Republican-Sanctioned Stereotypes

Republican-Sanctioned Stereotypes
by Roberto Rodriguez
November 1, 2010

Many Republicans and conservatives do not seem to know, or appear to not have the faintest clue, as to what is a racially insulting and dehumanizing image. At least they feign ignorance.

It is the same ignorance that was used to claim that there was nothing wrong with usage of the "Black Sambo" or "Chinaman" images of a generation ago. It is the same ignorance that was used to claim there was nothing wrong with using a Mexican bandit - the "Frito Bandito" - to sell Frito Lay's corn chips. And then came the 1960s.

The 1988 Willie Horton ad by the Bush I campaign is always cited as a prime example of what campaigns are willing to do to scare the electorate: associate Blacks with crimes. Fast forward to 2010 and fear of brown people has also become acceptable and normalized. Nevada Senate hopeful Sharron Angle's campaign has exploited images of Mexicans coming across the border. However, her explanation is that they actually may be Asian. She made that explanation in front of little children, mostly Mexican, telling them that they too looked Asian.

Across the country, "illegal aliens" have become this year's election year political piñatas, particularly for those on, though not limited to, the extreme political right wing. This year, a campaign is not complete without an ad of invading brown hordes. Fear works in any part of the country.

If one were to substitute the words illegal aliens for say Blacks or Jews, etc - all that is said about so-called "illegal aliens" - would be deemed shocking and socially unacceptable. And yet the use of the dehumanizing terms "illegal aliens" and "wetbacks" are but code words for Mexicans... regardless of where they were born. Thus politicians venomously speak of illegal aliens and even wetbacks, lest they be accused of being racists. The use of such terms, as opposed to "Mexicans," permits them to believe that they have been granted a racism exemption card.

Read the full article at:

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/11/01-5

Scapegoating has long been a political method. The right uses it deliberately and, all too often, effectively.

Now, their target audience may not be as smart, and may not know that they're being manipulated, but those who are starting and running these campaigns certainly know what they're doing. They know exactly what they're doing.

So the fact that Angle wants to secure their border is even stupider than her friends in Arizona.