Oakland police murders, Obama Teleprompt
Find a Conversation
| Mon, 03-23-2009 - 1:21pm |
The Oakland police murders, President Obama’s teleprompter, and implicit processing by Kevin MacDonald
In recent years, it became fashionable to talk about how Karl Rove was George W. Bush's brain. Suggestions that David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel are Obama's brain have a whole different connotation. And a very significant effect on how whites view blacks.
The headline of Sunday’s LA Times screamed “Oakland mourns 3 slain officersâ€. Immediately I constructed a mental model that the murderer was a low-life black man between the ages of 18 and 30.
And of course, I was right. His name was Lovelle Mixon, age 27. Mixon, who was killed in the gun battle, was wanted on a no-bail warrant for violating his parole on a conviction for assault with deadly weapon. A fourth officer is near death.
My mental model was based partly on the reputation of Oakland as famous for black crime. This is an excerpt from the Wikipedia article on Oakland:
Despite comprising only 30–35% of the population, African-Americans are over-represented in crime statistics, with the majority of crimes occurring in heavily African-American neighborhoods. Earl Ofari Hutchinson mentions crime in Oakland as an example of a rising problem of “black-on-black†crime, which Oakland shares with other major cities in the US. Bill Cosby mentions Oakland as one of the many American cities where crime is “endemic†and young African-American men are being murdered and incarcerated in disproportionate numbers. Cosby alleges that the parents of such youths and young men, and the Black community in general, have failed to inculcate proper standards of moral behavior.
In a November, 2008 Congressional Quarterly Press publication, the city of Oakland has the dubious distinction of ranking fifth worst in a nationwide ranking of violent crime. The ranking takes into account six crime categories: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft.
In other words, Oakland has a reputation— a reputation that I was well aware of and that fed into the way I processed a headline like “Oakland mourns 3 slain officers.†In my brain there was an automatic connection between this headline and the thought that the perpetrator was black. Of course, the hardcopy LA Times article did not mention that he was black, and there were no photos. But with the link to Oakland, there was little doubt in my mind, and finding out that his first name was Lovelle clinched it. Online newspaper articles did not mention his race, but did include photos. Here is a photo of Mr. Mixon:

I'm not sure who's the driving force behind the National Policy Institute but one thing is certain--the individual(s)doesn't/ don't think critically or write lucidly.
Take your most recent offering from them*. What on earth does Obama's teleprompter have to do with the Oakland police killings?
Let's just pretend for a brief moment that Barack's teleprompter is channeling either/both David Axelrod or/and Rahm Emanuel. How do any but the flea-brained make the leap from that premise to a statement that "Suggestions that David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel are Obama's brain have a whole different connotation. And a very significant effect on how whites view blacks." What? Huh? Not only does the author omit any method by which he came to that conclusion but he also fails to tie that singularly odd notion into the shootings in Oakland. Instead he waxes eloquent on HIS own perceptions, not those of Obama, not those of Axelrod, not those of Emanuel.
It's a darn good thing that national policy is not dependent on that particular "institute" or I'd be strongly tempted to become a emigrant to Australia, Sweden, or some other country whose inhabitants were more given to rational thought!
*Better yet, take it far, far, far from this board!
Jabberwocka
You have got to be kidding! A connection between Obama and the killer of the policemen? Puhlease. Has someone lost their marbles?
Yes...white supremacists.
Isn't there something profoundly ironic about a "supremacist" web site where the authors don't manage to express themselves either clearly or logically? Geez........
Somebody really needs to explain to the "National Policy Institute" that there's more to cause/effect or any sort of reasoned argument than merely slapping together disparate facts in a web site or paragraph.
Moreover, both Axelrod and Emanuel are white, though anti-Semitic bigots could inveigh against Emanuel since he's Jewish.
Still wouldn't explain the Oakland shootings linkage.
Wonder if all white supremacists are as unquestioning and daft as the NPI lot. And if so, isn't there a point of critical mass when arrant stupidity leads to extinction?!
Edited to insert a missing verb
Edited 3/24/2009 11:35 am ET by jabberwocka
Jabberwocka
"Isn't there something profoundly ironic about a "supremacist" web site where the authors don't manage to express themselves either clearly or logically? Geez........"
Well, it shows the level of intellect of those in charge, and you know the followers are even lower.
Wonder if all white supremacists as unquestioning and daft as the NPI lot. And if so, isn't there a point of critical mass when arrant stupidity leads to extinction?!
One hopes!
I understand. But it's kinda fun to dissect the dreck.
Might get tired of it later--just not yet!
Jabberwocka
Go for it!