Power and Perception

“There is no difference between us.  The only difference is that the folks with money want to stay in power.” 

Shirley Sherrod speaking about  black and white people during her March 27, 2010 speech at a Georgia chapter of the NAACP (See 23:35 in full length video).

Perception Rules

In her NAACP speech last March, former USDA administrator Shirley Sherrod described how she overcame her prejudice toward a poor white farmer—realizing the differences that divide aren’t about color, but about power.  Bob Herbert summarizes in his July 23, 2010 NY Times column:

“The point that Ms. Sherrod was making as she talked in her speech about the white farmer who had come to her for help was that we are all being sold a tragic bill of goods by the powerful forces that insist on pitting blacks, whites and other ethnic groups against one another.”[1]

Because those in power must maintain the perception that they do not tolerate discrimination, the Obama administration  threw Sherrod under the bus and forced her to resign on July 19th after Andrew Breitbart took a segment of her speech out of context and posted a two minute and 36-second video clip on the internet.  The NAACP came down hard on Sherrod;  NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous supported Sherrod’s forced resignation.[2]

Once the entire video of Sherrod’s talk was posted, President Obama (D) and Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack apologized.[3]  The NAACP said they were “snookered” by Fox News.  The new perception was that Sherrod was not a bigot.

The Rest of the Story

Ironically, in the very speech now perceived to “prove” Sherrod is not a bigot, Sherrod can be seen using the same demeaning and divisive technique of labeling political opponents as racists to devalue their message.  At 23:50 into the full length video of her March 27th NAACP speech, Sherrod doesn’t hesitate to dismiss opponents of Obama and Obamacare  as racists:

“I haven’t seen such mean-spirited people as I’ve seen lately over this issue of healthcare.  Some of the racism we thought was buried has surfaced.  Now we endured eight years of the Bushes and we didn’t do the stuff these Republicans are doing because we have a black President.”

For Sherrod, people can’t possibly disagree with her “black President” unless they’re prejudiced.  Sherrod belittles members of the tea party movement, calling them racist, thus invalidating their point of view in the public eye.

Perception and Reality

The perception in the news media is that Shirley Sherrod is not a racist.

The reality is that for Shirley Sherrod, everything is about race.[4]

The perception in the news media is that Shirley Sherrod had an epiphany of a brotherhood of races.

The reality is that Sherrod’s epiphany was a brotherhood of races cared for by Big Brother—and you must love Big Brother—unless of course, you’re a racist.

The perception in the news media is that those in power do not tolerate discrimination.

The reality is that the Shirley Sherrod incident was a hiccup in the the regular use of discrimination and accusations of racism by those in power as a tool to divide and control Americans.  Those in power manage the perception that they do not tolerate discrimination, but that their opponents are bigots.[5]  A week before the incident, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)  called on a growing movement of Americans dissatisfied with the government—the tea party—to stop supporting bigots in their midst.

Divide and Rule

Sherrod believes in big-government—her loyalties have been bought and paid for by government handouts.  For her, as for most people, government is part of the landscape to be used for her own goals.

Will Sherrod and other Americans ever open their eyes to see that the “folks with money” who threw Sherrod under the bus come in all colors?

Will Americans ever see that whether or not someone is labeled a racist today is often a convenient tool those in power use to divide people and manipulate their perceptions?

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[1] “Thrown to the Wolves,” By Bob Herbert, NY Times, July 23, 2010, (Accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/24/opinion/24herbert.html?th&emc=th on July 25, 2010).

[2] “Shirley Sherrod, ex-USDA worker: White House forced me to resign over fabricated racial controversy,” by Aliyah Shahid, DAILY NEWS, July 20, 2010, (Accessed at http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/07/20/2010-07-20_shirley_sherrod_exusda_worker_white_house_forced_me_to_resign_over_fabricated_ra.html on July 31, 2010).

[3] “With Apology, Fired Official Is Offered a New Job,” By Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Shaila Dewan, and Brian Stelter, NY Times, July 21, 2010, (Accessed at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/22/us/politics/22sherrod.html?th&emc=th on July 25, 2010).

“She said she would like to have a conversation with Mr. Obama, but does not believe he owes her an apology.”

[4] In Sherrod speech video:

2:04: Wants “people of color” in government jobs.

30:29: Laments money handouts not going to black businesses.

31:40: Tells how kids can become government bureaucrats for life.

32:14: Discusses how many “people of color” work in a government building.

36:15: “Second black President of the United States”

[5] Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayer can make racist comments and still become a Supreme Court Justice.

What is Affirmative Action if not a form of discrimination?