A ‘RACIST?’ WHO’S TO SAY?
BY DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY
(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY JAN. 15, 2018) — Linda Tyer is a racist. Earl Persip is a racist. Dan Valenti is a racist. Milt Plum is a racist. They are of a race, the human race (a sprint, so the ish-ka-bible tells us in Genesis, won by Adam, cuz’ he was first).
“ist,” a suffix added to a noun to indicate a state of being preponderant in a person often by reason of attitude or employed aptitude. There. Is that good enough? We are all racists as in “of a race.” Today, however, the word “racist” employed as an epithet has lost all meaning. The word cannot help but be an inscrutable blur at a time when anything can offend anybody and everyone can claim minority status.
Is Donald Trump a racist because he called a continent (Africa) and a bunch of third-world countries “shitholes?” The answer has little to do with racism but much to do with a different “ism,” those being conservatism or progressivism. If you be ideologically defined by either of those isms, you’ll likely say that Trump isn’t or is a racist, respectively. That tells us the matter devolves into politics, that peculiar power granted from remote corners to companies of folk easily seduced by yet another “ism.” That be collectivism or, more precisely, the comfort of group illogic, the fear that drives people away from thinking for themselves.
Anyone of independent mind could and would never reasonably presume a man as remote as President of the United States, let alone an oligarch such as Trump, to be any type of encroaching condition indicated by today’s temporary flashing as seen in the cavalierly applied understanding of “racist.” Who can say what another person is without direct experience of the “I live along side him” type? As one of THE PLANET’s correspondents observed, we don’t possess the power to look into another’s soul. Judgment does not come from a body of light but a body of ignorant fire, God excluded.
Does Trump’s casual use of language come as a surprise to anyone? What Trump’s opponents damn with holiness his supporters call honest and refreshing. As for THE PLANET, we personally would never and have never referred to a country, a continent, or a class as a shithole. Perhaps everyone on the political scale from Elizabeth Warren to Jeff Sessions ought to be reminded that “democracies elect their sewage” (Ezra Pound). We’ve seen that in every president since Nixon and, in Pittsfield, every mayoral election since Don Butler.
For THE PLANET? We don’t know who Trump is, so for us, nothing. We leave such judgments for others. We assess executive power on action. The most important function of government is the handling of the money supply, in other words, the economy, stupid. By that account, Trump has done well, which of course is no more his fault that the deficit.
A person’s job is to live responsibility, true to goodness derived from a fearlessly honest inner code. The soul’s job, if we may speak of something even more ill-defined than “racist,” is “to build light” (another insight from Uncle Ez).
We might suggest a retreat from judgment and a look at the splinters and beams that squish the blink in all of our respective eyes. It’s never too late to try the magnificent.
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“Judge not lest ye be judged, for you shall be judged by the standards you yourself shall apply” — Jesus.
“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”
LOVE TO ALL.
The Usual Disclaimer.
The Planet could have gone farther on this. The use of the word “racist” is usually an attempt by the accuser to signal their virtue. If someone calls Trump a “racist” they are not one themselves. The signalling of virtue is not only behind the label “racist” but also the “me too” movement. They accuse men of actions that they happen to find offensive and try to destroy their lives with the accusations without offering any evidence other than many accusations. It signals virtue to support them. The definition of virtue is what we do when nobody is watching, everything else is hypocrisy.
CHUCK
This is the best, that is most perceptive, comment in the string. You make a profound point about the nature of such branding as the “racist” label. Too often the people who so cavalierly hurl this insult do it to glorify themselves. That signal to “virtue” is, as you say, hypocritical. Many of the comments here, the ones jumping on. The “racist” bandwagon, would seem here to emanate from such among the self-righteous.
