10 thoughts on “Wisconsin Freedom Rally: Tomorrow, Saturday, Madison”

  5. I can’t make the 1,400 mile road trip in time. Damn teachers’ pension fund is eating my disposable income, so I can’t fly, either.

    Is there any way to make a virtual presence felt?

  7. “Herman Cain will be the only black face in Madison, as far as I can tell.”

    Michael Kennedy:

    I have followed your blog posts with considerable interest, especially with respect to inciteful commentary on health care policy and practice.

    I won’t call you out for the above statement being racist as the charge of racism has been so bandied about as to lose its meaning. As information about the culture and demographics of Madison are not that hard to come by, however, it is certainly the first stupid thing I have heard you say.

    As a white person, I don’t know if I have standing to demand an apology. As a long time Madison resident, I can assure you that there are numerous black people who reside in Madison and surrounds, many of them liberal as are many Madisonians of all races, but a few of them thoroughly conservative, as is Mr. Cain.

  8. Well said Paul. As they grew up I am sure my kids tired of hearing me say to them that any time someone begins with “Black people are ….”. “Women are …”, Hispanics are …” or any other general statement about people based on their color, gender or ethnicity, unless the subject is biology you can be sure that whatever comes out of their mouth next is at best ignorant and at worst an outright lie. Put another way, such statements are at best intellectually lazy and at worst racist. I can think of no general statement of beliefs, values or thinking that universally applies to any such group.

  9. Paul Milenkovic,

    I think you missed Michael Kennedy’s point. The Tea Party is routinely dismissed as racist based on the unscientific visual impression of the race of Tea Party members at public rallies. Basically, for over a year we heard, “The Tea Party is racist, just look at the TV at all those white faces.”

    When Michael Kennedy says that Herman Cain will be the only black person in Madison, he means the only black person visible on TV in protest. Therefore, following the logic employed against the Tea Party, the leftwing protestors in Madison must be racist. QED.

    HTML desperately needs a sarcasm tag.

  10. I just got back from the rally. I was lucky enough to be with the speakers before and during the rally. I must tell you that there was a great sense of apprehension before the rally. We had police escorts to go through the capitol. I can tell you that as soon as we were outside and saw all the supportive signs and faces that any apprehension melted. The Walker supporters were extraordinary. We talked to two of the state senators and they are remaining steadfast in their support of the bill.

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