Vanderbilt University professor Michael Eric Dyson on Tuesday invoked cancel culture and racism to defend himself against accusations from South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace that he sent her lewd text messages.
Mace alleged on Thursday that Dyson commented on Vice President Kamala Harris' “beauty,” solicited photos of himself and sent her kissing emojis after they argued over the pronunciation of her name on a CNN show on Aug. 15. He told “The View” that Mace put the alleged messages on the congressional record because of the “toxic culture” of modern politics.
“Things that you could say 20 years ago can't be said now. It's not that you're suddenly saying something wrong, it's just that the climate has changed. So if acknowledging a woman's beauty creates a power imbalance, then there's a problem. But peer-to-peer is a different story. And thirdly, look at politics. We live in a toxic culture with the trappings of cancel culture. We're not trying to elevate, we're trying to degrade.”
Dyson said Mace used “racist tropes” to accuse him of making sexual advances. (Related: Rep. Nancy Mace calls colleague Rep. Rashida Tlaib a “useful idiot” for protesting while world leaders speak)
“With Nancy Mace, I tried to be nice to her. I lied when I said, 'You're a great woman,'” Dyson said. “But I tried to be nice to her. And even when I pointed out what would happen if you repeatedly called Kamala Harris the wrong name, she defended herself with, 'Oh, so you're calling me a racist.' No, I never said that… The point is that this woman, like her inspiration, Donald Trump, relies on racist tropes: a black savage seeking an innocent white woman, and now I'm lasciviously approaching her.”
The professor, who is also a pastor, also argued that white Christians still feel guilty about injustices committed against racial minorities in the past, and called on them to “face up” to their brutal past and forgive themselves.
Dyson is A heated exchange Dyson sympathized with Mace during an August 15 CNN panel when he accused Mace of mispronouncing Vice President Kamala Harris' name and disrespecting her as a person. During the CNN segment, the South Carolina congresswoman said she would pronounce Harris' name however she wanted, and called Dyson's criticism of her mispronunciation “nonsense.”
“This congresswoman is a great human being and I'll say this, but when you insult Kamala Harris by saying she can be called whatever you want, I know you don't mean it. That's the history and legacy of white people devaluing the humanity of black people,” Dyson said.
“Oh, so now you're calling me a racist? … That's bullshit. Total bullshit,” Mace retorted.
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