Ron Paul: Is He a Racist?

Civil Rights was an extremely important piece of business that the American People MADE happen. People, both black and white, died to insure that it would happen, and now this guy wants to repeal it?

Forget the newsletters, that's pretty racist right there.

For Dr, Paul to use the nearsighted argument that it is discriminatory to whites is not giving the issue its due respect and place in America's History.

It is essentially the same tired argument that white people use when they discuss the NAACP. 'If there was a NAAWP, then all hell would break loose.'

Yes, it would. Not because of some conspiracy against whites, but because of the Reality of the History of this Country.

Having lived his whole life in Middle America, he obviously lacks the perspective of a worldly man.

Perhaps there is no conspiracy to keep him out of the primary, he just simply isn't qualified.

There are so many different avenues of attack against Ron Paul yet they never seem to weigh him down much individually.... just by their sheer volume.

This BS, along with all the other BS spread by the ignorant and the MSM and those who have so much to loose if Dr. Paul is elected, needs to be brought to the light so the truth can be known and the BS dispelled.

Thank you to you for meeting this head on! if you are currently on FB... please message me as we are active in our support!

reply to post by jimnuggits


Exactly...

Of course he's a racist, he's a conservative, isn't he? I mean, isn't that the litmus test? If your'e not a flaming liberal dependent of the state then you must be a racist.

Take a look at the roots of the KKK. Take a look at the original attempt at civil liberties initiated by the Whig party and who opposed civil liberty reform. People will dig as deep as they have to and connect dots that don't exist in order to paint somebody as a "racist". I see that topic in a thread and I won't even bother reading it. The truth is there are just as many minority racists against whites as the other way around, so until the issue if addressed from both sides, I don't want to hear it.

Originally posted by BubbaJoe

Originally posted by Kali74
reply to post by Limbo

 

I would disagree that every person will or has been guilty of racism at some point in their lives. I can say with 100% certainty that I never have and will never be. I can only assume that I'm not so unique as to be the only person to have ever lived that hasn't or will never been racist.

As Kali74 pointed out, there are all sorts of levels of every "ism", some as simple as being fearful of driving through an inner city neighborhood after dark, could in some some circles, be classified as racist. Again, the lady who clutches her purse closer to body, because a black person walks by, could be classified the same. In both of the above examples, their racist actions do not make them bad people, but some level of racism exists. So I agree with Kali, no matter how we live our lives, I am pretty sure that every one has expressed some level of racism in thought or action.

I think you misunderstood me. Myself I would be afraid to drive in an inner city neighborhood because of high crime rates not race, here in Boston most of our neigborhoods are racially diverse and a thug is a thug be them male or female black, white, asian, hispanic etc...

My point was I don't think everyone has expressed some level of racism, I know that I haven't and I can't be the only one ever in existence.

reply to post by Kali74

since when do the vicious drug laws only affect minorities?

Statistics do show that minorities are affected by drug laws disportionately, even though use of drugs are the same through all races. So it is a valid point that he is trying to "help" minorites though reversing some drug laws

Originally posted by Kali74

Originally posted by BubbaJoe

Originally posted by Kali74
reply to post by Limbo

 

I would disagree that every person will or has been guilty of racism at some point in their lives. I can say with 100% certainty that I never have and will never be. I can only assume that I'm not so unique as to be the only person to have ever lived that hasn't or will never been racist.

As Kali74 pointed out, there are all sorts of levels of every "ism", some as simple as being fearful of driving through an inner city neighborhood after dark, could in some some circles, be classified as racist. Again, the lady who clutches her purse closer to body, because a black person walks by, could be classified the same. In both of the above examples, their racist actions do not make them bad people, but some level of racism exists. So I agree with Kali, no matter how we live our lives, I am pretty sure that every one has expressed some level of racism in thought or action.

I think you misunderstood me. Myself I would be afraid to drive in an inner city neighborhood because of high crime rates not race, here in Boston most of our neigborhoods are racially diverse and a thug is a thug be them male or female black, white, asian, hispanic etc...

My point was I don't think everyone has expressed some level of racism, I know that I haven't and I can't be the only one ever in existence.