Well thank you. By the way, genetic scientists have long abandoned the concept of “race” since it can’t be defined genetically. Geneticist can define race in other species, such as chimps, but not in humans. Of course genetic differences exist but these are related to country of origin not to some defined subset of the population we call “black” or “white”. See https://psmag.com/environment/why-your-race-isnt-genetic-82475
Equality of Opportunity! Everyone has the same chance to succeed in life. But, that is not how the real world works, unfortunately. Trump was born into a wealthy family. He was given many advantages most could only dream of having. He is giving more money to the wealthy than they already have, while the underclass grows larger and larger by the day. I believe that Trump and members of his administration are racist. That is how he got elected, but it will backfire on him in 2020!
Are there any shit hole streets in Pittsfield that I should avoid Jonathan?
Jonathan wouldn’t know because he moved far away from the Berkshires decades ago. All of his barbs are thrown from afar.
I blog about Pittsfield politics. I read the Planet Valenti blog, too. I love reading about my native hometown.
JM, thanks for your ultracrepidarianist opinion.
I learned a new word for my pseudo-intellectual vocabulary!
If the countries being referenced as ‘shitholes’ offer so much opportunity and are such fine places to live, then why are so many in those respective populations so desperately seeking to emigrate elsewhere (and especially to America)?
If one examines the extremely low costs-of-living in Haiti or Venezuela or Nigeria, such places represent incredible value. U.S. Dollars are truly prized.
For the cost of a poverty-level existence in Berkshire County, one could easily afford a spacious home with maid, cook, and chauffeur in these sunny, faraway climes.
Yet, where are the hoards of Berkshire intellectuals and glitterati rushing to move to destinations such as these where their American cash would be welcomed?
You may be onto something GM. What if all the fixed income Pittsfield elderly moved to Haiti and yanked Tyers piggy bank out from under her?
And would her wealthy friends still be her friends if she could not cut their taxes?
Comments from Aveda King, niece of Martin Luther King, about Trump being a racist due to remarks he supposedly made during a closed door meeting. How the media and Progressives twisted his remarks so they could cry racist as they will doing for the next 3 year:
She said that Trump has done excellent work in highlighting the important accomplishments of her uncle, including officially declaring his Georgia birthplace a national historic park.
“Racism is just a word that is being bandied about and thrown… at the president unjustly,” she said. “President Trump is not a racist.”
King said that, in his reported remarks, Trump was not disparaging Africans or Haitians but instead calling attention to the fact many of their governments are inadequate and corrupt.
“Some of their own leaders have taken advantage of them,” she said.
I would have to agree about the racist term being labeled pretty freely. No matter what happened or what was said, it provided strong evidence that he is not a stable genius. I find it more troubling, with his Norway comparison comments.
Norway is one of the few countries more wealthy than the USA, it’s simply a fact. It’s not like the progressives would agree with him if he picked Qatar
Fakes news. Norway is not wealthier
Trump invites this,it is a racist statement and calling the 1st black President a Muslim and non citizen was a racist statement.He did not want a black Christian American getting credit for leading all the white business men out of their financial collaspe so he tried and failed to destroy him
Trump invites this over and over by the stupidity of his own tongue. He has zero moral character, or self discipline
So School Committee the way the liberal media and Progressives are treating President Trump is payback for Trump questioning Barack Obama’s birth certificate? This is revenge? Questioning a birth certificate is racist?
Stop listening to Rachel Maddow who uses her intelligence to divide people unlike someone great like Martin Luther King who always tried to bring people TOGETHER.
I would take a stable genius over an intelligent person any day.
Pat, you are hardly the person to talk about bringing people together. Every comment you make is about THOSE progressives. It’s not all that black and white.
Progressives need to be criticized. They are the ones who want to impeach Trump. Should we stand by quietly and let them continue to try to do so for the next 3 years? How about waiting to see if his policies work? If his policies don’t work, people will move on to another president. It’s a natural process, but Progressives are determined to not let that process happen.
Defend the racism because you have to,and the porn actresses payouts,or the Senator Mccains not a hero,or his union busting tactic ,his backing of Puttins Russia,assaults of women because of celeb status….you ignore and excuse his behavior because you have to as you Support it…..He gave Billionsires and Corporations money lots and lots of money so you patiently wait for yours…..good for you
Hilary’s campaign started the birther thing
Trump spent 6years as head of the birther movement to get him impeached ,failed at this to.Hillary said nothing about his birth certifscate in any campaign against Obama
Do a little research outside of PMSNBC.
