Originally posted by DoKGonZo
If it wouldn't matter if Zell was wearing a white hood in the 1970's, why does it matter so much that Kerry was speaking out about the war at the same time? Look at the last line of your post that I quoted. Oops. Yeah.
The answer is they both matter, but they must be taken in context and in degree.
-DoK
DoK, mabey you were speaking retorically, I dont know. My point is that Miller was not wearing the white hood. As governor he actually has a good record of being fair with minorities, with judicial appoitments, MLKjr day, the state flag.
It is a stereo type. An old white southern uppity man = KKK. I argue that tapping that stereo type is no differnet that any other ratial stero type. While evoking a black stereo type will get you filleted, doing it on Zell yeilds a "hmmm thats plausible".
I agree with your point to a degree. Kerrys past should also be viewed in historical perspective. There is the difference that Miller is a retiring senator, and Kerry wants to be president. If the situation was reversed I would want to know about a stance on segregation, and I would expect to see a record afterwards that reflected a change of heart on the issue.