Kali, I am sorry, it was Limbo that pointed out the different levels. I was just trying to point out some subtle levels of racism, not that these small thoughts or actions make anyone a bad person, but being afraid of someone or a group of people, because of their appearance is a form of an "ism". I made the remark earlier to someone, I have experienced it in my own life, as I am a middle aged long haired guy. I have watched people steer clear of me when I am dressed in jeans and a leather jacket, and watch them calmly walk by someone dressed in a shirt and tie.

Here in KC, our inner city is not very diverse, and comments are made all of the time about not going places after dark. This fear is nothing more than a subtle form of racism.

Originally posted by HunkaHunka

Do you realize that every time you referred to a group of people you capitalized it, except when you refered to "black" people... You even capitalized the very phrase you are opposed to "African-American".

Capitalization of a color depends on political correctness. Grammatically, I was correct. I also spelled "white" with a lower-case "w". At least I was consistent.

You also seem to miss the fact that there are as many varied and unique African American cultures as there are European cultures.... And that some of their family narratives have been defined by oppression in this nation and some have been defined by the opportunity of this nation.... This crosses color barriers.....

I didn't miss anything. I omitted them. If I included all races in my post I'd still be writing. Don't mistake brevity for anything else.

If you are an Irish American, then yes your family does know what its like to be discriminated against, and can more readily relate to the "Black experience" in that way...

I wasn't talking about discrimination, but racism. Anyone can be discriminated against for any reason. The tall against the short, the thin against the wide. In the context of our discussion, race was the topic, which has its own set of logic. So in the context of the thread no, Irish-Americans don't know what racism against them from a racial majority means.

What I find also very interesting is that you believe there is such a thing as "black music"...

I find it interesting that you create things out of whole cloth. Where on Earth did you get this idea?

All of these things are cultural and localized.... For example, my father in law can't stand rap, but he is Black... My African American friends who do enjoy rap in NY, can't stand the rap that we listen to here in Atlanta... The Black folks from the east side of Atlanta are NOTHING like the Black folks from the West End, and they are nothing like the folks from Bankhead...

This is part of what I mean about understanding the "Black experience"

edit on 12-6-2011 by HunkaHunka because: (no reason given)

Again, the "black experience" is not fully understood by someone that isn't a part of that culture. A person excluded from that culture.

/TOA

reply to post by Skerrako


Could he not find a positive example? He did it again IMO just with more subtlety.

reply to post by BubbaJoe


No worries

reply to post by BubbaJoe

I made the remark earlier to someone, I have experienced it in my own life, as I am a middle aged long haired guy. I have watched people steer clear of me when I am dressed in jeans and a leather jacket, and watch them calmly walk by someone dressed in a shirt and tie.

You hit the nail on the head. We did a psycology expiriment where we went into the apple store dressed in a ironed white t-shirt and jeans (two black men and white woman if that matters) and could barely get anyone to talk to us, but came back in polo's and kakis and were immediately asked what we were looking for and were being sold all sorts of stuff

Originally posted by MrWendal
I wish you luck and applaud your efforts to cut this off before it really gets started, but some people believe anything. If they truly believe that Ron Paul is a racist based on the fact that he thinks people should be responsible for themselves instead of asking for hand outs from Government, than they deserve to be stupid. I just hope come election day they stay stupid and stay home.

People who believe he is racist believe so on the basis on his newsletters, not thinking that people should be responsible for themselves. Comments like these say more about you than it does about the people accusing paul of being racist.

Originally posted by beezzer
Anyone who runs against The Emperor, is going to be labeled a racist.
Regardless.

Beez

That's about as true as right wingers writing off any accusations of racism against the president as playing the race card, regardless.

Self responsibility is no balm against institutional racism.

Repealing the Civil Rights act is not the solution to this pervasive institutional racism problem, nor will it level the already unlevel playing field.

The only thing that will do that is a major investment in Education, and, since Dr. Paul believes in dismantling the Department of Education, he is probably not interested in truly helping the variety of American cultures who would thrive if given that opportunity.

So, before you go running around shouting about self responsibility, perhaps you should read some history, gain some perspective, and stop making every issue seem like some switch, that you can so easily flip to fix the ills of our society.

