by Kelly Hawes
Former President Jimmy Carter stirred up a hornet’s nest last week when he suggested that racism played a role in the opposition to President Barack Obama.
Carter referred to what he described as a radical fringe element attacking Obama “as an animal or as a reincarnation of Adolf Hitler” and carrying signs saying that the nation should have buried Obama with Kennedy.
“I think the people who are guilty of that kind of personal attack against Obama have been influenced to a major degree by a belief that he should not be president because he happens to be African-American,” Carter said.
He said he believed racial politics played a role in U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson’s outburst during Obama’s speech to a joint session of Congress.
“I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, that he’s African-American,” Carter said in an interview with NBC Nightly News.
Reaction was swift. Liberals praised the former president for the courage he showed in raising the issue. Conservatives accused him of injecting race into a debate where it didn’t belong.
Michael Steele, the first African-American to chair the Republican National Committee, was among those denying the allegation.
“President Carter is flat-out wrong,” he said. “This isn’t about race. It is about policy.”
So was Obama’s press secretary, Robert Gibbs.
“The president does not believe that the criticism comes because of the color of his skin,” Gibbs said.
There is no doubt that there are racists among the president’s opponents. All you have to do is examine some of the signs displayed by the tea party protesters to see the racial slurs.
And it’s also pretty obvious that some of the anger exhibited by those claiming that Obama is not this nation’s duly elected president is driven by racial prejudice. As Carter pointed out, there are people out there who simply don’t believe a black man should be president of the United States.
Still, it would be a gross exaggeration to claim that all of the people out carrying signs are motivated by racism.
Steele is right. The vast majority are motivated by policy differences. They see government assuming a larger role, and they’re concerned about it, maybe even frightened by it.
They’re exercising their First Amendment right to protest, and the vast majority of them would be out there demonstrating regardless of what Democrat occupied the Oval Office. They are protesting what they see as wrong-headed policies, and they really shouldn’t have to defend themselves against attacks of racism.
They also shouldn’t be dismissed as right-wing crazies. Though some of their rhetoric isn’t particularly productive, they do have legitimate concerns about the current direction of the country. Their voices deserve to be heard.
At the same time, it’s hard to ignore the voices of people who see a president heckled during a speech to Congress for the first time ever and conclude that there might be a connection to the president’s race. And it doesn’t help that the congressman doing the heckling has been a defender of the Confederate battle flag, long seen by blacks as a symbol of racism.
We should not tolerate racism, and we should call it out wherever it exists. Racists should be exposed for what they are.
Nevertheless, Gibbs and the White House deserve credit for downplaying the role of racial animosity in the recent protests.
The president has prided himself on a willingness to reach across the aisle and compromise on the important issues of the day. He has promised to end the politics of division and to promote an atmosphere where liberals and conservatives can have an honest discussion about policy.
It will be impossible to do that if those who line up against the administration constantly find themselves labeled as racists.
Race remains a thorny issue in this country, and it is one the nation must address. But it can’t become an issue in every discussion.
• Kelly Hawes is managing editor of the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at (574) 732-5155 or kelly.hawes@pharostribune.com
