A Lynn Swann chat from 1999
By Mark Kilmer Posted in 2006 — Comments (10) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Lynn Swann is the Republican seeking this year to replace Governor Ed Rendell is Pennsylvania. I've found a the transcript of a TIME.com chat with Lynn Swann, for Black History Month (Febuary) of 1999. Some of the questions and the answers are revealing:
Louisk39 asks: Lynn, you and the Steelers were great community-builders, signing autographs at malls, etc. Do you think that your team, and, say, the Redskins, help bridge ethnic and racial differences in NFL cities?
Lynn Swann: I don't know about the Redskins. I am not familiar with their programs, but there was a very conscious effort from the players on my team. We didn't feel like we HAD to be role models but felt the responsibility toward our communities. And anytime you come in contact with someone who doesn't have a diverse group of friends then you help to build a bridge towards ethnic and racial harmony. [emphasis mine]
Building bridges. This is an undercurrent of this election, and a very important one.
(continued below…)
sweetie_711 asks: Lynn, do you see more players coming out publicly about their Christian faith?
Lynn Swann: I believe so. I believe that today's players who are Christians feel that it's important and their responsibility to acknowledge their faith.
This is true of politics, as well.
Curious_Pa_Lady asks: Are you and your family still living in Pittsburgh?
Lynn Swann: Thank you, and Pittsburgh is my home. I thought I would go back to California when I retired from football, but I discovered that I enjoyed the lifestyle and environment in Pittsburgh. I love the people. They are the best. They work hard and are friendly. There are some great opportunities in Pittsburgh, and it's a great place to raise a family.
He chose Pittsburgh over his previous home, California. He is a Pennsylvanian.
Err0r_4O4 asks: Mr. Swann, are you a regular user of the internet?
Lynn Swann: I am indeed. As a matter of fact, I am looking at many of the questions that have not been submitted online. And so I get a chance to see a lot of the other conversations. It's absolutely better than TV. I will be developing a website soon.
The question could not have been asked in 1999, but as a blogger, I wonder if he reads blogs now. Vain curiosity, I suppose.
This last one is extremely important:
Heichi asks: Lynn, have you ever received any racial abuse whilst playing?
Lynn Swann: Not while playing. I think that most minorities have experienced some form of racial abuse. And I am certain many young people and some adults have been abused and not even been aware that it was going on. The important thing, I think, is that you have to continue to break down a variety of barriers. Professional, social, economic, and political barriers. [emphasis mine]
Lynn Swann will tear down one wall when he becomes governor, and he is tearing down another simply by seeking office: the Democrats' lazy monopoly on the votes of an entire segment of the population. Everyone has a choice.
(cross-posted at the SwannBlog.
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A Lynn Swann chat from 1999 10 Comments (0 topical, 10 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
"Ethnic and racial harmony" works to the benefit of everyone, be that socially, economically, etc. This is a conservtive notion.
A government attempting to force the issue, including with awkward laws and programs which have a reverse effect, is a liberal notion.
The difference is very important.
Something tells me Lynn Swann wouldn't agree with this blog calling Mrs. Martin Luther King, Jr. a communist.
It is not quite the best way to build bridges towards racial harmony.
Reagan wrote an autobiography in 1964 or 1965, before he ever ran for public office. Reading this chat reminded me strongly of it.
re-posted without comment on Red State by Ben:
"People who are poor and black are a drag on society. We would all be better off if there were fewer of them...."
is a pretext.
In this case as cheap, craven pretext.
You're gone.
You're going to get banned just as soon just as the Editors see this - but before you do, here's my comment: anybody capable of actually reading said excerpt would have gathered that both the original author and Ben find the idea of using abortion to lower the crime rate morally reprehensible.
Now get thee hence.
Why? Because you assume Swann, as a black man, automatically ignores the political stances of other black men, simply because they are... black?
I suspect Swann - like a great many of us - don't live in that puppet world of racial identity. We see people for their personality, their actions, their words, their capabilities.
My intent was too vague, and so I apologize. And my follow-up comments are not foot-noted, either.
[As a preface, I use the term Liberal as short-hand for "Liberals, Moderates, and people who are not Conservative on every subject". Others might say, instead, "Traitors". 8-) ]
Maps of the last two Presidential elections showed that socially and ethnically homogenous populations tended to vote Conservative, while socially and ethnically heterogeneous populations tended to vote Liberal. Obviously this is a generalization, but it would seem to imply that those with friends of diverse backgrounds would tend to be Liberals. [Set up a Venn diagram...]
Similarly, Conservative campaigns of the last 50 years, Republican and Democratic alike, used the tactic of Be afraid of the people who are not like You and Me to great success.
So I repeat, in my frame of reference, the gentleman made a surprisingly Liberal statement.
Sounds like something the Prez would state or believe.
And anytime you come in contact with someone who doesn't have a diverse group of friends then you help to build a bridge towards ethnic and racial harmony.
What a liberal sentiment...