Monday, September 15, 2008

Just another "small town folksy" American?


I honestly wasn't going to post anything about Sarah for awhile. After all, like Obama, I am going to try and start focusing on the issues, and on the top of the ticket, not the bottom. But then I read in my hometown paper, an oped by some academic named Catherine McNicol Stock, who is apparently an expert on rural radicals. (This lady actually wrote a book about the subject) So anyway, being the good field Negro that I am, who is always trying to do my best to keep you informed, I thought I would share her oped with you:

"Despite her efforts to portray herself as an average, small-town, 'folksy' American, Sarah Palin's political views - ardently pro-gun, pro-censorship, antichoice and antigay - make John McCain's conservative credentials pale in comparison. What few observers have said, however, is these beliefs are not just extreme - they are radical, and even bear a comparison with some of the most notorious "rural radicals" of our time.



It has been years since groups such as the Montana Militia, the Posse Comitatus and the Sagebrush Rebels, and individuals such as Terry Nichols and Ted Kaczynski have made us wonder why so many "angry white men" populated our rural regions. Many of us have forgotten the threat once posed by domestic terrorists and instead have turned our attention to foreign terrorists. But we should never forget that in the late 20th century, ultra-Christian, antistatist and white-supremacist groups flourished in the states of the Pacific Northwest - called by many the "Great 'White Northwest' - the very region that Sarah Palin and her family call home.


Demographics most basically define this geographic region. In the six states that make up the Pacific Northwest - Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Alaska - only six counties are more than 5 percent African American. Not by coincidence, each of these counties is also near an important military installation with many African American men and women. Even so, barely more than 3,000 blacks lived in all of Idaho in 2000.


Although home to tens of thousands of native peoples, Alaska is not much different in terms of diversity from the other states of the region. African Americans live in areas near important military installations in Anchorage and Fairbanks and almost nowhere else. Wasilla, where Sarah Palin was mayor, makes the census' list of the top 10 Alaskan communities with the largest number of African Americans because they make up a full 1 percent of the population. Rough calculations suggest that 65 blacks lived in the town.


But the region also must be defined by its history of intolerance, resentment, antistatism and violence. Appearing in the region in the 1980s and 1990s were some of the most notorious "hate radicals" of our time: militia groups, survivalists, Identity Christians, secessionists, white supremacists and others.


Some simply hated the federal government, like Randy Weaver of Ruby Ridge, Idaho, a survivalist whose wife and child died when their compound was fired upon by FBI agents attempting to arrest him on gun charges. "Whether we live or whether we die," Weaver said, 'we will not obey this lawless government.'


Other groups, like the Aryan Nation, with headquarters in Hayden Lake, Idaho, actively planned to rid the United States of African Americans, Jews, and other 'non-Aryan' peoples. A few carried out their plans, murdering Jewish radio host Alan Berg in Denver, the Goldmark family in Seattle, an African American state trooper in Arkansas, Fish and Wildlife officials and FBI agents in Wyoming, North Dakota and Montana, and more than 160 federal employees and their children in Oklahoma City. "





Oh well, let's hope we see more of the real Sarah as election day draws near. And let's hope that she wasn't influenced by her surroundings growing up. I love those small town "folksy" values as much as the next guy, but there are some aspects of those small town "folksy" values that scare me a little. Just like Sarah.


43 comments:

Liza Cowan said...

thanks for this. Sarah is Timothy McVeigh in a skirt.

GD said...

Field, I think this is unfair to the militia types. Say what you will about those crazy bastards but at least they know the Iraq war was a bad call, domestic spying is a crime, and government-sponsored torture is bad.

If Palin had half the insight of the patriot kooks I'd give her a lot more credit.

Christopher said...

It's daunting to me that the Old Coot is up 20% with white women thanks to adding McCandy to the ticket.

Are women really that stupid?

