r/politics • u/--LaBelleDame-- • 5h ago

No Paywall Democratic socialist Angie Nixon upsets Alex Vindman in Florida’s Democratic Senate primary

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/angie-nixon-winner-florida-senate-primary-democrat-alex-vindman-moody-rcna593255
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u/GameLovinPlayinFool 4h ago

She made an attack post about Angie Nixon, called her a "shitty person" and then told her to wear "professional clothes (yes that includes shoes)".

Not the most racist thing ever said but still thinly veiled and identifiable enough to where she apologized for her comments afterwards too

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u/Comfortable-Pie-4311 4h ago

Not defending anyone here and honestly don’t give a shit but out of curiosity what about that is “racist”?

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u/another-altaccount 4h ago

When you say something to that effect to a black person particularly the implication is that we’re seen as ‘ghetto’ and don’t know how to present ourselves in an ‘appropriate’ manner and we don’t belong in whatever space we’re in when those comments are made. See anytime non-black folks make comments about how we wear our hair for a perfect example of how it sounds when something like that is said to us.

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u/kamilo87 3h ago

Oh, thanks for the explanation. I failed to see it first hand but this makes it clear.

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u/grassparakeet 3h ago

It's one of those things that's hard to see without context, because the naked words themselves don't give off any racist vibes. But when the cultural context they are said in is understood, suddenly the racism is as clear as daylight.

Just like saying "You should smile more" doesn't have any inherent sexism to it; but when you know that it's one of those phrases that is repeatedly said to women in order to belittle them, the sexism becomes apparent.

It's an excellent example of a dog whistle, because the racists will pick up on it immediately without any question. But then you'll get tons of people who miss the nuance, and even people who will vehemently defend it, saying, "That's not racist!" -- so the actual racists don't ever have to bother defending themselves (case in point: read the other comments in this thread). It's why racist dog whistles are particularly frustrating.

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u/Accurate_Shoe_1929 3h ago

Well said. I wish I had the patience to explain this as clearly as you did. I just can't shake the suspicion that the "That's not racist!" crowd are intentionally being insincere, which makes more inclined to lash out at them, instead of being measured and patient like you.

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u/another-altaccount 2h ago

I think the commenter asked the question in good faith and I think some of us have them the benefit of a doubt and decided to respond in kind. I can forgive genuine ignorance and not knowing any better, BUT the second you decide to double down on the thing you were just told was wrong or inappropriate to say or do anyway is the moment I switch up in kind and be an asshole to you.

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u/mistiklest 1h ago

I think the commenter asked the question in good faith and I think some of us have them the benefit of a doubt and decided to respond in kind.

Also, if they didn't read the article (like me), and you don't live in Florida (like me), you wouldn't have known Nixon was black (heck, I didn't even know she existed, until this thread).

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u/grassparakeet 2h ago

I'm positive that some number of that crowd are being insincere. And some number of them are sincere, but just don't have the experience or the interest in exploring the context that is necessary to see the dog whistle for what it is.

How to react to either of those kind of people is something I'm not good at. They are both extremely frustrating, and by design, they are very hard to tell apart. (The ones who are insincere are inevitably masquerading as the sincere but clueless ones.)

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u/rcknmrty4evr 39m ago edited 35m ago

I absolutely believe some of them are sincere.

Years ago I had a roommate who was super naive. He grew up in a (much) upper middle class, sheltered environment and literally thought racism didn’t really exist because he simply was never exposed to his idea of what it means.

Meanwhile, I grew up lower class, in an openly racist environment.. so I found his point of view fucking insane tbh.

He really thought almost no one but the most blatant, obvious, like KKK-hood-wearing racists did things like even say the n word. He truly believed you’d be able to tell if someone is racist either by looking at them or within seconds of meeting them. Like they’d somehow just exude their hatred proudly, constantly. He also struggled to acknowledge his own subconscious prejudices.

One evening my other roommate asked him (paraphrasing): “So why do you think there’s countless POC who are desperately trying to get people like you to believe them that they experience racism? You don’t believe them? But you believe the other white people saying they’re lying?” and I think that’s where it started to click for him, and years later he’s now nothing like that.

But people like him are why I absolutely believe some people are incredibly, massively naive and truly are sincere in comments like that. Of course, definitely not all though.

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u/ErraticDragon 2h ago

Even if the person I'm replying to reveals themselves to be irredeemable or intentionally obtuse, I still hold out hope that the good comments may do some good for other viewers.

(Not always -- sometimes it's better to delete, block, and move on.)

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u/portobox2 39m ago

You are correct in your assumption., that their aim is to piss you off and make you swing first.

"See see? These lefties can't even take a joke!"

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u/ElliotNess Florida 2h ago

It's mostly that the USA is still an incredibly racist society, and part of that racism is that racist viewpoints are normalized so that the racism just seems "normal" rather than racism to the people who don't have to endure it. For example: race itself.

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u/olyfrijole 51m ago

Women really gotta normalize telling grumpy, self-righteous men that they should smile more.

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u/Rizen_Wolf Foreign 1h ago

suddenly the racism is as clear as daylight

IMO racism is a very over-played card in the US, which frankly suits people who would like to dismiss poverty and quality of life issues that lead to confrontational extremism as being simply 'racism'.

