Confederate flag reference obscures point - Leonard Pitts

[Mixxster]

I'm not a Dean supporter or basher, I just thought this was a good article.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/columnists/leonard_pitts/7223648.htm

<snip>

It should be obvious why the candidate's reasoning insults blacks. He suggests that the Democratic Party's most loyal constituents should be ready to share the aforementioned big tent with people who hate them.

But you know who else ought to be insulted? Poor white people. After all, they are, in Dean's inference, synonymous with racism and its symbols. Yes, there has historically been a vivid streak of bigotry in that stratum of society. But anyone who thinks bigotry is the exclusive province of poor white folk has obviously never heard of John Rocker. Or, for that matter, Louis Farrakhan.

The real tragedy of Dean's comments, though, is not the affront it gives, but the opportunity it misses. It's commendable -- even visionary -- that he seeks to champion the concerns of poor white people. As the media have made poverty evermore a synonym for black and brown, we have lost sight of the fact that the majority of America's underclass is white. Those folks have been marginalized and ignored for years, unless you count being enlisted as foot soldiers in the culture wars over gay rights and affirmative action. Meantime, their own needs have gone largely unaddressed.

[realFedUp]

1. thoughtful article

and it's a good thing as Martha would say that
this discussion can take place.