Off Topic · Lou Dobbs almost outs himself as a racist (page 1)

Lou Dobbs is about to say cotton-picking (a well known racial slur of years past) and catches himself. So to, does CNN as it removes
cotton from the transcript.

Regardless of the slip of the toungue, he is basically taking offense to a remark made by Condi Rice where she describes racism as a 'birth defect' of America.
She says that racism and slavery are birth defects. Apparently, Lou Dobbs takes issue with that. The only question is, if Slavery isn't some kind of negative attribute
in this nations birth, than what exactly is it? This is the kind of stuff I'm talking about. What does it mean that this country is the most diverse nation, when muslims, arabs, blacks and latinos are so often treated as 2nd class citizens? And whats wrong with saying this if it is true? He wants to talk about race, as a racist.

Loe Dobbs is a doushebag

I don't agree with lou dobbs on a ton of issues, but I do not believe he is a rascist. I also, think because he is a populist and not really a democrat or republican he offers interesting viewpoints on issues.

He is particularly tough on illegal immigration(and I believe people have called him rascist for this). I have scene him battle with people from il raza. All he is saying there, is that we are going to be wealthier, and the standard of living is going to be higher for everyone once we put a stop to illegal immigration. I think considering we have a debt of 9 trillion dollars and illegal immigration drains our resources(as far as education expenses, health expenses, etc), this viewpoint is particularly reasonable. That being said, I am not expecting any politician to take too tough a stand on illegal immigration because of the political consequences. In fact, I don't think this is even anywhere close to how I would handle the issue, but again, I appreciate a diverse viewpoint, and like the fact that it is out there.

I think people have to understand that we are the most diverse nation in the history of the world. I think this creates problems that you would not necessarily see in a nation that is homogeneous as far as race, religion, etc. I think it makes everything much tougher, and I do think we need to talk about it. Whether we talk about it now, or 10 years from now when the problem still isn't solved is the question.

Another issue lou dobbs gets crazy about is education. And, I believe him, when he says we have a problem here. Something isn't right when so many students aren't graduating. We need to start innovating in this area. Whether it means creating more competition as far as choice in schooling(more diverse teaching methods available), or cutting back the power of teachers unions(more motivated teachers to teach), or starting to learn more about how people learn in order to solve the problem(and cater education accordingly) is up for debate. But, we need to do something there, and the one thing we can't afford to do is just throw more money at the issue without a good plan.

I think this thread is sad. Why certain people have to go out of their way to look for the worst in others is beyond me.

Posted by Solace:

I think this thread is sad. Why certain people have to go out of their way to look for the worst in others is beyond me.

Exactly.

Posted by 4949:

Posted by Solace:

I think this thread is sad. Why certain people have to go out of their way to look for the worst in others is beyond me.

Exactly.

i kinda agree here but I do think Lou is a douchebag too

Posted by martin:

Posted by 4949:

Posted by Solace:

I think this thread is sad. Why certain people have to go out of their way to look for the worst in others is beyond me.

Exactly.

i kinda agree here but I do think Lou is a douchebag too

Thats interesting, I didn't think I was going out of my way at all. The substance of his argument is what exactly? He does or doesn't have a problem with the way this nation was formed? I mean, someone please help me to understand what he meant and what other way i could interpret it, honestly.

Posted by Killa4luv:

Posted by martin:

Posted by 4949:

Posted by Solace:

I think this thread is sad. Why certain people have to go out of their way to look for the worst in others is beyond me.

Exactly.

i kinda agree here but I do think Lou is a douchebag too

Thats interesting, I didn't think I was going out of my way at all. The substance of his argument is what exactly? He does or doesn't have a problem with the way this nation was formed? I mean, someone please help me to understand what he meant and what other way i could interpret it, honestly.

You're hanging onto a word he didn't even say. I read threads like this and it seems like a witch hunt to me. The appropriate response would've been to not interpret it.

Seriously, if this is the biggest fish you have to fry, then I have to think that this nation has come a hell of a long way.

P.S.: I don't personally care for Lou Dobbs either.

[Edited by - Solace on Apr 05 2008 01:08 AM]

I don't like him either. But he is saying a lot of stuff people don't necessarily like to say. That i like.

Posted by Solace:

Posted by Killa4luv:

Posted by martin:

Posted by 4949:

Posted by Solace:

I think this thread is sad. Why certain people have to go out of their way to look for the worst in others is beyond me.

Exactly.

i kinda agree here but I do think Lou is a douchebag too

Thats interesting, I didn't think I was going out of my way at all. The substance of his argument is what exactly? He does or doesn't have a problem with the way this nation was formed? I mean, someone please help me to understand what he meant and what other way i could interpret it, honestly.

You're hanging onto a word he didn't even say. I read threads like this and it seems like a witch hunt to me. The appropriate response would've been to not interpret it.

Seriously, if this is the biggest fish you have to fry, then I have to think that this nation has come a hell of a long way.

P.S.: I don't personally care for Lou Dobbs either.

[Edited by - Solace on Apr 05 2008 01:08 AM]

I think you've missed my point. It isn't so much the word, as it is the overall point he is making which you failed to address or even take into consideration.

Lou Dobbs isn't the problem, he's symptomatic of a larger problem, but hes mild in comparison to his more anti-working class, anti-immigrant (Mexican) others.

I find it interesting that people can always throw out generalities or make comments about agreeing with this or that comment or viewpoint, but somehow folks are always comfortable skirting around an issue, and addressing some kind of oversimplification instead. Attempts to gain greater clarity are routinely ignored. Whats that about?
Why can't we talk about what the essence of his argument was?

