Racey, Racey ,Racey, RACIST………………..”Niggerhead” Edition

Ugh.

I have to give Rick Perry and the Washington Post some props for contributing to my ever-expanding knowledge of American Racist History. Until this weekend, the phrase “Niggerhead“, and the repulsive products that bore the name, were not on my radar. Here’s a nice little gallery:

You can add Rick Perry’s family hunting retreat in west Texas to the list. The hunting preserve was already well known by the name “Niggerhead” when Rick Perry’s father first leased the property in the early 1980′s , and  was still known by that name when Rick Perry  added his own name to the lease in 1997 to 1998, when he was state agriculture commissioner, and again from 2004 to 2007, while serving as governor. In reference to the large rock at the preserve entrance which both inspired and bore the offensive name, Perry  offered the following statement:

“When my Dad joined the lease in 1983, he took the first opportunity he had to paint over the offensive word on the rock during the 4th of July holiday,” Perry said in his initial response. “It is my understanding that the rock was eventually turned over to further obscure what was originally written on it.” Perry said that he was not with his father when he painted over the name but that he “agreed with” the decision. In response to follow-up questions, Perry gave a more detailed account. “My mother and father went to the lease and painted the rock in either 1983 or 1984. This occurred after I paid a visit to the property with a friend and saw the rock with the offensive word. After my visit I called my folks and mentioned it to them, and they painted it over during their next visit. Ever since, any time I ever saw the rock it was painted over.”

Others  seem to recall a bit differently, via the Washington Post:

“I remember the first time I went through that pasture and saw that,” said Ronnie Brooks, a retired game warden who began working in the region in 1981 and who said he guided three or four turkey shoots for Rick Perry when Perry was a state legislator between 1985 and 1990. “. . . It kind of offended me, truthfully.” Brooks, who said he holds Perry “in the highest esteem,” said that at some point after Perry began bringing lawmakers to the camp, the rock was turned over. Brooks could not recall exactly when. He said he did not know who turned the rock over. Another local who visited the property with Perry and the legislators in those years recalled seeing the rock with the name clearly visible. “I thought, ‘This is going to embarrass Rick some day,’ ” said this person, who did not want to be named, fearing negative consequences from speaking on the subject.

NewsBusters columnist Noel Sheppard is quick to point out that “the Perrys were not responsible for placing it there”, and footnotes that “In 1991 the Texas Legislature passed a bill to rename old, offensive place names.” …………..thereby absolving them from any responsibility. Right????? I mean, Rick Perry can’t help that other people  still want to call it Niggerhead, can he? Painting over it and turning it over send just as powerful a message as just getting rid of it, don’t they? It’s not like he could, as Governor, make a public statement along the lines of  ”Hey, you Huckleberrys, this is 2011, not 1860, and calling the place where I take a lot of my top-dollar campaign contributors and legislative backers “Niggerhead” is SO pre-Civil Rights……….. you do know those people can vote now, don’tcha? Hell one lives in the White House right now!!!!! I know I look like a redneck goon at times with all my gun-totin’ and secession talk, but damn, people! Y’all makin me look BAD! Call it Nappyhead  or Jherri Curl or Little Sambo or sumthin’ a little less KKK-ey, OK? Niggerhead has got to go!”

Because when you say nothing, you’re no different than this guy: