The “party of Lincoln” has turned into the
“party of Lott.”
Trent Lott, embarrassed by his comments that the country would
have been better off if segregationist candidate Strom Thurmond won
the presidency in 1948, resigned as incoming Senate majority leader
because it would have been politically disastrous for Republicans
if he stayed. Lott realized he made a political mistake, but never
convinced the American people he knew he made a moral error as
well.
To look at the debacle in terms of one racist man is to miss the
point. The problem is not just Trent Lott; the problem is that Lott
represents an entire state and a Southern frame of mind. He, like
so many others, grew up in a society with racist values and
continues to harbor them today.
What can the country take away from this besides the fact that
the Republicans (although it would be both erroneous and unfair
to categorize them all as racists) tolerate racism, as
long as the racist is a good fundraiser? It is obvious the
Republicans are not conscious of the changing face of America.
What made the whole disaster worse were the constant apologies.
They were nothing more than another political ploy. And
Lott’s appearance on BET, during which he professed to
support affirmative action, was desperate.
This is when the issue stops being individual-based and becomes
a national issue, a symptom of the larger problem with our country.
When one of the two major political parties has, since the 1970s,
employed a race-centered electoral tactic thinly veiled as a
geographical strategy, alarm bells should ring in the heads of
Americans across the country.
The Civil Rights era marked a move away from blatantly practiced
and supported racism. A new era began, in which people were still
racist, only often behind closed doors. Racism did (and does) not
need to be shouted in the streets for it to greatly and negatively
affect our country. The one and only good thing about Lott’s
statement is that it turned the country’s attention toward
addressing the issue.
The members of the Republican Party should take a long hard look
at themselves, their electoral strategy, and whom they choose to
represent themselves. Party members should not feel proud to be in
a party which harbors the lingering prejudices of the South.
The fact that racism is still acceptable in the South should be
a main point of the national discussion. But it should not be the
only one, because racism is everywhere. Take California: current
Republican vice chairman and state chairman Bill Back sent out an
online newsletter in 1999 that included an article titled
“What if the South won the Civil War?” The article went
on to say that Reconstruction, not slavery, damaged the South. He
apologized this past weekend, but at some point the apologies have
to stop and the learning has to begin.
The whole issue of racism goes in circles. It is not solely
based on Lott, the Republican Party, or the South, but they are all
key players. People who look the other way, who turn their heads
and declare that racism does not exist, are causing almost as much
trouble as the actual racists.
Singer is a second-year studying political science. E-mail her
at msinger@media.ucla.edu.