I am constantly astounded the way that plain, ordinary, everyday words can be misunderstood. Then I remember things like stream of conciousness and context. And then there’s the “I just wasn’t thinking” defense.
My first glance at the morning news was drawn to the plight of Senator Joe Biden. In an article already on the internet and to be published tomorrow, Senator Biden began his work of discrediting the other Democratic hopefuls for President in 2008. His primary criticisms hover around Iraq and his disdain for the strategies of those who have announced their interest in the Oval Office.
His own ideas about the future of Iraq are unique — involving the separation of people with various beliefs from each other. Under his plan, the Sunnis, the Shiites, and the Kurds would all be sent to their respective corners of the country. Never mind that some of those groups don’t really want to go to the corners he has picked out for them. For some reason, Senator Biden believes that the best approach to peacemaking is building barriers between those who think differently.
Ironically, the senator is a leader in a country where we allow individuals to have opinions and promote different ideas. And segregation is frowned on. So, Senator Biden, feel free to share your plans from our very midst.
But the morning news wasn’t focused on the senator’s ideas about Iraq. No, indeed. Instead, the concern was over the words he chose to describe one of his opponents, Barack Obama. According to the New York Observer, Senator Biden said, “I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that’s a storybook, man.”
Hard to tell exactly what he meant, storybook or otherwise. All of those descriptive words could be classified as complimentary or, at worst, neutral. And that’s what the senator insists they are.
On the other hand, his statements could be taken as a little racist — okay, a lot racist. Particularly in the context of the promotion of his plan to separate people based on race and belief.
I really hope that Senator Biden has simply fallen to the wrong choice of words. The truth is, politics, as we have come to know it, has become a battleground where being different is essential. And equally important is the need to show that the differences of others denote their inferiority.
When you look at it that way, perhaps politics is the pinnacle of prejudice. Or perhaps not. After all, words and the actions they provoke can be viewed from many angles.