April 1, 2011: Miami Herald Columnist Says ‘Birther’ Controversy Driven by Racism

Leonard Pitts Jr. [Source: SourceMedia (.net)]Leonard Pitts Jr., an African-American columnist for the Miami Herald, writes that the ongoing “birther” conspiracy theory surrounding President Obama’s citizenship, recently re-energized by billionaire Donald Trump (see February 10, 2011, March 17, 2011, March 23, 2011, March 23, 2011, March 28, 2011, March 28-29, 2011, March 30, 2011, and April 1, 2011), is, at its core, driven by racial prejudice. “[I]t is time to call this birther nonsense what it is,” he writes, “not just claptrap, but profoundly racist claptrap.” Pitts goes on: “And spare me the e-mails where you soliloquize like Hamlet, the back of your hand pressed to your forehead, eyes turned heavenward, as you moan how it is impossible to criticize this president without being accused of racism. Criticize him to your heart’s content. Give him hell over Libya. Blast him about Guantanamo. Knock him silly on health care reform. He is the president; taking abuse is part of his job description. But this ongoing birther garbage, like the ongoing controversy about his supposed secret Muslim identity (see October 1, 2007, December 19, 2007, Before October 27, 2008, January 11, 2008, Around March 19, 2008, and April 18, 2008), is not about criticism. It is not about what he has done but, rather, what he is.” The “Muslim” and “birther” controversies are “dog whistle” issues, he writes, that “provide euphemistic cover for those who want to express alarm over the raw newness of him, the sweeping demographic changes he represents… without appearing uncouth enough to do so.” He concludes: “Frankly, I wish Trump and his fellow birthers would just go ahead and call Obama an N-word. Yes, it would be reprehensible and offensive. But it would be a damn sight more honest, too.” [Miami Herald, 4/1/2011]