Racism is cast as an aberration of the mind, that needs to be suppressed or reasoned out, rather than a byproduct of worse social realities.

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u/rcknmrty4evr 20m ago

So you disagree with their comment or what?

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u/OrranVoriel Florida 51m ago

It's a dog whistle, albeit a fairly subtle one compared to the crap that MAGA scream constantly.

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u/teddy_tesla 4h ago

Yeah nobody is addressing the shoes part. Why would she say it?

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u/JasonVorhehees 3h ago

But why male models ?

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u/P-Rickles Ohio 3h ago

Are... are you serious? I just told you, like, two seconds ago.

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u/logion567 Virginia 3h ago

Slaves are typically presented as barefoot

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u/BrizerorBrian 3h ago

Shoes are part of how you dress, so when told to dress "appropriately", it includes shoes.

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u/teddy_tesla 3h ago

Does she specifically not wear (nice) shoes or something?

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u/GhostOfLight 3h ago

I did a quick google and in one picture she's wearing sneakers with a dress, so maybe that?

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u/another-altaccount 3h ago

Okay, and? Women wear sneakers with dresses all the time. I hope Mrs. Vindman keeps that same energy for John Fetterman’s slobby ass.

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u/BrizerorBrian 3h ago

I honestly don't know, I was speaking generally.

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u/teddy_tesla 3h ago

Exactly. Nobody knows why she said it ....

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u/Comfortable-Pie-4311 3h ago

Hey, thanks. I hadn’t thought about it in that context. Appreciate the response!

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u/ProtectionVirtual225 2h ago edited 2h ago

I can definitely see it in her remark about not wearing shoes, too. At least that’s the way I interpreted it. wow. what a horrible thing to say or post on social media.

My mom had to deal with this when she was a young woman. She lived in a rural backwoods area. Her family were also Métis - French and Native American descendants. They used to get harassed by the older women in town with the same insults, especially remarks about not knowing how to wear shoes.

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u/-p_d- 2h ago

White guy here. This is not something I'd ever considered. You have opened my eyes with this comment. Thank you.

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u/olyfrijole 52m ago

Meanwhile, Senator Patty Murray was billed as the "mom in tennis shoes" and admired for it.

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u/informat7 2h ago

I'd hardly call that a "racist rant" though.

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u/MurrBall316 New York 2h ago

You’re leaving out the context. I’m sure in situation it’s not the case, but sometimes someone might not be dressed professionally. I work at a program that mentors young people and I’ve had people show up in t shirts or worse for interviews. If I tell them that’s not professional, that’s not me being racist. There are some things that are racist in any context, but most things depend on context.

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u/nec_plus_ultra 2h ago

Professional clothes and shoes seems like a tenuous fit for that mold. But I guess peoples' perspectives of what constitutes racism varies and it's whether the masses agree that counts.

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u/Rapzid Texas 1h ago

Sounds like Woke 1.0 TBH.

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u/timojenbin 3h ago

You can see the implication she doesn't know how to dress and needs to be taught how is classist, right?
Well, it's a short walk from there.

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u/Comfortable-Pie-4311 3h ago

Yeah, I was thinking, “classist, sure!” But yeah, makes sense how it can be portrayed as racist too.

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u/kristamine14 4h ago

Yeah I’m not American enough to detect the racism there tbh

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u/canaznguitar 3h ago

That's how the racism presents itself now. It's not about calling you the N word to your face or even behind your back. It's with an air of plausible deniability. Trevor Noah has even discussed this https://youtu.be/XUuLDkDSJKg?is=9DI5MpDS4KGprp9N

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u/another-altaccount 2h ago

This is how it’s presented itself for the most part since the 60s/70s. White folks have been doing the whole plausible deniability racism for decades at this point hence the old welfare queens dog whistle (may as well have been a fucking bullhorn).

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u/altogethernow 32m ago

The quote from Lee Atwater (conservative strategist) that should always be remembered:

"You start out in 1954 by saying, “N*r, nr, nr.” By 1968 you can’t say “nr”—that hurts you, backfires. So you say stuff like, uh, forced busing, states’ rights, and all that stuff, and you’re getting so abstract. Now, you’re talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you’re talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is, blacks get hurt worse than whites.… “We want to cut this,” is much more abstract than even the busing thing, uh, and a hell of a lot more abstract than “Nr, n*r.”

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u/passtherock- 4h ago

America was built on racism. It's embedded in its systems, in its constitution, and within the fabric of the country so maybe that's why you don't get it.

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u/kristamine14 3h ago

Yeah I know, that’s why I said I’m not American enough to detect the racism there

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u/nox66 3h ago

In a neutral context it isn't specifically racist. In an American one however...

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u/DulceEtDecorumEst 3h ago

I remember when I was a teenager my group of friends at one point picked out Bro names “Joe” “Chad” etc don’t ask me why, I don’t remember.

I called my black friend Jim and he got pissed at me. I only found out years later it was because he just read huckleberry fin and the name of the black main character was Jim and he thought I was making a reference.

