Joe Biden’s Unchecked Prejudice
During the third Democratic debate, Joe Biden was asked about past comments denying responsibility, as a white dude, to repair the legacy of slavery in America. His response was questionable at best.
“… we bring social workers into homes and parents to help them deal with how to raise their children. It’s not that they don’t want to help. They don’t know quite what to do. Play the radio. Make sure the television, excuse me, make sure you have the record player on at night…”
That moment revealed a huge blindspot for Biden. He took the question about America’s gravest and most persistent injustices, put it in a blender, and responded with a word salad suggesting parental ignorance by Black folks — never providing a coherent response.
How is it that his main takeaway of the injustices towards the Black community is that there isn’t enough music? Every single American is not just influenced by Black music and culture, but in large part, attempts to mimic it through appropriation. Why is no one checking him on it?
The New York Times ran an article that touched on his response saying, “Joe Biden had a strong start, but stumbled over race,” and another with the headline, “Biden Was Asked About Segregation. His Answer Included a Record Player,” and not much else. The Intercept, however, had no qualms about calling Biden…
