beyond the 140: all the pieces matter
Ever since I jumped aboard the Obama bandwagon in February, I've been itching to write about this concept of "post-racial." Reverend Jeremiah Wright's weekend has given me the context I've needed. I've spent the last 2 days vomiting up every thought about race and the Presidential race that has popped into my head on twitter. 140 character bursts, obvs, were not enough...
First, some common trains of thought the last two days...
misterjt "Wright's 'I'm Grown and I Say What the Hell I Want To Say' victory lap". I heart the black snob - http://twurl.nl/lorfq0
misterjt @arsepoetica For extra credit - Crab, meet barrel - http://twurl.nl/6lnbkv
misterjt I'm also supremely bothered by the idea that people would equate Wright's media tour as a HRC dirty trick. He is not Willie Horton.
I'm going to dig into this more but, here's the whole thing about this entire situation in two wonderful bites by some very smart folks I like. On the one hand, it is so cool to see Rev. Wright on a National stage. For Black communities, he's familiar. He's fiery and passionate about the state of the African-American community. He's intelligent and witty. Like most pastors, he's a showman. He's direct and contradictory and complicated and fascinating.
He's no Willie Horton. He's no dirty trick. He's an American voice. Regardless of whether or not I agree with his statements, to suggest that he's anything other than a incredibly smart guy who does not want 24 hour news channels and a presidential candidate to define him belittles him and you.
That said, he's also a person most Black folks would be strained to explain to mixed company. As The Black Snob notes, "He was practically basking in the glow of making the white folk uncomfortable."
After that moment of glee in recognizing this, there's the immediate recognition, "Oh shit. Who effed up and let this Negro speak?"
Why would this be the immediate next thought? Well...
misterjt @arsepoetica I don't think Obama was calculating in choosing a pastor. I do think, however, that mainstream America is not quite ready...
misterjt to really see what goes on behind closed racial doors. Rev. Wright makes Barack more George Jefferson than Heathcliff Huxtable.
misterjt @RPM I'm right, though, ain't i? Everybody loves George Jefferson but middle america would be scared to death of him as a president.
I really mean this. For Barack Obama to win, he's gotta be Cliff Huxtable. Maybe Sydney Poitier. That's it. If he's Cliff, he's your kids pediatrician, he taught you about jazz, he invites you over for the bbq. Good ol' Cliff would never make you feel uncomfortable. But if he's George Jefferson -- if you think he occasionally says "honkey" when you're not around, if he wants to talk about slavery or reparations, if he wants to remind you of all he's overcome, if he reminds you that he, a black man, is doing better than you are, or that he doesn't think the same things about controversial issues that you do -- well, you ain't voting for that guy.
No matter how great his smile is or how hopeful his message is.
Rev. Wright makes Barack Obama very black. Uncomfortably black...
misterjt Times on Wright - wriggled. cocky. defiant. declamatory. inflammatory. mischevious. monomania. wacky. highfalutin. http://twurl.nl/2366yr
...you can tell just by how he's described. This NY Times article uses as much language as possible to turn Rev. Wright into both a Bogey Man and a Clown. Not only is he scary, he's crazy. Wait, Barack, you're black, too. Are you scary and crazy?
misterjt I don't quite know what to make of people who think "Wright is out to destroy Obama." How, exactly? By being a charismatic speaker?
Which brings me to right now. I'm thumbs down on Barack Obama today. He had the opportunity to further his speech from a month ago and continue to push the race conversation forward. This is his litmus test and, for my money, he failed. If he's going to use words like "change" and "hope" then he better have the where with all to back it up.misterjt By being not post-racial? It bugs me that rather than have the nuanced race talk, people are more comfortable with just disavowing a voice.
Instead, he did what every politician does in these situations. He caved. He disavowed. He denounced.
misterjt @blogdiva why? If Obama is presidential material, it is his responsibility to be able to do grand things in the face of adversity.
misterjt @blogdiva it is not Wright's responsibility, or any of us as voters, to protect Obama. He has to prove himself.
misterjt After the last few months of shiny, happy moments, this is his real test, my gung-ho support, if not my vote, lies in how he handles it.
misterjt @RPM I think so. I don't think Obama has had to prove himself at all. Now he has to prove himself to me.
Here's how he could of proved it - expanded the conversation. Talked about the difference between religious speech and political rhetoric. Talked about the many spectacular themes in Wright's talks. Talked to Wright directly. Discussed why beliefs like "The US Government had something to do with AIDS" maintain legitimacy in the Black community. I'll even give you this one for free, Obama. At my barber shop this weekend, it was said, "If a nigga can get shot 50 times, be unarmed, and the niggas who did it not get thrown under the jail, you don't think the government cain't do some shit to the black man? They already done did it, man."
If you're going to be the President of the United States of America, you better be for real. Don't go running from the race conversation, Barack. Jump right in. Just because Bush has set the bar so low doesn't mean you still shouldn't go for the highest standard possible. This goes beyond American Political Strategy and tactics and all of that. I'm saying as a voter, I want to respect you. I want to believe you're that dude.
