Monday, June 9, 2008

Obama Phobia

This post began as an email reply to a comment left in my journal on my post yesterday. Here's the comment:

 

One thing in your entry did make me frown...
'I have no more tolerance for those who profess that he scares them, that they worry that he's going to sell out this country. That's total nonsense and you're too ignorant for words to even believe it. If I hear or read one more person assert that he's a Muslim and that he's going to help the terrorists destroy the United States, I'm going to scream. And so help me, if I read or hear one more white person say that he is a reverse racist, I'm going to forget that I believe in nonviolence and slap somebody up side the head. By the way, my head was wagging when I wrote that last line.'


I am not ignorant, I am not racist, but from day one I had a gut feeling, a mistrust, not the color of his skin but the way he spoke.  Elegant some say, to me it's fake.  I don't think he'll sell out the country, but I don't have a blinded trust.  He's a politician.  I can't stand by and be called ignorant for my opinion, sorry.
  


Sorry, but I don't get it. How would you expect a person who graduated from Harvard Law School, who lived in many different parts of the world as a child, to speak? Does Ted Kennedy sound fake? Does Bill Clinton? Does Hillary? Does John McCain? Does George W. Bush? (Okay, bad example; he is fake.) What do you expect a well-educated black man to sound like? What is fake about being an eloquent orator?

 

I don't have blind trust in anyone. However, I do find it interesting that white Americans have expected black people to trust them for generations, as they have run for political office and made promises that often have not been kept. As a people, black Americans have been tolerant and trusting for a long time. Curiously so given our history in this country. It began with slavery but it didn't end there. Segregation, Jim Crow, lynching, all were the progeny that followed slavery and lasted well into my lifetime.

 

Imagine being snatched up, chained together, branded with a hot iron like cattle, and then being shoved into the hold of a ship where you would remain for months. You will never see your homeland again, your parents, your husband or wife, your children, your life has just ended and yet you still breathe.

 

You arrive in a strange land with others who are like you but not like you. All Africans are not the same and the slave traders made an effort to mix tribes, recognizing that the differences in languages and customs would make the possibility of their captives joining together in an uprising during the long sea voyage, less likely.

 

I understand that no one alive today had anything personally to do with slavery, point taken. However, this country was built on the backs of African slaves, American Indians, Chinese railroad workers, all groups that did not voluntarily commit  their labors, and or land to building  these United States but were conscripted into doing so, and then denied a fair share of the benefits that their efforts reaped.

 

Every first year law student has to take a class on property law, after all, this country is predicated on notions of ownership--land, air space, intellectual property etc. One case from the 1800s that we studied dealt with a momentous decision regarding land ownership.

 

Some Native Americans had attempted to reclaim the land that had been taken from them by white settlers and had taken their case to the courts, hoping to find justice. The court couldn't deny that the Native Americans occupied the land for generations before the settlers had taken it, so it came up with a new definition of ownership. According to the court, the native population had been merely occupiers of the land; they never owned it because they didn't engage in the activities of ownership such as cultivating the land, i.e., cutting down all the trees and making it into farmland or grazing land for cattle. Therefore, the Native Americans had never owned the land, and when the white settlers cultivated the land, they established ownership. Decision in favor of the settlers, and the setting of a legal precedent that salved the white landowners consciences and allowed them to sleep well at night.

 

The more of the history of this country that you know, the more the question should be why are people of color not consumed with hatred and a desire for vengeance?

 

I'm not filled with hate or seeking vengeance, and neither are the majority of the people of color in this country. (By the way, my list of people of color who have suffered discrimination in this country is not meant to be exhaustive; it would take much more time than I have to acknowledge every group.)

I am, however, intrigued by the paranoia and anger that is expressed by some white people. Sorry, but my people have never done unto your people what your people have done unto us. What right do you have to be paranoid or angry? Why does a black man (who is really as much white as he is black) scare some of you? Are you afraid that Barack Obama is going to engage in a big payback, retribution for the sins of your ancestors? Trust me, if black people had some big plan for punishing white people, we wouldn't have waited so long.

