Bush: a "graceful" president or a less blatant racist?
After George H.W. Bush's recent death, there have been many obituaries declaring the deceased former president "graceful", "the last of an era", etc. etc. about his presidential-ness and calmness (at least compared to his modern counterparts) postmortem. Which is understandable, given he is relatively normal and that he doesn't have some huge crisis tainting his whole career (unlike most presidents these days). Originally I agreed with the assessments of his career many news articles made.
Then I read an article about one of Bush's sleazier campaign-strategies. It was an ad about a "Willie Horton". William Horton had been an infamous escaped convict from Massachusetts. He had skipped out on a murder sentence, then continued with a spree of assault and robbery. Conveniently, Bush's Democratic presidential opponent of that election was the Massachusetts governor, Michael Dukakis.
Essentially Bush used a "Willie Horton" ad to stoke white racial anxiety about the supposed lack of safety having Dukakis as president would mean. If he couldn't even manage the prisoners in his own state, how about an entire nation? Horton was photographed in an animalistic, predatory stance, emphasizing his blackness by placing him among smaller white men. They called him "Willie" although that wasn't his first name, a demeaning kind of buddy-buddy term white Southerners still often used with black men. Though the ad only aired for a short time, it goes to show that most public figures rely on something racist or discriminatory of some nature to gain them favor.
Yes, Trump is racist. That's rather obvious. While campaigning, probably THE central message he sent, besides "making America great again", was taking out or repressing the people that supposedly interfered with its greatness. There was the famed immigrants speech, and so many other incidents. But that doesn't mean that conservative politicians and presidents of the past, like George H.W. Bush, weren't racist; they were just less blatant about it.
That doesn't mean I think Bush is a terrible president. He participated in very (surprisingly) impactful environmental policy programs. He was diplomatic with both foreign and political opponents. He was rightfully presidential. I just think that the rose-colored glasses shouldn't immortalize him as the "perfect" politician he, and most other presidents, most certainly were not. I guess this could just be considered a reminder of nuance, that a person doesn't just represent one thing and that looking at public figures in that way is just detrimental.
This actually reminds me of O.G.'s case in a rather roundabout way. I think people on both sides of his case, both white and black, tend to view him, ha ha, in a very white-and-black sort of way. To them he's either a murderer or their glorious innocent savior. There's not much leeway. And in my opinion that takes out a lot of the nuance in his case and his situation that needed to be there for the sake of justice.
This actually reminds me of O.G.'s case in a rather roundabout way. I think people on both sides of his case, both white and black, tend to view him, ha ha, in a very white-and-black sort of way. To them he's either a murderer or their glorious innocent savior. There's not much leeway. And in my opinion that takes out a lot of the nuance in his case and his situation that needed to be there for the sake of justice.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/12/george-hw-bush-dies/542904/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/marshallshepherd/2018/12/01/the-surprising-climate-and-environmental-legacy-of-president-george-h-w-bush/#1e8dd163589c
https://www.history.com/news/george-bush-willie-horton-racist-ad
I had previously watched the Willie Horton ad because I chose to write about it as a part of my Law and Society Research Paper. However I didn't use it to dsicuss the racial issues behind it but rather to explain the effect of actions that politicans may take due to public pressure. Now that I learned more about the racial issues that does leave me with a different feeling aobut the whole situation. I remember I had actually seen a quote from him but not really thought about it too much so I went back and found it again, "The fact is, my name is not 'Willie.' It's part of the myth of the case. The name irks me. It was created to play on racial stereotypes: big, ugly, dumb, violent, black — 'Willie'. I resent that. They created a fictional character — who seemed believable, but who did not exist. They stripped me of my identity, distorted the facts, and robbed me of my constitutional rights." To be completly honest my perspective on this situation is hard to figure out because the fact is that Horton was still a vicious murderer, however I do definitely see the racial issues that came into play here.
ReplyDeleteThis is an intriguing viewpoint. I think Bush's utilization of the Willie Horton ad is an example of the political movement to be "tough on crime". It is horrible that Bush utilized the ad to manipulate racists sentiments and promote a sense of insecurity within our nation. However, I have not heard of any other grand instances of racism by George H.W Bush.
ReplyDeletePolitics are crazy. Personally, I'd take Bush any day over what he have now - I mean, the man was a war hero. But this political slander is just not okay. It's really disheartening to know that the media has become a means to openly dehumanize another human.
ReplyDeleteThis might be a tangent, but I honestly think that all presidents are crazy. Something has to be seriously messed up in your brain to think that it would be a good idea to openly ridicule your peers for two years, then be stuck in an isolated house with a crazy schedule for four years. So, it is not surprising that a Bush would release that about Horton, because he was a power hungry white guy - just like the rest of 'em.