Racist joke shows whites' real beef with 'welfare'

Pardon me for forwarding the ugly "joke" below that was forwarded to me by an old Tea Partyer, but it's a clear admission by white conservatives what their real beef is with "welfare" and a teachable moment for the rest of us: they really believe these federal programs are deliberate wealth redistribution from hardworking whites to lazy blacks.  (Or to "lazy brown-skinned people who speak gibberish, hate work and wipe their asses with American flags," to quote a true genius.)

In his recent op-ed "Why white America thinks ‘too much welfare’ is a black thing," Dr. Jason Johnson sums it up pretty well:

First, most social science research shows that to white Americans welfare automatically conjures up images of lazy promiscuous black women in the inner city, popping out babies like rabbits and turning government cheese vouchers into gold chains and plasma screen televisions.

Consequently for many Americans any question about welfare and the economy is really a question about race. This is not new, but in fact a longstanding narrative in American politics where during times of economic stress business and political elites have ‘protected’ the majority of whites from swallowing the harsh realities of American economics with a sugary dose of racial distraction.

The actual facts about welfare have always been pretty clear; whites and children are the greatest recipients and beneficiaries of various programs, but that’s not good fodder for talk radio.  From the beginning of government sponsored welfare programs, discriminatory policies were enacted to keep blacks off the rolls (like excluding farm workers and domestics in the 1950’s) and even once those policies were removed media and politicians, especially on the right, insisted on maintaining the myth that the face of poverty in America was a black thing.

In fact the racist joke below was told by Arkansas Tea Party leader Inge Marler at at an Ozark Tea Party rally in June 2012, although perhaps it's been around even longer.  The TP crowd loved it.  

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From:
To:
Subject: Fw: Racism Explained
Date: Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:15:53 -0400

Subject: Racism Explained

RACISM EXPLAINED

A black kid asks his mother, "Mama, what's a Democracy?" 

"Well, son, that's when white folks work every day so we can get all our benefits, you knows, like free cell phones, rent subsidy, food stamps, welfare, school breakfasts and lunches, free healthcare, utility subsidy, & the list goes on & on, you knows."

"But mama, don't the white people get pissed off about all that?

"Sure they do, son, and that's called racism." 

For all you welfare hatas: U.S. charity scammers

You know, the second some "welfare queen" scams Uncle Sam out of a few thousand bucks, conservatives are all over it.  All welfare recipients are indicted.

Well, here you go, the nasty truth about the U.S. "charity business."  What say you, Christian conservatives who want to tear down the safety net and replace it with a network of charitable do-gooders who do just as good?  Does the exception prove the rule?  Does one really, really bad apple spoil the charitable bunch?

The Cancer Fund of America makes George Castanza's Human Fund look like Save the Children.

"But Obama [correction: Reagan] gives poor people free cell phones!" my low-information conservative interlocutor will protest hysterically.  (Sigh).

Intricate family connections bind several of America's worst charities

By Kris Hundley and Kendall Taggart

June 13, 2013 | Times/CIR Special Report

URL: http://www.tampabay.com/topics/specials/worst-charities3.page

'Obama phones' are really Reagan phones

So here's the real deal:

But it’s the right that are going to end up looking like the ignorant fools. What Limbaugh, Malzberg -- and likely the majority of the million people who viewed the video -- didn’t know was that these “Obama Phones” are actually a creation of their beloved Ronald Reagan, who began the program in 1984.

Actually called the “Lifeline program,” the legislation permits some households to receive a free landline under Congress’s rationale that "telephone service provides a vital link to emergency services, government services and surrounding communities."

That idea dates back to 1934, under the Communications Act, but Reagan was the first to actually implement the legislation. The program grew under President Clinton, who recognized the advent of the newfangled new technology of cordless phones and expanded it to include cell phones.

To qualify for the program you must live in a household with an income near the poverty line or be already qualified for other assistance programs like public housing or food stamps. 

So once again, even Reagan turns out to be not Reagany enough for today's pro-Reagan GOP.  It's a very high bar, folks; and lots of would-be leaders on the Right get gut-checked hard trying to hop over it... including Zombie Reagan.  Ha-ha-ha!

Ring-Wing Goes Crazy Over 'Obama Phones' Which Are Actually 'Reagan Phones'

Little did they know that the joke was on them.

By Laura Gottesdiener

September 28, 2012 | AlterNet

URL: http://www.alternet.org/election-2012/ring-wing-goes-crazy-over-obama-phones-which-are-actually-reagan-phones