Nevermind that McCandy is opposed to equal pay and choice, says Roe should be overturned, wants war with Russia, says no to government funding for childcare and care for special needs kids, and wants rape victims to pay for their own rape medical kit.

If the VP choice has a vajayjay, it's enough for this idiot women.

About the Pacific Northwest, Washington state where Seattle is located, is very different from Idaho. Metro Seattle -- where the largest population center is located, is every bit as liberal as San Francisco.

Just saying.

Ann Brock said...

Christopher I believe it's the old white conservative women that are being poll.

From what I am reading the younger white women are not buying what McCain and Palin have been pushing. I truly believe the young people will make a difference in this election.

Christopher said...

JJBrock,

I hope you're correct. I really do.

La♥audiobooks said...

I'm feeling that article, thanks for sharing. This woman and her questionable background shivers me timber. Something does not feel right.

Like I said before, as a woman, I hope those radical fem. groups don't cut off their nose to spite all our faces. I wish you people would hurry up find solid dirt on this woman for the sake of humanity. I just know it's there, and I'm afraid by the time the shit comes out it might be after the election.

Anonymous said...

jjbrock,

I also believe that young people will make the difference in this election--young people who are not being counted in the polls.

But one thing is for sure: Since Sarah Palin got picked, the crazies sure have come out of the woodwork. They're all over the blogs and like the separatists in the Inquirer's piece, they're angry. For them it's about the three Gs--Guns, God and Gays.
Sheila

Anonymous said...

Christopher . . .
No -- WOMEN are really not that stupid. Americans in general tend to be underread, lazy and easily led by gimmicks. Palin is a scary as hell gimmick.

We also have to believe that a percentage of these woman were pro-life, pro-gun but just weren't excited about McCain until he got the Alaskan Ma Barker.

Also we do have to add in the percentage that-- as you say-- don't get that a vagina doesn't necessarily make you VP material. But c'mon, how many white men are voting for McCain because he ISN'T black?

Sadly some woman are voting for Palin because they, like many other millions in this country constantly vote against their own self interest because they don't know where they are on the planet.

And as Bush, corporate America and John McCain have done nothing to better this country--no surprise there; very little self interest is being met except if you are a corporate giant who is not going bankrupt.

They've helped create a country with an undereducated populace who will vote like lemmings while waving a flag. Outsourcing U.S. jobs. A war and almost total economic collapse because of their hubris and greed.

So I guess it's not that simple to call these women
stupid. Though-- like you I wonder WTF they are thinking!!

Dirty Red said...

Field,
I have heard about those Pacific North States also. I have a friend that is stationed at Ft. Lewis, the Military base near Seattle. She has told me that that is the mosr racist area she has ever been too, and she is from Alabama. My battle buddy in basic training was from Idaho, and he had never seen a black person before he came to basic. We fought damn near everyday, but in the end we became pretty good friends. We still talk every now and then. But the views that this guy had (probably still has)are typical for where he is from. He told me so. He told me once that the Pacific Northwest is the last haven for decent hardworking class AmeriKKKans. Ain't this the type of people that his O-ness is having trouble connecting with? And I wonder Why...
Field,
I am beginning to feel that you can cut back on the sit ups and crunches. Come Nov you will be watching like the rest of us when Mcnasty and his almost beauty queen "swears" to uphold and defend the constitution.

La♥audiobooks said...

"So I guess it's not that simple to call these women
stupid. Though-- like you I wonder WTF they are thinking!!
"


They're thinking about race, as simple as I can put it. That's what it's obviously boiling down to. Yup, I don’t pretend not seeing that pink lipstick wearing pitbull sitting on the living room floor.

Anonymous said...

Hey Field,
How about a post about the continuing crashing and burning of America's financial markets, most recently Lehman Bros and Merrill Lynch Mob. The economy needs to be one of the central focuses in this campaign.

Anonymous said...