 

We don't want retribution; we don't want vengeance. What we do want is fairness, equality, and respect. We want recognition that this country, this society that we live in today, would not be what it is without the blood, sweat, and suffering of our ancestors. We want you to recognize that it doesn't matter that you didn't personally own slaves, that nonetheless as a white person, you have reaped the benefits of a society that was built on slavery, on the intentional, systematic, and legal oppression of one group of people by another group of people, based on skin color. We want you to acknowledge that this oppression didn't magically end with the Emancipation Proclamation in 1865, to the contrary, the subsequent rigid segregationist laws and policies that fueled the Jim Crow era were in many ways more horrific than slavery itself. We were a free people but enjoyed none of the rights of a free people.  My father went off to fight a war (the Korean conflict) riding at the back of the bus on his way to the departure air base. Black people, not even men in uniform, were not allowed to ride at the front. We want you to acknowledge that you recognize our pain.

 

So when I read comments about fearing Barack Obama, not trusting him, it leaves me totally bewildered. What has he done to merit such fear? Did his ancestors ever support a legal right to enslave others? Did his ancestors engage in the wholesale lynching of others based on skin color? Did his ancestors deny people the right to vote, to live where they pleased, to attend school, to marry whom they pleased?

 

What has Obama personally done that has demeaned others? Has he ran a campaign of divisiveness? Has he declared that he is only concerned about the well-being of black people? Does being erudite, capable of presenting complex ideas in an understandable fashion, make him a person to be feared?

 

If you don't support Barack Obama, then just say so, but don't come up with some sanctimonious nonsense about how you would like to support him but you fear him because he speaks like a fake. You don't have to support Obama to prove that you're not a racist. I'm not really interested in racists because I think that they are a hopeless cause. Most people aren't racists, but all of us engage in prejudice and bigotry way too much. I don't give people a racism litmus test by asking them if they plan to vote for Obama.

 

I am excited about Obama and I know other people, black, white, Hispanic, Asian etc. who are also excited. However, I dare say that everyone that I know is not an Obama supporter and I haven't dismissed them as being racists. However, their reasons for not supporting Obama are far more complex than that they are afraid of him. I'm not even afraid of George W., although I probably should be. 

 

Ask yourself what you mean if you are one of those people who is afraid of Barack Obama? Ask yourself, what in the hell do you have to be afraid of?

 

The video is by a singer/ songwriter whom I like a great deal. Her name is Tracy Chapman. The lyrics are below the video.

Talkin 'Bout A Revolution 

Don't you know
They're talkin 'bout a revolution
It sounds like a whisper
Don't you know
They're talkin about a revolution
It sounds like a whisper

While they're standing in the welfare lines
Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation
Wasting time in the unemployment lines
Sitting around waiting for a promotion

Poor people gonna rise up
And get their share
Poor people gonna rise up
And take whats theirs

Don't youknow
You better run, run, run...
Oh I said you better
Run, run, run...

Finally the tables are starting to turn
Talkin 'bout a revolution


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13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just happened upon your blog, and I must say, I find your words very thought provoking. I am a 58 year old white woman  and I have always known that this country  that used slaves from the beginning was so wrong in doing so. All my life I have been so sad about this.  

I have  always tried to right a wrong within my own community when this subject comes up, trying to prove, through history, the truth about slavery. Many of my friends dont believe it or if they do, they block it out as to not deal with it.

I admire the way you have written in such a way that just speaks "truth" without provocation and hatred.
I stand with you as an American woman who will always be willing "own"  our countrys history. I love this country, but it has not always done the right thing. Just as we love our children, who do not always do the right thing..It is our duty to correct the mistakes as we go so we can be a stronger people in this world.

Thank you so much for your wisdom that you have shared.
Luanne
LMsparkle1@aol.com

Anonymous said...

Hello I enjoy reading your blog.  I think alot of people are "scared" or don't trust him because of what that preacher (forgot his name) preached.  Basically it was screw America and certainly screw white America!  Mr. Obama has been going to that preacher for over 20 years, then all of a sudden he denounce's him.  He has been preaching the same way for all that time Mr. Obama has been going to him.  Do you really think he changed the way he preaches as Mr. Obama said.  That he was different before?  I do not.  And to be honest it scares people, knowing that he was listening to that kind of preaching and now he denounce's it.

