An Open Letter to the Virginia Blogosphere Thursday, September 28, 2006
Posted by Conaway B. Haskins III in Uncategorized.trackback
As two black bloggers in the Virginia political blogosphere, we bring a unique perspective to the conversation regarding race that swirls around us. Each of our families have been in Virginia for more than 150 years, so we are well acquainted with the both with Virginia’s sordid past and its slow, steady move towards inclusion that has occurred in our lifetimes.
It comes as no surprise to us, then, that both candidates have used racial epithets in the past. To argue otherwise is to deny the realities of life in Virginia and our country. Inquiries into such behavior serve to shine light on those incidents and provide an opportunity for discerning whether they hold such sentiments today. It is not an irrelevant conversation, nor is it the only thing that matters in determining who should be the next junior senator from Virginia.
Some have used this inquiry as an opportunity to throw around racial epithets themselves. We contend that doing so is reflective of the lack of racial sensitivity that both candidates have indicated that they had in the past. Further, we contend that this desensitizes the readers to the real issues of race that are still with us. We find such behavior unacceptable and implore our colleagues to refrain from engaging in such behavior. While campaigns are willing to exploit the issue of race (and its companion issues of ethnicity and gender), the Virginia political blogosphere should not be so eager to do so.
To call for a complete end to such a discussion would be not only naive but hypocritical of us, and we are not proposing that. What we do ask is that the level of discourse be raised a notch, always mindful of the possible effects of such polarizing rhetoric not only through November 7, but beyond.
– Vivian J. Paige & Conaway B. Haskins III
With all due respect Vivian and Conaway your timing is off. This message would have been better received a few weeks ago. The Breaks incident was many weeks ago and your party has slammed the message daily. Now the tables are turned. I for one wish y’all would have published this then as it would have been better received.
Timing aside, this is a good letter.
Thank you for writing it.
Kilo,
When you say “your party has slammed” you are painting with a broad brush. Furthermore, when anyone, including a blogger, points at the news stories about that video-taped incident at Breaks, or the debate question Allen ducked — then answered awkwardly the next day — those are recent events.
Racism aside, those were incidents in which Allen made the news himself, mostly with his displays of bullying and bad form. Those stories were not words from the distant past.
It was a matter of revealing behavior during a campaign.
You can’t lump those two events in with the ridiculous safari that’s been underway to find evidence of racism in the words and deeds of the candidates in their youth. At least you can’t, if you want to be fair.
“By thy deeds hy shall be known.”
While Allen was busy clothing himself with the Confederate flag, hanging a noose in his office and campaigning on the back of Willie Horton with his ‘truth in sentencing’ sloganeering relegating mostly people of color to lengthy prison sentences without hope of parole, Jim Webb was defending a poor black soldier charged with war crimes and fighting for the inclusion of an African-American soldier in the Vietnam War Memorial..
FT,
You still selling those macaca shirts?
Heh.
Kilo,
Yes, would you like to buy one? I’ve got one with Dick Cheney’s face on it, too.
Truth is I’ve been selling my art since I was a kid, including items such as political cartoons. I’ve sold my words to do with politics plenty of times, too. Does any of that bother you?
BREAKING NEWS: Now there’s actually a TV news report that Jim Webb used the “N-word”….in the freakin’ 1960s. Next thing you know, some kook will alledge that Senator Robert Byrd used racial slurs in 1930s.
But I don’t agree with the (above) proposed moratorium on the topic. I think its best to keep the thing alive until everybody gets it out of their system. Otherwise, it will ’stuffed’ and arise later anyway. Let it run for all its worth. Then we move on.
Oh…and Mimi Shaeffer’s response (above) bring up an excellent point: Allen’s 1990’s “truth in sentencing” rampage. I personally believe that has a lot to do with the undue amount of attention Allen is receiving now.
The man has made a career out of burning people, basically. So is it any wonder that many want to turn the tide on him? I hate cliches, but this is like a ‘what comes around goes around’ thing.
Kilo – hindsight is 20-20, and the Breaks incident was self-inflicted. Both parties, all media (left, right, neutral), and plenty of bloggers have pushed this. There are no innocents in any of this, so don’t lay this in our laps.
Shaun – thanks! I appreciate the sentiments. You are a very worthy adversary.
Larry – we specifically did not call for a moratorim.
Thanks for commenting folks!
