Paul Ryan’s Black Ex-girlfriend and the Art of Race Baiting

Congressman Paul Ryan's ex-girlfriend Deneeta Pope

At the top of our list of “8 Ways Blacks Perpetuate Racism” was a particularly devious trick which black identity activists employ. That is the elevation of civil rights above individual rights.

Contrary to its sacrosanct place in our political lexicon, the term “civil rights” does not refer to an inherent good. A civil right is granted by the state, as opposed to individual rights which are derived objectively from the facts of reality. There is nothing preventing civil rights from conflicting with individual rights. When they do, it is immoral. Civil rights are only proper when they serve to protect individual rights. That fundamental ethical truth is all but absent from our political discourse.

Helping obscure it is The Root’s political correspondent Keli Goff, whose job entails processing news through the distorting prism of race. Upon learning that Representative Paul Ryan was the presumptive GOP nominee for vice president, Goff crafted a piece titled “What We Know About Paul Ryan and Blacks.” What we know, as Goff presents it, isn’t much. But we do learn quite a bit about how Goff and her ideological allies perceive both race and racism.

In an effort to process the fact that Paul Ryan once dated a black woman, Goff asks “the million-dollar question”:

Is the fact that Ryan has dated interracially a noteworthy detail to consider when analyzing his politics and policies?

This is a tactful way of framing an unsaid question: Is the fact that Ryan has dated interracially a noteworthy detail to consider when judging whether he is a racist? We know that this is the question Goff is implying because of the context she provides. Of what possible relevance could Ryan’s premarital dating habits be to his policy positions? Goff tells us:

Here’s a well-known phrase that has virtually become a punch line: When someone finds himself on the ropes facing an allegation of racism, the go-to reflex defense is usually something along the lines of “But some of my best friends are black!” Translation: “I can’t possibly be racist or racially insensitive because there are black people I like and they like me. So there.”

This is the context in which Goff asks us to consider whether Ryan’s black ex-girlfriend matters. Does that former relationship immunize him from allegations of racism?

I disagree, and don't know where the author got this definition.

Civil rights ARE individual rights. The civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s had as its goal stopping the denial of individual rights to blacks and other minorities.

A report has surfaced that his former flame did a federal bid for wire fraud between 2001 and 2002. According to the Daily Mail:

Deneeta Pope hit headlines after MailOnline revealed that she was the Republican vice-presidential candidate's ex-girlfriend who opened his eyes to the evils of racism.

She served five months in prison after defrauding her employer Ernst & Young out of $77,000 in 1999, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons.

Ms Pope admitted claiming funds from work to attend an educational course which did not exist.

Mr Ryan has stayed in touch with his ex over the two decades since they broke up -- he even attended Ms Pope's wedding in May this year ...

Following her conviction, Ms Pope was sentenced to five months in federal prison, and was released in May 2002.

Deneeta Pope, the African-American ex-girlfriend of Republican V.P. nominee Paul Ryan, wants nothing to do with the upcoming Presidential election.

She's also a Barack Obama supporter, though she wishes Ryan well. This came up again recently after some of Ryan's policies have been criticized - fairly or otherwise - as detrimental to the African-American community.

Deneeta Pope has since been ID'd ... and wishes she hadn't been.

But why must a white person date someone of color to “prove” they are non racist?

That smacks of the garbage that idiots like Tim Wise try to make. If you are white only have white friends...you are racist. But if you are black and only have black friends...you want to preserve your culture.

I met a white woman dating a black guy, who was from the burbs. In short order, she started using the diction of the ghetto, and also began doing the finger wagging like Oprah, and clownish actions which made me shake my head.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.