Reagan's racist comments

Not surprised......

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49177034

Former US President Ronald Reagan described African delegates to the UN as "monkeys", in newly-unearthed tapes published by a US magazine.

He made the comment in a 1971 telephone call with then-President Richard Nixon.

Mr Reagan, who was governor of California at the time, was angered that African delegates at the UN sided against the US in a vote.

Members of the Tanzanian delegation started dancing after the UN voted to recognize China and expel Taiwan.

Mr Reagan, who was a supporter of Taiwan, called the president the following day to express his apparent frustration.

He said: "To see those... monkeys from those African countries - damn them, they're still uncomfortable wearing shoes!"

Mr Nixon, who quit as president in 1974, can then be heard laughing.


To a lot of people Reagan remains a veritable demigod of virtue and strength. I wonder if any pedestals will crumble.



Ok, I guess we shouldn’t be surprised.  But I also wonder the value of bringing up comments made in supposed confidence nearly 50 years ago.  I think it just adds to the partisanship. 


Red_Barchetta said:
Ok, I guess we shouldn’t be surprised.  But I also wonder the value of bringing up comments made in supposed confidence nearly 50 years ago.  I think it just adds to the partisanship. 

 +10


Duplicate post.


Red_Barchetta said:
Ok, I guess we shouldn’t be surprised.  But I also wonder the value of bringing up comments made in supposed confidence nearly 50 years ago.  I think it just adds to the partisanship. 

the stuff he said in public speeches was enough for us to know his views on these issues 


Who woulda thunk a former governor of California, born in Illinois, but chose to announce his presidential candidacy in Philadelphia Mississippi, would turn out to be a racist?  


Red_Barchetta said:
Ok, I guess we shouldn’t be surprised.  But I also wonder the value of bringing up comments made in supposed confidence nearly 50 years ago.  I think it just adds to the partisanship. 

 It has historical value in the same way a private journal would.  But as my prior post indicates, I’m not surprised that Reagan was an ugly racist.  


People are reflecting their time and their age.  Most learn from the changing times, but many can't let go of their upbringing.

  • By 2019 standards, the remark is incredibly offensive.
  • At the time it was made, in a supposedly private setting, it was crude and somewhat offensive.
  • At the time he was growing up and in college (1920-1932), it was commonly used - in particular in areas with relatively few minorities.  I suspect that northern IL, away from Chicago, was mostly white at that time. 

I have known other people of that age, who despite their outward acceptance of equality, at heart were still racist.


It was an official discussion between the Governor of California and the President of the United States.  I think it's very relevant regardless of how long ago the comment was made.  

Should we whitewash history so conservatives can maintain their inaccurate perceptions of Reagan? 


starting his presidential campaign in Philadelphia, Mississippi, and telling tales of welfare queens and strapping young bucks gaming the welfare system were all public things Reagan did that pretty much told us all we needed to know about his opinions on race.


Reagan was racist. Outrageously so by today's standards, probably somewhat so by standards of his day.

That said, it's not hard to pull up leaders from the past and see racism. FDR for example is a champion for many Democrats, but he did Japanese internment camps, he didn't support his wife's anti-lynching campaign, and much of the New Deal excluded black people. That's some seriously racist stuff.


Reagan:

Opposed the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act.

Said that support for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday was “based on an image, not reality.”

When Jesse Helms urged him not to sign the bill creating the holiday because of his belief that King was a communist, Reagan speculated, “We’ll know in 35 years, won’t we?”

Vetoed the bill sanctioning South Africa for its apartheid system, but the veto was overridden.



ml1 said:
starting his presidential campaign in Philadelphia, Mississippi,s and telling tales of welfare queens and strapping young bucks gaming the welfare system were all public things Reagan did that pretty much told us all we needed to know about his opinions on race.

 And, near the site where three civil rights workers were murdered in 1964.

He embraced the leader of South Africa during the time of Apartheid. He outraged African Americans and others by calling South Africa a friend and ally to their apartheid stance. Even when the US Congress voted for sanctions against this country, Reagan veto.

Not surprised by this racist comments.

"When people show you who they are, believe them."

Maya Angelou



Smedley said:
Reagan was racist. Outrageously so by today's standards, probably somewhat so by standards of his day.