Alveda King, the niece of Martin Luther King, was on FOX news this morning singing the praises of President Donald Trump. Unemployment in the African American community is down. President Trump is fighting to create jobs for African Americans. He isn’t just all talk like most politicians who say pretty lines, but do nothing. President Trump gets results.
Alveda King is a friend of Donald Trump. She says she KNOWS President Trump is NOT a racist. Would Alveda King be friends with a man who is a racist?!? She quoted the words from one of Martin Luther King’s most powerful speeches:
“I am convinced that men hate each other because they fear each other. They fear each other because they don’t know each other, and they don’t know each other because they don’t communicate with each other, and they don’t communicate with each other because they are separated from each other.” Dr. Martin Luther Those words certainly ring true for right now in this country.
If he gave Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep her mouth shut about their sex fling you have to wonder how much Alveda got. Trump has a long history of paying people off. That is a fact. Not an alternative fact but a real fact.
And as far as Trump being a racist just wait till Omarosa releases the tell all book she is writing as we speak.
Radical Democrats are determined to tear our country apart for the next 3 years with their cries of “racism”. Will you really go so far as accusing Martin Luther King’s niece as being bought off? Where does it stop? Aveda King is an African American woman. She represents everything the left says they are fighting for, but she isn’t one of them so she shouldn’t be believed?
This all fits in with what Martin Luther King said about keeping people separated. In order for the left to take power again they need to keep people divided. They do this by constantly ACCUSING people they don’t like of one thing after another.
Well said Pat.
Doesn’t one pay a porn star to keep their mouth open?
Dan, one can and should not ever judge someone based on a single comment or a single moment or a first impression. However, when someone establishes a body of work over 50 years or so, a consistent bodg of work, actual informed conclusions can be drawn. Trump has been proving himself a racist through words and actions for decades. Thr Shithole and Norway utterances were merely the latest entries in a long and obviously intentional string. Read about it here: https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/trump-shithole-comment-racist-in-the-oval-office and here: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/01/15/opinion/leonhardt-trump-racist.html
Its time to stop making excuses for him, enabling him, and start rebuking him publicly. This is unacceptable in a neighbor, a relative and certainly in the president of the United States.
MR G
Thank you for the well-phrased comment. I would reply that even in a 50-yr body of evidence, one cannot make definitive judgments about another in the fashion of sweeping condemnations — or canonizations, for that matter. This is especially true for people in the public eye, as Trump has been all his life. I have been in the workplace for nearly as long, since 1975 in the media: newspapers, magazines, radio, tv, and cyberspace. Many people know that “DAN VALENTI” but few know Dan Valenti. When I did radio, I used to joke that on the air, I was 6’4″. That was my sly reference to that problem of the application of identity. That being said, every person must define for himself the conditions that trigger critical thinking, of which judgment of the kind we’re talking about is a subset, a division that crosses messily into morality. That’s why I have to respect an opposing view such as yours, my good friend.
Rich coming from Democrats about not making excuses for their leaders. Barack Obama was ignoring ISIS killing millions of Christians when Trump quickly took care of the problem and drove them out of the areas they had been occupying. Obama could have done the same but chose not to. Obama had disastrous foreign policy which is why we are having so many problems now. Obama’s idea of foreign policy was to give lots of money to nations threatening to annihilate us. That’s not foreign policy, that is appeasement. Bringing ebola patients into the country wasn’t a great decision either, but we went through that with several people including a nurse becoming extremely ill and undoubtedly will have problems for the rest of her life.
All of it was good for Democrats and the liberal media and Obama continued to be coddled by the media. So no, we are not making excuses for Trump. You and your fellow Progressives are on a daily fishing expedition to find things to make Trump look bad. It’s all about shaming. It’s what Progressives do best since their policies do not work.
Progressives also did VERY LITTLE IF ANYTHING over the years to help African Americans and yet Trump is doing so much, but still he is called racist.
