Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Love of Palin: Is It a White Thing, and I Just Don't Understand?

Remember that annoying tag line from the '80s: "It's a black thing; you wouldn't understand?" Well, I feel like Sarah Palin is a phenomenon that really is a kind of "white thing," because whites seem to be the only demographic group that really likes her. I want to hear from white folks (well really anyone who wants to chime in, but....). In the past, I've tried to explain Marion Barry for a white buddy of mine. Now, I am asking for help understanding the appeal of Palin. The best I've heard thus far, from conservative friends of mine, is that she reminds them of themselves.

Is that really it? I think of myself as a smart guy, but I can tell you that I want someone as POTUS who is beyond smarter than I am. I want someone who is, at the very least, curious about the world. Palin is not that person. She strikes me as someone I would see at Target who somehow managed to do well in politics, sort of.

After I watched this installment of "Countdown," I was just lost regarding the appeal that she continues to have. And, it is clear that she has some real difficulty with the truth.



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Furthermore, there is no substance to much of anything that she has to say. If this post really is quoting Palin from her appearance on Rush Limbaugh's show, then I am mortified for her supporters. Asked a series of policy-like questions by Limbaugh, Palin provided nothing that could even be construed as substantive in her answers.

So, I am asking for help here. Help me understand Palin's appeal, because it just makes no sense to me.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I think it's a straight white male thing. And it's largely driven by "oh she's a MILF...". That would be the extent of all thought put into it. She plays up the "hockey mom" thing, but in many ways -- as the NY Times pointed out recently -- she's quite the insider. But then, that's no surprise.

Ufansius said...

There is a large minority in this country, mainly white but not all by any stretch, who simply hate intellectualism. They're proudly ignorant, toweringly arrogant and intellectually incurious, dishonest, inconsistent and incoherent. They hate "smart people" not because they're stupid and therefore envious and vengeful, but because they're simply too lazy to do the work to become "smart" themselves and eager to appear to be "as good as you" anyway. You encounter shreds of this attitude every day (probably in yourself on occasion); you've seen the bored-looking cashier at the grocery store look at the unpriced item you've brought to the counter, look around for somebody to go check the price and, not finding anyone, simply make a price up. Scratch that cashier and you'll find a Palin fan. They love her because, like that cashier, she just guesses (finds "commonsense solutions", in her parlance) at what will work and then makes up a rationale to try and make it sound "smart". Facts don't fit? Ignore them. Make them up. It's all about intellectual laziness, in my opinion; Sarah Palin legitimizes that cashier and makes it easier for him or her to perceive him-or-herself as the equal of those who have done the intellectual work of arriving at a worldview characterized by rationality and intelligence. In my opinion.

Micheal Sisco said...

Ufansius: You hit the nail right on the head!

Like those in the black community who deride intellectuals for "acting white," there is a wide swath of white America that somehow believes that being ignorant and uneducated makes one a "real" American.

We saw it with the election of Dubya -- where people voted for him because they would like to have a beer with him at the backyard barbecue.

Palin is like the prez of a small-town PTA.

White folks (sigh ... my people) mistake rabidness for passion, pigheadedness for principle and dogma for devotion.

hscfree said...

I can understand the "MILF" argument, because most men think with their little heads more often than not. But that doesn't explain the women to well, unless Ufansius and Mike have tapped into the white women sitch with their explanations of pride in ignorance and arrogance.

Yet, I think it is quite easy to say that someone like Obama had to have a crazy stellar resume even to be considered. Can you imagine the black Palin equivalent seeking the VPOTUS or POTUS offices? It would even be up for discussion.

I think it's insulting to think that Palin is seen as more qualified than Obama for anything. And I am saying that even if Obama had been a Morehouse College and Howard Law grad (both good schools, with stellar alumni). How many schools did it take for her to find her way to a Bachelor's? How much did her looks help in her rise.

To hear some people talk, you would think that Palin was the American embodiment of Thatcher, who would be mortified at the comparison.

I just shake my head in wonder, and I think that the folks in the GOP who dismiss her (and her followers) do so at their own peril.