The town where my grandparents lived was largely settled by Irish immigrants, and to this day, people there still speak with a hint of an Irish lilt. One day, we encountered a drunk man on the sidewalk, of whom my disapproving Nana said, "Not every Irish here is a drunk, Billy, but all of the drunks are Irish." Being Irish herself, she said it with a kind of resigned sadness, that things like this leads one to believe that "everybody knows" something about another group of people. Everybody knows Irish are drunks. Everybody knows African Americans are criminals. Everybody knows Muslims are terrorists. And on and on it goes.
The weekend before this issue went to press, a fellow named Jules Manson — previously known best for a failed campaign for a seat on the Carson, California city council — landed himself in hot water with a racist Facebook rant that called for the assassination of President Obama. The post was taken down within an hour, but by then it was too late. Screen captures of the comment went viral and flew all over the internet, drawing no small amount of criticism.
Since Manson has been a vocal supporter of both Ron Paul and the Tea Party, it is being widely assumed by his detractors that Manson's own racism reflects what Paul and the Tea Party also feel. This would not be the first time the Tea Party has had to deflect insinuations of racism, which is unfair, since you cannot characterize an entire group of people based on the actions of just one of them.
