Last night as we watched the events unfold that ended the Democratic primary process and gave Barack Obama the nomination, the reactions of my family stick in my mind.
My son (who favors Obama a bit according to his peers) asked “Did he do it?” “Did he get it?” When I replied he did his reaction was YESSSS!!!!! with a fist pump.
Later as I watched the Obama’s speech with me wife she said, “I’m worried for him, do you think he is safe?” My response I don’t know.
As I listened to Tom Brokaw talk about how the younger generation was more color blind than his I wondered how real that statement was and whether I really wanted the younger generation to be color blind.
So what was my reflections? I am still processing the church resignation thing and I watch a movie yesterday called Carbon Copy starring George Segal and a young Denzel Washington. The premise of the movie (which seemed cheesy to me when it first came out) is a white guy discovers he has a son from a relationship (fling) with a black woman he eventually left to marry into the ultimate WASP family. When his son shows up tries to may his father pay for the way his mother was hurt everything goes into the toilet for this well to do white guy. He loses all of the things he came to expect as a white person, job family, clubs etc.
When he finally comes to grips with white privilege he tells his WASP father-in-law that the real issue is not just that blacks come into the game with two strikes its that the game is rigged so blacks can’t even get a third swing. Later on he tells his son “when I saw you all I saw was black”. In other words he didn’t see a person he saw his mental model of a whole race and then attached all he assumptions and preconceived notions about that race to the individual.
I wonder if that is what is happening with Barack Obama right now. I wonder if we are at a true moment in history when we can move beyond race as a defining factor? Or maybe if Obama is successfully it will be despite his race and because he is politically smart enough to beat at system that say to people like him two strikes and you are out!
Maybe I reading the wrong papers or viewing the wrong political pundits. But I heard them all say the same thing about Hillary Clinton thinking that she was the inevitable democratic nominee.
So once again Obama must be responsible for what everyone who is in anyway connected to him says. First it was a black man now he has to be responsible for whites as well. OK where is Clinton’s responsibility for here husband’s remarks. I must be so stupid because I don’t get it. How is it that anything no matter how true that ruffles the gender sensibilities of the Hillary Clinton folks be so rapidly overblown when patently offensive stuff others say about Obama gets downplayed.
This white priest is once again falling subject to the demonization of a particular group of people for speaking the truth. Does anyone say, This is one sermon from the guy. Look at who he is and what he has done to help people in the church the past? Does anyone say yes maybe he didn’t way it is the nicest way but its true?
Instead it becomes another Barack Obama problem. For which he must apologize. Geraldine Ferarro has yet to apologize for saying that Obama was here he was because he was black. (read political affirmative action)
If the cost of having the first black president is having to miss, ignore or deny the truth about race, and gender issues; if we must deny the truth of white previlege rather than expose it, I wonder if it is worth it.
OK so it is clear that i wasn’t very clear in my thoughts in this post damned if you do damned if you don’t. This is not about being politically for Obama or Clinton. It is my observation of how differently we relate to politicians based on their race or gender.
It has been my observation that black men in America are on the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to the social pecking order. Black men are attached to all kinds of assumptions, preconceptions and cultural scripts. If we are articulate, we are the exception. If we aren’t, we prove “the point”. If we succeed we benefited from affirmative action. If we don’t we prove “the point”. If we get frustrated about how we are perceived, we are the “angry black man.” If we seek compromise and consensus we are “sellouts” and not fighters. If we protest, we aren’t patriotic, loyal, or team players. If we treat women poorly we are “dogs”. If we greet each other as friends we are “dogs”. Our friends actions are reflected on all of us.
In the same way that the way we can recognize that some people view Hillary Clinton through the lens of her gender we need to recognize and admit that some maybe many people view Obama through their of his race and gender. In this culture, despite his biracial international roots he is distilled to simply being a black man. With that comes all the historical and social mental models that we (that is all of us black and white) attach to black men.
We can wish that we can move beyond race but it isn’t going to happen right now. I am curious why some Anglos who support Obama sound like they are patting themselves on the back that they are supporting a “black man”. In a truly character not race oriented society that wouldn’t be. But it is.
I’m not upset that it is. I just then we need to admit it and talk about it. We need to talk about it in the church and not demonize each other when we do. We need to talk about it with friends and be gracious to each other when we do. We need to talk about it in general and ask what if there is something shaping my perspective that I’m not conscious of. We will never get beyond race until we deal with race and its place in the cultural conversation. We readily talk about sexism and but hyper when we try to talk about racism. But we unable to have a real conversation about race.
This morning I read an essay written by my biracial son who sees his mixed heritage as an opportunity and a challenge. He wonders if his black friends see him as black or white; if his white friends see him as black or white. He is wrestling at the ripe old age of 14 with the social perception that young men of his skin color simply “black”. The dream is not yet realized that our children’s character would matter more than their (socially constructed) race.
The double standard strains credibility even as the nation’s “first black president” talks about his candidate wife not getting a fair shake as a woman. I don’t get it. Obama is a wimp that can’t win in one breath and a mean nasty (black) man in the next. Is that fair.
Someone (an Obama supporter) asked me if he could win I said I don’t know. I beginning to move back to my original thought that unless the mental models that we have around race and particularly black men in this country changes he can’t win.
In many ways I have resisted commenting on the current presidential campaign. I’m not a US citizen so I don’t get a vote. I don’t want to be misinterpreted as often happens when people blog on politics. But in the light of all the recent hoopla about an African american pastor and presidential candidate Barack Obama, I feel compelled to comment. I never thought that in my lifetime a person much less a man of African descent would be able to viably run for the presidency. Black men or those who are classified as such are at the lowest end of the social totem when it comes to power in the US. This is the American post colonial story. So I did not dare think that a “black” man with a non anglo ( read non slave) name would be in a position to compete much lesss win the presedency of the United States of America. But for some reason I’m unable to quite fathom my hope has been restored.
Maybe I’m inspired by this words of this video that countless people have seen by now.
Maybe I’m convicted by the comments of one of the people interviewd in the movie SIcko that the way to “control the masses” is through fear and hopelessness, and if poeple have hope that they will move for change.
Maybe I’m just struck by the incredible double standard which discounts the way that legacy of slavery shaes the life of very person of African descent in America. thus causing the demonization of Rev. Jeremiah Wright while giving Pat Robertson and others who have made similar comments form seats of power a pass.
Myabe I’m convinced that the Jesus stated mission to hope to the hopeless is joined when we dare to hope for things not yet seen.
So I say yes I can hope again and hope that the church will too
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