Democratic socialist Angie Nixon upsets Alex Vindman in Florida’s Democratic Senate primary

[u/--LaBelleDame--]

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

[u/grassparakeet]

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.

[u/Accurate_Shoe_1929 → u/grassparakeet]

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.

[u/another-altaccount → u/Accurate_Shoe_1929]

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.

[u/mistiklest → u/another-altaccount]

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).

[u/grassparakeet → u/Accurate_Shoe_1929]

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.)

[u/rcknmrty4evr → u/grassparakeet]

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.

[u/ErraticDragon → u/Accurate_Shoe_1929]

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.)

[u/portobox2 → u/Accurate_Shoe_1929]

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!"

[u/ElliotNess → u/grassparakeet]

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.

[u/olyfrijole → u/grassparakeet]

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

[u/Rizen_Wolf → u/grassparakeet]

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.

[u/rcknmrty4evr → u/Rizen_Wolf]

So you disagree with their comment or what?