What They Said, What They Meant, Whether They Meant to Mean It or Not

What Trent Lott did/said:

"I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either." 

What it means, whether he meant it or not is that by embracing Thurmond's run for president, which was on a segregationist platform, Lott implicitly embraces that platform even 54 years later. He even uses the present tense, "We [are] proud of it." This is racist and insulting to anyone who would be adversely impacted by the concept of segregation, which are black Americans. The outrage was, I think about two things. First, that possibly this Southern Republican really did think we should have stayed segregated. Or second, that Trent Lott was so stupid as to go over the top in praising his friend that he didn't think about the implications of his words. And these were not off the cuff remarks. These were very public statements. And as the Senate leader, one's public statement carries a helluva punch.

What Harry Reid did/said:

"He (Reid) was wowed by Obama's oratorical gifts and believed that the country was ready to embrace a black presidential candidate, especially one such as Obama - a 'light-skinned' African American 'with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one … "

What it means, whether he meant it or not, was that America is still too racist to support a stereo-typical black person for President. That Obama's lighter skin and "normalized" speech patterns make him a comfortable choice for white Americans still uncomfortable with what is termed "black culture." This is still racist, insulting to blacks, but is also an insult to non-black Americans. Whether it's true or not, it's insulting. Insults aren't by definition true or false. But these were not public statements, they were private musings. And for the record, I don't think he's wrong. I think there are factions in this country that are still very uncomfortable with non-Norman Rockwell normalcy. And I do think that Obama's mixed heritage and outstanding oration skills broke that barrier in a way that other blacks (and for the future, Hispanics, Asians, etc.) could not have. This is not a defense of Harry Reid. He's the Senate leader and while the statements weren't public, anything he says is going to carry somewhat of a punch. However, I see no difference in Reid insulting whites than when Bill Cosby condemns blacks. And Cosby's cheered for it because he's taking on his own race, I guess. Reid is really insulting whites in his statement, not blacks. So if a prominent black man can condemn other black men and it's celebrated, why is it different when a prominent white man insults other white men?