(ThyBlackMan.com) Paula Smith, owner of the company Stickatude.com, says that the anti-Obama campaign sticker that says “Don’t Re-Nig 2012? isn’t racist. During an interview with Forbes.com, Paula Smith innocently claims that the bumper sticker was not a reference to the president’s ethnicity, and was simply meant to say that he’s a bad leader.
“According to the dictionary [the N word] does not mean black. It means a low down, lazy, sorry, low down person. That’s what the N word means,” said Ms. Paula Smith.
Roger Friedman at Forbes.com makes this accurate point:
“In Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, the word is defined as ‘member of any dark skinned race. Taken to be offensive.’ Dictionary.com says the word ‘is now probably the most offensive word in English. Its degree of offensiveness has increased markedly in recent years, although it has been used in a derogatory manner since at least the Revolutionary War. Definitions 1a, 1b, and 2 represent meanings that are deeply disparaging and are used when the speaker deliberately wishes to cause great offense.’”
Paula Smith says she’s not a racist and doesn’t like Obama for reasons that are unrelated to his race.
“And besides Obama is not even black. He’s got a mixture of race. It’s his choice of what his nationality is. I’m a mixed breed. I call myself a Heinz 57,” she says.
“I just want someone that’s going to help the United States and not give it other countries all the time. And stop giving the immigrants the benefits that most Americans inside their own states can’t even get because they’re giving it others who don’t even live here as an American. 
“I do find it amazing and entertaining that one of our stickers has become a racist thing,” Ms. Paula Smith said to Forbes. She even said that she doesn’t accept the n-word.
“I don’t use it. I have kids here around me that are black kids. I call them my own kids. I’ve helped black families…to guide them in the right direction. Paintball is one of these things. We like to laugh and have a good time. That’s our way of life.”
Black people are accustomed to dealing with the likes of Ms. Paula Smith, racist white folks who inexplicably force open the door of plausible deniability, even when any idiot can see what they are doing. The simple fact of the matter is that the word “re-nig” is a deliberate misspelling of the word “renege,” which means to go back on a promise. Had the president not been a black man, no one would have gotten the joke.
According to Ms. Paula Smith’s arguments, which are pretty much what any of us might expect from a racist who comes from a place where this behavior doesn’t need to be explained, she is calling President Obama a “nigger,” but for reasons that have nothing to do with his race. Her reaction to Obama is a reminder that the only thing worse than being a black male criminal is to be a black male with intelligence and leadership ability. People like Ms. Paula Smith make a clear distinction between the “good blacks” and the “bad blacks,” which is something that has happened since slavery.
So, the bottom line is that Ms. Paula Smith changed the last few letters in the word “renege” in order to make a play on words that basically says, “Let’s get this horrible n*gger out of the White House.”
Another observation we can make about Ms. Paula Smith is that there are millions of white folks who hate Obama and swear they can’t possibly be racist. But if we take a walk back in history, we see that even during slavery, people weren’t lynched just because they were black. Often, those who were lynched were attacked for being both black and unethical, unlawful or threatening in some way. People rarely chose to lynch the maid or the babysitter, which is why people are so comfortable with films like “Driving Ms. Daisy” and “The Help.” In those cases, black people were more like loyal pets and are much more digestible because they weren’t demanding freedom, power or equality.
Historically in America, blackness is what turns an otherwise bad person into a “n*gger who needs to die.” The black kid who was accused of committing the same crime as a white guy would get a punishment that was far worse, in large part because his blackness served as an accelerator of the natural disdain society already has for a thief. The same thing is true for educated black men or those who demand true power. By taking the reigns of the most powerful office in America, President Obama has offended millions of white Americans who felt that their race entitles them to this power.
Many Americans would already be irritated with President Obama because he is a liberal. His Ivy League value-system lies in lockstep with the Democratic Party, and stands diametrically opposed to the campaign platforms of most conservatives. Therefore, many of those who dislike him would probably dislike him if he were 100% white. But having black skin means that Obama’s “crime” of being a liberal, educated and powerful black man deserves twice as much punishment as he would receive if he were white. It means that rather than simply disagreeing with him, some Americans would rather impeach him, label him as a communist or even see him dead.
In a nation that is tearing itself apart at the seams, Ms. Paula Smith’s bumper sticker is adding fuel to the fire. The fact that this clearly racist marketing tool is selling so well is a clear reminder that America has a long way to go. What Ms. Paula Smith might also want to realize is that when you refer to the President of the United States as a n*gger, you are not just insulting him, you are insulting your country. So, many of the bigots who think they are hurting Obama are actually harming the nation they claim to love so much.
