(Ir)regular people

"Clinton won tonight because this is a state that likes, you know, regular people."

-- Karl Rove, "O'Reilly Factor," FNC, 5/13.

Ah, ethnocentrism. Because white males are the default setting for human beings, and everyone else has a special option toggled. Hillary isn't exactly regular, either (a fact that the anti-Clinton backlash hasn't hesitated to use) but as my coworker said, "at least she's the right genus of the species."

A man walks into the lobby of a prominent conservative think tank and asks the young man at the front desk whether Mr. Smith has arrived yet. The receptionist says that yes, he has, and should be at the reception just inside. "How will I recognize him?", the man asks. The young man blushes, rubs his crew-cut head, looking for a choice adjective or two. "He looks, well, normal!"

Meaning just like him. Meaning white.