Althouse: "He could say the same thing about gay voters, women voters or voters with a pulse. If you vote for Trump, you ain't human."

May 23, 2020

"He could say the same thing about gay voters, women voters or voters with a pulse. If you vote for Trump, you ain't human."

The third-highest-rated comment at "Biden said black Trump voters ‘ain’t black.’ That’s a double standard/You don’t hear politicians saying that about any other group" a column by David Swerdlick at WaPo.

"You ain't human" is the broader statement, but it's less offensive because it doesn't treat black people as different from every other group.

The "You ain't human" idea is very close to Hillary Clinton's notorious "deplorables" remark.

51 comments:

Kevin said...: Donald Trump loves all Americans.

Even the fake news.

He just keeps telling them to get better at their jobs.; 5/23/20, 6:31 AM
Kevin said...: He could say the same thing about gay voters, women voters or voters with a pulse. If you vote for Trump, you ain't human.

Bullying. Name calling. Division.

I feel sorry for those people.

They're trapped in middle school and can’t find their way out.; 5/23/20, 6:35 AM
Greg Hlatky said...: And if you're not human, they don't have to respect your rights. Or your life.; 5/23/20, 6:36 AM
David Begley said...: If you vote for Biden, you ain’t an American. You ain’t rational.; 5/23/20, 6:40 AM
Quayle said...: “You ain’t human”. Anyone who would say it in earnest about another person is suffering from the same personal character weakness as the racists of old, but has just found (or been allowed) a socially permissible target against which they can let loose.; 5/23/20, 6:48 AM
John Borell said...: 1. I really do think Trump loves America and all Americans, he just had a weird way of showing it sometime. But he is unabashedly in love with America.

2. Fuck anyone who thinks they are owed votes from anyone.

3. There is no big city run by Democrats I’d want to live in. Not one.; 5/23/20, 6:48 AM
Fernandinande said...: "You ain't human" is the broader statement, but it's less offensive because it doesn't treat black people as different from every other group.

Blacks often prefer double standards when they benefit; affirmative action and such.

Just because it might be "less offensive" doesn't mean it's better to treat everyone poorly rather than just treat some people badly.; 5/23/20, 6:49 AM
gilbar said...: Confusingly, our Professor Althouse says...
"You ain't human" is the broader statement, but it's less offensive

Please explain to us less than human Untermensches, HOW that is less offensive ?
Believe me, it's not the first time i've heard democrats say that certain people aren't human; 5/23/20, 6:51 AM
Howard said...: Thanks Kevin. That means a lot.; 5/23/20, 6:53 AM
Jersey Fled said...: Watching the clip again, it seems to me that Biden is angry at being questioned and is aiming his comments directly at the Black interviewer.

In some ways that's even worse. Biden seems to have an anger problem. From what a friend tells me, this often occurs with people with dementia.

Is this who we want as our next President?; 5/23/20, 6:56 AM
wendybar said...: And this is how they lost last time, and will lose again. You do NOT go after the voters. You F*cking Elitists are going down. Enjoy the next 4 years, and maybe the next 8 after a President De Santis. You think we are bad now....just wait.; 5/23/20, 6:56 AM
Wince said...: Remind me again, who spends the most time honing dehumanizing insults?; 5/23/20, 7:02 AM
Lucid-Ideas said...: The first step towards violence is to unperson the person that you are attacking. The second fissioning of our republic grows closer everyday.

I disagree with the other side. Vehemently. But I don't in person them. They truly are blind to the cause and effect their language has...it's a window into their soul. They'll argue and say 'oh it's just bellicose rhetoric, it's bombast'. No it's not. It's a veiled allegory to their true belief system.

Many of us take it as a warning and will be ready if they try to act on that language.; 5/23/20, 7:08 AM
Sebastian said...: "The "You ain't human" idea is very close to Hillary Clinton's notorious "deplorables" remark."

Right. From the party of inclusion and diversity.

It's a prog thing. Been that way since, oh, 1789.; 5/23/20, 7:13 AM
Quaestor said...: Democrat is a word American use when everyone else uses fascist.; 5/23/20, 7:30 AM
Howard said...: Lucid: don't you have a potential coup to prevent down in your in-laws country? I thought you said your military skills were the only reason they let you marry their daughter.; 5/23/20, 7:34 AM
jeremyabrams said...: Ann, the "You ain't human" idea is very close to Hitler.; 5/23/20, 7:34 AM
Michael K said...: It's the voters without a pulse that vote Democrat.; 5/23/20, 7:37 AM
Andrew said...: It's always surprised me that another Hillary line from the same speech doesn't get more attention:

"Now, some of those folks — they are irredeemable, but thankfully they are not America."

For Hillary to say that some Americans are "irredeemable" goes well beyond calling them "deplorable." Doesn't she at least pretend to be a Christian? No one can be called "irredeemable" if you understand basic Christian theology. But even if not, it violates basic decency and civility.

