Progressive racism

A fascinating article over at the Atlantic proves what I have thought for quite some time: Progressives are every bit as racist, and possibly more so, as anyone in the South. 

In "The Racist History of Portland, the Whitest City in America", author Alana Semuels shows us that Portland, Oregon, which is one of America's great progressive hubs, is still living in a racist past:

Victor Pierce has worked on the assembly line of a Daimler Trucks North America plant here since 1994. But he says that in recent years he’s experienced things that seem straight out of another time. White co-workers have challenged him to fights, mounted “hangman’s nooses” around the factory, referred to him as “boy” on a daily basis, sabotaged his work station by hiding his tools, carved swastikas in the bathroom, and written the word “nigger” on walls in the factory, according to allegations filed in a complaint to the Multnomah County Circuit Court in February of 2015. 

Pierce is one of six African Americans working in the Portland plant whom the lawyer Mark Morrell is representing in a series of lawsuits against Daimler Trucks North America. The cases have been combined and a trial is scheduled for January of 2017.

The article goes on to show how this isn't a Daimler problem, but rather a Portland problem:

The allegations may seem at odds with the reputation of this city known for its progressivism. But many African Americans in Portland say they’re not surprised when they hear about racial incidents in this city and state. That’s because racism has been entrenched in Oregon, maybe more than any state in the north, for nearly two centuries. When the state entered the union in 1859, for example, Oregon explicitly forbade black people from living in its borders, the only state to do so. In more recent times, the city repeatedly undertook “urban renewal” projects (such as the construction of Legacy Emanuel Hospital) that decimated the small black community that existed here. And racism persists today. A 2011 audit found that landlords and leasing agents here discriminated against black and Latino renters 64 percent of the time, citing them higher rents or deposits and adding on additional fees. In area schools, African American students are suspended and expelled at a rate four to five times higher than that of their white peers.

All in all, historians and residents say, Oregon has never been particularly welcoming to minorities. Perhaps that’s why there have never been very many. Portland is the whitest big city in America, with a population that is 72.2 percent white and only 6.3 percent African American. 

Naturally, since Portland and Oregon as a whole are "blue" mainstays of the Democratic Party, don't expect any help coming from them. Racism in "Democratland" is perfectly acceptable. To paraphrase Billy Crystal's old Fernando Lamas impersonation, "It is better to LOOK progressive, than to BE progressive."

The truth of the matter is buried in an old line by Groucho Marx:

I sent the club a wire stating, "PLEASE ACCEPT MY RESIGNATION. I DON'T WANT TO BELONG TO ANY CLUB THAT WILL ACCEPT PEOPLE LIKE ME AS A MEMBER". 

Think about members of any club or group. Frequently, they don't care that you live up to the purpose(s) of the group, just so long as you support them.

The classic example is Bill Clinton and the National Organization for Women (NOW). Even as Clinton displayed his sexual predator tendencies with Monica Lewinsky, the NOW continued to publicly support him, even though their rhetoric opposes sexual predators in general. How convenient!

But this is what is happening with Portland. As long as they continue to support Democrats, you'll never hear a peep of complaint out of the Democratic Party, or even the NAACP. They have to be nice to fellow club members, even the racist ones.