Social Psychology 101

I had a bit of an "Aha!" moment this morning, while reading yet another commentary about whether or not Geraldine Ferraro's remarks were racist. My thought, by the way, has been that, racist or not, what she said was certainly demeaning and condescending. In other words, pretty much Standard Operating Procedure for Hillary Clinton and her surrogates. Case in point, Hillary's absurd reduction of Barack Obama's accomplishments to one speech he gave in 2002. Anyway, I don't know why this didn't occur to me sooner, given that I'm actually teaching the social psychology section of my intro psych class right now. But this is a classic example of the self-serving bias. This is our tendency to take credit for success (self-enhancing bias) and deny any responsibility for failure (self-protective bias). In other words, if I get the promotion, it's because I worked very, very hard for it. Also, I'm brilliant. And charming. But if someone else gets it instead, they obviously just got lucky. Probably "knew the right people, scratched the right backs" and so forth. I ran a red light? Oh my goodness--I never do that sort of thing! But my kid is sick, and I was in a hurry to pick up some medicine, and I guess I was just preoccupied. Someone else ran a red light? Clearly a reckless scofflaw with a callous disregard for human life. I'm actually teaching this chapter again tonight. Somehow, I'll find a way to resist the temptation to mention Hillary Clinton's campaign when I'm giving examples. :)

Racist Mississippi

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlargeTo me, this is not rocket science. Over the last 48 hours, I have seen on television and on the blogosphere the notion that Blacks are racist because they are turning out in droves (one drove apparently equals 90% of the demographic) for Barack Obama. I am admittedly confounded by this. The explanation seems so simple, so obvious that the question does not even need to be addressed. Apparently it does. The issue of why Blacks vote in droves for Obama may have roots in Black pride, but there was great affection for the Clintons in the Black community - note the use of the past tense. That was before Hillary's atrocious behavior in Selma last year. The use of a mocking fake slave accent during the recital of Cleveland's poetry was horrific and it was the final insult as Hillary crashed the festivities that Obama was invited to headline. Hillary wasn't. Then after Obama and Edwards mopped the floor with Hillary in Iowa (Edwards being the token white guy), the overt race-baiting began. The tears of being beaten by a Black man helped her win New Hampshire. "Weep for me, they are so unfair." Fairy tales and Farrakhan - that became the Clintonian strategy. The last straw came with the 3am commercial and the rhetoric claiming Obama is not fit to be Commander in Chief. The Clintons have pissed all over Black America to the point that they are no longer seen as being affectionate to the cause of Black America. This was before Geraldine Ferraro opened her mouth. Now that the cat is out of the bag, there is no redeeming the Clinton campaign in the eyes of the Black community. To them, there is only one viable candidate left and it should not be rocket science to figure out why Blacks vote for Obama. It is his policies, his vision that garners him support - and his ability not to insult Blacks at every turn. Barack Obama is a candidate who does bring all races together. That is the true dream of Dr. King. Hillary Clinton is the nightmare.

There Will Be Cross Burnings

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlarge On Politico, there is a short quote from Ferraro that originally appeared in the Washington Post on April 15, 1988. Placid of demeanor but pointed in his rhetoric, Jackson struck out repeatedly today against those who suggest his race has been an asset in the campaign. President Reagan suggested Tuesday that people don't ask Jackson tough questions because of his race. And former representative Geraldine A. Ferraro (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday that because of his "radical" views, "if Jesse Jackson were not black, he wouldn't be in the race." Asked about this at a campaign stop in Buffalo, Jackson at first seemed ready to pounce fiercely on his critics. But then he stopped, took a breath, and said quietly, "Millions of Americans have a point of view different from" Ferraro's. Discussing the same point in Washington, Jackson said, "We campaigned across the South . . . without a single catcall or boo. It was not until we got North to New York that we began to hear this from Koch, President Reagan and then Mrs. Ferraro . . . . Some people are making hysteria while I'm making history." No further commentary required.