Monday, June 6, 2016

Hillary Clinton's Racist Remarks

Hillary Clinton appears to be close at securing the Democratic nomination. Bernie Sander's attempts at a contested convention seem futile as long as the delegates work mathematically in favor of Hillary Clinton. While it is obvious that Trump has racial hatred, Hillary Clinton also has the same problem. Hillary Clinton was in her youth a Barry Goldwater supporter. This staunch conservative was opposed to  the Civil Rights Movement and the Great Society of the Lyndon B. Johnson administration. She attempts to appear as a feminist and a champion of racial equality. This is a fabricated myth. Her former right-wing past was molded into a New Democrat philosophy under the political strategy of triangulation. There was an infamous speech that Hillary Clinton gave in 1996 at Keene State College in New Hampshire. The speech delineates the progress of law enforcement at "stopping" crime. Here coded language is used to refer to African American youths. The term "super predator" refers to African American youth who are criminal. Hillary Clinton paints a picture in this speech that all African Americans are criminal and targets adolescents specifically. White America has either viewed African Americans as a threat or danger. What this irrational fear masks is a pathological hatred and the paranoid idea that someday the African American population will take vengeance for past injustices. The 1994 Crime Bill and the War on Drugs negatively impacted the African American community and society at large. Currently, there is prison overcrowding due to mandatory sentencing in accordance with drug laws. This is not a matter of crime prevention or public health, but to target the African American population and make profit from their incarceration . 

Hillary Clinton used racism and fear in that speech to get her husband reelected in 1996. Her racist attitudes are influenced by her earlier conservative upbringing. Her actions are more telling. As Secretary of State she was pushing for the intervention in Libya. This was a country that supported numerous national liberation movements in Africa and across the globe. That symbol of African unity was destroyed and resulted in the ethnic cleansing of Tawergha. Instead of devising a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Libya, she decided that military force was the only solution. Qaddafi's death induced the migration crisis still paralyzing Europe. Her lack of respect or concern for the Libyans and their country demonstrate an imperial hubris. This was a devastating defeat for Africa, due to the fact it destabilized Mali, strengthened terrorist organizations, and brought an end to a leader advancing a Pan-Africanist vision.  She has been known to accuse the Chinese of "being colonizers in Africa." This poor attempt at a new  yellow peril  has racist overtones as well. Casting the Chinese as evil conquerors in Africa is an attempt to hide Western political and economic motives on the continent. Africa has more natural resources that the West wants to extract for business and political purposes. There are plans for regime change and nation building by France, the UK, and the United States. China although not entirely altruistic, never demands an African state to adopt its form of government. As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did very little to improve relations with African nations or China.   Hillary Clinton continues to show a general lack of respect for African Americans. The protesters for Black Lives Matter have been met with negative responses or forced removal at her rallies. They are not there to cause a disturbance, but to raise an issue of police brutality and murder that has reached astronomical levels. She either dodges their questions or ignores them completely. Sometimes she responds with venomous anger. The only time she shows concern is if it gets her votes or support. Her appearance with the mother of  Trevon Martin  was a carefully planned public relations stunt. So far as many can tell, this grieving mother was used to advance the cause of Hillary Clinton's campaign. There is the counter argument that African Americans voted for her in the primaries. Supporters use this as evidence she is not racist or has prejudice. That is not evidence at all considering there were African Americans who voted for Richard M. Nixon. He was a president who have extreme intolerance for African Americans and Jews. The reason some African Americans  would vote for Hillary Clinton is because they do not accept Bernie Sander's socialist ideas or they feel he could not beat Donald Trump in a general election. Age plays a role, where younger African Americans would favor Sanders, while older African Americans would favor Clinton. 


She presents herself as something she is not. This well crafted image is what propelled her forward in the primaries and the caucuses. Hillary Clinton once said at a debate "I'm a progressive, but I'm a progressive that likes to get things done ." This falsehood was a simple message that resonated with the public. She supported the Defense of Marriage Act, the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and the 1999 Kosovo intervention. These are not the credentials of a progressive. Racial matters she cares little about and at times incites animosity to advance politically. Her fist attempt at becoming president is another example. During the 2008 race she encouraged racial division when campaigning in West Virginia. She said at one of her rallies " I'm one of you."  This coded language in 2008 was designed to court blue dog Democrats and southern racists.Barack Obama was subject to abuse and interference by her during his presidential run. When he did get the nomination, a compromise had to be reached to keep the Clinton political machine at bay. After a few meetings, it was agreed that Hillary Clinton would work for the Obama administration as Secretary of State. It should not be forgotten that she played the race card during her 2008 presidential bid. She then tried to hide her intolerance by making it into a feminist issue. Hillary said after her defeat " we did not break the glass ceiling, but we cracked it a bit."While there has been a consistent pattern of her dislike or disregard for African Americans, her record with the Latino community is lacking. She hardly discusses US immigration policy or how Republicans are extremist in their views. Donald Trump has used the issue to advance the agenda of anti-immigrant organizations and supports across the country . If Hillary Clinton does not reach out to the various ethnic groups of the country, she will lose the general election. Whoever the next president is racial persecution will continue unless there is active resistance. While Donald Trump's comments and beliefs are no shock, it is disturbing coming from a person who considers them self "progressive." The political spectrum of left or right do not matter when whites want to preserve white supremacy.  


  
      

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