Cynthia McKinney

Cynthia McKinney issued an apology on the House floor yesterday, which I believe means that her apology was entered into the Congressional record. Normally I would take the time to point out the number of apologies not in the Congressional record (eg. Bush for Iraq, Delay for defrauding the public of a responsible Congress, James Sensenbrenner for turning off Democrats's mikes at a Congressional hearing, John McCain for backing down on torture, etc.). But right now I have just one take on the McKinney story- this is not a race issue, it's a racism issue.

I am not claiming she was stopped by the guard because she was black, or because, as some ineloquently put it, she had braided hair, or that her response would have been right even if he had. It's certainly possible, but I don't know what was going on in the accused's head. However, even if it wasn't a racist act then, the right wing response has made up for it in spades. We need to make it impossible, politically and financially, for ANYONE to say the following things and remain in his or her job:

The Neal Booortz Show, Cox Radio Syndication
March 31, 2006

NEAL BOORTZ: For instance, or for goodness sakes, jump in and I'm gonna say -- I'm gonna start out with something controversial. I saw Cynthia McKinney's new hair-do. Have you seen it, Belinda?

BELINDA SKELTON: No.

BOORTZ: She looks like a ghetto slut.

SKELTON: Well, how is it?

BOORTZ: It's just -- it's hideous.

SKELTON: Is it braided? Or --

BOORTZ: No, it's not braided. It just flies away from her head in every conceivable direction. It looks like an explosion in a Brillo pad factory. It's just hideous. To me, that hairstyle just shows contempt for -- no, it's not an Afro. I mean, no, it just shows contempt for the position that she holds and the body that she serves in. And, I'm sorry, there's just no other way to -- it's just a hideous and horrible looking --

and later...

BOORTZ: OK. Now, I'm going to repeat something that I said a little bit earlier. I've been enduring jokes about my lack of hair for years, so I am absolutely privileged and entitled. This is not white privilege, this is bald privilege. I am privileged and entitled to say anything I want about anybody else's hairdo.

I saw Cynthia McKinney's hairdo yesterday -- saw it on TV. I don't blame that cop for stopping her. It looked like a welfare drag queen was trying to sneak into the Longworth House Office Building. That hairdo is ghetto trash. I don't blame them for stopping her. Now, let's see if Media Matters will pick up on that one. "Boortz calls McKinney welfare drag queen." [laughs] So, well, that's why I do things like that, just to give them something to write about.