I get this crap all the time. Some people I otherwise respected and like have bought into the whole padded bandwagon of right-wing hysteria in this country. And when one misses something, others seem to fill in the loony/racist gap.
So I followed a link on the right side of this page, yes, that's it - the "urban legends" one. That goes to snopes.com. Today's click brought me to a frustrating demonstration of our current political landscape, and a reasoned, fact-based refutation.
The Pigford case was about racial discrimination at the USDA, and if presented with some facts omitted and some included, some rearranged and some distorted, makes it look as if Glenn Beck has a point when he fulminates against the uppity negroes running the gummint. ("Gummint" is a Molly Ivins trademark. Racist hysteria is widespread among social "conservatives," whom I call "post-integrationists," in the US.)
Fortunately/unfortunately, the case is more complicated. Fortunately because it means that Shirley Sherrod and Barack Obama did not conspire to rob the Treasury of $1.25 billion. Unfortunate because the refuted argument gets wide circulation among my former principal and beloved aunt and uncle.
Snopes is brilliant, but ineffective against the nightly chalkboard-enhanced rants of our country's premier fascist cheerleader.
About Me
- Steve Shea
- A 40-ish publisher (editor, project manager, etc.), husband, and father of an even number of offspring, I grew up, or failed to, reading fantasy and sci-fi. I still enjoy reading, and now am trying to write. My favorite books include YA fantasy, manga, biography, and advice to authors. I'm also a former history major/grad student/high school teacher and assessment writer. Now I work for a school supplement publisher, specializing in high-low chapter books. I spend a lot of my time controlling reading levels. At night, I cut loose and use long words. W00t!
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