I don't even consider Bill or Hillary irredeemable. The Chinese Communist Party, on the other hand...; 5/23/20, 7:48 AM
RNB said...: "To a gas chamber, go!"; 5/23/20, 7:51 AM
Browndog said...: If you can call a young woman a lying dog face pony soldier just for asking a legit question at a televised campaign event, you can pretty say anything you want without consequence.

Watching the clip again, it seems to me that Biden is angry at being questioned and is aiming his comments directly at the Black interviewer.

This was my impression also.

Further, pointing out that democrats are hypocrites assumes they care, doesn't it?; 5/23/20, 7:56 AM
mezzrow said...: It's the voters without a pulse that vote Democrat.

True dat, Doc. We'll all be voting Dem sooner or later, I suppose.; 5/23/20, 7:58 AM
Lucid-Ideas said...: @Howard

'Coup' in S. America is just another word for 'Tuesday'. I don't sweat S. American politics half as much as I sweat the US. Besides I plan to bring her family here...eventually.

Those plans might have to move faster than I planned, but her family is safe, very safe, which is what I really care about.; 5/23/20, 8:21 AM
n.n said...: Diversity breeds adversity.

Also, transphobia? Trans/homos are an exclusive class.; 5/23/20, 8:41 AM
Mattman26 said...: Yes, irredeemable from Hillary was perhaps even worse than deplorable.

And then post-election she appeared on some panel in India and explained that the states that supported her are ones where the people believe in rights for women and minorities.

She is a nasty piece of work. And a window into the nasty soul of the left.; 5/23/20, 8:50 AM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: Don’t we get to decide for ourselves whom to vote for, and why?; 5/23/20, 9:14 AM
Big Mike said...: The "You ain't human" idea is very close to Hillary Clinton's notorious "deplorables" remark.

@Althouse, “very close”? I’d call it substantially worse.; 5/23/20, 9:17 AM
dwshelf said...: I'd like to see Biden down on his knees, and in a pained voice, tears in his eyes, begging for forgiveness.; 5/23/20, 9:31 AM
cyrus83 said...: Biden's remark fits with how the Democrats view all of their protected class subgroups of voters - to belong to the protected category, you have to be on their side. If you are not on their side, then you can't really be black, a woman, gay, trans, or any other special category.

If you ain't a Democrat, you're just a deplorable American.; 5/23/20, 9:54 AM
JAORE said...: More all encompassing:

If you vote Trump, you deserve to die.

It is a shorter journey to this than many can imagine.; 5/23/20, 9:59 AM
Bilwick said...: Apparently that approach has been tried before. I remember in the late Sixties or very early Seventies,Jean Shepherd commenting ruefully on a bumper sticker or poster that he'd seen during an election year. He wouldn't say which party or candidate was being endorsed, but it was pretty easy to guess. It said something like, "If you're human, you'll vote for . . ." Shep was dismayed at the implication of this; he died before things got worse.; 5/23/20, 10:12 AM
Mattman26 said...: “I'd like to see Biden down on his knees, and in a pained voice, tears in his eyes, begging for forgiveness.”

Perhaps in blackface?; 5/23/20, 10:13 AM
dwshelf said...: Perhaps in blackface?

I don't think that would express humility, or even if it did, it seems easily misunderstood.

Sackcloth and ashes would be spot on.; 5/23/20, 10:23 AM
Inga said...: “Donald Trump loves all Americans.”

“Trump hates his own base.” Howard Stern, Trump’s buddy.

“Bullying. Name calling. Division.

I feel sorry for those people.

They're trapped in middle school and can’t find their way out.”

You feel sorry for Trump?; 5/23/20, 10:23 AM
mtrobertslaw said...: And if you are one of those "deplorables", why are you wasting our time existing?

Hillary's political beliefs have much in common with the Third Reich.; 5/23/20, 10:43 AM
mtrobertslaw said...: And if you are one of those "deplorables", why are you wasting our time existing?

Hillary's political beliefs have much in common with the Third Reich.; 5/23/20, 10:45 AM
Lurker21 said...: "You ain't human" is the broader statement, but it's less offensive because it doesn't treat black people as different from every other group.

It's "less offensive" in the sense that it isn't going to spark protests, but more offensive in that it denies the humanity of people. It's "othering" with a vengeance and if taken seriously that sort of thing ends up badly for humanity.

Joe relies on the fact that people "know" him to get him off the hook. So does Trump. If you've seen them in action (or in inaction) you know what to expect from them, and you may not be that afraid of them. Some anonymous idiot on the internet who utters a statement like that will be taken for a crank and ignored. But some little-known commentator who carefully puts such words into print in a major publication and signs his name to them is more creepy and ominous, than Joe or Donald or the unknown moron with a modem.

