COMMENTARY | John Blake at CNN discusses the return of Ronald Reagan's "Welfare Queen" through the current presidential campaign of the three leading Republicans. Reagan brought up the "Welfare Queen" story in 1976 during his first presidential candidacy, and today critics contend Newt Gingrich, winner of the recent South Carolina GOP primary, is trying to bring back the stereotype through his assertions that Barack Obama is a "food stamp" president and that black people should "want a job" and not a "handout."
Many people apparently think the unnamed "Welfare Queen" is a racist stereotype of a black woman. Blake discusses the allegation and insists Republicans will have to avoid "racially loaded messages" in the future, especially when nonwhite voters become the majority by the year 2050.
But is the "Welfare Queen" anecdote a racist stereotype that will erode as America becomes more diverse? No. That's because the staying power of the "Welfare Queen" is not her alleged racial background but rather human nature itself (though many would argue that racism is itself part of human nature) -- we rank, judge and place things on a spectrum.
We will always rank certain recipients of government assistance as more worthy than others. There will always be those we deem less worthy of receiving aid in the form of tax dollars. There are many things we all will inevitably use to deem an aid recipient as more of less worthy: Education, job status, number of children, relationship status, health and physical appearance, etc.
An Associated Press article about food stamp recipients, for example, includes a film school graduate who works part time at Victoria's Secret while freelancing on movie productions. Personally, this rankles me like the "Welfare Queen" story undoubtedly rankled '80s voters. "Why is a film school graduate receiving food stamps?" I ask myself. "She should have majored in something useful. She should be working full time instead of holding out hope that she will 'make it big' in Hollywood or something. She shouldn't get food stamps to pursue a frivolous dream."
I am clearly guilty of stereotyping and harsh judgment, though I take solace in knowing that I am far from alone. We all do it. And that is why we will always be suckers for good "Welfare Queen" stories.
It's not about race; it's more insidious and widespread than that. It is human nature to rank and judge.
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