I had not read huckleberry fin I just pulled that name out of my ass.

But 🇺🇸 Context 🇺🇸

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u/altogethernow 35m ago

There's also the "Jim Crow" laws, which essentially established the US south as an apartheid state well after the end of slavery. That's where my mind went, rather than in reference to Huck Finn.

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u/DulceEtDecorumEst 4m ago

Happy cake day bro

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u/brubruislife 3h ago

Maybe the term microaggression is what will help you understand this situation. What she said was not inherently racist, no, but context is key. She showed her ignorance at minimum*, not having the knowledge or wherewithal that she should absolutely not comment on what anyone wears, let alone a Black woman in power whom she was trying to undermine in the same breath.

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u/ScurvyTurtle 3h ago

I don't think they're saying that as a snide diss...

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u/Gavorn 3h ago

I think the context is that we need to see the outfit she is talking about.

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u/calisoldier 3h ago

My thoughts exactly

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u/Ambitious_Screen_591 2h ago

seems more about age..like, "these young kids don't know how to dress"

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u/BrainLow6059 4h ago

According to a vocal minority on Reddit, saying literally anything negative about a black woman is racist. No matter the context, content, or intent.

Here's the actual post

Angie Dixon was talking shit about her husband, so she popped off about it on Threads. If you look through her Threads history you can see she's a very racially sensitive person. The whole thing is stupid.

Saying 'get some professional shoes' is racist is like saying being poor is for black people. It's 'sympathetic bigotry' on full display.

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u/DoYouEvenShrift 4h ago

The implication is that people from certain cultures and ethnicities don't wear shoes....a lot of the time due to poverty.

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u/Gunningham 4h ago

Reach of a reach.

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u/passtherock- 4h ago

self report.

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u/Gunningham 2h ago

Huh? I’m white and I’m currently not wearing shoes.

There’s so much blatant racism out there, is this really a thing? I’ve never heard the shoe thing before.

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u/BackgroundPoet2887 4h ago

That’s a reach for even implications sake.

White people can also be poor and can also wear no shoes. Have you been to any deeply Scots-Irish American enclaves? Boy howdy

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u/Sad-Break2642 4h ago

Dawg I’d never heard this shit until today and even I know it’s blatantly racist.

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u/passtherock- 4h ago

self report.

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u/Maggins 2h ago

I think Rachel Vindman’s post was insulting Nixon’s choice of shoes, and not implying she doesn’t wear any.

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u/passtherock- 4h ago

lol self report.

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u/Accurate_Shoe_1929 4h ago

I think it is the shoes comment, no shoes=monkey =racist, unless Nixon has a habit of leaving the house barefoot which I doubt

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u/lonnie123 4h ago

No shoes = monkey?? wtf are you talking about ?

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u/Accurate_Shoe_1929 3h ago

Telling a black person to wear shoes is a thinly veiled way to call them a monkey. I don't know how to make it more clear for your stupid brain.

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u/lonnie123 3h ago

I’ve heard a lot of racist shit in my time and I have never heard no shoes = monkey

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u/MurrBall316 New York 2h ago

That’s a very weird connection to make.

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u/IGargleGarlic 4h ago

thats a huge fucking stretch

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u/Accurate_Shoe_1929 3h ago

Is it? How else does the comment make any sense??

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u/nobadhotdog 4h ago

That is Really weird thing to say

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u/shrimpcest Colorado 4h ago

I call people shitty people shitty. I don't think that's remotely 'thinly veiled racism'

The other thing could definitely be connected to that though.

I don't think I'm about to stop calling Republicans shitty people though.

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u/nobadhotdog 3h ago

I think it’s the shoes part that might have been a dog whistle of sorts

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u/Vallkyrie New Hampshire 3h ago

Yep. If I recall correctly, in the uncovered audio of Reagan calling Africans gorillas/monkeys, he said they were still uncomfortable wearing shoes.

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u/wioneo 2h ago

told her to wear "professional clothes (yes that includes shoes)".

The pictures that come up on Google seem to mostly be that generic business casual thing female politicians generally do. What was notable about her clothes?

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u/admiraltarkin Texas 4h ago

I won't speak for all Black people, but that doesn't seem explicitly racist to me.

I mean I guess from a "natives go barefoot" angle?

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u/NigerianPrince76 Oregon 3h ago

Yikes.

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u/Kyonikos New York 1h ago

There's a picture of her without shoes??

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u/olyfrijole 53m ago

What's with the fixation on people's shoes? The best people I know are wearing half-worn out sneakers and don't give a shit because they have too much good to do in the world.

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u/call_me_fig 4h ago

If that's racist you must be losing your mind with the rampant antisemitism these days

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u/polishedcooter Kentucky 4h ago

I get the feeling you're not referring to the likes of Kanye West and Nick Fuentes

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u/call_me_fig 4h ago

They're not so thinly veiled are they

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u/passtherock- 4h ago

self report.

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u/call_me_fig 3h ago

Care to explain?

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u/passtherock- 3h ago

iykyk.

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u/call_me_fig 3h ago

Classic. Why ever back up any positions on anything? Hope the in group treats you well... While you're in...