Pat Buchanan’s Trying To Rewrite History
Posted by Mitch Mitchell on Mar 25, 2008
I thought about staying away from this one, but I just couldn't. Good ol' Pat Buchanan, who my dad used to enjoy hating on Crossfire so many years ago, decided he had to take his shot and weigh in on this controversy surrounding both Barack Obama's speech and some of the bad things that Rev. Wright has been taken to task for lately.
So Mr. Buchanan, on his blog (I didn't even know he had a blog; isn't he close to 100 by now?) wrote a piece that he titled "PJB: A Brief for Whitey". In it, he basically says that black people should be glad that they were slaves because of the way we're thriving in America. His actual quote was this:
"First, America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known."
As if that wasn't bad enough, he followed it up with this:
"Second, no people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans. Untold trillions have been spent since the ’60s on welfare, food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8 housing, Pell grants, student loans, legal services, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credits and poverty programs designed to bring the African-American community into the mainstream."
Wow, all that for black people? Thanks! I'm not going to do it, but a big part of me wants to bring out my inner sarcastic caveman rant and thank Pat for some things, such as the basic destruction of the African continent (which actually had a thriving and more technologically advanced society before Europeans destroyed it) and the reality that when two black people marry, they're never really sure if they're marrying someone within their family line, since family members were displaced during slavery.
Also, let's talk about the stereotypes that a friend of mine say are media driven, and in this case she's absolutely correct. Who are the greatest purveyors of welfare, food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8 housing, Pell grants, student loans, legal services, Medicaid and Earned Income Tax Credits in this country? It's not black people, nor any other minority, that's for sure.
These are the hidden thoughts that Obama is going to be fighting against if he wins the presidency. Most people won't come out and say it to his face, but that doesn't change anyone's beliefs. And this time, there can't be any calls to fire Buchanan for his words; is this guy even working anymore? Maybe it's his last gasp to stay in the public eye; I'm not sure about that either.
I am sure about this one thing, though. Things like this will never help bridge the gap between the races. Someone needs to be opening the conversation, not shutting it down. Buchanan and his ilk are too far gone; maybe it will be the up and coming generation that will ultimately save the day.
Mitch you showed great restraint!
His blog brings us back to a time in our history that I remember so well. I was a child back in the 60’s and was fortunate to live in an integrated neighborhood, school system and church. We were just outside of Boston and yet in Boston blacks were congregated in an area of Boston known as Roxbury, alias slum. Boston had forced busing and school committee members were in verbal battles all over the airways. There were riots in NYC, Detroit, LA, and Civil Rights marches springing up all over the country.
I’m not sure if Framingham was just unique as a community or not. But some how, the town had seemed to be color blind while other communities remained in a quagmire. I honestly don’t know why, or how, it happened. But I never remember growing up without friends of different religions and races.
Reading Pat Buchanan’s words reminded me of all the those tumultuous times. Almost 50 years later and he confirms for us that racism is alive and well in the U.S.of A. How painfully sad that people cannot get beyond someone’s religion or race and look to that person’s character.
But tonight, when I put my head on my pillow and reflect on the blessings in my life, I’ll count one more—that Pat Buchanan never won either of his Presidential bids. And I’d like to think that he didn’t get very far because his views do not appeal to the masses. Let’s hope that his audience continues to shrink.
Kristin
You make a good point, Kristin, because I’ve never really known just how much support Buchanan has ever had for his views, and I’d forgotten that he had tried to run for the presidency and got crushed. Thank goodness!