Oh dear Pat. Your bubble mustbe verystrong and well insulated. Progressives have done nothing for AfricanAmericans and Trump has done a lot?!? How aboht starting with the voting rights and civil rights act and taking it from there? Trump has done nothing but denigrate all minorities, and worked very hard supporting candidates who want to do away with or severely stunt the voting rights act. I truly fear for your sanity at this point.
You can’t question my sanity. That goes against the liberal playbook of how to treat women. It’s also more name calling and shaming rather than having a real conversation and discussing the facts.
Progressives have done nothing to pull African Americans out of poverty and I stand by that statement. Trump wants to improve the job situation in this country and as the statistics prove, African Americans are finding jobs better than ever before. That is real progress and will improve lives for African Americans.
I know who you are
Look everyone’s favorite thief we all know what you are
Trump will do anything to be number one, not number two,and that includes payoffs, ripoffs,mistruths, now in the thousands via tweets,misconceptions,deflections, phony University,,three wives and a mistresses,tax releases, assaults on woman, disrespect to anyone that gets in his way, and just the general chaos he has chosen to run with. He would rather be an entertainer than President and has really brought a level of disrespect to the Oval Office and disdain for ,any Countries, including our Allies.Racism is just another part of his portfolio.
So, say Trump is not a racist, does that mean his assault on woman is anything less than racism? Didn’t think so.
I don’t think M L K would have shared the views on Trump that his Niece has expounded.
Because she is a conservative woman and conservative women are not to be trusted and their opinions respected? I thought the radical left respected ALL women or is it just certain women who share the same political agenda?
MLK was radical left?
MLK said:
“I don’t think the Republican party is a party full of the almighty God nor is the Democratic party. They both have weaknesses.”
His message wasn’t about political parties. It was about people getting along. A message we could all learn from. Do NOT put your party above your country.
Here’s a good way to make liberal heads explode. Remind them that MLK was a registered Republican.
Trumps is an idiot but just because he used the word “shithole” in a private meeting, in reference to countries in Africa, doesn’t mean he’s a racist. That is his opinion and he can express it in his own office. It is not like he did it in a tweet or on tv. And by the way Pittsfield’s a shithole too. That’s my opinion, like it or not.
p.s. I guess it was okay for clinton and kennedy to boff their interns in their office but it’s not okay for trump to say the word “shithole”. Gimme a break!
Fake newslol
That word really does describe Pittsfield because the elected politicians do not care about ALL of the people. They make one bad decision after another.
Excellent article. That’s why we value DV & the planet…the only media in area to give us an intelligent look atsuch a divisive issue. Also great comment by dr. Trczinka.
Ron was right also, the Norwegian comment tells us as much, stable genius is confirming what he says, you just have to wait. Stable Genius loves playing his little games. Now they’re ( couple of Senators)saying he said I’d, I stead of I,concerning his relationship comment with Jung.
I could never understand the Jackie Robinson Story,full of racism of course, yet when those who are racist and against him as a Black Man,accept him because of his ability to play baseball.After watching the Movie, the first thing that was clear to me was that he was a great man, forget baseball. This is why Trumps comments are so offensive, he doesn’t dignify the people but the origin of which they came. Trump is clearly a racist.
African Americans are benefiting from the Trump presidency and Progressives can’t stand it. More African Americans are finding jobs. Progressives have done nothing to pull African Americans out of poverty even after 8 years of the Obama presidency. President Trump even upgraded the Martin Luther King birthplace to a national historic park. The Dems are green with envy. Now that is helping and caring for people.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/01/08/trump-signs-bill-upgrade-martin-luther-kings-birthplace-national-historic-park/1015174001/
Krol is trying to get the Pittsfield Pickle Ball ball courts declared national historic parks.
I’ll go along with whatever Krol says.
Me too. Krol is king.
Afiprican Americans are still behind whites and other minorities.
Does Pittsfield have amy shit hole neighborhoods?
