did lots of stupid shit–I wonder, perhaps our resident intellectuals can explain, what is it about the introduction of hormones that cause exclusionary behavior? Then of course we have our gun culture–just the thing for young testosterone driven men to want to emulate.

    When did Lynn get rehabilitated by the way? I have my disagreements with her, but it seemed like the clique had kicked her out a while back–recruiting folks who had been kicked out of the socials, jock and frat cliques was how we built up our gang of freaks and gear heads. So Lynn, despite or maybe because of our differences, you can join our gang–I’m calling it FSM (future slime molds). We can get jackets, and Lynn since you get to join, you pick the color scheme (I know it is sexist to think that because you are a woman you will have a better since of color and style than the males gang members–but it is probably true).
    Notice how I didn’t invite iRobert. He is far too intellectual to fit into this gang of misfits.

  35. iRobert
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 8:12 am | Permalink

    I don’t get the humor, so I’m going to say you’re not funny.

  36. anonymous
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 8:46 am | Permalink

    cliques can be pretty funny.

  37. anonymous
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 8:50 am | Permalink

    I’ve taken the time to arrange anonymous’s assessments of who’s funny and how funny they are into a list ranking everyone from funniest to not at all funny. I hope this helps.

    1) “Mark Maynard is funnier than everyone.”
    2) “John Brown is often pretty funny.”
    3) “HW is kind of funny.”
    4) “Lynne is sometimes funny.”
    4) “John Galt is sometimes funny.”
    6) “The dolt is rarely funny.”
    7) “There are a lot of Anonymouses and the are all funnier the EOS and FF.”
    8) “stupid hick and iRobert and Jean Henry are never funny.”
    11) “EOS and FF are never funny, ever.”

  38. Anonymous
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 9:07 am | Permalink

    Humorless. Better description of FF and EOS.

  39. iRobert
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 9:32 am | Permalink

    GOP REP: I DRANK TOILET WATER AT MIGRANT CAMP: Rep. Steve King (R-IA) bragged this week that he drank water out of a toilet at a border detention facility, apparently making the point that immigrants detained by the U.S. enjoy good conditions even if the water fountains in their cells are broken. ‘I took a drink out of there and it was actually pretty good.’ King, who has openly defended white nationalism, is holding a town hall in Onawa, IA. (via American Bridge)

  40. Jean Henry
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 10:08 am | Permalink

    funny is a weird word.

  41. Jean Henry
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 10:19 am | Permalink

    “I think the belief is that everyone is racist, except for a certain group of like-minded people.”– iRobert

    This is an inaccurate characterization of my viewpoint. My view (which is not my own)–Within structural racism (which is both cultural and systemic racism) everyone has absorbed racial bias (this has been well shown in implicit bias studies), much of it is unconscious bias. I wouldn’t call Black people racist personally. I wouldn’t call most people racist, but that doesn’t mean that some of what they say, think and do are not expressions of our white supremacist culture and legacy.

    You, iRobert, are turning discussions of race into a divisive us v them thing. It seems to be the only way you can see it. All to avoid the shame we must all acknowledge– that we all play a role in systemic racism and we are all responsible for addressing it within our own belief systems.

  42. Hyborian Warlord
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 10:25 am | Permalink

    But you don’t think it is racist to attack white people…because they are white. How do you live with the cognitive dissonance? You parse words to bits and say “That’s not racism, that’s bigotry. That’s something else.” A rose by any other name is still a what?

  43. iRobert
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 10:37 am | Permalink

    I didn’t characterize your viewpoint. I characterized the way people’s actions are playing out. A person can suggest their behavior is the expression of a viewpoint but the reality is that behavior speaks for itself. I was describing how the behavior is like that of a clique.

    I agree with most of what you say about institutional racism. But it looks to me that for the most part you’re just using your awareness of such things to justify clique-like behavior and expression.

  44. iRobert
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 10:51 am | Permalink

    “You, iRobert, are turning discussions of race into a divisive us v them thing.” – Jean Henry

    Project much? Your lack of self-awareness is stunning. You also seem to make comments very impulsively. Haven’t I made it obvious that to me you’re all “them” and the only “us” is me, at least here on this blog that’s the reality I project. I don’t know how you haven’t noticed that.