The extremists in the Pacific Northwest, and other parts of the country, were never going to vote for Obama. They might have cast a vote in support of Bob Barr before Palin was picked, but they rightly recognize her as having their values, so they're going to support Palin regardless of how unqualified she is to be VP.

Sheila

jannyd said...

I think this is unfair to the lovely people of Alaska. I was just reading an article about a rally for Alaskan women against Palin that was 1500 women strong. The MSM of course did not cover this but there are thinking people everywhere, especially in Alaska. Let us not sell them short. The website was Mudflats...

Kristin said...

Great article Field very insightful. My freshman roommate in college was from such a place talk about culture shock. I swear everyday living with me was some kind of new revelation. I can honestly say that she was opened minded and a very likable person unlike the image I get from Mrs. Palin. OBTW has anyone ever noticed that she refuses to call Obama by his name but refers to him as senator only. It kind of burns me up that's why I only refer to this heffa as Mrs. Palin.

Anonymous said...

Good article, Mr. Field. Thank you for making that connection.

This is slightly off-topic, or maybe not. After the latest financial disaster with Lehman Bros., the Republican party shall hereinafter be referred to as "the party that wrecked America."

http://jameshowardkunstler.typepad.com/clusterfuck_nation/2008/09/a-ripe-moment.html

Anonymous said...

Palin's husband is a member of the Alaska Independence Party, a group that advocates state independence. Could we not say that Mr. Palin hates America? After all the talk about how Michelle hates America, why has no one said this about him? I haven't heard much or seen much about this point, but I still hear rumblings about Michelle.

Unknown said...

I remember when I first notice seen the "hockey mom" schtick Timothy McVeigh came to mind.

Anonymous said...

Why isn't PETA and Greenpeace, and the rest of the animal lovers not going after Palin, like they did Michael Vick?

Anonymous said...

Anon 11:41...I don't know, but I'd prefer that they continue to keep quiet. The left wing elements have probably already overplayed attention on Palin's hobbies, interests and family.

We need more focus on just how much she lies and how unqualified she is, and less on things like dead bear parts in her living room.

Anonymous said...

FN:

Again, I appreciate this forum that you have created. Gives me hope knowing that people like you are awake, in the 'kitchen' watching what's going on. Thanks for folks like leota2: We need constant reminders about the breathtaking absence of critical thinking that defines most a-merry-cans. For example, challenge the parents and their warriors to find Iraq/Afghanistan/Pakistan on a map. (That pig from Alaska confuses Georgia w/ our state of Georgia). Once the standard/bar for reasonable thinking-mental capacity is lowered or trashed, people like paylend, survivalists; don't forget the neocons(code for KKK and Aryan Nation)- once you eliminate reading/thinking as a requirement for civilized survival, you don't have to worry about our state or condition of evolution.
I sure do hope young folks stay alert - hell, how come dey ain't in da streets?!
Stupidity should be painful; ignorance should be fatal.
Thank you,

"Flash"

west coast story said...

If we want to insure another eight years of GOP in the white house, I think we should absolutely continue to discuss Palin, who is not running for president, and ignore the economic precipice we are facing today. Let's not discuss the failed policies of the Bush adminstration (and some say the Clinton administration) that have led to a postential economic collapse of this country. Sweet Jesus. Let's not discuss issues.

Anonymous said...

Well, yeah, West Coast Story, I'm all for talking about the issues, too, among them the economy. And Obama's been doing that all along, McCain is finally starting to since he can't ignore Lehman Brothers tanking over the weekend.

But while I don't want anyone to focus on Palin, damn, we also can't just write her off as ONLY a distraction. She IS running for president, since the odds are way, way too high that McCain won't make it through his first term or second one if America is stupid enough to give him two.

EzMun said...

west coast story,

Clinton's economic policies in his second terms were actually pretty sound. I'm no economic expert, but to me it's pretty simple. If you spend more than you take in you're going to go bankrupt. By 1998, Clinton's administration spent less than they were taking in. Take a look at Government expenditures available from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (http://www.bea.gov/national/nipaweb/TableView.asp?SelectedTable=84&FirstYear=1999&LastYear=2010&Freq=Qtr&Java=Y#mid)and you'll see that by 1998 the U.S. was comfortably in the black based on expenditures.

