CNN’s Lemon: Not Knowing You’re Racist Is ‘The New Racism’

CNN’s Don Lemon tackled the Cliven Bundy/Donald Sterling racistapalooza on his weekly commentary segment of the Tom Joyner Show Tuesday morning, arguing that a racial solipsism had stricken contemporary racists, to the point that they could hold explicitly racist opinions and be completely unaware of them.

“I’ve said for years now that the new racism is the denial of racism,” Lemon said. “But in the past few weeks, after hearing from Bundy and Sterling, I have changed my mind. The new racism is being unaware that you are racist.”

“And that is the worst kind of anything; to be woefully ignorant,” he continued. “Because in the latest two cases ignorance truly is not bliss. It is downright dangerous.”

Lemon added that Sterling’s insistence that his then-mistress socialize with African-American men out of public view sounded like “the old slave owner who would pick one of his slaves to ‘love’ them ‘privately.'”

Listen to the audio below, via the Tom Joyner Show:

[Image via CNN]

——
>> Follow Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) on Twitter

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!