The headline of an article by Jim Rutenberg on the front page of the New York Times this morning is “Black Radio on Obama Is Left’s Answer to Limbaugh.” The article reflects as pure an example of racialism — an ideology that regards race as the fundamental building block of personal identity and social reality — that I recall seeing in the mainstream press.
It begins:
ATLANTA — Warren Ballentine, one of black talk radio’s new stars, was on a tear against Senator John McCain as he broadcast from the Greenbriar Mall here last week, blithely dismissing Mr. McCain’s kind words about Senator Barack Obama at the recent N.A.A.C.P. national convention.
“He came out talking about how good of a race Barack Obama was running, and how proud he was of Barack,” Mr. Ballentine said. “You know he went back home and said, ‘I can’t believe I spoke in front of all those Negroes today!’ ”
….
Rush Limbaugh, meet your black liberal counterprogramming.
What I find both remarkable and offensive here is the easy and unexamined assumption that “black” is the counterpoint to — actually, opposite of — “conservative.” Let me state what should be obvious but isn’t, at least to reporters and editors at the New York Times: the “answer” or “counterprogramming” to conservative talk radio is liberal or leftist talk radio; “black radio” is the counterpoint to “white radio,” not conservative radio.
To assume otherwise, as the NYT does, is to assume, falsely, that all blacks are on the left (unless it wants to argue that “black radio” does not really represent blacks, an argument I haven’t read in its pages). It is also to assume, also falsely, that conservative talk radio supports McCain because he is white, not because he is more conservative than Obama, and that it opposes Obama because he is black.
I also think it’s revealing that, in the excerpts quoted, Warren Ballantine, “one of black talk radio’s new stars,” stretches to accuse McCain of racism — not, mind, you on the basis of anything he’s said, which has only been complimentary of Obama, but on the basis of what we “know” he says in private.
By contrast, when conservative talk radio criticizes Obama in areas that might be regarded as similar, it quotes what he actually said — bitter, clinging whites; what his long-time mentor/pastor/substitute father actually said — “greedy whites” running the United States of AmeriKKKa; what his wife actually said — America is “just downright mean,” and she became proud of it only recently.
Do Ballantine and the New York Times believe there is a “black” position on, say, Iraq? On bailing out failing banks? Indeed, as I demonstrated here by citing a number of opinion surveys, there is not even a reliably identifiable “black” view of racial preference policies.
Is “black radio” fundamentally black or fundamentally liberal? Would it be supporting, say, Condi Rice or Colin Powell as uniformly if one of them were the Republican nominee and some white, any white, were the Democrat? I doubt it. And that suggests, at least to me, that “black radio” is a pretty good analog to black interest groups and black voters: a wholly owned subsidiary of the liberal left and its dominant institution, the Democratic Party.
Seen in this light, maybe the New York Times view that “black,” as least as blacks are represented institutionally and politically, really is the opposite of “conservative.”
I have read of outlandish statements limbaugh has made, but if he was doing that all the time, the liberal media would let us know about it. there was a time when I used to listen to black talk radio, till 9/11, so I know it is nothing but outlandish statements, except that black people (I can’t say how many, but I would guess at least half) do not think they are outlandish. the articles of faith are that: every white person is a racist, a deliberate thinking racist, that the US is the worst place on earth, that white people stole all their wealth and inventions from non white people, that everything that a white person says is a lie (this used to except the clintons, but no longer), that al quada’s cause is better than that of the US or the west, and that everything a white person does that is ostensibly not racist is actually racist (like mccain speaking to the naacp), that the US or some white person invented aids, that no one else apart from an american ever held slaves, or did anything bad, that the idea of loyalty to the US is laughable, that the police patrol black neighborhoods, not because of crime, but to shoot people for no reason, that 9/11 was deserved, and much more in that vein. Anyone who thinks I am making this up, listen to it for a month.
Anita writes:
>>>”I have read of outlandish statements limbaugh has made, but if he was doing that all the time, the liberal media would let us know about it.”
LOL, are you serious? The so called “liberal media” are run by some of the same corporate conglomerates who control hate radio. It’s narrow-casting, Anita. There are millions of mostly older white American who make up the majority of Hate Radio and Fox News’ audience.
>>>”The sex difference is better seen in Rush Limbaugh audience, which is 67 % male [6]. The age of the talk radio audience is concentrated in the 30 to 49 year age range. Talk radio’s reemergence as a popular format was largely in response to Baby Boomers’ developing preference for talk over music programming as they age. Some critics claim that radio is a predominantly white medium. Limbaugh fans are almost entirely white — ninety-five percent of his audience are Caucasians.”
http://www.library.ukma.kiev.ua/e-lib/NZ/NZV18_2000_sociol/06_leukhina_ag.pdf
Rush is simply saying out loud what the angry 8 – 10% of Ugly America says behind closed doors, and he get paid for it.
Anita writes:
>>>(after a litany of anti-black talk radio theory)”Anyone who thinks I am making this up, listen to it for a month.”
And what does Limbaugh, Hannity, Savage, Ingraham and Fox News do every day but take that SAME laundry list you provided, but simply switching the blame to minorities, liberals, Democrats, homosexuals and feminists.
John writes:
>>>”Is “black radio” fundamentally black or fundamentally liberal? Would it be supporting, say, Condi Rice or Colin Powell as uniformly if one of them were the Republican nominee and some white, any white, were the Democrat?”
You’re conflating “liberal” and “Democrat”, John. They don’t mean the same thing. I would question whether YOU would support either Rice or Powell since they’re on the record as PROPONENTS of Affirmative Action.
If Colin Powell was a Democrat, and hadn’t alligned himself with a party that embraces an anti-black Southern Strategy, perhaps there would be less of a point to quibble with here.
–Cobra
I’ve listened to Ballentine several times. He’s a typical ultra-liberal, white-hating blowhard. I’ve yet to hear anyone call the show to correct him or disagree with him. On a recent show, he stated several times that the price for a barrel of oil was up over $200 during the summer. It never rose higher than $147. I found this to be a rather significant error coming from the self-proclaimed #1 truthfighter in America.