He was in office until 1989, so his day was relatively recent.  His time in office is well-remembered by about half the people still alive in the U.S.  And the standards with regard to race were somewhat different but not all that different than today.  In real time he was accused of racist dog-whistling in his speeches.  If people don't know it that well, it's because conservatives have done a pretty effective job creating a hagiography that whitewashes a lot of the reality of who and what Reagan was.

 


Thanks to ml1 for sending me to the dictionary today.

Hagiography indeed.


ml1 said:


Smedley said:
Reagan was racist. Outrageously so by today's standards, probably somewhat so by standards of his day.
And the standards with regard to race were somewhat different but not all that different than today. 
 

 I'm not sure about that. I just looked back at a bunch of stuff pertaining to the 1984 election, including debate summaries, and I didn't find one example of Democrats criticizing Reagan for being a racist. If he was very racist for his times, wouldn't Democrats have seized on that as an issue?  


Smedley said:
 I'm not sure about that. I just looked back at a bunch of stuff pertaining to the 1984 election, including debate summaries, and I didn't find one example of Democrats criticizing Reagan for being a racist. If he was very racist for his times, wouldn't Democrats have seized on that as an issue?  

 Carter Says Reagan Injects Racism


ml1 said:


Smedley said:
 I'm not sure about that. I just looked back at a bunch of stuff pertaining to the 1984 election, including debate summaries, and I didn't find one example of Democrats criticizing Reagan for being a racist. If he was very racist for his times, wouldn't Democrats have seized on that as an issue?  
 Carter Says Reagan Injects Racism

 

In his 1970 campaign for GA governor Jimmy Carter received the endorsement of former Democratic Gov. Lester Maddox.  Upon receipt of the endorsement, Jimmy Carter responded by praising Lester Maddox (the life-long segregationist): "He has brought a standard of forthright expression and personal honesty to the governor's office, and I hope to live up to his standard."  Maddox had not only refused to serve blacks in the restaurant he once owned, but he had also greeted civil rights protestors with a gun, and made sticks available to his white customers with which to intimidate them.

See:  https://www.counterpunch.org/2015/09/30/the-realpolitik-of-president-jimmy-carter/

PS I cannot reach the link that you have offered as I don't have a WaPo subscription.


proeasdf said:
 
In his 1970 campaign for GA governor Jimmy Carter received the endorsement of former Democratic Gov. Lester Maddox.  Upon receipt of the endorsement, Jimmy Carter responded by praising Lester Maddox (the life-long segregationist): "He has brought a standard of forthright expression and personal honesty to the governor's office, and I hope to live up to his standard."  Maddox had not only refused to serve blacks in the restaurant he once owned, but he had also greeted civil rights protestors with a gun, and made sticks available to his white customers with which to intimidate them.

Scratch any white American adult and you’ll find racism. You need to probe a little deeper to determine what he or she has done about that fact.

That takes more time than resurrecting old quotes. I’m not sure you’ve had that time, given life’s interruptions, but if you’ve done the probing and still decided that FDR, LBJ, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, etc., are all comparable  when it comes to race, you’re welcome to share your findings.


ml1 said:


Smedley said:
 I'm not sure about that. I just looked back at a bunch of stuff pertaining to the 1984 election, including debate summaries, and I didn't find one example of Democrats criticizing Reagan for being a racist. If he was very racist for his times, wouldn't Democrats have seized on that as an issue?  
 Carter Says Reagan Injects Racism

 I'm not surprised there's something out there on it. But the fact that racism wasn't a thematic attack point by the Democrats in the election four years later suggests that Reagan wasn't especially out of step with his times on the issue. Just like FDR wasn't especially (or maybe at all) out of step with his times in his racism.  Trump, however, is jarringly out of step with his time. 


Smedley said:
 I'm not surprised there's something out there on it. But the fact that racism wasn't a thematic attack point by the Democrats in the election four years later suggests that Reagan wasn't especially out of step with his times on the issue. Just like FDR wasn't especially (or maybe at all) out of step with his times in his racism.  Trump, however, is jarringly out of step with his time. 

 Trump has 40% approval and 90% approval among Republicans. That's a lot of people who aren't all that jarred by the racism. 

And with regard to Reagan, I agreed that the standards were a bit different then than now. But he was behind the times even then, witnessed by the criticism of his "states rights" speech. 

That's why to people old enough to remember are not surprised at the new revelation. It's in character with the public Reagan. 


ml1 said:



 Trump has 40% approval and 90% approval among Republicans. That's a lot of people who aren't all that jarred by the racism. 

