http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZHQJHYgsFI
Many years have passed since the days of Martin Luther King Jr., but African Americans still feel disadvantaged in certain political issues. Today, African Americans in general are concerned about inadequate health care, and institutional discrimination in housing, education, employment, criminal justice, and civil rights. As for Rick Perry, he is not the most liked candidate by African Americans as a whole. It has been an uphill battle for Rick Perry with regard to gaining the support of African Americans. As Jonathan Capehart’s article in the Washington Post describes, Rick Perry’s family is said to have leased a property for years that is known as “Niggerhead”. The name of this property is obviously involves a word many African Americans are sensitive towards. Rick Perry’s involvement with this property has resulted in him being called very insensitive towards the African American community. Perry’s involvement in with this property probably isn’t the best thing he could’ve done to gain African American support.
There is another issue for which Perry has been criticized for his insensitivity towards African Americans. In the youtube clip from Hardball, Perry is asked about the importance of the civil rights movement. In the clip, Perry compares the civil rights struggle to the struggle of republicans for corporate tax rates. These may be two issues one for African Americans and one for Republicans, but it doesn’t take a political genius to realize that these issues are of different magnitudes for the two groups and not quite comparable. Once again, Perry is seen as insensitive towards the African American community’s struggle for civil rights. In addition, when Perry executed the Texas Miracle in job creation, he neglected the minorities and the poor. Rick Perry seems to have realized that he is not going to win over the African American community’s support. However, in doing so, he is showing much insensitivity towards the African American community.
I hadn't seen the Hardball clip, thanks for sharing! I'm surprised that with all the slack Perry has received about African Americans that he chose to make that comparison. Even if he believes that it does not seem very politically smart. I think that the American people as a whole, not just African Americans, might hold back from supporting Perry for many reasons but among which might be the insensitivity that you talk about here.
ReplyDeleteI think Perry very much realizes which voting demographics he has the potential to win over and which he does not. From the beginning of his campaign (leading the prayer rally) I think he very decidedly chose his path. He was in the position to try and win over independents, minorities and secular voters with his past as an all-around good governor in Texas, and we'd never seen this level of religiosity from him, but he completely abandoned that in hope of a strong voting bloc within the Republican party.
ReplyDelete