After a little research, I found out that Swerdlick, like Serwer, is another mixed race fellow who has made a career out of being Black. "Identity poisoning" ought to be a concept by now. One can't help being what one is and who one is and speaking from one's own point of view, and those who are of mixed ancestry probably think about it a lot, but somebody who spends an inordinate amount of time obsessing about one half of their ethnic heritage is likely to attract attention. It's like they are trying too hard to be accepted by that side of the family.; 5/23/20, 11:04 AM
Gahrie said...: Does anybody believe that if you gave the average Lefty the power of Thanos, and told them it would only eliminate Republicans, that they wouldn't snap their fingers in a heartbeat?; 5/23/20, 11:16 AM
Andrew said...: Actually, the one way out for Biden is from the South Park episode with "naggers." He needs to kiss Jesse Jackson's backside.
https://youtu.be/fgwnTVz0zLo; 5/23/20, 12:22 PM
rehajm said...: The "You ain't human" idea is very close to Hillary Clinton's notorious "deplorables" remark.

It's also similar to Albright's "special place in Hell for women who don't support each other" remark. Both are designed to put peer pressure on voters to toe the line.; 5/23/20, 12:25 PM
CWJ said...: "He could say the same thing about gay voters, women voters or voters with a pulse. If you vote for Trump, you ain't human."

This can be read two ways either as an endorsement, or as a characterization. Since it's the WaPo, It's probably correct that the commenter and those rating him mean it as endorsing the notion that Trump voters "ain't human."

But I initially read it as a characterization of Democrats in general and Biden in this particular instance. It doesn't matter who you are. If you voted for Trump, Democrats will consider you not human. If that's what the commenter actually meant, then I bet he's shocked that he was the third highest rated comment.; 5/23/20, 12:27 PM
Birkel said...: If they believe that shit, let the fucking shooting start.
If we ain't human, they can kill us without legal consequence.
So start acting like you believe what you write.

Because I am acting that way.; 5/23/20, 12:35 PM
YoungHegelian said...: What I always find amazing is how people like the WaPo commenter always seemed surprised when one on the "non-humans" hauls off & does something non-human to one of the "real humans".

Take, for example, the killing of that young black man in Georgia by a white father & son. Murder or not, it's certainly a tragedy. But, if the killing was done by non-humans, it becomes a story like the killing of the hiker in Oregon by a cougar the other day. I mean, that's just what animals & other non-human creatures do, isn't it?

If you deny humanity to group of people, don't be surprised when they act inhumanely, even to you & yours. If you are surprised, then maybe it's because you really don't believe that crap you talk about some people being "non-human", & maybe you ought to stop talking that way.; 5/23/20, 12:36 PM
Jersey Fled said...: Inga seems to be having a bad day. Now she's quoting Howard Stern.; 5/23/20, 12:57 PM
Bilwick said...: Inga the State's handmaiden loves all Americans.

That is, if they're willing to become serfs.; 5/23/20, 1:23 PM
narciso said...: of course most of the arbery story, has been thrown out in favor of narrative, he was apparently prowling around the property, and he was stupid enough to run at the people with the guns, Andrew branca at legal insurrection, has been the most clear eyed, on the matter,; 5/23/20, 3:32 PM
Lurker21 said...: The Thanos thing: Nobody has the power to make people disappear just by thinking about it, so that's kind of a red herring.; 5/23/20, 5:17 PM
Unknown said...: '"You ain't human" is the broader statement'

Gulag inmates were called 'former people' and treated accordingly.
Farm animals had more rights and care. Need I say more about American 'Liberals'and what they desire. All heretic's are disposable into the sewage system - that's from
The Gulag Archipelago.; 5/23/20, 6:27 PM
Rick said...: CWJ said...
If that's what the commenter actually meant, then I bet he's shocked that he was the third highest rated comment.

Doubtful. It's far more likely he wrote something he thought would be popular within his peer group, and the comment's success shows he correctly understood their views.; 5/23/20, 9:52 PM
Bob said...: The recently deceased singer John Prine included an anti-Iraq War song on one of his last studio albums called Some Humans Ain't Human:

Some humans ain't human
Some people ain't kind
You open up their hearts
And here's what you'll find

A few frozen pizzas
Some ice cubes with hair
A broken popsicle
You don't wanna go there...

Have you ever noticed?
When you're feeling really good
There's always a pigeon
That'll come shit on your hood

Or you're feeling your freedom
And the world's off your back
Some cowboy from Texas
Starts his own war in Iraq

Some humans ain't human
Some people ain't kind
They lie through their teeth
With their head up their behind

You open up their hearts
And here's what you'll find
Some humans ain't human
Some people ain't kind.

A note at the lyrics site mentions that Prine, who had recently dealt with cancer, didn't want to go to his grave without informing his fans how he felt about President George W. Bush.; 5/24/20, 4:09 AM
jg said...: clearly it's a bigger insult (and threat) to be called not human than to be called not black; 5/30/20, 7:35 PM