  45. iRobert
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 11:17 am | Permalink

    For the record, none of you are allowed in my Clique here…not even Mark. I might even say, especially not Mark. I don’t expect that FF will ever be able to meet the absurd (and ever changing) supposed requirements to being admitted to your clique of non-racist or racism-free cool kids. I just wanted to prepare him for that grave disappointment.

  46. anonymous
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 11:19 am | Permalink

    iRobert somehow just got even less funny. I thought that impossible.

  47. Jean Henry
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 11:23 am | Permalink

    IRobert- I understood that you weee speaking more broadly of the perspective of a group that includes me.
    I spoke of my perspective only because I don’t want to speak for others.
    As for projection, HW, it’s common for many to think any discussion of racism is divisive, and to then project, from their discomfort, divisive intent or impact on those who talk about it. Racism in and of itself is divisive. And it was invented by white people with the intention to divide. And the people who most often seem to think talking about it is creating it are white people. That’s interesting.

    I rarely call a person a racist. I point out statements and actions that I think are racist in impact or origin or both. You call other people racist all the time.

    But I’m being divisive.

    I guess that’s what anonymous means when he says you are funny.

  48. Jean Henry
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 11:26 am | Permalink

    Second paragraph was intended to be directed at HW, not I Robert. Although IRobert also calls me racist if I recall correctly. Maybe just divisive. The fire I draw here just becomes a blur after a while.

  49. iRobert
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 11:31 am | Permalink

    “Racism in and of itself is divisive. And it was invented by white people with the intention to divide.” – Jean Henry

    Racism was invented by white people. Wow.

  50. anonymous
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 11:32 am | Permalink

    I think white people invested mental illness too.

  51. anonymous
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 11:33 am | Permalink

    White people invested mental illness to make other people look bad.

  52. anonymous
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 11:34 am | Permalink

    White people invented auto-correct to make me look illiterate.

  53. iRobert
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 11:39 am | Permalink

    I think a black guy probably invented racism and then had the idea stolen by white people, in the same way rock-and-roll was.

  54. dogmatic dolt
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 12:42 pm | Permalink

    Aloha JH, “It’s ok, Mom. You’re good at other things than computers.” I asked him what that might be. He replied, “Hunting and gathering.”
    I thought that was pretty funny

  55. iRobert
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 12:59 pm | Permalink

    A lot of people don’t know this but humor was invented by a black guy sometime in the mid to late 1800s, but it didn’t become popularized until a white guy named Samuel Clemens picked up on the idea and ran with it. Now he gets all the credit. You know that white guy by the pen name Mark Twain.

  56. Jean Henry
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 3:24 pm | Permalink

    IRobert— you really need to read up a bit. This is not new information. It’s not even new analysis. There’’s established history, including anthropologicL texts that try to establish a racial hierarchy. The idea of who is ‘white’ has changed over time. 150 years ago Italians and Irish were considered not White. I would suggest two books that thoroughly review the history, both written by Black women— ‘The New Jim Crow’ and ‘A History of White people.’ These are not radical texts. They are written by scholars.

    It’s just strange when you express shock at statements I make that are widely accepted. I’m not making any of this up. And my sources are rarely radical.

    DD— that was my son being funny. I disagree with most posters here, so while I often find them funny, it’s rare when they intend to be so. To Crack jokes here a bit like making jokes about Trump. What’s the point? You’ll never Vegas funny as the real thing.

  57. Jean Henry
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 3:29 pm | Permalink

    DD– I laughed about that but then whenever my decent foraging or outdoor skills are evident or whenever I flip a thrift store purchase for big $$, my son reminds be that he was right.

  58. iRobert
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 3:32 pm | Permalink

    DD, did you know white people invented racism?

    How about you, Mark? Were you aware of that?

    Lynne, are you also on board with this?

  59. iRobert
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 3:36 pm | Permalink

    This is big, Mark! Don’t you think you should at least write one post explaining how white people invented racism? Why would you skirt around such a stunning discovery such as that?