I think this could be maybe one item that makes me feel indifferent about Mr. Obama.  I certainly did not trust HRC as far as anyone could throw her!  But thats just me.

Just a thought.  Lynne

Anonymous said...

Marc said it first you have rhythm my dear in more ways than one, with your attitude, with your words, with the color of your skin and as a woman (It's just something he said in his last entry). History does make us think doesn't it. Not too many people know that fact about land ownership and the Native Americans. It's about time someone looked at a persons qualifications before they see their skin color. A woman I once counseled at the shelter, told me her husband used to always say you can take the woman out of the barn, but you can't take the barn out of the woman (referring she was no better than an animal)...People need to allow an individuals growth and go by the issues not the color or gender (as it was when Hillary was running). Once again you have given both of our heritages one hell of a sound off....(Hugs) Indigo

Anonymous said...

Can I get an Amen?

AMEN!

I just don't get why or how a keen grasp of oratory skills should mean that someone is "fake." Some time ago, Ken and I were accused of "putting on airs" because we have college educations. What kind of ignorant attitude is that? Gee, sorry for getting an education. Would some rather that Obama be more...I dunno...ghetto? It's enough to make you crazy. My Mom has said that she really LIKES the way Obama speaks, and she is impressed by his intelligence. Shouldn't one of our first requirements for a President be a keen intellect and the ability to make intelligent decisions? I would think so.

Our country's past is both noble and tragic. Some of the greatest thinkers in history formulated the basis of our great country, but it's impossible to deny or ignore that we screwed up big time in many of our policies, behaviors, and attitudes. I believe things will continue to improve, although I know that's small consolation for what has taken place in the past.

And if it makes you feel any better--I suppose it does ME, at least a little bit--my ancestry is that of dirt poor farmers from Appalachia, and German immigrants who made their way to Indiana to farm here. While there definitely was racism in my family's past, they did all their own work on the farm and were WAY too poor to have paid servants or to have had slaves.

I'm almost laughing as I write this, because it is just such a ludicrous topic. I guess I have to laugh instead of cry, because it pains me that this is still such an issue.

Take care, my friend.

Beth

Anonymous said...

Mary is plugging your blog ... and so here I am.  Thank you for a thought provoking entry.  No, I am not excited about Obama ... but then ... I'm not excited about anything political these days.  Sadly.

Anonymous said...

This is a very thought-provoking, well-written entry.  You are right that it is ridiculous for anyone to say they fear Obama because he sounds "fake".  Simply not a credible reason at all.  I don't like or trust, or dislike or distrust, Obama any more or any less than any of the other politicians running (or who ran at the beginning of the Primary), I'm sorry to say.  I do appreciate his speaking abilities, and I remember well how I was impressed with those when he was the main speaker at the Dem. Convention when Gore was running for President.  
Lori

Anonymous said...

Thank God you told me alerts weren't working and you wrote this.
I would bet that your commenter did not find anything "fake" about George W. Bush, who was raised in Connecticut, went to Yale, and probably took an accent acquirement course to develop that "nucular" drawl.  You see, people usually adopt for life the accent they acquired during the years of puberty, although how their parents spoke is a major determinant. Barack  Obama was mostly raised by his mother and grandmother. in Hawaii and Kansas. His years of working as a community organizer in Chicago have led to a very light accent that gives him just a touch of street cred.  Educated black people in this country talk often of a bilingualism depending on who they are talking too.  I have it depending on whether I'm in a gaggle of gays or not. Yes, we are different behind close doors, and the result is a lot of laughter because there's an insider dialect.
What I'm hoping is going on not just in this blog, and on mine, but all over the country, is that we're finally TALKING ABOUT RACE. On this count, this back and forth has all been to the good, and Obama's candidacy is the cause. So even if he doesn't win, the country is changing for the better.
SECRET MUSLIMS UNITE! (Just kidding! But it would make for a good, sarcastic bumper sticker.)
Good historical treatise on slavery, btw.  The "crossing" ranks up with The Holocaust as one of  the great crimes of history.

Anonymous said...

I don't happen to think Obama sounds "fake," but I will say I do "get" when someone has that feeling after hearing a speech. I don't think in necessarily has anything to do with race(although I realize that would be enough "reason" for some, though they'd not admit it).

