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From: tan@ihlpg.UUCP (Bill Tanenbaum)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Louis Farrakhan, Jesse Jackson, Jerry Falwell and Reagan
Message-ID: <1495@ihlpg.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 23-Dec-85 17:53:10 EST
Article-I.D.: ihlpg.1495
Posted: Mon Dec 23 17:53:10 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 24-Dec-85 20:47:27 EST
References: <32@decwrl.UUCP> <125@uscvax.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 35

> [Me] 
> >To repeat, Jackson was asked to denounce Farrakhan solely because of
> >Farrakhan's racist statements.
---------
> [Stephen Kurtzman] 
> Actually, Jackson was asked to denounce Farrakhan for two reasons:
> 
> 	1) Farrakhan's racist statements.
> 	2) Jackson is black.
> 
> The call for Jackson to denounce Farrakhan, while not necessarily racist in
> motive, had racist overtones.
> 
> A similar event occurred in LA when people started demanding that Tom
> Bradley denounce Farrakhan. It was a deliberate attempt by republican forces
> in this state to make Tom Bradley look bad.  In case you don't know about
> California politics, Tom Bradley (democrat, black, mayor of LA) barely lost
> the governorship to George "Duke" Dukmejian (republican, white). The margin
> of victory for Duke was the same as the percentage of democrats that said
> they could not vote for a black man. In short, the last election was decided
> in large part due to racism. With another election coming up, and Bradley
> not yet having announced the political dirty tricks and smear campaigns are
> starting.
-------
There is no doubt that asking Tom Bradley (or Harold Washington in Chicago)
to denounce Farrakhan is racially motivated.  Tom Bradley never had anything
to do with Farrakhan.  The only connection is that Tom Bradley is black.
You are right on target here.

Jesse Jackson's case, however is quite different.  Jackson's close association
with Farrakhan during Jackson's presidential campaign makes such a request
quite reasonable.  No doubt SOME of the requesters were racially motivated,
but that does not make the request any less proper and right.
-- 
Bill Tanenbaum - AT&T Bell Labs - Naperville IL  ihnp4!ihlpg!tan