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OPINIONS
Editorial: Cheney's 'joke' shows how hurtful hillbilly stereotype is
Vice President Dick Cheney gestures as he speaks during a fundraiser as part of the 2008 Virginia Republican Convention in Richmond, Va., on May 30.
Purchase this photoCharles Town, W.Va., is about 73 miles from the White House. A military helicopter should be able to make that trip quickly, getting Vice President Dick Cheney in and out with enough time to make a small speech.
That speech would be to apologize for the "joke" he told Monday.
By now, we've all heard the joke.
Talking about his family roots and how he is distantly related to Sen. Barack Obama, Cheney told his audience that his family tree had a Cheney on each side.
"And we don't even live in West Virginia," Cheney said. He added, "You can say those things when you're not running for re-election."
No, Mr. Vice President, you can't.
Of course, Cheney should know better, and his arrogance and lack of regard for the Mountain State warrants more of an apology than he has delivered to date.
In making his unfortunate remark, Cheney stepped into the messy area of stereotypes and slurs that too often cause division and ill will in our society today.
West Virginia was slammed by comedians and commentators after the May primary because of the strong vote for Hillary Clinton over Obama. It was characterized as racist and a demonstration of backward rural ignorance by comedians and commentators on television. The Herald-Dispatch received letters and Web site comments of the same tone by the dozens -- many from other parts of the country.
Not that such comments are unusual. The sad thing is, they are too common.
Comics such as Jay Leno and Jon Stewart can be way too mean-spirited when making jokes at the expense of "hillbillies." Some, such as Jeff Foxworthy, use the redneck stereotype out of love and respect. Leno, Stewart and others have used it as a hammer. They set the tone that allows the stereotype of the ignorant, uneducated, redneck, toothless, inbred, racist (did we miss any?) hillbilly to persist. They make the hillbilly stereotype acceptable when similar stereotypes about other geographic, ethnic or racial groups are off limits.
Cheney needs to be held to a higher standard. As vice president, it is his job to help West Virginia, not deride it. He should be hard at work trying to undo demeaning stereotypes, not reinforce them.
The best way to eliminate the old stereotype is to create a new one. That's the hard part, but it's one of the most important things the people of this state can do.
To add another insult, Cheney didn't even give West Virginians the courtesy of apologizing on camera. Instead, he had one of his public relations people do it.
"The vice president's offhand comment was not meant to hurt anyone," Cheney spokeswoman Lea Anne McBride said later Monday. "On reflection, he concluded that it was an inappropriate attempt at humor that he should not have made. The vice president apologizes to the people of West Virginia for the inappropriate remark."
McBride should not have issued the apology. Cheney should have.
And the best place to do that would be in West Virginia itself. Charles Town is the easternmost county seat in West Virginia. It's close enough to Washington, D.C., that Cheney could be there, spend an hour or so and return to his office.
If he wants to come to Huntington or a nearby community to apologize, we would be glad to have him.
Cheney made a mistake. His refusal to issue a proper apology shows he does not truly understand what impact his words had.
One other thing: Most political analysts expect West Virginians to choose Republican candidate John McCain over Obama this fall. Cheney might not be running for re-election, but unless he wants to torpedo his party's candidate, he had better be careful whom he insults. Too many gaffes, and West Virginia's five votes in the Electoral College could find their way to Obama.