By the third quarter of 2001, George Bush began to spend more than the government was taking in. And for his ENTIRE administration we have been operating at a net deficit, spending more money than the government was taking in. George Bush gave tax cuts DURING WARTIME. Military spending up ... government taking in less money.

Bush mortgaged America's future to pay for his irresponsible and unnecessary war in the present. You don't need an economics degree from Harvard to know that that dog don't hunt. You can't spend $10 Billion + every month (for Iraq alone) and still expect to take less into the government coffers. That's not only stupid econonmic policy, it's lunacy.

So it's pretty simple proposition to me. The government needs to take in more or the government needs to spend less or a combination of both. That to me is why an Obama presidency promises an improvement on the economy. People like McCain who are thinking for the U.S. with their egos are dangerous to us all, because they would divorce the populace from reality by not allowing all Americans to feel the true cost of this war. It's innoculation of the masses by smoke and mirrors.

Anonymous said...

Toddy wants the same wonderful life he had in high school. Jockholes always do.

Palin, like many Fundies, thinks that the image is what makes the ruling class superior. So, she finds TinaNotFunnyFey glasses in WalMart, dresses in Burberry, and has 'too-too-busy' hair. Then she doesn't do the job.

Umm, Field, you should look in your backyard for these women. Bucks, Berks, Montgomery, Chester, Delaware, Schuykill,Lehigh, Northampton, Lancaster..all 67 have ladies that identify with Ms Palin

Mold

EzMun said...

Put another way, since George Bush took office we have SPENT $11.83 Trillion MORE than we have taken in.

Currently the government takes in about $16 Trillion dollars a year in taxes and Social Security contributions. Since 2000, the government has taken in on average of about $13.8 Trillion each year. Bush spent $11.8 trillion more than we've collected over the past 8 years, or almost an ENTIRE YEAR of Tax and Social Security revenue. And what's worse is that that boi McInsane wants to make the current tax cuts permante (taking in less money) and STILL continue to have a blank check to spend like a drunken sailor in these unnecessary foreign wars.

To an individual, each of us working stiffs have contributed more than $4000 to this ill gotten war. That's money that could have been used to either improve America or saved to reduce the national debt. We seriously cannot afford another 8 years of that madness.

Anonymous said...

Sorry folks, just saw the SNL with Fey and Poehler. Fey Nailed It. She was funny. Apologies

Mold

field negro said...

"Umm, Field, you should look in your backyard for these women. Bucks, Berks, Montgomery, Chester, Delaware, Schuykill,Lehigh, Northampton, Lancaster..all 67 have ladies that identify with Ms Palin"

Mold, I know them well, believe me :)

ezmun,how many people in A-merry-ca can say that they are better off now than they were 8 years ago? And yet we know that at least 45% of these people will be voting for the party that put them in this position. Don't you just love it?

jszzy,she doesn't call Obama by his name because he is not worthy. He should be driving Ms. Daisy, not running the country.

Anonymous said...

Please take punk ass Mark Fuhrman down.

rainywalker said...

Don't agree with everything here today Field, so I wrote my own blog about Alaska, etc. But I'm still voting for the "O" man!

Anonymous said...

Off topic but I wonder whats' up with this?

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/09/15/hurricane-ike-media/

west coast story said...

Ezmun: the Clinton critics are referring to his favor of deregulation, not his budgetary achievements.

field negro said...

rainywalker, I respect your opinion, after all, you live up that way. But this is just one academics point of view. Hey, my sister lives in Seattle, so I am not killing all of the "Great Northwest" just yet. Looking forward to that post.

anon. just a couple of more days for Mr. Fuhrman. :)

Anonymous said...

