Opinion: Sen. Scott's view deserves respect

U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina, declared on April 29 that “America is not a racist country.”

Scott is a conservative, so it would normally not register as much as a raised eyebrow, but he is African American, so his statement has caused shock and apoplexy among Democrats.

As usual, the statement was reported and repeated without its full context.

During the speech in which Scott made his claim, he prefaced the statement by saying he has “experienced the pain of discrimination.” He followed his offending statement with “race is not a political weapon to settle every issue the way one side wants,” citing voting rights as an example.

Shortly after Scott made that statement, another African American leader, Gary O’Connor, the chair of the Democratic party in Lamar County, Texas (population about 50,000) called Scott an “Oreo,” meaning Scott is black on the outside but white on the inside.

Even if an African American calls another Black person that name, it is racist on two levels. It assumes that Blacks in America are required to have a certain attitude, and that white is not a good thing to be, especially for a person of color.

Unlike Tucker Carlson, who has never backed down on a racist remark (because he works for Fox News and doesn’t have to), O’Connor was honorable enough to apologize and resign. This month, however, the Lamar County Democratic party officialdom voted to reject his resignation.

Nevertheless, I think whites and blacks who are shocked and dismayed that Sen. Scott failed to express the “right” Black attitude are exposing their own racist assumptions.

I’m a white guy who thinks the country is racist. I would not trade places with an African American person in the country right now, even a rich or famous one.

The wrong “paint job,” as a good African American friend of mine called it, stacks the deck against you, no matter if you were born in the projects of Chicago or on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.

If you succeed, you have to work twice to three times as hard to show you earned it. You will always be suspected of being a token. If you drive a nice car, you are likely to get pulled over for “driving while Black.”

Tim Scott grew up poor, but his mother and mentors helped him steer his ambitions toward success, he says in his bio.

My guess is that he may not have allowed race to stop him or slow him down. I would also guess his performance was impressive enough to be admired without regard to race.

He was a small business owner before he got active in politics. Independent people who carve their own path like that tend to be conservative.

From Scott’s perspective, race was probably not a handicap, so he does not see racism in our system. I may disagree with him, but I think I see where he’s coming from. I will respect his view, and I would hope that other Democrats can follow suit.

Steve Hansen writes for Clovis Media Inc. Contact him at:

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