Urban Thought | 11 Observations 
I received an e-mail this morning. The subject read: is it just me but does this 1st sentence read racism…
I’m not sure if its just her or not but I didn’t read into it as being racist.
Here is the article:
Paterson once again defies conventional wisdom
- guardian.co.uk,
- Thursday March 13 2008
David Paterson was not supposed to be where he stands today, the replacement for the fallen white knight Eliot Spitzer as New York governor.
He leapt a series of hurdles to become deputy governor - from his lifelong, near-total blindness to his father’s endorsement of another candidate to run alongside Spitzer. But Paterson is used to defying conventional wisdom.
Although Paterson, 53, lost most of his eyesight from an infection he contracted as a baby, he wasted no time in following the path laid out by his father Basil, one of New York’s leading black politicians.
Paterson won a state Senate seat by the age of 31 and became the Democratic minority leader in 2002. He alienated some party colleagues by forging a friendly relationship with Republican rival Joe Bruno, who would later become the target of a Spitzer spying effort. Still, Paterson earned praise for helping Democrats move closer to total control of the state government.
When he agreed to be Spitzer’s running mate in the 2006 election, the political elite of New York deemed it another rebellious turn by the now-disgraced governor. The state’s black establishment, including Paterson’s father, had already endorsed another candidate: Leecia Eve, a senior adviser to senator Hillary Clinton.
But Paterson and Spitzer forged on. The two clashed for a time but appeared to work together smoothly after cruising to victory in 2006. Both campaigned for Clinton in the presidential race, with Paterson considered a top contender to take her Senate seat should she win the White House. Paterson is now only the fourth black governor in American history and the first legally blind state leader.
So what do you think? Is the opening line racist?
Popularity: 8% [?]
| 2.5 |
Tags: david paterson, eliot spitzer, new york governor, racism
If you didn’t pose it initially as a question I wouldn’t have thought it. I think what the journalist is saying is “According to conventional wisdom…” Definitely not racist. I think his comment may have been more geared to his physical limitations than anything else.
i dont think so
but im really questioning why they had to describe Spitzer as white
i took the he’s not supposed to be where he is today part as in he’s had to face many a struggle due to his handicapp
I wouldn’t call it racist at all. Spitzer was supposed to be like Elliot Ness bringing down all of the Al Capone’s of the world, but he f’ked up and fell into some cooch.
I don’t think it’s racist - I read it like OP - he was never actually supposed to step into Spitzer’s position, much like our VP shouldn’t become P barring some type of emergency. Spitzer wasn’t supposed to ever fail in some way.
I’ve heard the buzz about Paterson being black and almost blind and all I can wonder is why are we even discussing either attribute? Both should be non-issues for the position. It’d be one thing if Paterson was going to do something where good vision was a requirement. If he’s gotten this far, I figure he knows how to work with his disability to get the job done.
Not racist but an indication of overcoming tremendous odds including racism but also the improbability of Spitzer not serving his full term
I don’t see the racism in the statement either. I think the way the article is written, being black seems to be the smallest of his hurdles.
Nope, not racist at all. Just talking about how strange this all is and how a guy with the odds against him, has found his way to being the gov thanks to Spitzers screw up. I think Patterson is going to be great at this job too BTW.
Speaking of which, my state of CT, your state of NY and NJ have all had governors go down in flames. Long live the tri state area.
I do find the statement racist. Maybe its because I live in the UK and understand that here black folks live under “the illusion of inclusion” and phrases like that are used innocently with other connotations.
I like Elliot but he was no white knight but he has became a white man who likes the night so I guess he is a “white night” after all…LMAO I crack myself up!
It doesn’t really sound like racism to me. I think you could take the sentence in a racist way if you really, really wanted to, but it doesn’t read that way to me, wouldn’t have read that way to me if it hadn’t been pointed out and questioned.
While I do usually see the racism in any word or gesture that it exists in, I really don’t see it here.
I do think the author is just mentioning how Paterson beat the odds despite the fact that they have been stacked against him during his life and career. Doesn’t seem racist at all.
ALL: Thank you for your input. I didn’t think the article to be racist. However, the friend who brought it to my attention is living in the UK. Being black out there takes on a certain life that folks in America aren’t accustomed to this time around.