IS RON PAUL A RACIST?
I may be Quixotic but I want to put up here a limited defense of Ron Paul
By some Leftist definitions, Ron Paul IS a racist. But Leftists class as a racist anybody who mentions racial differences at all — a definition which is to my mind just a form of abuse. Are medical scientists (e.g. here) who repeatedly find medically significant differences between blacks and whites racists too?
I mentioned yesterday Taranto’s feeble attempt to brand Ron Paul as a racist but he has clearly retracted that claim today. I suspect that I was far from the only one who sent him links and emails that took him to task over his comments yesterday.
A much more serious claim that Ron Paul is a racist comes from black conservative Bob Parks. Bob Parks generally speaks a lot of sense but the refusal of Ron Paul to be politically correct has obviously alarmed him. Parks has a whole list of broadly realistic utterances from Ron Paul that would have any Leftist shrieking “racism”. The prime example seems to be:
“We don’t think a child of 13 should be held responsible as a man of 23. That’s true for most people, but black males age 13 who have been raised on the streets and who have joined criminal gangs are as big, strong, tough, scary and culpable as any adult and should be treated as such.”
If you left out the word “black”, I think there could well be a majority of Americans who agreed with that. And, given his vocal condemnation of real racism (as now linked by Taranto), I suspect that Ron Paul himself would intend his remarks to apply to all gang members who otherwise fitted his description. And who would deny that many of the gang members who fit Ron Paul’s description are in fact black? Ron Paul has no difficulty in describing reality but Bob Parks seems uncomfortable with it.
One of my Jewish correspondents emailed me with the thought that Taranto initially got a bit freaked over Ron Paul because Ron Paul frequently denounces “neocons” and in Leftist mouths “neocon” is often code for “Jew”. That would be an understandable mistake. But it shows no awareness of the libertarian position on armies and war. There are probably no two libertarians anywhere who agree totally with one another but, as extreme individualists, libertarians tend to be very suspicious of ANYTHING that governments do — and armies and war are very clearly large examples of the exercise of government power. Many libertarians in fact deny that armed forces are needed at all. To caricature a little, they believe that each man should have his own bazooka and that would be sufficient to deter any invader or attacker. I disagree with that but I am describing a common libertarian view.
So given that background, opposition to foreign military interventions (interventions which neocons favour) is fundamental for a libertarian like Ron Paul. And that makes him fundamentally opposed to the foreign wars that GWB has undertaken with neocon support. So Ron Paul’s opposition to the neocons is entirely explicable on POLICY grounds, not racial grounds. And his view that it is Bush’s advisers who are most responsible for the foreign wars rather than Bush himself is one shared with many Leftists. For Ron Paul, however, that opinion clearly serves the end of limiting criticism of an administration (GWB, Cheney, Rice etc.) that is still popular in many conservative circles.
It has also been remarked that Ron Paul gets approval from a motley crew of political extremists, from Nazis to Communists. But that is again to be expected of a libertarian. Libertarians agree with conservatives on some things and Leftists on other things so a libertarian who forcefully expresses a view that is dear to the heart of an extremist will get some approval. And most extremists of all sorts are highly critical of Bush government policies (particularly in the middle East) so Ron Paul’s vocal criticisms of those policies can be expected to be welcomed in extremist circles. To judge Ron Paul by those who praise him is very strange however. By that logic he is both a Communist and a Nazi!
I intend nothing that I have said above as support for Ron Paul. My preference remains strongly for Fred Thompson. I intend what I have said above as just my attempt to set the record straight in an area that is much prone to hysteria.
Update:
I am both amused and pleased that some readers have questioned my point above about Ron Paul being supposedly both a Nazi and a Communist. They say that in view of my own comments about the Leftist nature of Nazism, the combination is not at all improbable. That does however overlook the fact that “splits” are chronic on the far-Left and it is other “splittists” that Leftists tend to hate most of all. Sibling rivalry can be vicious. And the enmity between Nazis and Communists was indeed great in WWII (as the many German bodies resting in Russian soil attest) and continues to this day. The basis of the split was in fact a fundamental one. Marx and Lenin wanted class-war whereas Hitler wanted all Germans united in one big conformist happy family: Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Fuehrer. Hitler was in that way closer to Hegel than Marx was.
Posted by John Ray
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Posted by JonJayRay on December 28, 2007 8:23 am
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14 Responses to “IS RON PAUL A RACIST?”
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Thanks for this defense of Ron Paul– you are one of the few people supporting another candidate who has attempted to deal with this issue with fairness and understanding not hysteria.
Everyone is different – I agree with Dr. Paul that the trouble comes when you try to put them in groups to assign characteristics to them. I don’t believe I should have to make up for the sins of people who died long ago any more than I feel I have to make up for the sins of people doing bad things now. What, now you’re going to do bad things to me because I’m (sorta) white?
Thanks for the fair article about the next US President.
I just heard someone from the official campaign claim that Rudy was best suited to deal with the Muslims and Rudy would “chase them back into their caves”. Now that is a raciest position. Dr. Paul on the other hand sees how the drug laws create “crime” out of a medical problem. He is the only candidate that would stop the “War on Drugs” that has disproportionately ruined the lives of many young black men. As an attorney, I believe it is evil to incarcerate anyone who has not harmed the life liberty or property of another. Ron Paul is the only candidate to address this injustice. By the way Ron Paul has rap songs written about him. Check out King Solomon, who sings “Ron Paul for the Long Haul.”
