A staple of the right wing’s culture war in America is the division of labor between the leaders who serve as the official representatives of a conservative movement, carefully constructing coded messages for consumption by the corporate media, and their more militant followers who act out the meanings behind that code. It’s a highly useful — and dangerous — arrangement.
A minister preaches that abortion is an immoral act that earns the wrath of god . . . and his followers understand that they are being righteous when they smash windows or intimidate workers at womens’ health clinics. A clean cut and nicely dressed spokesperson explains that the demands of lesbians and gay men for same sex marriage are responsible for eroding family values . . . and gay-bashers understand that attacking patrons of a gay nightclub is protecting the sanctity of marriage. A local official blames immigrant workers for the crime and poverty in a decaying downtown area . . . and vigilantes understand that they are protecting their community when they harass and threaten brown-skinned people on the street.
In the waning days of the McCain/Palin campaign, the Republican candidates for president and vice-president are leading campaign rallies that whip up anger, frustration and even hatred. Their message, too, is carefully coded. Barack Obama doesn’t put his country first . . . he is not one of us, he’s “that one” . . . he pals around with terrorists. But a recent spate of newspaper articles commenting on the angry and hostile tone of McCain/Palin rallies tells us that the followers fully understand the message. In some cases, it’s no more than a hollered out “kill him” or “off with his head.” In others, its members of the audience yelling out that Obama is a “traitor” and “terrorist” and responding to snide remarks about Obama’s alleged links to former Weather Underground member Bill Ayers by chanting “FBI FBI.”
Today’s coverage of a McCain rally seems to indicate that even the campaign is worried about the rising tone of viciousness toward Obama being expressed by McCain/Palin supporters. But even then, the manner in which the message is “softened” by the candidate is indicative. According to the Los Angeles Times:
Even in “defending” Obama, McCain’s inherently racist message remains intact.
Those of us with memories of more than a few minutes remember Matthew Shepherd and so many other gay people who died because bashers acted out the coded message of hate being broadcast by “respectable” conservatives. We know that the rise in the use of clandestinely hung nooses isn’t an accident or a prank but a response to the rising tide of racist messaging both coded and overt in “mainstream” political circles. And we know that it is the “patriotic” messages of the anti-immigrant leaders that led a group of young men to beat Luis Ramirez to death in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania.
The combination of the loss of political power by the conservative movement and the earthshattering implications of the global economic crisis has created an atmosphere of bitterness and anger that the McCain/Palin campaign is now feeding in hopes of igniting a blaze. People of good will should be prepared to respond to the escalating attacks againat Obama, not to win points for Obama the candidate but to challenge the rising tide of racism and defend Barack Obama the human being.
Filed under: Fighting oppression
