Sen. Tim Scott, Republican from South Carolina, recently gave the Republican rebuttal to President Biden’s joint session address to Congress. Afterward a phrase began trending on Twitter — “Uncle Tim.”
Uncle Tim is a play on the name Uncle Tom, the lead character of the book “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe. The term “Uncle Tom” has long been a derogatory term meaning a person of color who is subservient to whites.
“If it comes from the left, it must be okay,” Scott complained.
Twitter eventually blocked the topic “Uncle Tim” from trending, but only after nearly 12 hours had passed. This did not sit well with Scott. “It is really disheartening to see the left’s response to racism and racial slurs,” he said.
When questioned why the discriminatory phrase was allowed to trend for so long, Twitter declined to elaborate on its previous statement that “Uncle Tim” rose to the top due to the social media company’s “trending algorithm.”
The liberal left espouses messages of tolerance. Yet Scott expressing his worldview, experiences, and ideology, he was dismissed and attacked. According to Scott, “It is stunning in 2021 that those who speak about ending discrimination want to end it by more discrimination.”
Double standard
In his rebuttal, Scott called out Democrats for filibustering to block the police reform bill last year. Scott believes that the way the left has treated him is due to his race and ideology, and not falling in line with the liberal platform.
“The left has doubled down on what they are going to do, not attack my policies, but they’re attacking the color of my skin. You cannot step out of your lane, according to the liberal elite left,” he said.
The discriminatory rhetoric shows little sign of stopping. There are recent calls for a Texas Democratic official to step down due to racist language directed toward Scott.
Lamar County Democratic Party Chairman Gary O’Connor recently posted a now-deleted Facebook post stating, “I had hoped that Scott might show some common sense, but it seems clear he is little more than an Oreo with no real principles.”
The term “Oreo” implies a black person with white values. The statement has led to calls for O’Connor to resign and for the NAACP and Texas Democratic Party to take swift action and censure him. O’Connor later stepped down.
