Uppity Waffles

Mark Whitlock and Bob DeMoss of Franklin, Tennessee are seriously sensitive guys. So is Georgia republican representative Lynn Westmoreland. In this new day and age when the republican party has placed such a high value on things like sensitivity to women, they must be thrilled that Whitlock, Demoss and Westmoreland will be pulling the lever for their beloved GOP this November.

In case you missed it, Westmoreland made news in the past week by referring to Barak and Michelle Obama as "uppity", a word that almost anyone capable of drawing breath knows is usually always followed by the "n word" when it is used in reference to an African American. Westmoreland, when called to the carpet for his clearly racist remark, claimed that he had no idea that it could be construed that way.

Whitlock and DeMoss took things a step further. While attending the conservative Value Voter Summit in D.C. last week, they set up in a rented booth and sold "Obama Waffles" mix, which featured stunningly racist depictions of the democratic presidential candidate on the box. One shows Obama in what the Associated Press calls a drawing that "plays off the old image of Aunt Jemima". This drawing features Obama with lips of greatly exaggerated size. If this isn't going far enough, another drawing on the box depicts Obama in an Arab-like headdress, which is an obvious slap at the candidate's name and a reference to false rumors that he is a Muslim. You can also flip it over on the back to see Obama in a sombrero and Hispanic themed clothing with references made to potentially lax immigration policies. Attendees at the Value Voter gathering were able to take time out from hearing speakers like Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich to plop down ten bucks for this veritable flaming cross in a cardboard box.

Just as Westmoreland did with his offensive remark, Whitlock and Demoss played ignorant when it came to any possible offensive overtones from their waffle mix. They even went so far as to defend their product, comparing it to mainstream items that you and I might find at the local Publix.

"You think of Newman's Own or Emeril's- there are tons of personality-branded food products on the market," Whitlock said.

Let me begin my response by saying that the Newman's Own products use Paul Newman's image to market food items that have resulted in the donation of $250 million since 1982 to non-profit organizations. All profits from their sales go directly to charity. Likewise, Chef Emeril Lagasse does a tremendous amount of charitable work and also employs a great many people in his restaurants. Yes, he makes a tidy profit. However, it doesn't come from attempting to humiliate his competition with stereotypes. Can you imagine Emeril boosting sales at Delmonico by making fun of Asians or Hispanics at other restaurant concepts? Needless to say, the comparison here is way out of bounds.

But discrediting the product comparisons made by these two bigots isn't what this is really about. Why? Because any moderately intelligent person doesn't believe their responses any more than they believe those of Representative Westmoreland.

The Obama Waffles creators never meant for them to be marketed as a food product and didn't believe for a second that they actually were similar to anything made by Paul Newman or Emeril Lagasse. And they did know their product would offend plenty of people, just as Westmoreland knew his remark could be construed as inappropriate. How do I know this? Because anyone with the mental capacity to conceive and create a product for public consumption, and/or get elected to congress, does not live in a vacuum. They are aware of racial stereotypes and most common racial slurs. And when these folks claim ignorance, the general public either knows they are lying or supports the rest of their beliefs and is willing to look past their motives.

So, do the actions of a few racist chuckle-heads really matter that much? It's a debatable question, but I think they do. Perhaps because there are plenty of other folks out there who think like the waffles guys. And also because Westmoreland actually participates in government in this country, which should frighten the hell out of all of us.

But their actions are a symptom of a larger problem that is an infuriating thing to witness during this current election. Seeing people attempt to take the high road in order to mask their deplorable words/actions is a pathetic form of cowardice. But in a "have-our-cake-and-eat-it-too" world, people want to have their hateful beliefs, act on them, and then not be perceived in a negative way in the process. In other words, people want to be able to say "uppity" and depict people with racial stereotypes, and yet seem perfectly innocent in doing so. Or another example would be a person who accuses Jamie Lynn Spears of being a slut raised by lousy parents, and then defends Sarah Palin and her family under similar circumstances, ignoring their hypocracy while championing the idea of familial privacy.

But as I said, there are plenty of us who are not stupid. I just hope that on November 4 we outnumber the people who know what is going on, but don't care.