I'm a Libertarian who has often voted for Republicans.  I also happen to be a great lover & admirer of Jimmy Carter, & also have supported & voted for democratic candidates in NJ elections.

That said, I've listened to sinners(I'm simplifying,not wanting to go on & on) who've always sounded "real"(to me, I so realize this is subjective), although I didn't agree with many of the things they've said.  I've also listened to saints(simplifying again) whose professed values mine dovetail with, but I've not believed a word they've said.

I recoiled from the fakeness(in my subjective opinion) of Hillary from the very beginning.  I tend to believe almost every word Golda Meir ever said, ditto presently with Angela Merkel.

You come off very authentic to me, certain other journalers do not. I go with what I feel & I don't believe for me personally it is based upon race or gender or pol leanings. Do I read & listen further anyway if it is a pol that may run my country? Indeed I do, but sometimes can't shake the feeling.  And right or wrong, I go with it.
~Mary

Anonymous said...

I haven't kept up with politics lately and I feel sorry for anyone who gets to be president and has to try to fix the mess this country has been dragged down to. There's so much more to consider other than "fake" sounding:( Holy cow, gotta have something better than that and as you say, no one needs an excuse to vote for whomever they very well please.       Got here late as alerts weren't working...alice

Anonymous said...

As you probably know the suprised looks on people's faces when they meet you, and for some reason you always hear them comment "she speaks so well" they never say for a black person, but it's what they mean! I know the feeling well, "oh they own their own house in a nice area, they've done so well (for a black person), the words for a "Black Person" never uttered because it's politically incorrect..BAH, Why is still unacceptable for a black person to be really successfull and lead a Country, yes agreed they have to be excellent orators to get the message across, we all have our lingo/patois, dialect, does that mean that we are not decent people or fake, it's just another ridiculous assumption, that feeds the ignorants fear that somehow people of colour are going to take over, and swing the pendulum their way, so that those who have enjoyed real freedom will now somehow become shackled. And all this talk of Muslims drives me crazy were talking about extremists not your everyday person who goes about his/her daily buisness, I've known Muslims all my life, and not for one minute do I think they're plotting to blow me up or cause other mayhem people need to get a grip, otherwise how will change come about!

WOW you always make me THINK I would love nothing more than to spend hours talking with you, just to compare the differences(not so many in attitudes) about our respective Countries, we may be seperated by the atlantic but girl you speak my language.

Yasmin

Anonymous said...

Obama's eloquence has been compared to JFK's, and I wonder if Kennedy was considered "fake."  I wasn't alive yet, but somehow I doubt it.

I am already convinced that if Obama is not elected, it will be for one reason: racism.  I hate to be so cynical already, but given the condition of the country a man like Obama should be miles ahead of McCain.  The commenter who brought up Rev. Wright demonstrates how well certain groups are abe to distort reality (n offense meant to the commenter): thirty seconds of random sound bites reflect thirty years of preaching?  Hardly.  But no one gets elected in this country on their credentials anymore; it's whoever paints his/her opponent the most radical.

Another wonderful post.  Your writing is inspiring.

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure, Sheria, but I think whites really ARE afraid that blacks will get what they work for and deserve, simply a fair share, an equal deal, a shot, a chance, a right to buy a ticket to the political show.  It's not racism, or vengence, hate or all the other nicities, I think whites are scared whitless that YES INDEED black folks just want what everyone wants, what every human has a birth-right to.  It's more frightening even than the sight of Black Panthers - I remember those yrs well. But whites who want to hear what Obama is about are afraid he'll turn out making sense and sounding hopeful.  Those who say "he sounds white" are even more afraid.  You ask of what?  As I say, of the answer - which is so simple.  Equality.  Black people want the same thing whites want, what all humans crave and that's what keeps racists up at night, that we work for the same goals.  The idea that they could actually enjoy the company of black people, understand them, befriend them, is scary since shame is hard to acknoweldge no less admit to.  CATHY
http://journals.aol.com/luddie343/DARETOTHINK/  just my opinion          

Anonymous said...

P.S. Nice to hear Ms Chapman again - I listened to "Fast Car" till I was singing it in my sleep, best song written in yrs.   xoxo  CATHY