Posted by Killa4luv:

I find it interesting that people can always throw out generalities or make comments about agreeing with this or that comment or viewpoint, but somehow folks are always comfortable skirting around an issue, and addressing some kind of oversimplification instead. Attempts to gain greater clarity are routinely ignored. Whats that about?
Why can't we talk about what the essence of his argument was?

Killa, honestly, I don't think I can give a good response, because I read what you wrote multiple times, but honestly, I have a hard time seeing where you're coming from. I'm trying not to sound insensitive. What did you find wrong with what Dobbs said, exactly? Personally, I'd ask Rice to explain herself, because her comment seems awfully harsh. I certainly think there are some of us who don't suffer from said 'birth defect' (at least within reason, nobody is perfect).

[Edited by - Solace on Apr 08 2008 7:58 PM]

I actually watch Lou Dobbs pretty regularly for the reason that I agree with most of his commentary regarding our trade policies and illegal immigration. These issues barely make a blip on the radar for most of these so-called political shows. Lou Dobbs isn't affliated with either political party and doesn't pull his punches whether its Republican or a Democrat. And that we need to see more of from mainstream media. I don't agree with him on every single issue but its refreshing to see someone on one of the major news networks this isn't a company hack.

[Edited by - bitty41 on 04-10-2008 11:02 AM]

Posted by bitty41:

I actually watch Lou Dobbs pretty regularly for the reason that I agree with most of his commentary regarding our trade policies and illegal immigration. These issues barely make a blip on the radar for most of these so-called political shows. Lou Dobbs isn't affliated with either political party and doesn't pull his punches whether its Republican or a Democrat. And that we need to see more of from mainstream media. I don't agree with him on every single issue but its refreshing to see someone on one of the major news networks this isn't a company hack.

[Edited by - bitty41 on 04-10-2008 11:02 AM]

I agree that he is a breath of fresh air. And, yes we need to see more of that from the mainstream media. We need more competition in politics just like this country needs more competition to continue to operate at a high level. However, I am not as knowledgeable on free trade as I would like to be. This starts to involve the value of the dollar, which starts to get into unfamiliar territory for me. I tend to be in favor of NAFTA cause I tend to think it is better for people to exchange goods that that can be made at a cheaper price somewhere else(both parties benefit). I think the trade problem lies with China, who doesn't respect our intellectual property rights, and just copies our stuff. They are also doing something with floating currency, which i don't understand yet. However, I do understand when the value of the dollar goes down, other countries are more likely to buy our stuff. So a bad dollar isn't all that bad.

I tend to be in favor of NAFTA cause I tend to think it is better for people to exchange goods that that can be made at a cheaper price somewhere else(both parties benefit).

NAFTA has been terrible for the United States. It has enabled coporations to export most of their job to cheap labor places *ahem* Mexico thus we've become very dependent on foreign goods everything from clothes to our food (which is a real scary thought).

And in terms of China we're their bitch right now. We might as well just sell the entire country to the Chinese government.

I think it is more accurate to say that NAFTA has been bad for some americans while benefitting others. Generally speaking, free trade is a good idea because each party is getting something else from the other at a better price. I understand that it has been bad for some though.

And, as much as I am a citizen of this country, I don't have a problem benefitting people who live in others. We are all people, afterall. I also think part of the thought with nafta was to help curb illegal immigration.

The problem with free trade breaks down, when one party doesn't respect the others rights in certain areas. I'm pretty sure China is completely ignoring our intellectual property rights. They copy it and sell it cheap over there. I don't believe that was part of the agreement, and I think they were probably part of TRIPS or something like that, so they are violating part of the trade agreement.

This isn't my best issue though, so I post more in interest of discussion(and gathering info) than trying to prove you wrong.

Posted by Solace:

Posted by Killa4luv:

I find it interesting that people can always throw out generalities or make comments about agreeing with this or that comment or viewpoint, but somehow folks are always comfortable skirting around an issue, and addressing some kind of oversimplification instead. Attempts to gain greater clarity are routinely ignored. Whats that about?
Why can't we talk about what the essence of his argument was?

Killa, honestly, I don't think I can give a good response, because I read what you wrote multiple times, but honestly, I have a hard time seeing where you're coming from. I'm trying not to sound insensitive. What did you find wrong with what Dobbs said, exactly? Personally, I'd ask Rice to explain herself, because her comment seems awfully harsh. I certainly think there are some of us who don't suffer from said 'birth defect' (at least within reason, nobody is perfect).

[Edited by - Solace on Apr 08 2008 7:58 PM]

Dont worry about sounding insensitive, I dont offend easily.

First what Condi said was this:

Black Americans were a founding population, Africans and Europeans came here and founded this country together — Europeans by choice and Africans in chains. That's not a very pretty reality of our founding. As a result, descendants of slaves did not get much of a head start, and I think you continue to see some of the effects of that. That particular birth defect makes it hard for us to confront it, hard for us to talk about it, and hard for us to realize that it has continuing relevance for who we are today. America doesn't have an easy time dealing with race," Miss Rice said, adding that members of her family have "endured terrible humiliations." But she spoke forcefully on the subject, citing personal and family experience to illustrate "a paradox and contradiction in this country," which "we still haven't resolved. On the one hand, she said, race in the U.S. "continues to have effects" on public discussions and "the deepest thoughts that people hold." On the other, "enormous progress" has been made, which allowed her to become the nation's chief diplomat.

She is saying the nation has a birth defect (slavery), and it is a metaphor, she isnt saying individual white people have birth defects, shes just stating that the country was founded on racism and that it has continued to be a problem in this country that hasn't been resolved. Is there anything harsh in what she has said above?