"You know, [Nader's] a great guy and all and he's done some great things for this country, but my question now is, 'What have you done for me lately?'" --Professor Ericksen
Following the election, Ralph Nader commented on the extraordinary amount of campaign funding that Barack Obama received from large corporations such as Microsoft and JP Morgan. He said,
"his choice, basically, is whether he’s going to be Uncle Sam for the people of this country, or Uncle Tom for the giant corporations who are running America into the ground."
Whoa there Ralphie! These political contributions came from individual people who chose to fund his campaign based on the goals he set forth. They happened to work for large corporations. Yes, you could say that Obama has, by association, been corrupted by major corporate interests, but that's like saying, "if you take out a mortgage from PNC Bank, a giant corporation has loaned you a home, therefore you are, by association, evil and corrupt." On another note, PNC Bank is financing my $12,000/year college education. Does that make me evil and corrupt? No. Using Nader's logic, will I turn my back on all half-Filipinos if I get a job that pays well? Definitely not, but according to Nader's logic, since I have student loans from large corporations, he would feel obligated to warn the half-Filipinos of Philadelphia that they're in danger of "Uncle Max" becoming "Uncle Kim-Jong-Il."
Bad logic, Nader.
Secondly, the use of "Uncle Tom" is specifically reserved as a derogatory term for a black person who turns his back on his own people upon rising to a position of power. No, Ralph Nader did not actually call Obama an "Uncle Tom", but by using the term in direct reference to Obama, he did two things:
1- accused Obama of being corrupted by large corporations
2- revived the use of a derogatory term reserved for African-Americans
I believe in free speech, and yes, Ralph Nader, you are entitled to your opinion. But as a public figure, we as a population are entitled to judge your opinion. We can assume, based on what we know about you, that you were actually saying this:
1- "Obama is evil because he took money from individuals that work for large corporations"
2- "It's great that he's our first African-American president, but I really think that he's going to betray his people in the long run and sell out to large corporations."
3- "Screw the fact that I'm using a racist term, I'm just gonna go ahead and say it."
The point is, the term is based on skin color, and is therefore a racial slur. As a public figure, Nader has a responsibility to avoid the perpetuation of racism. While no one has the right to say that Nader "shouldn't have said that" it was definitely inappropriate, and if he's going to pull the race-card on national TV, he should be prepared to face criticism for it.
Ralph Nader, I beg you to retract this comment. You are indeed a good-hearted politician and one of our greatest modern thinkers and activists, but please, think about what you've said. I will continue to support your work, but I will never support this comment.