  60. iRobert
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 3:42 pm | Permalink

    I assume white people invented war and even violence itself. Maybe DD can verify that for us.

  61. Jean Henry
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 4:49 pm | Permalink

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_History_of_White_People

  62. Jean Henry
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 4:57 pm | Permalink

    The idea of the racial superiority of people of European ancestry is a relatively new concept even among Western Europeans and Americans. There have always been slaves and war and ethnic identities and even bias, but the idea of racial superiority is a new one and it was constructed and then re-enforced with intention. It plays to conventional bias but goes well beyond it by first attaching bias to skin color and then codifying that superiority into law, all manner of scholarship and culture (3/5 a person… etc) .

    You are so steeped in our racist culture iRobert. that you can’t imagine a time when racial identity did not matter. It has not always been there. White people invented it because they had seized great power and wanted to keep it. Had another ethnicity risen to such great power via conquest, they may have invented it too, but structured it differently.

  63. Jean Henry
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 5:03 pm | Permalink

    My efforts are the opposite of divisive iRobert. I seek to end racial divisions. You just don’t see the North Star I’m aiming for

    “Eliminating the binary definition of whiteness — the toggle between nothingness and awfulness — is essential for a new racial vision that ethical people can share across the color line. Just as race has been reinvented over the centuries, let’s repurpose the term “abolitionist” as more than just a hashtag. The “abolition” of white privilege can be an additional component of identity (not a replacement for it), one that embeds social justice in its meaning. Even more, it unifies people of many races.”

    https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/21/opinion/sunday/what-is-whiteness.html

  64. Jean Henry
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 5:07 pm | Permalink

    Here’s a video you can watch if reading wikipedia summaries proves too taxing.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxnVKIrslkM

  65. dogmatic dolt
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 5:09 pm | Permalink

    Aloha iRobert, If you believe the Cain and Abel story it is obvious that white folks invented interpersonal violence. Organized warfare is a little different, but I think white folks can lay claim to that as well. They recently discovered the remains of the oldest battlefield ever discovered. Guess what, it is in Europe.

    https://www.livescience.com/60739-europe-oldest-battlefield-yields-secrets.html

    Now I am sure the Han folks (at least 1 in 5 people on the planet) will tell me I am full of shit,and just a dolt. As everything was invented by some Han innovator and white folks are just johnny come lately.

  66. iRobert
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 5:19 pm | Permalink

    Then does that mean EOS believes this too?

    This is awesome, Mark. I have to admit, I didn’t realize how interesting tou blog’s comment section had become. This is going to be so much fun.

    Oh, and let me take a moment to apologize in advance.

  67. Jean Henry
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 5:32 pm | Permalink

    EOS and HW’s seems to be that if we pretend racism is created by categories and all we have to do is stop acknowledging those categories to make it go away. That’s not what I believe at all. See implicit bias. See our current President. See all the manifestations of living in a still white supremacist country. I DO think however that we want the same result. I believe they are sincere as are most people here in wanting to end the legacy of racism in our country. I just think it’s a lot harder to accomplish than they do. And I think the evidence is with me.

    I’m happy you are finally managing to learn something from this blog comment section.

  68. Jean Henry
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 5:34 pm | Permalink

    Ack! bad edit there. “EOS and HW’s perspective seems to be that if racism is created by categories, then all we have to do is stop acknowledging those categories to make it go away.”

    Actually, a lot of people here seem to believe that to a greater or lesser extent, including you, iRobert.

  69. iRobert
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 5:39 pm | Permalink

    No, that’s not what I believe. That’s also not what I perceive others here to believe either. But I may not be fully informed of what they believe exactly. Hopefully I can get some clarification from some of them.

  70. iRobert
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 6:01 pm | Permalink

    By the way DD, The Battle of Megiddo in the15th century BC is the earliest known and sufficiently documented. Not that I don’t appreciate what you’re trying to do.

  71. Hyborian Warlord
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 6:05 pm | Permalink

    “it’s common for many to think any discussion of racism is divisive”

    But I don’t think that. I made a specific point that had nothing to do with this. I know your lawyer gene compels you to do what you do but you need to get a handle on it if you want to communicate properly.

