Offensive Narrative
When people refer to “The Narrative” in American politics, they are referring to a baseline set of assumptions to be made about a specific situation or group of people. The Narrative is crafted by politicians, pundits, the media, and others to shape the way the American people discuss certain issues. The goal of any group is to control The Narrative and therefore get the assumptions on their side. The Narrative need not be true, in fact The Narrative is designed to obfuscate the truth, when the truth gets in the way of your political goals.
A good example of this is the abortion debate. The Narrative (or at least part of it) is that Republicans/Conservatives don’t like abortion because they are mean and they hate women. Whether or not Conservatives hate women or value the life of an unborn child is neither here nor there, The Narrative makes anti-abortion equivalent to the hatred of women. The “War on Women” mantra that the Democrats have pushed has been effective in helping craft that Narrative.
Over the years, the Democrats have crafted several Narratives about different groups that, when evaluated, are highly offensive.
One Narrative is that every time a Republican tries to get Welfare reform, the motivation is racism. The Narrative says that the only reason Republicans want to cut welfare is they hate black people. Nothing about reigning in spending, the destructive power of government dependency, subsidizing socially disruptive behavior like single parenthood/fatherless homes, or any of the other negatives associated with a cradle to grave welfare state are ever discussed. It is Republicans hate Black people. If you think about that for a moment, The Narrative equates Black people with welfare. Black America cannot survive without Welfare. Any discussion of a Black middle class that is not dependent on welfare is ignored. Blacks and welfare go hand in hand. This Narrative should be highly offensive to Black America, but the Democrats continue to push it.
Another Narrative associates all persons of Hispanic descent with Illegal Immigrants. Any discussion of immigration reform and border control is deemed racist. The Democrats have worked to win the Hispanic/Latin vote by kowtowing to Illegal Immigrants. Any discussion about crime rates in sanctuary cities, drug trafficking, sex and human trafficking, wage depression for low skilled American workers, is immediately dismissed as anti-Hispanic racism. What is worse is that this Narrative assumes all persons of Hispanic/Latin descent are Illegals or have ties to Illegals. Never mind the people of Cuban heritage who came here as refugees from a Communist revolution and genocide. Never mind the people of Puerto Rican heritage who are actually US citizens. Never mind the people who have legally immigrated here from the various nations of Central and South America, each with a unique culture and identity. According to the Democrats, they are all just a bunch of Illegal fruit pickers who should support the guy with the D after his name to stop the guy with the R after his name form keeping all their Mexican fruit picking cousins from hopping the fence. Of course, this Narrative is also highly offensive, equating all people of Hispanic/Latin heritage with illegal immigrants.
One of the funniest and most offensive thing I’ve ever seen was my buddy, who is a US born citizen of Venezuelan descent (whose parents came here to get there MS degrees in engineering and applied for and were granted US citizenship after my buddy was born here) rip a Democrat pollster a new asshole or two, after the pollster saw a swarthy guy speaking Spanish and assumed he was 1) Mexican, and 2) wanted to help other children of Illegals have the same shot as he did.
But the newest Narrative being crafted by the Democrats is by far the most offensive one yet. One I hope that goes to far and burns the party.
Rudy Giuliani has noted that the Democrats have become the anti-law enforcement party. Hillary Clinton snubbed America’s largest police union turning down their endorsement. The DNC has made Black Lives Matter part of their platform and allowed their leaders to speak at their convention.
Democrats across the country have allowed the protests associated with #BLM to happen. From the Mayor of Baltimore giving the protesters “room to destroy” to the media and Democrat politicians downplaying the violence and destruction as “peaceful protests.”
The Democrats are siding with Black criminals against cops.
Of course the Democrats are doing this trying to secure the Black vote for Democrats after eight years of the Obama Administration absolutely destroying the Black community economically. Here is the thing, for this Narrative to take hold the number one assumption that it makes is that Black people are criminals. That has to be the assumption.
One would think that law abiding Black people would want law and order. They wouldn’t want their business looted and burned. They want safe places to raise their children. They don’t want to be robbed or shot in their neighborhoods. The Ferguson Effect is the increase in crime associated with a decrease in police patrols due to political fallout. It is taking its toll on American cities. Even some on the Left acknowledge that policing is necessary to keep crime at bay.
But the Democrats are going after cops. They are supporting cop haters and cop killers.
Why would law abiding Black people to vote against their own safety and self interest? They shouldn’t. Unless… the Narrative can take root that “Black people = crime” and the police are the natural enemy of Black people.
This is taking negative assumptions about the Black community to 11. Right now, the Democrats seem to be effective in crafting this Narrative. My only hope is that the law abiding Black community can realize how bad it is for them when their communities are no longer policed and the criminals truly take over. Maybe then the will realize just how bad the Democrats are for them. But until then, this awful, evil, horrible Narrative will continue to grow, and God help the good people caught in its wake.
