I usually just ignore this crap, but for some reason it got to me...
1. Back of the bus is about Jim Crow, and race. Back of the car is where the kids sit while the grownups are up front. It has no racial or ethnic overtones.
2. This is just the bigot's version of Brian's mother, right? (You know -- whatever Brian says, his mother replies: "Oh, you're always thinking about sex").
3. There is another situation in which it matters who sits in the front and who sits in the back, which may have racial or ethnic overtones, but it doesn't fit either...but it does give me an excuse to quote: "Ladies and Gentlemen, Today's Feature Presentation: Driving Miss Daisy."
Okay, I'm going to admit something--I was at an Obama rally recently, and when he told this parable, I leaned over to my friend and said "You could almost say the Republicans are being asked to sit...in the back of the bus?" We laughed, but I didn't think anyone would be stupid enough to actually make this a serious argument.
ReplyDeleteIt truly is another language. I have no idea what that guy is talking about when he says that Obama just can't help but bring up his race at every turn. If anything, I've been surprised at how infrequently and reluctantly Obama has brought up his heritage since he took office.
ReplyDeleteBut I suppose some folks might just still be bitter about the end of Jim Crow. As was said about Richard Russel, some people just see race in everything.