There are a lot of racists in the United States.


And Regan was called " The great communicator"..............kudos Jane Wyman


author said:
And Regan was called " The great communicator"..............kudos Jane Wyman

 he communicated his racism very clearly 


yahooyahoo said:
There are a lot of racists in the United States.

Yes, by my estimation about 40% of US citizens are racists (which corresponds to about 90% of all Republicans). I am actually encouraged by the 10% of Republicans that aren't racists (that a higher percentage than I expected).


DaveSchmidt said:


proeasdf said:
 
In his 1970 campaign for GA governor Jimmy Carter received the endorsement of former Democratic Gov. Lester Maddox.  Upon receipt of the endorsement, Jimmy Carter responded by praising Lester Maddox (the life-long segregationist): "He has brought a standard of forthright expression and personal honesty to the governor's office, and I hope to live up to his standard."  Maddox had not only refused to serve blacks in the restaurant he once owned, but he had also greeted civil rights protestors with a gun, and made sticks available to his white customers with which to intimidate them.
Scratch any white American adult and you’ll find racism. You need to probe a little deeper to determine what he or she has done about that fact.
That takes more time than resurrecting old quotes. I’m not sure you’ve had that time, given life’s interruptions, but if you’ve done the probing and still decided that FDR, LBJ, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, etc., are all comparable  when it comes to race, you’re welcome to share your findings.

 Is your POV that racism is only found in whites?



DaveSchmidt said:


proeasdf said:
 
In his 1970 campaign for GA governor Jimmy Carter received the endorsement of former Democratic Gov. Lester Maddox.  Upon receipt of the endorsement, Jimmy Carter responded by praising Lester Maddox (the life-long segregationist): "He has brought a standard of forthright expression and personal honesty to the governor's office, and I hope to live up to his standard."  Maddox had not only refused to serve blacks in the restaurant he once owned, but he had also greeted civil rights protestors with a gun, and made sticks available to his white customers with which to intimidate them.
Scratch any white American adult and you’ll find racism. You need to probe a little deeper to determine what he or she has done about that fact.
That takes more time than resurrecting old quotes. I’m not sure you’ve had that time, given life’s interruptions, but if you’ve done the probing and still decided that FDR, LBJ, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, etc., are all comparable  when it comes to race, you’re welcome to share your findings.

Applying Maya Angelou's, often quoted statement (when people show you who they are, believe them) to Jimmy Carter's praise for Lester Maddox provides a different POV regarding Jimmy Carter (namely, Jimmy Carter was a white supremacist in 1970).   In light of JC's history of racism and white supremacy, it seems hypocritical, at best, to only focus on  RR regarding racism.  I acknowledge that people change over time and it is unlikely that the JC of 2019 is the same as the JC of 1970.  

Conclusion:  neither party is composed of saints.

PS I will agree that RR was, at a minimum, backwards on race (which I would characterize as RR being stuck in the values/mores of the 1930s).  Unfortunately, some people so not change over time as much as we would like (such as RR).



https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/08/ronald-reagan-richard-nixon-racism-monkeys-tape-jimmy-carter.html

Carter’s statement about code words and hatred reoriented the conversation about Reagan and the Neshoba County Fair, but not in the way Carter intended. Instead of focusing on Reagan’s speech, its effect on black Americans, and what it implied about how he’d govern, the political press concentrated on Carter’s decision to chide Reagan and the tone he’d used in doing so. “Do you think that Reagan is running a campaign of hatred and racism, and how do you answer allegations that you are running a mean campaign?” a reporter asked Carter at a White House press conference. The president’s response: “No. I do not think he’s running a campaign of racism or hatred, and I think my campaign is very moderate in its tone. … I do not think that my opponent is a racist in any degree.” Reagan, for his part, said that Carter’s words at Ebenezer Baptist Church were “shameful,” because “we ought to be trying to pull the country together.”

While Carter was chastened, Reagan did nothing to modify his behavior. Just before Election Day, the Republican candidate appeared at a rally with former Mississippi Gov. John Bell Williams, an avowed segregationist. South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond, meanwhile, told a crowd of Reagan supporters, “We want that federal government to keep their filthy hands off the rights of the states.” Reagan would be rewarded for the company he kept. He’d beat Carter by 10 points, winning every Southern state except West Virginia and Georgia.


proeasdf said:

 Is your POV that racism is only found in whites?

No. But in America, it’s the only racism that matters.


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