  72. Hyborian Warlord
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 6:11 pm | Permalink

    “EOS and HW’s perspective seems to be that if racism is created by categories, then all we have to do is stop acknowledging those categories to make it go away.”

    Another way to say the same wrong thing. I do think individuals transcend “categories” but show what I ever said that indicates I want to stop acknowledging them or make them go away? Not sure the extent to which they are useful but how do I deny them?

  73. iRobert
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 6:12 pm | Permalink

    I have to agree with anonymous…HW can be very funny sometimes. His shtick suggesting Jean could be a lawyer is hilarious.

  74. iRobert
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 6:15 pm | Permalink

    On a completely unrelated subject…

    Mark, would you be interested in being interviewed for a story I’m working on?

  75. Hyborian Warlord
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 6:26 pm | Permalink

    Jean actually is the product of two lawyers who I theorize mastered the art of influencing juries by insinuation and manipulation. It’s so ingrained in Jean she has no idea she does it at all.

  76. iRobert
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 6:36 pm | Permalink

    The funny thing is that they rendered her incapable of being a lawyer.

  77. iRobert
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 6:40 pm | Permalink

    Judges and intelligent jurors don’t respond well to folks making their arguments by pulling shit out of their asses.

  78. Sad
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 6:58 pm | Permalink

    Talk about racist.

    Did you see that Johnny Depp Indian thing?

    Luckily Mayor Pete will help us turn the corner.

    He just put out his first TV commercial.

  79. iRobert
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 7:08 pm | Permalink

    Sad,

    Yeah, Depp really stepped in it this time.

    I haven’t seen the Pete ad. Will you give us a link?

  80. Jean Henry
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 7:22 pm | Permalink

    My dad’s a lawyer. My mom is an adult literacy educator. They have no influence outside of a small mostly broke town in Pennsylvania. My dad’s hometown. And mine. There aren’t too many women lawyers my mom’s age., but she would have been a terrible one.

  81. Jean Henry
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 7:25 pm | Permalink

    Please note I qualified my perception of HW and EOS’ position with ‘seems to be.’ I’m happy to be wrong.

    iRobert– I provided documentation and sources for my position. You pulled your comments out of your ass, not me.

  82. Frosted Flakes
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 7:28 pm | Permalink

    Jean Henry
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 5:34 pm | Permalink
    Ack! bad edit there. “EOS and HW’s perspective seems to be that if racism is created by categories, then all we have to do is stop acknowledging those categories to make it go away.”
    Actually, a lot of people here seem to believe that to a greater or lesser extent, including you, iRobert.

    Thanks for sharing your perceptions. We should do a little survey to see if your perceptions are in line with reality.

    #nope

  83. Sad
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 7:32 pm | Permalink

    Wait.

    I didn’t even rank on the funny list?

    Reality? Give me break FF.

    What do you know about my reality?

  84. Jean Henry
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 7:52 pm | Permalink

    If the crew of regular commenters here thinks I’m out of line with their perception of reality, I’m going to feel very fine about that.

  85. iRobert
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 8:08 pm | Permalink

    Jean, your “documentation” was a couple of nutjobs who happen to have degrees. Lots of lunatics have degrees. It’s not sane to even imagine white people invented racism, or war, or violence. All of those things have been present through humanities entire existence, as had idiocy and insanity. The very notion that these things were “invented” by some particular “race” is absurd on the very face of it. You really might want to talk to a psychiatric professional.

  86. Frosted Flakes
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 8:10 pm | Permalink

    We get insight into your reality after you take the survey, Sad.

  87. iRobert
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 8:17 pm | Permalink

    It was anonymous who didn’t include you on the list of who’s funny. I would have ranked you somewhere in the middle only because you put so little effort into your routine. And what are you complaining about anyway? EOS. FF JH, SH and I were all zeros on the funny meter.

  88. iRobert
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 8:22 pm | Permalink

    Everyone here should read my college thesis, “A History of Insane People”

    It’s the documentation which supports everything I say here.

