Just watch the fucking video. Ralph sez: we love them neegras, unless they step out of line. Then, they’s all Uncle Toms.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibsP6XN2dIo[/youtube]
Nicole Bell said it best on C&L: you know you’re going bad when a Fox News anchor looks more racially tolerant than the former Green Party candidate.
11 replies on “Ralph Nader: Racist Douchebag”
Well, in all honesty, if Obama bows down to the big bankers and corporate interests, he IS uncle tom.
Get over the term, and look at who supported him. Obama supporters are against big corporate favors, and therefore if Obama turns his back on the poor, do you suppose they will be calling him something BETTER?
To paraphrase Obi Wan Kenobi: who is more douchebagish? The douche or the douche who follows him?
Uncle Nader Doesn’t Like Uncle Toms…
“To put it very simply, he is our first African American president; or he will be. And we wish him well. But his choice, basically, is whether he’s going to be Uncle Sam for the people of this country, or Uncle Tom for the giant corporatio…
Ok, you took what Nader said out of context. Nader is far from a racsit and uncle Tom refers to a black man bowing to the white mans demands. Bliack people use this term for there own people as well. Its a real word and its NOT racist. To me its the same thing as calling a person who crosses the picket line a “scab”.
Nader is more progressive then Obama and why are you left wing liberals not spaeking out about the how the debates are shut out to 3rd party candidates and how the 2 party system is controlled by corporate America? Instead you rag on Nader for saying he hopes Obama does not turn out to be like the rest of the scum bags in office.
Get a LIFE and if your going to write about something, write about something that matters… NAFTA, poor people, 2 party control… WAKE UP LIBERALS…THE DEMOCRATS ARE PLAYING YOU. Nader is on the money….LET HIM DEBATE IN 2012!
“Context” is always the last refuge of a racist scoundrel. And in defending Ralph, one might even say that you are “a credit to your party.”
And by the way, a slip of the tongue would be one thing. People who aren’t racists say racially insensitive things all the time. But Nader actually repeated and amplified his remarks on Fox News. That shows deliberate intent by an educated person who surely must know better.
If his aim was to cause a sensation, he may have gotten his wish. But not big enough to matter. As for this:
<blockquote>write about something that matters… NAFTA, poor people</blockquote>
Imagine what Nader might have accomplished if he hadn’t opened his yap like he did? With John Edwards gone, who is out there who will speak for poor people? You can be sure Ralph’s days of being taken seriously by anybody but you cranks are gone. We’ve lost one more voice in the storm. Thanks, Ralph.
So you are accusing Nader as being a racist? Just want to be clear on that.
As another commenter pointed out, the Uncle Tom term is not a racial slur and it’s clear definition is very accurate to both the future concerns of Obama as President and to his current record of bowing down to Giant Corporate America (Powerful White Men who run the country).
I dont care to convince you and can see you are one who is easily enraged. There are too many important issues to to be enraged about. A Nader comment is not one of them.
It’s also a double standard when Nader is always called a crazy ego-maniac spoiler when he chooses to practice his constitutional right to run for office.
The People need to make sure Obama’s administration has high standards and reform this damn government that is supposed to be here for the People, not the Corporations. No free rides based on race. Obama recent voting history is not impressive (FISA, TARP as examples) and his willingness to continue Americ’a involvement in military action overseas (making Osama Bin Laden smile) are not good examples of breaking away from Corporate interests and the MIlitary Industrial Complex that we have developed. Obama, I hope, made many decisions in the center to get elected and I HOPE that he is willing to CHANGE course now that he has won.
Nader has been one of the few voices of perpetual truth and he cares not about bogus rage in response to deliberately mis-interpreted words and phrases that only the easily enraged and knowledge-lacking people would have a fit about.
Nader/Gonzalez 2008 campaign was for principles of democracy and reform. It’s to motivate others to get involved and not sit back while our country destroys itself.
Check out http://november5.org for the continued efforts post-election.
sull ~ thanks for playing and thanks for the Twitter add, by the way. In answer to your posit on my personality, let me say that I’m at least as given to rage as you are to sanctimony, so we have that going for us. Let me respond to your various points:
1. I can hardly imagine what the title of this post – Ralph Nader: Racist Douchebag – leaves to the imagination? Yes, I’m calling him a racist. An educated man should know better – and if they do not – they must be flat-out racist.
2. If “Uncle Tom” is not a racist term, then I presume you wouldn’t mind accompanying me downtown to call a few black guys Uncle Tom? Let’s see what happens. I’ll be in my car, you stand outside.
Beyond that, let me try to explain something to you from my years of experience: the only thing worse than saying something – intentionally or not, correctly interpreted or not – which someone finds offensive is to insist that what you said wasn’t offensive. It presumes that you or the person you’re supporting is the sole arbiter of what is and is not offensive. It leaves the person feeling not only slighted by the initial comment but also doubly slighted by the notion that they’re not allowed to decide what is offensive to them or not.
A digified answer to someone else’s offense is to apologize for the misunderstanding and move on. I would hardly call myself an expert in race relations – indeed, I have the lumps to prove that I am not – but this one is pretty basic.
3. No one is calling Nader an egomaniac for running for president on this website. I’m calling him an egomaniac for claiming he wants to change the world, but doing nothing apart from running for president to accomplish that. Who has he supported beyond himself for president or county dog catcher, for that matter? Change is not a man, it’s a movement.
4. If by “high standards,” you mean a standard of governance where it’s acceptable to call someone racial slurs then claim it’s not racist, count me out.
