Phony accusations of racism and the demonization of Halloween costumes are some of the most recent, yet unfortunate occurrences in the current political climate. Walter Shaub, former White House ethics chief tweeted out the following message about Chief of Staff John Kelly:
According to The Hill, Schaub’s criticism of Kelly was prompted by the latter’s statements made on Fox News which pertained to the Civil War:
Many Americans seem to have lost touch regarding what racism actually is. Despite assertions otherwise, being white, Republican, conservative, or simply holding a different opinion does not make one racist. Absolutely nothing in Kelly’s remarks above are remotely racist. The Chief of Staff went on The Ingraham Show and provided his honest take on historical events. Doing this does not make him racist.
The statement that both good and bad things happened in history and people had to make some tough calls is not racist by any stretch of the imagination. As a matter of fact, accusing someone of racism is very serious and unless Shaub has grounded proof and not just feelings, he ought to be ashamed of himself.
Unfortunately, Shaub is merely the symptom of a mounting disease. Many progressives have taken it upon themselves to label any and everything they disagree with or disapprove of as racist. Opposing illegal immigration is racist. Support for border security is racist. Requiring ID to vote is racist. In many regards,progressives have labeled every thing they dislike racist, and it’s very sad.
Inaccurate accusations of racism have not just been limited to policy issues, however. Countless leftists have taken to blogs and social media to express beliefs that Americans should be careful of what they wear on Halloween, citing “cultural appropriation” as something to be avoided. Others have also claimed that certain costumes are insensitive to the suffering that certain cultures and groups of people have gone through.
Is it really too much to just let Halloween be the one fun day of the year where people dress up, have fun, and eat candy? Political grandstanding has its time and place, but in the case of Halloween, baseless assertions of racism are uncalled for. However, despite the massive downsides to false accusations of racism, there is one upside, which is the fact that it exposes the real racists.
People with a tendency to exhaust great lengths of time and energy on so-called racism are often racists themselves. This is a classic case of projection where people push their thoughts and beliefs onto others to conceal their own. Normal, healthy, and well-functioning people do not waste time focusing solely on race and what may or may not be deemed as offensive. There is so much more to life than race or skin color. How unfortunate that some people are incapable of seeing that.
Progressives who employ racism as a buzzword each time they get offended fail to realize they’re actually devaluing the word. It’s the boy who cried wolf. There was a time, not too long ago, when calling someone racist meant something. Now, in the eyes of many, the word “racist” simply makes people think of an angry leftist who lost an argument. Memes reflecting this belief have made the rounds on social media countless times.
If leftists and people like Walter Shaub are honestly worried about combatting what they believe to be racism, they should get serious. Differences of opinions and Halloween costumes are not racist. While the political left should already know this, there’s a very real possibility that they have fallen for their own con. Since President Trump’s victory in 2016, Democrats have been calling everything and everyone who isn’t a staunch leftist racist in one way or another. They’ve ceaselessly repeated this falsehood so frequently that they likely believe it. It’s very sad where progressives are in 2017.
When it’s all said and done, the facts remain. John Kelly’s remarks about the Civil War are not racist, no matter how much Shaub may dislike or disagree with said remarks. Someone who wants to dress up as Pocahontas is not racist. Supporting right-wing, conservative policies is not racist either. As long as leftists continue to slam every person whose thoughts contrast with their own as racist, they will continue to discredit themselves and lose the attention of regular Americans.
