Crazy Adventures in Racism in Southwestern Pennsylvania
I wish I could come up with a witty column name for when I blog about politics and racism in Southwestern Pennyslvania…. the saga continues.
Yesterday when my kids were getting off the bus, they said the bus driver, probably a dude in his 50s, motions to our sign in the yard and tells my kids “You know he’s gonna lose.” — My kids, in their defense kinda laughed at him and said ‘YEAH RIGHT!’ They are of the variety of Obama supporters who believe it’s going to be a landslide (and the metrics for that ARE adding up)
But still… a 50 year old man telling an 8 year old and a 10 year old that Obama is going to lose? How crazy bitter is that?? These kids can’t even vote, but just by having a sign in the yard, the busdriver decides he’s going to poop on them.
This morning, just a few mintues ago, my kids got on the bus and my wife happened to be in the yard. The busdriver opens his little window and hangs out and smilingly says to my wife, “You know he’s gonna lose, right?” — And my wife laughs and says… “Oh, I don’t think so!”
Busdriver: “Well, I guess we’ll see soon.”
Wife” “In two weeks we WILL see.” (notice how she emphasized the WILL.
Busdriver: “Well I look for him to get shot”
Wife: “Yeah, it’s a shame that this day and age a black man can’t run for president for fear of the ignorant racists out there.”
These are the kind of conversations you will find ALL OVER Southwestern Pennsylvania. You don’t have to coax people to start these conversations, they come to YOU if you’re an Obama supporter. You can sense the HATE, that these people want so badly for you to lose, and that they can’t wait to mock you when you’re a loser. The feeling that we’re somehow traitors to some secret unsaid code, somehow they think us Un-American. And when you stand up and smile or politely disagree, these people JUST WANT OBAMA TO DIE. When they say “I look for him to get shot”, it’s like they’re really saying they wish they had the nerve to do it themselves.
I’ve grown inpatient with such conversations and I’ve went “full Coffman” on people lately when they say something to me. I’m not nice about it anymore, I go right for the jugular and make the people own whatever it is they are saying. I’ll look them dead in the eye and tell them that THEY are the problem.
Look at this busdriver? He’s a fucking BUS DRIVER. Nothing against that… but does he really think he’s not going to benefit from Obama’s policies? Wouldn’t a tax cut for him be good right now? Is he willing to not look at ANY issues and just not vote because of the color of Obama’s skin.
My kids tell me yesterday that in school, two girls were chanting “Don’t vote for Obama, he’ll Bomb ya!” and we’re calling him a terrorist. My kids are tough and smart, they laughed about this when they told me. But deep down, I wonder what they think? It seems like their feelings are hurt. Are they experiencing on a micro level the thing adults around here have experienced? When you have a friend or family member who suddenly says something so crude in front of you, or makes a joke about hanging…
And believe me, my paranoia is not just looking to twist things into “racism”- Like Jack Murtha honestly said, it’s all around here. I’m ashamed of it and it IS embarrasing to hear that on the national news, OUR 12th district of Pennsylvania is filled with closeted racism, bigotry, and what Murtha called “rednecks” . Just at last Sunday’s football game I heard someone’s grandparent “joke” with another parent about one of the opposing team players who happened to be black who took the ball and ran it like 80 yards back for a touchdown…. the grandparent said “They could probably get him to run faster if our kids wore white sheets”– and other parents around this douche laughed a hearty laugh.
It’s true… it’s not ALL this way. There are people like my wife and I all around here too. Some are up in arms that Murtha called this area what it is, or think they lumped us all in, which he didn’t. He told the old school truth.There have been times where I was so ashamed or embarrassed I wanted to just move as far away from the ignorance as possible…. but retreat is not an option.
A Reverse Bradley Effect…
Even though these douchebags are all over the place in Southwestern PA, something inside me has HOPE that they’ll do the right thing come election day. That they’ve played the part that their entire lives they’ve been taught to play. That inside they are smart enough to know better, they are smart enough to ask themselves what will make their lives better. And that when they get in the voting booth, they’ll click Obama, and walk out smiling like they voted REDNECK and proud. They’ll be hanging out watching Nascar or MMA and all look at each other and smile like, hell, they’re all in the club, they ain’t voting for no black guy! –
I guess we’ll see in two weeks. But I have hope for these people. I have hope that they will WAKE UP from their occupied minds. I know a few who already have. I know some people who were SURE in January that if Obama won, he’d “Have all the white people picking cotton” – And now the same people are wearing Obama gear and have signs in their yard, and that makes me proud of them…. that they broke this “spell”, and they’re not afraid to standup and proudly show what they really think and stop reading from that script that was handed down from generation to generation here in Southwestern Pennsylvania . It’s because deep down, they know what the right thing is for this country and for the people right now.
