She Cried For 45 Minutes

Rejection is anguish.

Opening your heart up to someone and then having them trod all over your exposed emotions is a terrible thing. It can cause wounds that never heal, only scab over before being rubbed raw again by the slightest friction. Rejection makes people feel unworthy, unacceptable and unwanted.

Dammit, it hurts.

But, sometimes, on certain rare occasions, I like to laugh at other people's pain. I find humor in their rejection. This is one of those times.

Check out that link. It will lead you to a story about a Californian Republican group that sent out a newsletter featuring a caricature of Sen. Barack Obama. The caricature had Obama as a half-man, half-donkey, surrounded by KFC chicken, watermelon and Kool-Aid. Oh yeah, Obama was gracing the cover of his very own food stamp.

Yep, you read that last paragraph correctly.

Hold on, don't get upset yet because I'm about to make you laugh. See, the blatant racism in this image was denied by the white woman who created the newsletter because she claimed when she saw the picture she only saw food. This woman then claimed she couldn't be racist because she once supported Alan Keyes. However, she showed more grace than many ignorant people because she actually gave a full apology to anybody who was offended by her actions.

So, here's the funny part. The article contains some quotations from a few black members of this Republican group who were dismayed by the newsletter and the ideas it promoted. Here is the one that just tickled me:

Sheila Raines, an African-American member of the club, was the first person to complain to Fedele about the newsletter. Raines, of San Bernardino, said she has worked hard to try to convince other minorities to join the Republican Party and now she feels betrayed.

"This is what keeps African-Americans from joining the Republican Party," she said. "I'm really hurt. I cried for 45 minutes."

.............................

Shelia?

Can I call you Sheila?

Wipe your face girl, there you go, here is a clean tissue.

Sweetheart, this little newsletter is not why black people aren't Republicans.

No, don't argue.

Sheila, this newsletter is more like a tiny dollop of fetid whipped cream on top of the crap-flavored double espresso of hate that is the reason why black people aren't Republicans.

Simply put, and I don't mean to be crass Sheila, this really ain't shit.

Sheila, do you realize that Republicans once waged a conscious campaign to attract the most racist and vile members of the Democratic party to their ranks in an effort to offset black people gaining the unfettered right to vote, and using that right to support Democrats?

You didn't? You poor ignorant baby.

Sheila, Republicans have welcomed into their ranks unrepentant and unreformed racists like Strom Thurmond, Jesse Helms and Trent Lott even after it was no longer cool to be racist. (At least the Democrats made their former Klansman admit he was wrong.)

Republicans have fed on white people's hatred of black people and any other minority like vampires. They've fanned the flames of hate so high, a towering inferno of malice has engulfed much of America's South and Midwest.

Sheila, sweetie, Republicans have done a lot more despicable things than create a nasty email.

I'm trying hard to be kind Sheila, but I just have to ask you one question.

Are you really surprised?

I would have more sympathy for your tears if I thought there was any way that a reasonably intelligent, informed woman like yourself could have been surprised by the hatred brewing among Republicans.

You haven't noticed McCain's race-based attacks?

You didn't find it strange that other Republicans were calling Obama "uppity?"

Sheila, are you telling me that you don't get those questionable emails about Obama that every other Republican gets? The ones that call him the Anti-Christ, a Muslim, a terrorist and the irredeemable spawn of Satan? (Well maybe not that last thing, but you get the point.)

Sheila, baby, there is no way you could have missed all of this and actually been informed about this campaign.

Consequently, I have two prisms through which to view your tearful outburst.

One, Sheila, you didn't bother to research your candidate or your party because you were enthralled with the idea of paying lower taxes. You've never noticed the racism because the idea of being tax free created something inside you similar to a crack cocaine giveaway on Martin Luther King Boulevard.

Utter madness.

This is possible Sheila. Hell, plenty of poor white Republicans have fallen for this same scheme.

Republicans suck people in with this anti-tax, anti-spending rhetoric that sounds wonderful until you realize that spending money on stuff actually makes life better. But, if that's what happened, I understand and I feel your pain.

Unfortunately, Sheila, I'm leaning towards option number two. That option is that you knew all about the racism in the Republican party, you knew how many of your colleagues viewed black people and you didn't care.

You just didn't care.

Sheila, you didn't think you were one of those black people, did you?

Or maybe you really don't like black people that much in the first place. Maybe black people were mean to you because you were dark-skinned, or light-skinned, or smart, or stupid. Whatever it was, I'm wondering if maybe you just don't like Negroes.

"Niggers and flies I do despise, the more I see niggers, the more I like flies."

Sheila, is that how you feel?

I can see that you were trying to recruit other minorities to the GOP, but was that because you truly believed the party would help us, or because it would make you look good to your new white friends?

Sheila, I'm talking you.

Sadly, if your tears were caused by the realization that these ladies that you have so valiantly struggled to impress really don't like people who look like you, well Sheila that's too bad.

See, Obama is intelligent, educated, articulate, "clean" and employed. If these Republicans were willing to attack him with stereotypes about ribs and chicken, well Sheila I'm guessing you're right that they never liked you.

They tolerated you. You were an easy answer to anybody wondering if they had black friends. You were proof that their racism wasn't really racism because a black person was co-signing it. You were their little piece of black protection.

And Sheila, that makes your tears pretty funny.


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