Pittsfield has lots of holes in just about every road in the city right now. Many are not just holes but craters waiting to destroy your vehicle. I can’t imagine driving at night. How do you avoid all of the holes? It’s hard enough during the day.
And then there is Merrill Road……
No lines….no lanes…. out of control speeding. Just plain dangerous.
African Americans are behind others.
Pat,its easy.Explain how your like improved under Obama…go from 2009 till now
0bama improved my life last yer when he left office.
Mine too – good riddance. Obama the globalist will go down in the history books as the worst president ever. MAGA!
I think Kelly Anne Conway is posting on here under the name of Pat. If you compare the way Kelly Anne talks and Pat writes they are almost identical.
Alternative facts.
Cool. Pat and Kelly Anne are tops in my book.
My life got worse under Obama due to the disaster known as Obamacare.
Trump has Issues.
The Clintons have a lifetime subscription.
Fox news wants the FBI to investigate Hillary .Fox wont report that Trump under investigation just the clinton investigation.
I will now watch what products are advertised on Gox to see who they sell to.
They sell a lot of preparation H to sore A holes who hate Trump.
From his tweets trump is on his toilet for the 8am segment of fox and friend…..I see him in my minds eye
What the hell is wrong with you?
We’ve been trying to figure that out
Are there any shit hole streets in Pittsfield that I should avoid ?
Just about all of them.
Many planet contributors are afraid of Pittsfield
Why is that?
We can all see the familiar older Pittsfield names in the sports pages of families that are afraid of Pittsfield and moved out or choiced their kids out.
Bouvier choiced her kids to Lenox ma.as other have in recent years but as a politician this takes guts because she so shameless she will ask for Pittsfield voter to keep this disloyal rep in office.Your electric bills went up with her as rep,as did bank fees and profits and the insurance bills all up in a non inflation economy.Elect someone else who is not afraid of Pittsfield.
I think Tricia gets a lot more out of her job than the people she represents. Not uncommon in politics.
I want Tyer and Pignitali along with Bouvier to report how many jobsthey have added to this economy in the last 2 years.The taxpayers have added many job but what have the brought to the table.
If you remember the state allowed ma electric companies 4 years ago to raise bills 60% in mid winter because the availability of gas to produce electricity was difficult to get ,the electric rates never went back down…..Where were the Reps…..Seniors pay 1000 a month to stay warm…..Bouvier could care less
Every time they say nothing they are reporting on how many jobs they’ve created.
Why ask any information from a politician? Do you really expect a straight forward and complete non-spun answer? that is what they do. It is in their DNA and why they become politicians in the first place.
Don’t ask them what they are going to do about any given situation and you will be less disappointed when they wind up doing the opposite.
I didn’t think that DNA could determine such traits. Maybe Chuck could enlighten us as to whether our DNA can predetermine whether or not one is truthful.
I find it ironic that these accusations are always “behind closed doors” and leaked by Democrats and The Washington Post, which is one of the more biased liberal rags out there aside from Dunn/Drane and the Berkshire Eagle
Just believe that the FBI is competent to jail Hillary but not Head Trump…continue this thinking
Pecks Rd. And Merrill No Lanes Terror o c road,are probably unfixable, have been like that for years,didn’t they re pave pecks not to long ago?
When the truth hurts the media re-labels the comment to fit their agenda. Trump calls Haiti a shithole (it is) he must be a racist. This why the deplorables are growing in numbers and not shrinking…sick of the false liberal agenda all meant to support hand outs – I voted for HC, but to be honest would vote for Trump in 2020.
Hand out to billionaires, Correct. trump gave corporation billions to come back and create jobs, but seriously, the global economy was getting worse than what they had before they ( Corporations Left) the scare tactics, fear of being unemployed or thinking it is the aliens that take jobs from American legals is insane, how many jobs do illegals perform that the American Worker would want anyway? Corporations went Global because of the Market but also, ou know, cheaper to make the product,he’ll Trump got his workers to. Yield those future bankrupt Hotels with low wage immigrants,and bought steel out of the Country. Trump is making you think that because he knows the system,that no American will be tread upon, and in the same sentence made dam sure he and his cronie compadres- got their chuck. Everyone is measuring the Stock Market as a success, the market has been fueld by these Corporation,buy backs, paid for by the taxpayer, so they are truly doubling up trillions. Sure, people invest in the Market, but when the Market crashed
and before Obama became President, the people we knew,Mary Jane and Company took a bath. Now I dont see anything around here for good jobs, so where does Berkshire County win,middle class not city workers get the shaft.