If the busdriver happens to say anything to me today when I’m strategically standing in my front yard today with a cup of coffee when he pulls up, I’m going to point directly at him and say….
“You’d better do the right thing on election day.”
What I wish would happen…
You know, I think Obama would benefit both here and down further south in West Virginia if he did a tour of the small towns in Southwestern PA — Places like, Scottdale, Connellsville, Vanderbilt, Uniontown… pretty much the 12th District of Pennysylvania here…. I think it would instantly change a lot of minds that are on some sort of fence. He doesn’t even HAVE to do this here, he’s way ahead in the Pennysylvania polls, but I believe if he did it would send a clear message that we can move beyond these petty things and get this country moving again. This area is POOR!!! One of the poorest in the country (which makes it awesome for cartoonists to live here!) — and this area would benefit greatly from an Obama presidency. Just imagine what could be done here in the Fay-West area!?
We could push for all the GREEN technology, cars, wind solar, to be be BUILT HERE… the area that use to be famous for building Volkswagens could now be leading the way in ending our dependence on foreign oil and helping to fix our friggin world!!! And you probably won’t find tougher, more hardworking people anywhere in this country than you’ll find south of Pittsburgh. It’s in their blood. It’s in mine. I’d like to see this 12th district known for that aspect and not the other one. I think the racism/redneck aspect is just an illusion that can easily be washed away with some action and conversations… but we have to start these conversations.
13 comments13 Comments so far
My father in law (a man in his 80s) recently said to me, “I like some of Obama’s ideas, but should I vote for a black man?”
My response was, “You vote for whover knows what they’re doing.”
After that, he had a look on his face as if he was thinking.
Good. I wish more people would think before they vote.
Southwestern PA minus Allegheny County pretty much all falls into the same category, with some economic differences, of course. The good thing is that there are people who 10 years or so ago wouldn’t have voted for a person of ANY color other than white are behind Obama, or at least considering it.
Then you have the other yokels….
My personal favorite was a truck with the following bumper sticker driving around up here in Butler Co.–
“Obama = Muslim Terrorist
Think About It!!”
Stay classy, western PA
I have in my own mind the 80/20 percent rule. 80% of Americans will vote on a basic party line. 40 one way, 40 the other. The 20% left, decide who will be president. That is why some states are ignored by some candidates, the party line is followed too strongly to waste time on it. At rallies, no matter how much noise is made, or speaches spoken, most of the people there are part of the 80% and mean little. The 20% are usually left with the “lesser of two evils” choice. Obama is not perfect by any means. The reality is that little change will occur in our system, it isn’t built that way. It is monolithic giant, it takes time and significant effort to move it from whatever course it is presently on. Even when the Republican party had a majority in the house and senate, a republican president, little really changed in our government. Both parties really don’t want much to change. Most importantly, they do NOT want any third party to gain significant power. This of course, is impossible because the 80% have a knee-jerk “us versus them” mentality. That is why such simple slogans such as “Drill Baby Drill” or “He’s a Muslim” or “He pulled little Sally’s pigtail in third grade” (ok, I made the last one up, but I suspect the McCain camp will use it in a last ditch effort) will work on the 80%.
80% of Americans are not smart enough, educated enough, or even motivated enough to really deserve the right to vote. Fortunately, with the two party system, they neutralize themselves out. Hopefully if a third party comes along, I can rely on these morons to split evenly three ways instead.
(Insert Diety) help us if they ever got together and voted as a real block. I think either the KKK or Greenpeace will be running things. Each a scary vision.
Don’t mind me, I’m just an old opinionated bastard.
Now you’ve made me want to draw a picture of you going “full Coffman” on someone.
“In a world…full of racism…only one man can make a difference…This Summer…get ready to go…FULL COFFMAN!”