  89. iRobert
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 9:13 pm | Permalink

    DD,

    The wiki post on prehistoric warfare is a helpful read:
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prehistoric_warfare

  90. iRobert
    Posted September 6, 2019 at 9:16 pm | Permalink

    From that wiki page:

    “The most ancient archaeological record of what could have been a prehistoric massacre is at the site of Jebel Sahaba, committed by the Natufians against a population associated with the Qadan culture of far northern Sudan. The cemetery contains a large number of skeletons that are approximately 13,000 to 14,000 years old, almost half of them with arrowheads embedded in their skeletons, which indicates that they may have been the casualties of warfare.[11][12] It has been noted that the violence, if dated correctly, likely occurred in the wake of a local ecological crisis.[13]”

  91. Frosted Flakes
    Posted September 7, 2019 at 2:39 am | Permalink

    I do dispute my low placement on the funny scale.

    FWIW, I enjoy iRobert’s jokes. He is the funniest here by a wide margin. His jokes often reveal an underlying truth.

    Mark has the capability to be very funny but he sort of lost his sense of humor a few years ago.

    I think it is worth reflecting on why comedy amongst average Dems is in such shambles….

  92. Frosted Flakes
    Posted September 7, 2019 at 2:50 am | Permalink

    Oops, I meant to say I don’t dispute those people who think I am never funny.

  93. Frosted Flakes
    Posted September 7, 2019 at 3:59 am | Permalink

    I am curious who/what other people find funny. My favorites are:

    Chapelle
    Key and Peele
    Cohen Bros movies
    Samantha Bee
    Colbert before he lost his mojo
    Larry David
    Wanda sykes
    Louis CK

  94. dogmatic dolt
    Posted September 7, 2019 at 7:48 am | Permalink

    Aloha Sad, I also thought it was a travesty that you did not make the funny list. I was waiting for you to say some thing. You might have been thankful to have been left off. Having been excluded from cliques as a kid and adolescent I have a real need to be included in any list. I am sure there is a pycho-medical term to describe my psychosis. I thought you might suffer from the opposite ie. the desire to stay off every list imaginable. It is good to know you are more on my side of the spectrum-and felt slighted. I actually think you are funnier than me. But then again I actually think there are people old enough on this blog to remember the Smothers Brothers.

  95. Sad
    Posted September 7, 2019 at 8:05 am | Permalink

    Yes. I’m usually at the top of any list.

    So I was surprised.

    I think EOS, HW and FF are the funniest. Not because they try but because the things they pull out and let fly are always amusing. They are a lot like Louis CK.

    iRobert is funny in a sad pathetic way with his claims of mass social political conspiracies.

    JH and Lynne are never funny. The revolution is too serious.

    Stupid Hick was funny. Very Ypsilanti. Very Hew-Haw.

    Mark is funny in a Woody Allen kind of way. Can we mention Woody Allen?

  96. Sad
    Posted September 7, 2019 at 8:11 am | Permalink

    I haven’t been around much because I’ve been so busy bundling for a Mayor Pete.

    That young man is going to have a lot of money.

    Biden seems ready to choke on his own foot any day now. Bernie seems exhausted. Warren has slid so far to the left that she seems like a Marxist. Plus that woman issue. Leaving Pete.

    Who would have thought a gay kid from Indiana would be our only hope?

  97. Jean Henry
    Posted September 7, 2019 at 8:14 am | Permalink

    Never funny here, SAD. The revolution has a lot of humor. It just doesn’t play to this crowd. I’m not going to play the clown to this group because they already put enough effort into diminishing me. I was thinking actually of Dave Chappelle and how he left his show because he heard people laughing in the wrong way during his send ups of racists tropes. My guess is FF would be among them.

  98. dogmatic dolt
    Posted September 7, 2019 at 10:07 am | Permalink

    Aloha, I’ve been sloughing off on my putin puppet duties recently. In an attempt to get back in vlads good graces I provide this link for your edification and enlightenment.

    http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/52213.htm

    Stephan Cohen is one of those folks who has an established track record of credible and reasonable analysis based on facts. Worth thinking about some of the possible consequences he presents. Also remember as HW never fails to point out, 2+2=5.

  99. iRobert
    Posted September 7, 2019 at 11:08 am | Permalink

    Jean has actually gotten a few excellent quips off that I’ve seen. A few of them were quite extraordinary. When I say Jean was born without a sense of humor I’m joking, of course.