5. “perpetual truth” sounds a bit like “perpetual bullshit” to me, but I suppose that’s subjective. Still, as I alluded to above, his voice on the issues of the day is not enhanced by his use of racially questionable language. In fact, it is diminished greatly. You and your friends who support him cluttering up comment sections by defending him is only making things worse.
to your last point, are you suggesting that you dont want people to comment unless they agree with you?
to be honest, i prefer that Nader not use some of the lingo that he does because of those who take it out of proportion and the backlash of bad press etc. but he doesnt care about looking like a good, clean politician. he doesnt have to care. so that’s his personality. it’s nothing new.
Nader speaks literally, not cautiously. He sais what he means and means what he sais. He knows the history of the Uncle Tom term and uses it accurately. But because of terms being misunderstood or misinterpreted, it’s obvious that some will cry and scream. It’s tired. It was also bad timing but that does not make him a racist.
Giant Corporations = Powerful Whites
Uncle Tom = Blacks who are servants to Powerful Whites
Obama is our Black American President
I think we all hope that he is more than a servant to the Giant Corporations.
I have hope that he will bring enough independence to his presidency and prove that he can and will bring some real change to this country and this world.
I’m excited about Obama and his potential. I’m glad that he won…. relieved that we won. But i’ll be watching carefully the decisions he makes. I’m not drunk in the hype of his winning this election. I am just hopeful for some better times ahead and some much needed reform.
As for your thoughts on Nader not doing anything except running for president. That’s not true. You are just regurgitating what you hear and read from others. I doubt that you have ever or ever will look into Nader’s contributions as a citizen and consumer advocate and political watchdog. He may not be a Washington Insider, but that does not mean he does nothing to help improve things in this country. Does alot more than those in Congress whose votes on legislation are influenced by corporate lobbyists and political favors.
No, I’m not suggesting that people not comment on this site. What I am saying is that, again, the only thing worse than offending people is offending them double by refusing to even acknowledge their offense. It’s bad enough when Nader blithely ignores the obvious historical connotation – which beyond racism, is also inherently an attack on one’s manhood, since it’s about black MEN not standing up to white MEN and no woman would ever be called by that same name. It’s even worse for you as a member of a group to be spouting ridiculous defenses of his words because it makes the whole lot of you sound like kooks.
As for Nader speaking literally, not cautiously. Well, fine if that’s what he wants to do and we all admire a straight talker, but you’ve gotta live with your lumps, if that’s what you want to be. Besides which, if he speaks literally, then he literally threatened Obama with being labeled an Uncle Tom. All rhetorical defenses to the contrary are simply false by this definition.
We’ll all be watching him carefully. His campaign was about the rest of us, after all. But watching carefully need not sink to the level of name calling before he’s made his first “mistake” in the eyes of Ralph Nader.
As for Nader’s contribution to society, I am well aware of his history as a fighter for the right. I’ve always admired it. But his quest for the White House – whatever you might call it – seems an empty vanity. Whom is he supporting for Congress? When was the last time he showed up at a rally for a mayor? It’s not about being a Washington insider – far from it – but it is about the practicality of governing: supposing he got his wish and won the presidency, what would that accomplish without people who back him in Congress?
i stated that i personally dont prefer to hear such comments and then pointed out that Ralph doesnt care how something may sound when he feels it is an accurate use of language. besides, the usage of the term uncle tom changed over time. black people use commonly use it. in fact, look up the “Council on Black Internal Affairs”. it has nothing to do with racism. you can point out a man’s race via a term and it doesnt mean its a racist comment.
again, i wouldnt have said it and not on the day after we elected our first black american president. but that is moot and you can go as far as saying it was tasteless and ill-timed but that doesnt mean it was racist… especially when he did not call Obama an Uncle Tom… he posed the question based on caving into White Corporate Power as President, which Obama obviously has not yet proved to be correct (as president).
Nader has voiced support for certain members of the the two-party system.
But how much can he rally and support people who he believes are part of a broken system? That’s the whole point of him running. It’s not about winning. It’s obvious that cannot happen today. It’s about bringing important issues that are ignored by the two party system and trying to be fairly covered by MSM and heard by the american people… so that constituents are reminded and feel empowered to uphold higher standards for our government. That is also why Ron Paul supported 3rd party candidates and not McCain/Obama.
This site is supposed to cover Progessive Politics? Well Nader IS progressive politics. Not Democrats. Not Republicans. And you choose to let a comment that is at most only distasteful to some and used for cheap audience attention to take precedence over the achievements of an Independent campaign that overcame outragious obstacles to even get on the ballot in 45 states and paving the way for reform via grassroots efforts? Give me a break. Think!
Later.
sull, If Nader is progressive politics, progressive politics is in HUGE trouble. I have no doubt about his progressive credentials, it’s the politics part of it. Politics is the art of the possible, and compromise is necvessary. That’s what kills Ralph. He has shown no ability to compromise. In kindergarten, he probably got the dreaded “Does not play well with others” on his report card. And in order to be an effective president, you have to. You can’t just ignore what the conservatives and Republicans want, because they’ll block every thing you do. Not to mention, he’s pissed the Democrats off so much, they might not want to work with him. This is all assuming he ever COULD become President, which he NEVER will.
Oh, and he is a racist. This incident is not the first time he has brought up race into his criticism of Obama. In June, he said Obama was “talking white.” Why does he keep injecting race into it? He could have called Obama a sell-out, or anything not related to race. But he CHOSE to use the term Uncle Tom. And he has to own the words he uses, or he’s less effectual than most of the country already thinks he is.