THE SAUDA VOICE

COMMENTER SPOTLIGHT: Anthony Taurus

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In response to the Many Indifferent to Overt Racism post, commenter Anthony Taurus of The United States of Anthony made some excellent points that deserve to be highlighted.  Check them out here and feel free to join the discussion. 

Me thinks most times Black folk just rather rub a bat across some folks' faces to drive the point home because at the end of the day, talk is cheap. White folks have been gettin' away with verbal provocation for centuries because Blacks aren't allowed to express appropriate anger appropriately. So, you just ignore it. Let it go.

A perfect example is what happened in Jena. As a Black person growing up, that's the ultimate lesson taught: As a White person, you are under a different set of penalties as opposed to a different set of rules. White kids get a slap on the wrist but the Black kids are taught that when they react, it's going to be attempted murder.

It's the same thing with the Rockefeller drug laws that sought to differentiate between crack and cocaine. Then again, ask the White guys who were caught with crack and the black guys who were caught with cocaine. The penalties weren't crack vs cocaine but instead, black vs white.

COMMENTER SPOTLIGHT: Rebecca B. Discusses Sarah Palin

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With all the buzz going around these days about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, it comes as no surprise that opinions vary.  The Right would have you believe that this unknown is a Saint above all reproach and criticism.  Her qualifications are apparently the fact that she's "a mom" and has "executive experience" (the latest Republican talking point).  Here's what Sauda Voice reader Rebecca B. had to say about Gov. Palin: 

"She has next to no experience in government. When asked about national security background or knowledge regarding foreign affairs, the best Ms. McCain could come up with was “she lives right by Russia.”

She has only traveled outside the country twice in her life. She belonged (as did her husband “Mr. First Dude”) to a 3rd party which among other things supports allowing Alaska to secede from the United States and feels the only thing wrong with the John Birch Society was it was too liberal!

She tried to have a local librarian fired for not banning books.  (She) used her political office to try to have fired and smear a state trooper who is in a custody battle with her sister.  (She) is being investigated for this and is worried enough about the outcome to have recently “lawyered up.”

(She) currently has pretty messy family issues; recently gave birth to a son with Downs Syndrome and has a 17 year old daughter who is pregnant.  Ironically, she has fought sex education in the schools and (the) availability of contraception for minors.

(She) believes that for 9 months a woman has no right to control what is happening to her own body and is basically nothing more than a baby container.  She does not believe in a woman’s right to choose to end a pregnancy, even if she has been raped.

(She) does not believe human pollution has anything to do with global warming (even Bush has had to back down on this one).  (She) is so in bed with big oil that she is willing to watch as the polar bear and beluga whales become extinct, rather than slow the possibility of drilling.  She would open up one of the last great wildernesses on earth to exploitation by oil interests. 

(She) laughs when hearing a fellow Republican woman being called a bitch in public (she and the woman had disagreed on several issues). I guess this does make her on par with McCain who thinks it is alright to call your wife a cunt in public.

(She) has an undergraduate degree in Journalism from a small obscure university.

She has been repeatedly described as stubborn with a vicious streak – even by family and friends (nickname is Sarah Barracuda).

(She) did fundraising and accepted money from the same sources as Sen. Ted Stevens.

(She) pushed for the “bridge to nowhere," then flipped when convenient to do so.

She has been named Sen. John McCain’s VP selection for the Republican ticket. Sen. McCain is 72 years old and has reoccurring cancer as part of his health history. One cannot help but question Mr. McCain’s judgment regarding her selection."

THANK YOU REBECCA B! (You represent those of us well who actually RESEARCH a person or issue
before blindly making statements or giving support)

COMMENTER SPOTLIGHT:Breia Discusses Joe Biden

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While discussing Senator Joe Biden in some of my few recent posts (see here and here), the conversation quickly turned toward whether or not Senator Biden is the "gaffe" machine that the media makes him out to be.  Personally, I don't think so.  However, this doesn't mean that he hasn't made some off-color remarks (no pun intended).  I've uncovered only three of these over his 27-year career, just enough for the Sauda Voice to assign Senator Biden his own personal "Hillary Meter."  See more about the Hillary Meter here.  For a quick brush up, the controversial (and rightly so) statements are below:

"I mean, you got the first mainstream African American (candidate) who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy."

"In Delaware, the largest growth in population is Indian-Americans moving from India. You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking."

"(Delaware) is a slave state that fought beside the North.  That's only because we couldn't figure out how to get to the South.  There were a couple of states in the way."

The Sauda Voice gives Senator Biden the benefit of the doubt on this issue (with reserved caution, of course).  I just haven't seen enough evidence to rightfully label Senator Biden as a racist and these three statements alone are not enough for me (not without more evidence, especially over a 27-year career).  In addition, his record on the issues that I care about is very good and deserving of praise.  With that said, I think diverse perspectives are very important, which is why the comment from reader "Breia" stood out for me.  Breia is a former long-time resident of Delaware.  Here's what she had to say about Joe Biden:

"As a black woman who lived in Delaware for 8 years, I can honestly say that I don't believe Joe Biden is a bigot by any means. He has done a lot for blacks and women there, and most speak affectionately of him. Obviously, he puts his foot in his mouth from time to time, lol. With the clean and articulate comment, all I think he was trying to say is that you have the first African-American candidate that doesn't scare white people (like Jesse Jackson maybe). Of course, he couldn't say that either.

I had never heard the comment he made about Indian-Americans in Delaware before. That was a surprise and also very insensitive. It does seem that Indians own every 7-eleven and Dunkin Donuts in the state, but I think that they are just smart businessman and those businesses are just popular among them. They are also very supportive of their family members and helping them start their businesses as well. He could have worded it much different, I really don't know what he was thinking with that one."

THANK YOU BREIA!!