As I sat humorlessly watching Michael Moore, the college
dropout, boast that most Americans were “C” students
and below and that’s why they side with Bush, I started to
realize just how difficult liberal spin is going to make this
year’s election for me. So you don’t like George Bush
or his policies? Fine, I don’t like some of them either, but
if the Democrats want my vote, they’d better earn it because
I’m not buying that ‘‘anybody but
Bush’’ rhetoric that I was drowned in at Moore’s
Dem. rally.
- Jasmine Clair
Many would agree that the president has made some questionable
decisions concerning this alleged “war on terror,”
healthcare, the economy, education, the environment, outsourcing
… I’m running out of paper here. Bush must be held
accountable for his failures while in office, but I have to keep in
mind that once President Bush is out of office, there will still be
four more years of administration that will require strong and
effective leadership. And for that reason, I have my Bush-Cheney
T-shirt. I wear it whenever some liberal says something that upsets
me.
Prior to last night, I wore the shirt to protest a particular
speech that deeply offended me at the Democratic National
Convention. Given by Al Sharpton in a response to Bush’s
accusation that the black vote was being taken for granted by the
Democratic Party, it effectually sold out progressive black
grassroots movements for a party and political influence. By giving
almost complete credit for the black voting and civil rights to the
Democratic Party, Sharpton completely undermined the hard work and
dedication of all of the grassroots activists that fought to have
their voices heard. It was not the Democratic Party who won
blacks’ rights that were long owed to us, it was fearless
individuals such as Fannie Lou Hamer who were “sick and tired
of being sick and tired.”
Hamer was in fact a Democrat, but what Sharpton’s speech
completely ignored was the fact that she was a member of the
dissident Democratic group that she had formed after being denied
access to the segregationist Democratic party in her town, the same
party that adamantly fought to keep Hamer from speaking at the 1964
Democratic Convention because of the color of her skin. I found it
ironic that Sharpton credited the segregationists whom had
discriminated against Hamer, with the gains that so many black
non-Democrats had lost their lives fighting for. In a silent
protest, I threw on my Bush tee.
Once again, sporting my white Bush-Cheney T-shirt, I crashed
Michael Moore’s liberal propaganda festival in Hill
Auditorium the other night. “Fahrenheit 9/11” was
absolutely hysterical, with all the liberal juice that a girl could
ever ask for. It undeniably reassured all that Bush was a racist
bastard with an insatiable thirst for power, money, oil and revenge
— nothing shocking there. However, the surprise came once I
realized that this movie is blatant propaganda. Masquerading
liberal spin as fact, “Fahrenheit 9/11” was a Kerry ad
at best, lacking the integrity and unbiased perspective of a true
documentary.
Feeling betrayed, but hoping to see him give some sort of
explanation for his deceitfulness, I reluctantly threw on my Bush
tee and headed over to Hill. Upon arriving, I gave dap to the
members of Young Americans for Freedom outside protesting the event
with their “No Moore Lies” signs.
Yes, it did feel awkward agreeing with the same group that I had
been flipping the bird to over the past years for their arrogant
and ill-informed stances on affirmative action. Yet, upset that I
actually believed this “documentary” to be
nonfictional, I proudly wore their most prized anti-affirmative
action spokesperson across my chest as a silent protest to Moore
and all of his lies.
I started to think about the message that I was sending to
others by wearing that Bush shirt. Did it represent an
anti-affirmative action stance that the YAFers so proudly take on?
Was it anti-black to wear this shirt, in light of the likelihood of
over 90 percent of the vote probably being stacked up against Bush
once more? Or even worse, was it just anti-Me?
Well, all I know is that this year Bush’s administration
is more than 200 percent more diverse than this year’s
freshman class. Ironic, seeing as how this university is the
supposed bastion of diversity. Further, I remember watching
“Fahrenheit 9/11” and seeing each member of the
Congressional Black Caucus have his proposal to have an
investigative hearing concerning the Florida elections denied
because no member could garner a single signature from any one of
the 100 senators. Hopefully this part of Moore’s film was
propaganda as well, because I don’t want to believe that both
John Kerry and John Edwards, who will undeniably get the black
voting block, sat there and did nothing while hundreds of black
voices went unheard.
I know many do not appreciate me wearing my Bush shirt. But this
is my way of saying to my people that we have become complacent
within the Democratic Party. Just as blacks will hold the
Republicans accountable at election time, this same accountability
needs to be applied toward liberals. It’s just too bad that
this election really doesn’t hold any other viable options
… except for that one guy.
Clair can be reached at
“mailto:jclair@umich.edu”>jclair@umich.edu.