Harry Reid is No More Bigoted Than You or I

When you enter the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, and are about to enter the tour, you have a choice of doors. One is marked “Prejudiced.” The other door is marked “Unprejudiced.” But the second door, if one checks, is locked. The point of this is to immediately get you in touch with your own inner bigot. In truth, we all harbor prejudice, to one degree or another. And no matter how nice a person we think we are, we’re fooling ourselves if we think otherwise.

So when Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, admitted – admitted! – to authors of a book about the last presidential election, that he had thought Barack Obama was a viable candidate, because he was “light-skinned” and had “no Negro dialect,” he wasn’t referring to his own prejudice. He was referring to the prejudice that all of us have. He was saying that if a black man were going to be president, he would have to be someone who was less black – someone who wouldn’t activate the latent bigotry inherent in white America. (He wasn’t concerned with blatant bigots or racists, as they would have never voted for a black man in the first place.)

Interestingly, Senator Joe Biden, made similar comments, with the same reasoning, early on in the campaign. Mr. Obama understood the context of his remarks, and chose him as his Vice Presidential running mate.

Here’s another wrinkle on the black and white issue. Two years ago, when the light-skinned, non-Negro dialected Mr. Obama was eager to gain the votes of blacks, it was not uncommon for him to alter his dialect and mannerisms, depending upon whether he was addressing black audiences in South Carolina, or white audiences in New Hampshire. He understood that a certain kind of reverse bigotry was inherent in blacks, and needed to convince them that he was one of them.

And now, the Republicans calling for Senator Reid’s removal as majority leader are clearly engaged in playing politics. They point to the fact that the Democrats dethroned Sen. Trent Lott for a similar peccadillo.  The difference is, Mr. Lott said that Sen. Strom Thurmond, who was an avowed segregationist for much of his career, would have made a great president. In other words, he was praising a man who was an acknowledged bigot. A man who would have divided America even further. Given those circumstances, Mr. Lott’s fall from grace was justified.

Mr. Reid is no more bigot than you or I. He simply pointed out that we have a long way to go towards becoming colorblind. President Obama understands that. And that’s the reason he correctly accepted his apology.

So think about it. Are you ready to acknowledge your own inner bigot? Sen. Harry Reid is no more bigoted than you or I. Recognizing the prejudices we all have, great or small, is a first step in the right direction.

Tagged as: bigotry in politics against obama, Recognizing prejudices, Reid Apologizes to Obama, Reid Racial Comments, Senator Harry Reid racial comments

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