    Sad is a terrible underachiever when it comes to humor, and in many other ways. I suppose that’s related closely to his being sad. I can tell he’s got great potential but just chooses to opt out, take the easy path or the low road. I can certainly relate to that attitude.

  100. Sad
    Posted September 7, 2019 at 11:47 am | Permalink

    I bet HW would be great at knock knock jokes.

  101. John Brown
    Posted September 7, 2019 at 2:29 pm | Permalink

    JB checking in from an undisclosed ice cave in Canuckastan. Just finished a 2 day firearms course required by all persons to even possess a basic shotgun or rifle. Nazis are much rarer up here, but I am always on the lookout for Boris and Natasha. And if I catch that porcupine chewing on my camp again he is so screwed…once the extended waiting period and glacial paperwork clears.

  102. Frosted Flakes
    Posted September 7, 2019 at 2:55 pm | Permalink

    “I was thinking actually of Dave Chappelle and how he left his show because he heard people laughing in the wrong way during his send ups of racists tropes. My guess is FF would be among them.”

    Jean thinks I would find racist language funny? I don’t think Jean really thinks that is true. She just saw an opportunity to practice one of her typical smear tactics. She does not deal with facts. She deals in innuendo.

    I appreciate Chappelle because he is highly intelligent, interesting, and perceptive. He often uncovers something truthful in a humorous way… Chappelle is a very wise person.

    Why do you insist on being such a scumbag Jean?

  103. Jean Henry
    Posted September 7, 2019 at 3:03 pm | Permalink

    It’s special just for you, FF.

  104. Frosted Flakes
    Posted September 7, 2019 at 3:06 pm | Permalink

    I do remember saying I think your heroes would not want to have anything to do with you. You haven’t brought up Arendt in a very long time.

  105. Sad
    Posted September 7, 2019 at 3:33 pm | Permalink

    Yeah, but is it OK for Kevin Hart to pick on Lil Nas like that?

    That’s the question?

  106. Frosted Flakes
    Posted September 7, 2019 at 3:54 pm | Permalink

    Did you listen to the conversation Pete had with Charlemagne a couple of mornings ago? I thought it was a good conversation that applied to this thread. Worth listening to if you did not hear it already.

  107. Frosted Flakes
    Posted September 7, 2019 at 4:57 pm | Permalink

    They talked about Lil Nas X and Kevin Hart. Charlemagne didn’t seem to understand the controversy at first or was playing devils advocate… Pete likened KH’s words to be like when someone says “I don’t see color”. On the other hand, Pete also talked about democracy and the idea that as a gay person, he can get votes not only from allies, potentially, but also he can potentially get votes from people who “don’t care” he is gay. It did not come across as wishy-washy. Pete is capable of thinking in layers and communicating clearly, imo. Pete is a decent and intelligent person. We could do much worse. At this rate he has no chance to win, however. His zero chance to win has more to do with the people that would support him if it fell to him. The average Dem who would support Pete is so fucking lost and repulsive…

    These are my opinions…

  108. Sad
    Posted September 7, 2019 at 5:48 pm | Permalink

    ”The average Dem who would support Pete is so fucking lost and repulsive… “

    Hey. that’s me you’re talking about.

    You really are a mean one FF.

  109. anonymous
    Posted September 7, 2019 at 6:17 pm | Permalink

    Humorless.

  110. Frosted Flakes
    Posted September 7, 2019 at 6:18 pm | Permalink

    Oops, I am sorry Sad. I worded that poorly. I wasn’t trying to say I think you are repulsive. I also don’t think everyone who would support Pete if it fell to him are necessarily repulsive either. I was just trying to throw out my very biased opinion that I think there is a high number of average Democrats that are repulsive to many on the left and right….To win Dems need a leader that is able to lead those Democrats toward self-critique. Tulsi is a possibility. I see a little bit of it in Pete too but not enough, I think.

    Just my opinions.

  111. iRobert
    Posted September 8, 2019 at 7:12 pm | Permalink

    He’s right FF. That was a bit too honest.

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