Show me something.
misterjt we're only post-racial when we believe all of our assumptions are the same. The moment that world view is shaken, it all comes tumbling down
misterjt @drublood I honestly don't think that's it. It's not about racism. It's about our--all of us--prickly problem with race. The 2 are different
misterjt @drublood well, it's obviously in the grand scheme about racism but "race in america" on an individual level is about comfort.
misterjt @drublood it is amazing that for the first time, a majority of americans perhaps, can envision a black president. But now is the hard part.
misterjt what does that mean for our national psyche, our national conversation about race and culture? Legitimization of voices like Wright's is 1
If you've read me online for any period of time, you know I just want to have honest conversations about race (and gender and class and sexuality). I don't want things to be simple. I don't want to be a part of any concept of post-racialism if that means we're ignoring the realities of our lives. If that means we don't get to acknowledge, discuss and celebrate our differences. If that doesn't mean we can look back on history honestly or look toward the future realistically.
I want to talk about my prejudices. I want to talk about yours. I want to value your voice as much as you value mine. I don't want to have to make a choice between a Rev. Wright or a Barack Obama. They are both me whether you like it or not.
If only Mr. Obama hadn't spent the day attempting to forget that.
Despite journalists suggesting that you are somehow beyond Blackness, as we can now see, it don't wash off.
Current music: Wire – "The king stay the king."
Comments
Boom shocka locka! You and I are on a similar page in regards to this Wright situation (no surprise there). While it's definitely an uncomfortable time for the Obama camp, this is exactly what needs to be happening, right now.
The truth is, society is afraid of complex black folk; we're either Oreos or niggers.
Wouldn't that be refreshing?
I thought, Obama would just continue to be silent. He gave his speech last month. He dealt with the race issue. (I agree with you he could have continued it) but now was a time for him to also be able to go ahead and deal with other issues. But he did cave, and hard, to media pressures. The media made Wright's media weekend about Obama -- it's not. It's bigger than Obama, it's race in America. It's black and white in America.
J says we're where we need to be -- but that's only if something comes of this. But if all that happens further is the demonization of Wright or some people's need and want for the currently most public black person to be responsible for and in control of all the other black people who "get out of line" -- then I am not so sure about this place we're in.
But -- and here's that double standard again -- he can't. Black folks have to make white folks comfortable to get ahead. That means we can't get angry lest someone urge us to "calm down" and not "get ghetto."
And we can't speak in the fiery rhetorical style of black preachers -- talking loud, but not exactly yelling, at least not yelling with anger -- without being perceived as violently and disturbingly pissed the eff off.
We can't "stop snitchin'" without folks talking about black pathology. But no one points out the parallels to the mafia or damn near every police department's Blue Wall of Silence. Or you know, the fact that snitching may get you killed.
<tangential point>
It's the same game Hillary is playing in some ways. Exhibit A: that half-crazy cackle she developed. It's really a way to bury her anger so people don't call her a bitch.
The difference, of course, is that Hillary has that White Woman thing that gives her currency with northeastern white voters. Those voters, by the way, are showing their a** with regards to race right now. <cynic>I think in hindsight, it will be clear Hillary is telling a painful truth about Obama's electability.</cynic>
</tangential point>
Basically, if Obama gets angry, his given middle (Hussein) name won't mean much. He will instead be known as Barack "The Scary, Angry, and Potentially Violent Black Man" Obama. Hell, Howard Dean got screamed just a little too excitedly into a mic and immediately became Howard "That Crazy Mother F*cker" Dean.
But now, he is, and maybe he has to be Barack "I'm a Safe Negro" Obama. I am losing respect for him because he's not, as you say, furthering the conversation. He's not being honest. He's not being authentic. He's being a politician right now -- and a politician a la Bill Clinton circa 1992-1993 (The Sister Souljah and Lani Guinier period). That's not a good look for the Hope-meister.
Ooooooh, there's so much more to say (and we've had these discussions on Twitter) about Obama, Wright, race and perception (and to a lesser extent Hillary and gender). I could be here for the next 6 hours writing stuff. Instead I'll try to sum up points 2-5 in short bursts.
* Why does every black person at some point have to be The Negro Spokesman for white people? One person can't speak for 12,999,999 other folks.
* Why are Americans both remarkably ignorant of history and incapable of connecting history to today, particularly with regards to race?
* Why are black folks called upon to prove how American we are, despite a long history of patriotism, and a disproportionate level of service in our military? (Although to me, the more interesting question is 'Why haven't black folks pulled some Timothy McVeigh-type stuff considering our history here?' Oh wait. COINTELPRO might explain that.)
* And I STILL wish that Obama's answer to the "Is he Muslim?" question was more like "Why should my religion matter at all? I would hope that my policies and my record of getting things done are what people care about. But since it seems to matter to you, I am a Christian." It calls out the prejudice. It reminds people to look at his policies. It corrects the falsehood. And it forces the audience member to question his / her bigotry implicitly while calling the interviewer out explicitly.
