4 ms·
When I hear "welfare queen," I think of a black woman. Because I'm racist (sadly). From that, the racist idea that free services (e.g. universal healthcare) are
by mcbishop 5y ago
When I hear "welfare queen," I think of a black woman. Because I'm racist (sadly).
From that, the racist idea that free services (e.g. universal healthcare) are unduly exploited by black people (or immigrants).
- zepto 5y agoI’m sorry you are a racist. How does your racism cause you to equate welfare Queen with black woman? I’d have thought that was more connected to the media using it that way.
- sangnoir 5y agoReagan pretty much popularized the terms ("welfare queen", "strapping young bucks") with racist intent[1]: those were the images he wished to conjure-up in listener's minds, and not a creation of the media. Just as the word "thug" is currently used by certain personalities/networks today. 1. https://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/10/innocent-mistakes/ https://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/10/innocent-mistak...
- zepto 5y agoI didn’t say it was a creation of the Media. I said they use it that way. It’s good to trace it back to Reagan. What is not so clear is why the person I was responding to thinks it’s their racism that causes them to think of those images, and not just that they have been exposed to Reagan’s imagery through the media.
- mcbishop 5y agoYou write as if one's passive racism and one's past exposure to racist sentiments are entirely separate. I think the former largely reflects the latter.
- zepto 5y agoI don’t think they are entirely separate. I do think that exposure to racist sentiments has a very different effect depending on who you are. So indeed I think your personal racism is not a simple function of exposure. I’m sorry you personally have been a victim of racism exposure, and have become a passive racist as a consequence. It is a shame that society has done this to you.
- mcbishop 5y agoNo worries, thanks. I have internal work to do.