The Democratic party supports illegal immigration for one reason only, VOTES!
These people will be dependent on gov. assistance of all kinds and the Dem. party is the party of hand-outs. It’s that simple.
Spot on, Spider!
Liberals are here to make people think,it almost never works as America remains stuck and ignorant
Your posts have convinced me that your statement is true.
I love all the letters to the editor in the eagle. It’s clear they cherry pick their political agendas and post them up.
That whole paper is a liberal rag that hires activist journalists that couldn’t dig up a real story if they had a shovel + map directly to it
True. Every story and letter pushes the Progressive agenda.
Whats the progressive agenda…..healthcare ,education,higher wages,clean enviroment,equality
The progressive agenda = control over everything.
So the lying murderous rapist which DJT wants to expell is a democratic voter, that’s funny., Show me the research. You think these rapists and murderers are even thinking of voting?
More winning! I love this Prez!
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-oil-record-shale-analysis/u-s-oil-industry-set-to-break-record-upend-global-trade-idUSKBN1F50HV
Go Trump!!! Dems are pea green with envy.
Not to be confused with the yellow pee Trump got in Russia.
Why do rich people go to the French Riviera and not Hati? Maybe because one is a shit hole and one isn’t?
SOMEONE watches Fox and reads star magazine
Maybe when you learn to read and write you will too.
French rivier area has better sun.
You know,Trump, maybe some countries are third world and not shtick holes, come on, admit you said it, you bum. I think many bloggers are disenfranchised here,and are upset at Dems in General with the current regime,what we have doesn’t do anything but give themselves an increase and help the rich locally. Bouvier Tyer are doing the best they can, but the others do nothing, Mark and Hinds are Pioneer Valley imports.
Pioneer Valley Carpetbaggers.
Bouvier and Tyer are a big part of the problem. Trump is the one doing a great job. Progressives drove a Super Walmart out of the area. Now they are praying that the Berkshire Mall goes under. There will soon be no place to shop in Berkshire County for lower and middle income people except for the Walmart we do have which Progressives also hate. Will Target even stay in the Mall if every store around it begins to close? Progressives have no solution to any problems except for destroying what little we do have here in the Berkshires and it’s not much.
What is the end game for Progressives? They get rid of everything they don’t like here in Berkshire County, but create nothing to take it’s place. They are destroying the quality of life in this area. Are they trying to return us to the days when everybody lived on farms and made all their own products? That was a tough way of life. Sorry, but it’s not the way most people want to live. We want the convenience of stores for clothing and a variety of stores. We women must demand the return of a variety of retail stores to this area. Soon no retail stores will want to come here because it will be such a ghost town. What stores do remain will charge outrageous prices because they will have no competition. Nobody is addressing these issues. Instead local politicians are worried about garbage cans and pot.
Walmart didnt want the sight,crazy if you dont like Trump or Walmart…..Trump 135 k to payoff the pornstars
Melissa Mazzeo and fellow Progressives convinced Walmart not to build a Super Walmart here. They offered nothing but discouragement to those in charge of the project.
I just visited Super Walmart in North Adams recently. Awesome store. Found so many interesting foods. I love their bakery.
Trump never drove Ted Kennedy’s Bucik over a bridge,
Little Dickey Durban is the only one who said Trump called Haiti a shithole. He is a known liar! Where did all of the money go fro Clinton foundation and Red Cross it sure didn’t go to the Haitian people! I’m sick of the African American label……how about just Americans. The Dow has gained 31% in Trumps first year……the best year since the Great Depression!!!!! President Trumps polices are working Bigly!