Joy Behar lashed out at Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, saying it was “appalling” that he would claim systemic racism was not a problem in the United States.
On Monday’s broadcast of “The View,” Behar accused Graham of confusing “tokenism” with the end of systemic racism in the country.
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“What’s really appalling is Lindsey Graham, who says there’s no systemic racism in this country,” Behar began. “I mean, somebody needs to give Lindsey Graham a globe to tell him which country he’s living in. Is it possible for somebody to get dumber as they get older? I don’t remember him being this bad when he was a younger guy. What the heck happened to this guy?”
Behar went on to argue that Graham could be confusing “tokenism” with an end to systemic racism, saying that the fact that the United States had elected a black president did not mean that problems in the system no longer existed. (RELATED: ‘Prohibited By Every Agency’: Fraternal Order Of Police Is Not Impressed By Joy Behar’s ‘Warning Shot’ Suggestion)
“First of all, systemic racism is not about tokenism. It’s not about the vice president being black or the president being black,” Behar said. “It’s about what goes on in the lives of every day people in this country. What we’re talking about is red-lining and housing discrimination, we’re talking about employment discrimination.”
Behar also cited white privilege and voter suppression as issues that needed to be dealt with, and said they could not be fixed just because Kamala Harris had been elected Vice President.
“It’s about the guy next door to you who couldn’t move into the house because he’s black and you live in a so-called white neighborhood. That’s what systemic racism is about And everything that follows from there — the school system, child care, transportation, employment, and everything follows from there,” Behar concluded. “I’m appalled by Lindsey Graham, appalled.”