Friday 13 February 2009

white, christian, republican americans

A bugbear: liberal Europeans slagging off American Christians as if they are ipso facto weird baddies of some kind. Their mindset is unlike almost anything we have over here, and I don't pretend to understand it or agree with how they think society should be run, but I hate people assuming I agree with them when they make American Christians the butt of lazy jokes. The Blind Side by Michael Lewis is a great book about a rich Evangelical family in Tennessee adopting a giant underprivileged black kid. I defy anyone to read it and not think the family are fundamentally good people.

One of the many amazing things about Obama's victory is that useless comedians can't say 'Americans' in a sneering voice that presumes a smug laugh of agreement. I am reading To Be President, by Ian Leslie*, and perhaps the most revealing stuff so far is about Mike Huckabee. Huckabee, the conservative preacher Republican insurgent, was the candidate presented over here as the scary alien one. And yet, after the Reverend Wright speeches (GOD DAMN AMERICA!, etc.) became public, Huckabee quickly said, 'You can't hold the candidate responsible for everything that people around him may say or do.' Then Huckabee added:
As easy as it is for those of us who are white to look back and say 'That's a terrible statement', I grew up in a very segregated south, and I think that you have to cut some slack. And I'm going to be probably the only conservative in America who's going to say something like this, but I'm just telling you: we've got to cut some slack to people who grew up being called names, being told: 'You have to sit in the balcony when you go to the movie; you have to go to the back door to go into the restaurant; there's a separate waiting room in the doctor's office; here's where you sit on the bus.' And you know what? Sometimes people do have a chip on their shoulder. And you have to just say, I probably would too. In fact, I may have had more of a chip on my shoulder had it been me.

I'm not saying Huckabee's typical - he's probably not - but it's a complicated story that people are lazy about because it gratifies their egos so to be.

*Disclaimer fans: Ian Leslie is a friend of mine.

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