Re: Cliven Bundy stands by racially charged comments, ‘That’s exactly what I said’[W:
Yes you are... intellectually lazy and intellectually bankrupt. You expend effort accusing someone of racism but none to illustrate it is accurate and in context.
There's no need to tell lies about me.
Bundy said:
…” and so what I’ve testified to ya’, I was in the WATTS riot, I seen the beginning fire and I seen the last fire. What I seen is civil disturbance. People are not happy, people is thinking they did not have their freedom; they didn’t have these things, and they didn’t have them.
Bundy gives background info, talks about his experiences in a riot, what he saw, and why he thinks it took place.
Bundy said:
We’ve progressed quite a bit from that day until now, and sure don’t want to go back; we sure don’t want the colored people to go back to that point; we sure don’t want the Mexican people to go back to that point; and we can make a difference right now by taking care of some of these bureaucracies, and do it in a peaceful way.
Bundy talks about how things have improved for black persons and "Mexican people" (by which I assume he meant "Latinos") - he goes on to say that we ought to trim down on the current overpowered and oversized bureaucracies which are (in his opinion) causing many of the issues we encounter today.
Bundy said:
Let me tell.. talk to you about the Mexicans, and these are just things I know about the negroes. I want to tell you one more thing I know about the negro.
Beginning of the oft-quoted sections. This is where he starts comments specific to "negroes/the negro" (and to a lesser extent, "Mexicans").
Bundy said:
When I go, went, go to Las Vegas, North Las Vegas; and I would see these little government houses, and in front of that government house the door was usually open and the older people and the kids…. and there was always at least a half a dozen people sitting on the porch. They didn’t have nothing to do. They didn’t have nothing for the kids to do. They didn’t have nothing for the young girls to do.
Bundy describes the situation in which he saw people who were in government housing (and probably on some kind of welfare beyond that?)
Bundy said:
And because they were basically on government subsidy – so now what do they do? They abort their young children, they put their young men in jail, because they never, they never learned how to pick cotton. And I’ve often wondered are they were better off as slaves, picking cotton and having a family life and doing things? Or are they better off under government subsidy?
Bundy (continuing to speak of black persons) lays blame for abortions and high crime rates among young males on government subsidies. He goes on to say how he has oft wondered whether they (black persons) were better off during slavery, because they had work to do and a family life.
IMO (and I suspect, in the opinion of any reasonable person), this is a faulty comparison which he ought not have uttered aloud - but it does not necessarily make him racist - only misinformed.
Bundy said:
You know they didn’t get more freedom, uh they got less freedom – they got less family life, and their happiness -you could see it in their faces- they were not happy sitting on that concrete sidewalk. Down there they was probably growing their turnips – so that’s all government, that’s not freedom.
Continues to speak of the situation he witnessed in Vegas, about how bad he thinks their lot was, and how they weren't really as free as they thought they were.
IMO this is a continuation of his faulty-assumption-based line of thinking.
In this section and the prior few, he makes statements/reveals thinking which, IMO, shows he is concerned about the lot of black persons, but at the same time unintentionally disparages them by speaking with a broad brush (horrible analogy twisting I know) about all black persons, applying an isolated example of black persons in government housing in an area of Las Vegas to all black persons.
Bundy said:
Now, let me talk about the Spanish people. You know I understand that they come over here against our constitution and cross our borders. But they’re here and they’re people – and I’ve worked side-by-side a lot of them.
Here he talks about illegal immigrants, more specifically Latinos - he has had much experience with them, working on his ranch, and appears to consider them decent people, even peers.
Bundy said:
Don’t tell me they don’t work, and don’t tell me they don’t pay taxes. And don’t tell me they don’t have better family structure than most of us white people. When you see those Mexican families, they’re together, they picnic together, they’re spending their time together, and I’ll tell you in my way of thinking they’re awful nice people.
Continues talking about the above, elaborates on how he admires their family structure and closeness, which he considers an improvement over many/most family situations among white persons
Bundy said:
And we need to have those people join us and be with us…. not, not come to our party.
States that he wants to (I think) have that family culture become part of our overall culture. Not sure I get that last bit about party, but meh.
Edit: I got the transcript from here, specifically just after the embedded 3 min 14 sec video:
http://theconservativetreehouse.com...l-remarks-full-context-video-with-transcript/
