Dehumanization During an Election Year (Dialogue Column 5.13.08)

The Dialogue is the newsletter of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in St. Joseph, MO. Often, I'll post here on the blog my columns for the weekly newsletter. I mention it just so that folks who read the snail-mail version can skip this post if they've already read it.

Political advertizing is usually the bottom-dweller of discourse in America, but I saw a TV ad last night that hit a new level of crudeness and dehumanization. Rep. Sam Graves has a new ad [to see it click here] running against his presumptive Democratic opponent, Kay Barnes that depicts African-Americans and homosexuals in a manner that is clearly intended to play upon prejudice and intolerance. [FULL DISCLOSURE: Kay’s mother Helen is a member of First Christian, but even were that not the case, this ad would still be offensive.] Now, before anyone gets bent out of shape about me talking about a political ad in the church newsletter, let me make a few clear disclaimers:

1. Neither the church, the pulpit, nor a church newsletter is a proper place for the endorsement of political candidates and you certainly won’t be hearing one from me.

2. My concern as a minister is not with particular candidates or parties, rather it is with the language and rhetoric used by both and whether or not they reinforce stereotypes and prejudice. Neither one of our political parties is above using the nastiest of tactics, and when they do, they should be called to account.

3. I am essentially unconcerned with personal attacks by one candidate upon another, as well as slanted attacks against a candidate’s positions or statements. As distasteful as all such rhetoric may be, it is a part of American political life, and there are already too many pundits and talking heads discussing the particulars of such things.

4. Occasionally (one might say regularly), political attacks make use of language and images that purposely invoke stereotypes and prejudice. Such attacks demean and scapegoat people in one minority or another in order to advance a particular agenda. By playing to fears and prejudice, such attacks do harm to all of us and bring out the worst in our great country.

5. As Christians, I believe loving God and loving neighbor involves standing up against prejudice and dehumanizing rhetoric whenever it occurs. Writing off such tactics as just election year politics is a copout. Such rhetoric extends across party lines and should be denounced no matter whether it comes from a Democrat or Republican.

Enough disclaimers, let’s get back to the ad in question. In Graves’ ad, Barnes is depicted as attending a fundraiser with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (which is true). The ad goes on to accuse Barnes of having “San Francisco Values”. Let me state clearly that for all I care Graves can criticize Pelosi and Barnes for associating with her. For that matter, he can criticize San Francisco all he wants, although what that city has personally done to him is a little unclear to me. It’s what happens next that is so disturbing.

The ad goes on to depict what exactly “San Francisco Values” are. Up flashes a picture of three people dancing and drinking—what appears to be an African-American female, an African-American male, and a Caucasian female—in what I guess is supposed to be stereotypical gay attire (although my gay friends rarely seem to wear mesh tank-top and cowboy hat combinations). While this image plays, the announcer mentions that “San Francisco Values” include support for gay marriage and other stances. It seems fair to me for Graves to attack Barnes for her positions—whatever they may or may not be—but what I object to is the imagery.

Nothing that gets into political commercials is by accident, especially when it comes to people of minority ethnicity and/or sexual orientation. One needs only to think of the Willie Horton ad (watch the ad ) in 1988 or the ads run against Harold Ford, Jr. in 2006 (watch an NBC story about the ad) to realize that images of African-Americans in political ads are routinely used to arouse prejudice in white voters. The list of negative portrayals of gay and lesbian people in political ads is an even longer one. Graves’ ad falls right in line with this tradition of dehumanizing and stereotyping a minority to appeal to voters’ worst fears and biases.

I think it is fair to ask why the ad depicted not one but two African-Americans in a manner that implies a hedonistic lifestyle? Why not an African-American, a Hispanic-American and a Caucasian-American? Why not three Caucasians? The inclusion of two African-Americans seems intended to provoke a certain kind of reaction in a majority white district. Furthermore, the evocation of the gay bogeyman also seems intended to incite prejudice in a district where most homosexuals by necessity keep their orientations below the radar. It’s not a new tactic but an old one: play to the majority’s fears about the minority. Unfortunately, we have too many examples of that kind of tactic not only helping win political races but also reinforcing systemic prejudice.

I hope that Graves will stop running the ad and choose to run an honorable campaign. I hope Barnes’ response will take the high road. I hope that all candidates this year will avoid dehumanizing people in order to advance their own political fortunes. I hope for a lot of things, but if past history is any guide, I have plenty of reasons to be cynical.

The best that can we can do as Christians this election year is to make sure that we avoid being so attached to one party or another--one candidate or another--that we lose our ability to offer a prophetic response to any and all attempts to use prejudice as a political tool. Whether such tactics come from the right or from the left, they all deserve to be denounced and rejected by people who choose to love their neighbors as themselves.

Grace and Peace,

Chase