Originally posted by Kali74
reply to post by The Old American

 

I find it very difficult to believe any politician ever lost that amount of control over their public image. A question I have is, why did he only address this when confronted with this issue? With the amount of staff a congressman has, not one of them pulled him aside and informed him of this problem? I don't buy it. Could not this base of racist supporters he has be partially attributed to these newsletters?

I'm not going to make up anything here. I don't know why this was allowed to go on for 5 years. I didn't even know who Ron Paul was back then. Hell, I didn't know much politically back then except what I was fed. I'm disappointed that this went on for so long. But since the evidence tells me that he is personally not a racist I don't believe he let it go on knowingly. Which I've already said was a failure of his. He's far from perfect, and I don't expect perfection out of anyone.

In the CNN article you linked in your OP he defends himself as being not racist with this statement...

"I am the anti-racist because I am the only candidate -- Republican or Democrat -- who would protect the minority against these vicious drug laws," he said.

since when do the vicious drug laws only affect minorities?

Drug laws unfairly affect everyone. But they affect minorities more. There is ample data on this. Don't turn that statement into anything other than what it is: that he wants drug laws overhauled, and that they affect a vast majority of the population more than others.

I find his stance on the Civil Rights Act very poor judgement, that either speaks to his naivety, or speaks to his racist beliefs. I find the Act to be upholding the Constitution where individual peoples failed to do so.

The poor judgement he has it not pandering to special interests. That's his best chance of winning the Presidential election. But he's courageously standing his ground of honesty right out there for everyone to see that the Federal government has trampled on the rights of one group to prop up the privileges of another.

Is it the right of an American to earn a wage? No, actually it's not. It's the right of an American to work to earn a wage. But it is a right for a person to own a business, protected under the 4th Amendment. But the Federal government has seen fit to trample the absolute right of the business owner to run her business how she wants over the privilege of a person that wants to earn wages. Race has nothing to do with it.

/TOA

reply to post by The Old American


For an 'Old American,' you have an extremely revisionist perception of history.

Do you really expect that, by repealing rules like 'Equal Employment' and 'the Disability Act' the Constitution would be better served?

reply to post by The Old American


But it is not the right of any american citizen to practice discrmination. By law, and rightfully so, we are not allowed to deny someone based on their race, religion or creed. It is a broad law that applies to every citizen of the United States. The Constitution did not specify race there for all races are included in protection. A white business owner is not entitled to refuse service to a black person simply because they are black, reversely a black business owner is not entitled to refuse me service simply for being white. I rather like that equal footing.

I have a question for you TOA. Say Ron Paul is elected president and he tries to repeal the The Civil Rights Act, what do you think is going to happen in our beautiful country? Further, what do you think will happen if he is successful repealling it?

"paul wants to get rid of the department of education"

yeah they have done such a bang up job so the past few decades that people who scream racist

have no clue of its meaning.

Originally posted by BubbaJoe

Originally posted by The Old American

BTW: I will admit that this does show that Dr. Paul could be guilty of trust, I suppose. What a horrible thing to be guilty of.

/TOA

edit on 11-6-2011 by The Old American because: (no reason given)

While I am not quick to label anyone a racist, we all have our personal likes and dislikes, and there is all sorts and levels of "ism's". Dr. Paul did allow these newsletters to be published under his name, by close associates. I have to assume, because I do not have the facts in front of me, that he read them, and allowed them to be published. So therefore, at the very least, he is not only guilty of trust, but guilty at the very least by association, and if he truly allowed them to be published under his name, after review, then he is guilty as charged.

Ron Paul has some great ideas, but I do not believe him to be electable.

The whole concept of racism is rested on a foundation of guilt by association. Take your guilt by association and shove it. People who participate in guilt by assosciation attacks (ie you) are guilty of bigotry. Christian's Jesus made associates who had stolen things, prostituted themselves, and done other socially unacceptable things. How excited would you be to have been able to crucify him for his guilt by association? I bet you'd be foaming at the mouth for a chance to torture him given the kind of people he associated with.

Ron Paul is not a racist and anyone who thinks he may be is simply a complete idiot. You'll rarely ever see me use the word idiot on ATS but here is on of those time. People would have to be a hopeless lost cause idiot to make a serious statement that Ron Paul is a racist. This is not a personal attack... this is me feeling sorry for you and embarrassed for you.

