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    kidelo gave up commenting for 2019Michael Harriot
    11/30/18 5:37pm

    This whole Clapback:

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    And you lead off with the best one:

    Whiteness is all you have, Max.

    That’s going to burn for a long time.

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    Mud's Not Yer Buddy, PalMichael Harriot
    11/30/18 7:04pm

    They love socialism. You know who else was a socialist who did some of the exact same things the Democrats are doing now? Hitler.

    Why did I even bother going to university?

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      BlaqueBloqueMud's Not Yer Buddy, Pal
      11/30/18 7:12pm

      Do they not realize, or just not care, that politics is a spectrum which shifted after the civil war? 

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      Mud's Not Yer Buddy, PalBlaqueBloque
      11/30/18 7:29pm

      The Southern Strategy never happened for them either.

      But this whole “Hitler was a socialist” is such a huge lie that even Goebbels would be impressed by it. 

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    Squib308Michael Harriot
    11/30/18 7:59pm

    MaxMcDo

    So, if you’re content with the view that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican, and against slavery, then your great great granddaddy was probably... A Democrat. Then he had half Democrat children. Your great granddaddy was half Democrat, and he had children.. That makes you... Part Donkey! 

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      Bae Bae WattSquib308
      12/03/18 11:00am

      Part donkey, sure. But also a full-blown ass.

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    RubycakesMichael Harriot
    11/30/18 7:30pm

    My complexion, in the words of a former colleague, is "fish belly white," and I live for that magical time on Friday evenings when you bullyrag my skinfolk. You are doing an absolute service to humanity.

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    whatamithinkingMichael Harriot
    11/30/18 8:30pm

    I like the one from Janice D. It’s so beautifully written and feels true. Yet it’s also scary in that it betrays a certain gap between white existence and black reality. I really really hope she understands your response and engages in an even deeper reflection on the social dynamics affecting black lives.

    “But with the ease of pointing out the sins, shouldn’t it also be easy to point out the courage of those who stood out against the wrongs.” Well, I am tempted to respond that that America is especially good at highlighting the courage of those who stood out against the wrongs (exceptional?), while burying its sins & sinners (common place?).

    btw, i can only imagine that someone like Dr King got lots of those types of letters.

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      Baldwin'sApprenticewhatamithinking
      12/01/18 4:31pm

      How’s this, just for starters...

      That’s one of the greatest supposed beauties of whiteness. The overall quality of her life is so insulated by the institutional power of her whiteness, that there is no readily apparent value (or even necessity) for her to investigate even one bit further.

      Quite simply, she (or anyone white, really) doesn’t really have to care one way or the other. The system was specifically designed to work for them in that precise way. And on top of that, she’s an educated, licensed and credentialed professional. Which also apparently makes her uniquely qualified (compared to other whites even) to analyze and criticize the “abnormally skewed racial biases” in Michael’s perspectives.

      And what’s more, perpetuating the concept of whiteness throughout American history has literally REQUIRED it’s adherents to remain as shallow as possible to the endlessly hideous societal implications for POC. Because it helps to sustain the highly necessary illusion of perpetual white innocence. No matter what level of institutionalized and racialized violence continues to be inflicted...on an almost daily basis!

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    The Ghost of James Madison's Rage BonerMichael Harriot
    11/30/18 5:53pm

    I love these letters where the writer starts out sounding halfway rational but once they build up a head of steam go full bore into Crazytown. 

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      Baldwin'sApprenticeThe Ghost of James Madison's Rage Boner
      12/01/18 4:36pm

      Justifying perpetual white innocence in the face of a mountain of contradictory historical reality literally requires that some form of that basic formula be adhered to almost every time.

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    MishaBitesMichael Harriot
    12/03/18 9:00am

    It’s Monday morning and I only just got the chance to read this week’s Mailbag... My God, man, you’ve KILLED it with this one. Your words are FIRE.

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    StrangerSnacksMichael Harriot
    11/30/18 5:22pm

    I was surprised SUPER EXTRA CATHOLIC Jim Caviezel was a Democrat and it doesn’t look like he is? And is on record from a year ago wanting to work on more SUPER EXTRA CATHOLIC movies (presumably with a side of anti-Semitism and misogyny) with Mel Gibson.

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      Foster BrooksStrangerSnacks
      12/02/18 1:38pm

      Have you ever been to southern New England? MA, RI, and CT are three of the most Catholic states in the nation. They’re also among the bluest. I have no idea where he’s from but this doesn’t surprise me.

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      StrangerSnacksFoster Brooks
      12/02/18 1:42pm

      He gave money to Rick Santorum. Not a Democrat. Not on any level. He may be anti-orange enough to have changed his presidential vote two years ago but this guy is not a Democrat. 

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    Old white guyMichael Harriot
    11/30/18 10:01pm

    Um, you were mean to max by calling him a dummy. That was unkind and he deserves an apology.

    Only after you stop hailing black cops as being the only good cops. That was a good one that I never heard before.  Certainly not here!

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