Nothing Funny About Reaction to Paladino E-Mails

Reading some of the reactions to the story about would-be Gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino has me appalled and disgusted.

Carl Paladino: Aspiring Politician, Very Real Racist and Weirdo

A series of e-mails forwarded by Paladino to various politicos have been released; charming little messages such as video an African tribal dance with the caption “Obama’s Inauguration Rehearsal” and a video of a woman having sex with a horse.

Because, you know, who hasn’t opened up an e-mail of horse-f***ing, clicked ‘forward’ and wrote ‘hey guys, check out this hot horse-f***ing’?

Beyond the ludicrous defense of these e-mails is the fact that a number of individuals are willing to not only excuse it, but take to the internet to bombastically defend it . To give further context, this is the same individual who once compared health care reform to the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and referred to the Buffalo school board as the “Parasitic Black Sisterhood.”

It’s important for me to note that I don’t believe his agenda to be conservative or Republican. I know many conservatives and many Republicans. What Paladino puts forth is nothing more than racism, hate, and insanity, and nobody supporting him should operate under any other pretenses.

There is nothing harmless or thought-provoking about Paladino’s actions or statements. He is representative of the very worst kind of political discourse in this country: racism and hatred veiled as disagreements and political satire. Paladino’s statements and actions aren’t just childish and offensive, they’re at times hurtful and at others so frustratingly insane it makes me want to pull my hair out. Which, considering my family’s propensity towards male-pattern baldness, I’d rather not to.

So please, for the sake of my beautiful hair: stop excusing this behavior. If you have or do forward the same type of e-mails that Paladino has admitted to forwarding, it doesn’t mean he’s in the right. It just means that you, too, are in the wrong. Also, sorry, but you’re racist. Like I said in an earlier post regarding homophobia, don’t church up your hate. If you’re going to be so dark and ugly in your thoughts and deeds, at least be big enough to own up to it.

And for God’s sake, stop sending people e-mails with horse genitalia in them.

Update: I’m happy to report that since this was written, local Republicans have made it clear that Paladino and his antics aren’t welcome. Organizers with yesterday’s Tea Party rally also railed against Paladino, even though I’m sure Victoria Jackson at first confused him for Jon Lovitz. To make things even nuttier, Paladino’s campaign is claiming a bomb threat was called in by a “black military group.”  In fairness, it could’ve also been an angry, jealous mare.