I can't imagine what goes though your mind with the "unelectable" comment. Ron Paul is the single and only electable person in the entire candidate field. Mr. Mitt Romneycare... the anti-gun liberal is going to get elected in a Republican primary? I don't think so. Ron Paul is very easily the most electable person there... and clearly that is the reason why in a poll he did the best when it was him vs. Obama.

The terrible things I hear people say about Paul are fantasy pretend BS based on fairy tales. Like for example, Ron Paul has never once advocated for heroin or prostitution being legal. But people delude them self into saying crazy things like under Paul heroin will become legal. Ron Paul has been in congress for decades... if he wanted a bill legalizing heroin I think in his 20+ years of congress he would have I don't know... maybe submitted a bill legalizing heroin? Ya think? Sure that stuff would be allowed under his principles (prostitution already is legal at the federal level... helllllooooo?) but he also has a grasp of reality enough to know that its not going to happen and is therefore irrelevant.

So instead of attacking Paul on imaginary non-issues people need to actually talk about bills he has actually in reality land voted for, advocated for, and otherwise spoken about. And when they talk about electability they need to talk about issues that people actually discuss and have actual merit... like the economy, health care, the Iraq war, and other actual real issues. Its so laughable how people say Paul will redact the Civil Rights Act. Paul is absolutely a champion for civil rights... the strongest candidate on civil rights by a factor of 10. Attacking Paul on his greatest strength... civil rights... is like saying Micheal Jordan isn't hireable as a basketball player because he is bad at basketball. And so that is why I feel comfortable saying people who attack Paul on racism are simply idiots without the slightest grasp on reality... they live in opposite land on a planet on outer space.

The greatest issue facing the economically downtrodden minorities at the moment is the drug war the feds wage against them. And certainly Paul will do everything in his power to end that... thereby doing more for blacks than Obama is willing to... who has proven he is a total Nazi pig when it comes to drugs.

Originally posted by The Old American

The poor judgement he has it not pandering to special interests. That's his best chance of winning the Presidential election. But he's courageously standing his ground of honesty right out there for everyone to see that the Federal government has trampled on the rights of one group to prop up the privileges of another.

The problem being, is that the group you feel has now been trampled by the fed, have been trampling the rights of the other groups since before we were a country. While I do not believe that any minority would like to see time set back 50 years, I do believe there is a portion of the majority would whole heartedly embrace that concept.

Is it the right of an American to earn a wage? No, actually it's not. It's the right of an American to work to earn a wage. But it is a right for a person to own a business, protected under the 4th Amendment. But the Federal government has seen fit to trample the absolute right of the business owner to run her business how she wants over the privilege of a person that wants to earn wages. Race has nothing to do with it.

/TOA

Yes these business owners that you place upon a high pedestal have done a fine job without government oversight. We should go back to the days of children working in factories, companies free to dump hazardous waste anywhere they would like, no safety requirements in the work place, no workman's comp, big pharma placing any drug on the market, no matter what devastating side effects there are, any thing to cut costs, and raise profits. Wow, even with gov't reg, in the last couple of years, we have dead miners in West Virginia, millions of barrels of crude oil allowed to flow into the gulf, and a nuclear disaster in Japan. Imagine how much better it would be without the fed stepping in (Sarcasm intended)

TOA, I do understand the point you are trying to make, but I believe you to be examining this issue, using the Constitution as a blindfold.

Originally posted by jimnuggits
Civil Rights was an extremely important piece of business that the American People MADE happen. People, both black and white, died to insure that it would happen, and now this guy wants to repeal it?

No.

FYI... NO. Ron Paul does not want to repeal the civil rights act. Stop spreading misinformation and deluding yourself.

Originally posted by neo96
"paul wants to get rid of the department of education"

yeah they have done such a bang up job so the past few decades that people who scream racist

have no clue of its meaning.

Yes, the Federal Department of Education just conducted SWAT team raids on someone over a student loan. Yeah, that was literally a bang-up job LOL. I can't imagine what a great job they must have gotten with their student loan that they couldn't pay it back.