Oh, and: racism is for sucks. Down here, it’s all about how awful the Mexicans are. *sigh*.
[...] DJ Coffman touches on this a little bit while documenting his own observations of racism in southwestern Pennsylvania. It’s a good read check it [...]
It’s prevalent everywhere, all across southern PA, I think.
Our county (Lancaster) is notoriously conservative, but with a strong “contingent of liberals”. I saw a lot of McCain lawn signs pop up in the past couple of weeks. Then I heard a lot more “discussion” in stores about Obama the terr-ist. (yes, that’s how they say it.)
The things people latch on to is amazing. How any can look at John McCain and Sarah Palin and say “Hey, you know what? I think they would be better for this country.” is a bit beyond me. I’ve given it a chance, I didn’t make up my mind right away, but I did research.
I watched McCain in the debates and he just looked like a pissed off old lion trying to get himself alpha status by any means necessary.
If the racists only will vote for a “white” candidate, they will quickly see that our “ethnic” communities outnumber them by quite a bit and will hopefully come out to vote in two weeks (at least in Pennsylvania).
I can’t believe you aren’t reporting the bus driver for saying this stuff. In my neck of the woods, he’d have lost his job for discussing people being murdered in front of a busload of kids.
~N
Nate, it crossed my mind. This just happened yesterday and we kinda laughed it off and thought we’ll bake him cupcakes. Who knows, maybe it’ll turn one guy around. BUT I did think about calling the busline and reporting this, but the thought crossed my mind, there’s an 80% chance I’d get the same type of mind on the phone at the busline and it could turn into shady things in these parts. The last thing I want is someone mucking with my house or property in some shady way to get back at me for them losing their job. He’s on my shitlist though, and that’s not a good place to be.
Actually, he might get replaced by worse. When we are at work, it would be nice not to be fired for every little thing we do. Your kids are learning things, sometimes the good learning comes from bad things. The reality is that if a kid sees a friend die, the child learns that he is not immortal and that actions can be fatal. I strongly believe that this desire to “over-protect” our children is actually hurting them.
“I don’t let them outside unless I’m watching them every minute” Huh?
My parents tossed me outdoors and told me to return at dinner time during the summer. Lunch was handed to me in a bag. (not always but sometimes)
“My teacher expressed an opinion that I didn’t like so I got him/her to fired/reprimanded”
I recall some of the most interesting teachers I met, had strong opinions and permitted arguments about them. I learned the art of discussion and opposing ideas from those “wild minded” instructors. (and I didn’t always agree with them either)
We must teach our children to live in the world they are in, not to exist in a fantasy world that doesn’t really exist.
DJ Wrote:
there’s an 80% chance I’d get the same type of mind on the phone at the busline
Doesn’t matter. We’re not talking about the racism issue — we’re talking about the bus driver discussing murder in front of a busload of kids.
gsekse wrote:
Actually, he might get replaced by worse. When we are at work, it would be nice not to be fired for every little thing we do.
Sorry, I don’t buy it. If he’s replaced by worse, then you deal with that when it comes. As far as “every little thing” — I doubt the people who hired him would accept endorsement of murder infront of children as “every little thing”.
~N
I think you would be surprised how often someone randomly says, “I’ll kill ‘em” or “yer a dead man” or …
I’m hoping and rather expecting that his comment was spoken without thought. “the 80%” often do that. For that matter, we all do it at one point or another. Kids get exposed to many things on a day to day basis, they understand more than we give credit for and deal with more shit then we know. It’s part of what makes you, “you” and me, “me”.
I still like to live where ideas are batted about with abandon and people don’t take everything so seriously. It’s that over reaction that leads to grumpy emails sent to DJ because of some comic he wrote. Other comic artists get calls for their death, ie: drawing mohammed.
We live in an “in your face” sort of country, and if we can keep political correctness in check, I hope to see it remain that way. Words are way better than hangings, gun battles, and other such argument endings.
[...] Pennsylvania was repeatedly cited during the presidential campaign as a stronghold of racist attitudes, and even Rep. John Murtha, [...]
[...] Pennsylvania was repeatedly cited during the presidential campaign as a stronghold of racist attitudes, and even Rep. John Murtha, [...]