Ladies and Gentleman:
I present this challenge to Ms/Mr Howlin Latina:
http://www.spankthatdonkey.com/spankthatdonkey2/2006/9/28/i-must-be-seeing-things.html
If you believe what you say Howlin, you will be at Cooters Event to “vent” your frustrations upon your favored candidate Mr. Webb for daring to associate himself with a Democrat Candidate that so brazingly associates himself, with this so called “symbol of hatred”.
Terry its not to late, just go ahead and admit, “we Dems. should have gotten Harris Miller the nomination”, and not have to trouble ourselves with carrying this guy Webb’s baggage….
I’m sick of it, sick of it, SICK OF IT! Unlike so many of y’all, I wasn’t born here, I didn’t have family here. I made a conscience decision to move to Virginia. I am 45 years old and have been voting since I was legally able to and quite frankly I’m sick of the nastiness of not just Virginia politicians but of the blogs who can’t find one single solitary thing decent thing to say without being a “spin job.”
Thank the gods for TIVO! I’m tired of the mudslinging. I’m tired of the acrimony. I’m tired of the underlying, absolute bitter hatred of not just one candidate for another but that each of the 2 main parties have for each other.
And you people… good gods from Zion! Viv and Conaway are saying raise the standard… expect more from their peers. There should be more ISSUE talk and not just feeling talk. They say it and what happens… the Republi… no CONSERVATIVES attack their stance! The DEMS attack the Conservatives and here we go again… a never ending viscious circle… grow up people!
We are adults… act like it! We who are learning about the issues from you who know about the issues are, quite frankly, getting fed up with y’all! I am, and have been for more then 25 years a proud Republican and it seems the only reasonable voice, a voice of with a bias to be sure, but a fair one is a very proud card carrying member of the Democratic Party. Vivian (sorry Conaway, never heard of your blog before tonight) thank you and know your letter reached others who are not so bitter and filled with hatred.
Lawrence:
Give it a break…. If you are a Pub, it’s because you have Pub values.. if the extent of your research was the last week of the VA Blogosphere…. Then any reasonable person and especially a Pub would see what is going on here… a smear camaign…
If you are who you say you are, I challenge you to come over to STD and read my posts… they are conservative… If you can not handle that then, well, No you didn’t vote for Reagan, H Bush, W Bush or any other Pub……(twenty five years)
You are a poser… The supposed “I’m a Pub, but I am so turned off by the right of center bloggers, responding to these attacks… that I am going to vote Democrat….”
Spanky, thank you for the offer but >sigh
But you really are a poser?
Voted for Reagan, HW, W first time NOT W the second! voted for Erlichman (Maryland), etc. When it comes to my sacred… yes SACRED right to vote, my vote USUALLY goes to a Republican. I had a much longer post that got cut off after the sigh (html problem I think) and I’m not going to repeat it all here.
You equate Republican values with religious conservatism and THAT dear man, is a crock and is one of the problems with the GOP (which ORIGINALLY stood for Gallant Old Party). Smaller government, greater fiscal responsibility and accountability, women’s rights (sufferage), civil rights, civic responsibility… based on the blogsphere my party has gotten away from that baseline. Instead of the integrity of answering questions directly, my party is more likely to pass blame and bring up his/her opponants faults. Dems are just as bad BUT I am NOT a Dem and I expect BETTER from my Party. Please don’t bother to respond or justify why you continue to promote the ridiculous adversarial diatribes both parties are guilty of.
Suffice to say, you are going off topic with respect to TOPIC… the letter… Kudo’s to Conaway and Vivian for taking a stance. While I don’t yet know for whom I am going to vote, I will continue to read, learn, and hopefully, make my best guest that the candidate who I vote for is going to stick closer to what I expect of him/her in Washington.
Thanks for informing me that my religious conservatism = my Republican values…. sorry, if “unmasking you” causes you discomfort… but you are about as believable as the Deer in the mailbox routine… latest, Allen spits on Reporter… oooo, that’s a good one
Then again Cheney shot a lawyer….
Mimi Shaeffer, can you give me a place where I can research Jim Webb’s involvement with the Black Soldier inclusion for the Vietnam memorial…and also when and who Jim Webb represented in a war crimes trial? I would like to do some follow-up research myself.
A good letter started this conversation, it’s a shame we behave the way we do, but isn’t a racial devide spread equally among humans.
I know each group has names for any other group…..maybe it is time we all put away our verbal ammunition.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have and election, like we used to, where the candidate stood before the camera and said what he would do…rather than what his opponent didn’t do right or did wrong or could have should have would have….but was too stupid to do.