"Why isn't PETA and Greenpeace, and the rest of the animal lovers not going after Palin, like they did Michael Vick?" Anon 11:41 a.m.

It's certainly not as vocal as what it was during the whole Vick controversy. The Defenders of Wildlife, a Washington-based environmental group, just put out an an anti-palin commercial about the brutality of the aerial hunting of wolves, which Palin supports. It's apparently running in swing states.

See the ad here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5JZgtYy6oA

Sheila

EzMun said...

West Coast Story,

I gotcha.

Ez.

Anonymous said...

I've heard that urban blacks in Philly kill each other... There's reporting and then there's reporting I think. She ain't reporting.

Szpork

field negro said...

"Why isn't PETA and Greenpeace, and the rest of the animal lovers not going after Palin, like they did Michael Vick?" Anon 11:41 a.m."


"It's certainly not as vocal as what it was during the whole Vick controversy. The Defenders of Wildlife, a Washington-based environmental group, just put out an an anti-palin commercial about the brutality of the aerial hunting of wolves, which Palin supports. It's apparently running in swing states. "


Thanks for the update on that question sheila.

SagaciousHillbilly said...

I've lived in rural Amurkkka all my life and never been exposed to one of these groups that they tell us we're supposed to be so afraid of.
Are there plenty of rural white people who hold radical right wing views? Hell yes, but most are too stupid to get organized. Those that do are few and far between.

Anonymous said...

This is great. We need a story that'll stop voters thinking about the links between Obama and Ayers. This'll do the trick.

Thanks

west coast story said...

There is no link between Obama and Ayers except they lived in the same housing development and they served on a board together. There's nothing more to say. Obama was a child when Ayers was bombing away. I've served on plenty of boards and commissions and I would sure as hell hope I'm not responsible for everyone else I served with since I was not the one responsible for doing the appointing.

Palin's husband belongs to an organization that supports seceding from the union. That would make him a traitor. Let's talk about that.

Let's talk about the economic nightmare we find ourselves in today. Mc has been in the senate for 26 years so that would make him part of the problem. Let's talk about that. Let's talk about how the GOP owned Congress for 16 years, and had the White House for half of the time and ran the economy of this country into the ground. Deregulation has led to the current real estate crisis, investment crisis, and now banks are failing. Let's talk about that. Or we could talk about a guy who blew up something when Obama was in knee pants.

If you are actuall;y interested in the truth about the nonrelationship between Ayers and Obama, see the links below. It's instructive to note that Hillary brought this up apparently unaware that her husband pardoned or commuted the sentences of two Weather Underground members. When people bring up what a bad decision it was for Obama not to select Hillary as a running mate, remember this and the pardon of Mark Rich.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/us/politics/17truth.html?_r=1&ref=politics&oref=slogin

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/17/ayers-and-obama-what-is-t_n_97204.html

Anonymous said...

Talk about rhetoric.......so if you from the PacNW, your a racist by association......???? Keep smearing the tar....

field negro said...

"Talk about rhetoric.......so if you from the PacNW, your a racist by association......???? ..."

Yeah, just like if you are from Chicago you are a crooked politician by association. Or if you are from New England you are a Yankee elite by association. See how simple it is? ;)

Anonymous said...

i'm a middle age white chick with a black family. all my life i have lived with a jewish name. i am christian. i have lived with the backward black "jokes" or all the comparisons of a jewish person being "black inside out". but, i am and was still a christian. i got a phamplet in the mail telling me how to go back to my "homeland" of isreal...omg i was still a christian but living in hud housing. i fear for our nation if palin makes vp. with all these racist comments i have seen all around the web i really beleive that a black man needs to be president. i was voting for him besides his color at first. but now after everything i have heard and seen i really want not only a black man in office but this man obama in office. go obama 08

Black Man said...

Great story. The more I read about Palin the more the thought of her being a "Heart beat away from the Presidency" scares me.