I agree with you 100%, I support Ron Paul.
I find it refreshing that he doesn’t pander to the politically correct crowd or the special interests.
As far as him being a racist, I think that is simply outrageous. Their is simply a double standard and when dealing with facts, it is easy to play the race card. (As what Mr.Parks so conveniently has and will continue to)
I bet Bob Parks never took the time to find the quote you mentioned… How convenient on his part.
It sure is strange when people’s decisions on voting are…
“She’s a women so I’m voting for her.” or “He’s black so I’m voting for him.”
Believe it or not their are real problems facing America, and I for one think Ron Paul’s ideas are better answers to solve them, than anyone else has to offer.
A also agree 100% and I also support Dr. Paul.
Race baiting is easy to do and race is never far from the surface for the 13% of the population that is African American.
Dr. Paul has been very vocal about stopping the “war on drugs” which is aimed at people of color and poor people. What better evidence is there that he isn’t a racist?
You should just google the whole piece that the quote, even though it is maintained that someone other than Paul wrote it, which was an emotional reaction to the LA Riots, the media reaction, and the political reaction to the LA Riots. Yes Rodney King should not have been beaten as he was and the trial was questionable though many factors played into that. Yes the MSM should have showed the beginning of the tape showing King charge at the cops whether that would have helped prevent the intensity of the rioting or not and potentially save lives. Yes many people were killed or injured in the riots based on not their character, but the color of their skin and the crimes of others. Yes this all must be taken into account before we want to start digging up such unfortunate times of our past where race relations were at their breaking point. Anyone around during the early 90s who actually remembers it saw more turmoil than most of us would care to relive.
Don’t bother to google it, here it is:
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.african.american/msg/c8668bd3662b0fa5
Let others know about this speach Doctor Paul gave in Jan 2007 honouring
Muhammad Ali!!
http://www.dailypaul.com/node/17915
Wonderful…
I read the speech he gave in Jan 2007 honouring Muhammad Ali, (during which any small traces of doubt I had about this “racist” issue evaporated).
http://www.dailypaul.com/node/17915
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/record.xpd?id=110-h20070117-38
Wonderful…
I hate talking about the issue of racism even though you wouldn’t know from the fact that this is my second post, but now is my time to vent. You know why we can’t have an effective dialogue on racism, and a related issue which I contend is not racism but ethnocentrism? Because we are not civilized enough to, especially considering the triviality of our media and how it would be presented. Because it seems to me that whenever racism is discussed it is either this group or that group, which is faulty but ethnocentrism makes it somewhat unavoidable. As a white man who grew up in a poor rural all white neighborhood and has spent the last decade in predominately poor black inner cities I have seen both sides of the trenches. I remember visiting the south for a NASCAR race when I was younger and seeing the looks that the sole black couple were given during their meal that weekend. I have seen just what the inner city is like, not just for me, but for blacks, and especially asians, who are never discussed but get it from both sides. I have been in interracial relationships and dealt with the hardships created by outside forces. I have also seen ethnocentrism which is not racism at all but may cause harm and hateful situations due to the nature of and reactions to ethnocentrism itself.
The fact of the matter is that racism knows no race, while it is perpetuated by upbringing and the rhetoric of various interest groups disguised as non racists but explicit racists as well, racism in and of itself is merely ignorance based on hate, envy, and the society that we have no choice but to live in and history is also a big factor. That is what separates it from other forms of ignorance. Unfortunately the issue of racism itself is too complicated for most of the population to effectively grasp, hell even me seeing it from many sides and manifestations am somewhat scared to confront it because I don’t think such a discussion can actually produce a productive result based on all the factors that I have mentioned which truly saddens me. That is why I treat it, other than right now, like how Morgan Freeman treats it. He ignores it for the most part, he doesn’t let it hurt him, why should ignorants be listened to, let alone their opinion matter to someone who is not racist? If they threaten your life or create a situation where you must stand up for yourself or your family that is one thing, but merely words of a fool is just that.
This has really nothing to do with Ron Paul but thanks for the soap box. My previous post was insufficient left by itself and need further explanation and this is as short as I could make this post.
I discovered Ron Paul several months after I discoverd this web site:
http://www.letsroll911.org
Scroll down to the picture of the jet going into the WTC with the orange spot on the wall next to the jet. Start clicking on the links to watch it go in the WTC. What is that thing going into the wall with the jet?
Ron Paul is NOT a racist.
See here:
http://bostonbeatnik.blogspot.com/2007/12/dont-believe-anyone-who-says-ron-paul.html
If it were only true that “Leftists class as a racist anybody who mentions racial differences at all”. They are the ones who support affirmative action and any other policy that attempts to create equal outcome (as opposed to equal opportunity).
The left does more harm to race relations than any group in America.
I think he is an old cenile man & doesn’t realize that what he is saying is actually racist… he’s not gonna be president. he should drop out now & save some $$$.