Honestly, I have been tired of people not trying to be truthful in addressing some of the problems in our world (white/black). However, I appreciate those like Rev. Wright who can tell it like it is. BUT I was pretty much surprised at the Question/Answer session at the National Press Club. That is when I honestly realized that Rev. Wright pushed the line and that he needs to be quiet. He started getting too comfortable in sharing a lot when he already had his foot in the door with the Bill Moyers interview and with his National Press Club address. But the Question and Answer session of the National Press Club address showed his arrogance that needed to be toned down a lot.
Though I know for myself I want an honest discussion on race, sometimes when we have these honest discussions we need to have an agenda where we are not preaching to others but are patient and not arrogant in how you come across. That is why I am pretty much tired of listening to any more discussions of Rev. Wright because now his true message is going to be distorted by the media trying to overly analyze every thing that he says and miss the point which is that we are an ill informed community when it comes to knowing our history both black, white, European, etc.
Thank you for sharing with us!
And I don't think that's limited to Black folks. All of us are different behind closed doors. We know, however, that black-white relationships have a particular problem in this country and it is ruled heavily by fear on both sides.
But, if Obama is going to simply accept conventional wisdom -- that race in America is "too complicated" for a genuine politician to discuss intelligently -- then, while he'll still get my vote, he's lost a bit of his ability to convince me that "yes, we can."
I didn't jump on the bandwagon to stay cynical.
I wanted to integrate The Real World stuff into my post but couldn't make it work. He's what I cut:
So, you know, I'm sayin'...get outta my head.
Truly, as it stands to day, no Black person, male or female at this stage in our nation's emotional and intellectual maturity is going to be deemed ultimately electable without having to disassociate themselves from their race and all of beliefs and fears that go with it. I thought Obama would be able to work his way through this. Now I'm nervous. Not only by his reactions. But for the way some folks have reacted to Wright AND thereby disowned Obama. But I recall somone on twitter saying last evening those folks were looking for a reason to jump, anyway. Silly of me to think this nation might actually be ready to grow up and perhaps even cast a nod to the Elephant in the room. By his "patriotism" has been in question since the beginning, why would that stop now, when he's come farther than anyone ever expected?
On a side note, ever notice how when Michelle Obama gets an opportunity to speak, there is an overarching uneasiness about her candor and directness? You know there is so much thought and opinion and anger beneath the surface of that woman that's likely common in many of us, yet she's been walking the tightrope since the campaign began. She's not said anything nearly as provocative as Wright, and yet each time she opens her mouth someone is poised to call her "Un-American." In fact, I'm waiting for the Un-American Activities Committee to be relaunched any day now. Oh wait, they changed their name to the Committee on Internal Security, and now finally Homeland Security.
America, safe from angry people with opinions.
I understand how you feel for I am frustrated every single day too.
I work in the hospitality industry in corporate management and I have to tell you that you have to be cool with a lot of people before you can open up and allow them to know exactly how we feel. If we come off too strong in the beginning some people will not listen. I know what it is like wearing the mask. I wear it every day and sometimes I despise that I have to play that game but it is a part of my life. But that is only at work when I am like that otherwise in relationships here online and elsewhere I am me.
Paul Lawerence Dunbar did say it right but remember what Langston Hughes said, "Life Ain't No Crystal Stair."
[[Jason & to all of us]]
I understand how you feel Jason, but I also understand Mr. Obama and where he is coming from. I believe he is attempting to be non-controversial non-radical non-extremist and non-threatening. I feel that Barack Obama is attempting to be a good diplomat and give Americans a sense that all of our concerns are acknowledged and considered. I also feel that if he is going to take a sort of middle of the road stance he needs to be consistent. I feel the way the Reverend Wright situation has been handled is unfortunate. Obama, again being diplomatic and middle of the road, has to separate himself from the controversy, but I hate that he has had to publicly defend himself by commenting specifically on comments made by Reverend Wright. I feel that addressing this controversy has been a bad move when all the hype would have been best handled by dismissing it as such and sticking to the issues that are really important. Simply because he has addressed this and given it some weight has allowed the media to run with it, spin it and turn it every which way but loose. I’m sure Hiliary is somewhere smiling for a job well done. Reverend Wright and Obama have had a long standing relationship and Reverend Wright did not just become militant if you will over night. I joined his church 10 years ago because of the Afrocentristic and politically charged nature of his sermons and the very articulate and intelligent way that he delivered them. "The person I saw yesterday was not the person that I met 20 years ago. His comments were not only divisive and destructive, but I believe they end up giving comfort to those that prey on hate." (Barack Obama on Rev. Wright) Reverend Jeremiah Wright epitomizes what has historically been necessary in the black church and has his place as does Obama. "did not portray accurately the perspective of the black church," and continuing by adding "don't portray accurately my values and beliefs." Well, that’s fine but comments like those bring into question what and who is and will be easier to dismiss when White folks get nervous.
this is very good....but....
you haven't said anything I've disagreed with ... you've covered all the bases...
yet, i keep thinking that in this entire discussion, something is missing... I dunno... I keep mulling this over
i keep thinking about my grandfather, who had a real reason to be pissed off...among other things his father died because a white doctor wouldn't "treat a nigger"... yet he distanced his analysis, his actions, from his feelings... not in fear but in.... restraint(?)
Again, I need to mull it over
But like I said, great post.