A commenter from my previous post inspired me to do this one. The commenter (not sure whether I should say he or she, because they posted as anonymous) quoted a substantial portion of Shelby Steele's new book about the "O" man, and made it a point to agree with most of what Steele said.
I am going to surprise some people with this statement; but I actually like Shelby Steele's writings, and I think he is one of the better thinkers on the right. His book, "The Content of Our Character" is one of my all time favorites, and should be required reading for all black folks. Unfortunately for Mr. Steele he is wrong on this issue, and here is why:
Steele uses the term "bargainer" to make his point about Obama. "The answer is that one “bargains.” Bargaining is a mask that blacks can wear in the American mainstream, one that enables them to put whites at their ease. This mask diffuses the anxiety that goes along with being white in a multiracial society. Bargainers make the subliminal promise to whites not to shame them with America’s history of racism, on the condition that they will not hold the bargainer’s race against him. And whites love this bargain" But there is no bargain. A bargain requires to some extent---to use an old contracts 101 reference--a meeting of the minds. A bargain is an "agreement between two parties fixing an obligation that each promises to carry out." That's how the dictionary describes a bargain. Obama and white A-merry-ca are clearly not in sync on this issue. If there was a bargain, white folks wouldn't be ditching the "O" man faster than O.J. memorabilia after he killed his ex wife. There has been no meeting of the minds or agreement to do anything. This is not a bargain, it is a wish. White folks wish that Obama would be all of these things, but he is not. They wish the "O" man could relieve them of their guilt, and make them feel better about the history of the country that they have embraced. So Steele got that right. He is right about how some white A-merry-cans view Obama, but I think he is wrong about how Obama views himself. And there in lies the problem.
"Mr. Obama's run at the presidency is based more on the manipulation of white guilt than on substance..."
Steele's rants about Obama is full of quotes like the one above. But is he really trying to manipulate white folks or does he really believe in what he is trying to sell? It's a tough question, and one that I have been asking myself since the start of the "O" man's campaign.
Steele has lots of reasons not to like the "O" man. He is a poverty pimp of sorts from the right. So if the "O" man's message of change and reconciliation really takes place, Steele, like his opposite numbers on the left, might become irrelevant. Then there is also the matter of ideology. Steele considers himself a right winger, and the "O" man's politics is clearly to the left of his. So Steele is not going to give the "O" man the benefit of the doubt. I will, because his political ideology is closer to mine. Steele argues that Obama can't win because he is "bound" between blacks and whites and can't please both. Steele is wrong, he can please blacks, but not whites, and that is why he won't win the Presidency. The white folks just won't love him now.
But Shelby, there is no bargain, If there was, white A-merry-ca would have understood that the "O" man can't totally embrace them and turn his back on us. Sure he won't let them feel guilt about their racism, but don't expect him not to understand when we feel anger about it. What white A-merry-ca wanted was a total sellout (Oh if Tiger could only run for President), they want the symbols without the substance. You look the part "O" man, and with your mixed heritage, the symbolism is all there. But in the end, you couldn't totally sell out. It just wasn't in you.
I am sure white A-merry-ca is wondering if there is such a Negro. (Oh well, back to the drawing board) I doubt it. Hell, even Colin Powell had a soul. He understood the black condition and this countries' history, and he couldn't totally distance himself from it. The Negroes who are willing to take on the roll such as Ken Blackwell, and Alan Keyes, are buffoons who have become pretty much irrelevant. Besides, a Trojan horse has to at least look like a horse. We (Black A-merry-cans) know a fraud when we see one.
This is why A-merry-ca is so mad at the "O" man, and ultimately, this is why he will lose the presidency. They are disappointed and angry, because he fooled them. And they will take it out on him either in June or November. Black folks don't feel that way. He will get 90% of our vote, because white grandma or not, he is still fam.
Unfortunately for the "O" man though, ninety percent of our vote just ain't enough.
51 comments:
What I would hope there would be significant delegates that will not give him up on the second ballot. With the number of delegate each has, I don't think they could require a unanimous vote the first ballot.
Hey,
I found this at Prometheus6
A Talking Point For Obama Supporters
Posted March 19th, 2008 by ptcruiser
Many of the alleged pundits and so-called analysts who appeared on television and radio yesterday to offer their interpretation of Obama's speech were quick, in fact, too quick, to decry the analogy that Obama drew between his relationship with his maternal grandmother and his relationship with Rev. Wright. Many of the talking heads and far, far too many of the black males and females who appeared on these programs dismissed this connection because, as they stated, one can easily choose to find another minister as opposed to finding a replacement grandmother.
This line of argument has a certain logical appeal because the church one chooses to join is a matter of choice. That is, one can choose to belong to this church or that church or no church at all. Whereas one has no choice over selecting one's grandmother. People are continually born into a world that is always older than they are and they have no choice as to who is their grandmother. Natality and chance rule over this process.
The problem here is that this way of looking at Obama's decision tree ignores the very specific circumstances of his life and biography. When Obama likens Rev. Wright to an uncle and describes him as being a member of his family he is quite sincere and, more importantly, he is, psychologically speaking, correct. Obama's biological father was virtually absent during his formative years and he was dead by the time Obama became an adult. In addition, Obama had no substantial contact with his father's male siblings and adult male cousins. In other words, he had no older adult black males in his life with whom he could form close and enduring bonds until he met Rev. Wright.
Consequently, when Obama says that Rev. Wright is like an uncle to him and that he could no more disown him than he could disown his maternal grandmother he is expressing a deeply felt and psychological true statement. Rev. Wright may or may not be crazy (I don't believe that he is crazy or intemperate although I disagree with him about the origins of the AIDS epidemic.) but he is someone who Obama has chosen to be his uncle.
What Obama did is no different from what tens of thousands of gays and lesbians have had to do when they were rejected by their families because of their sexual preferences. They went out and over time created their own families. I met a young sister, for example, in graduate school who later came out to me. She and I became very close friends and when she unexpectedly died several years ago I felt as if I had lost one of my own biological sisters. I miss her a great deal. She considered me to be a member of her family because her own family looked askance at her sexual preferences. The human need for familial association and acceptance is an evolutionary fact.
Obama's relationship with Rev. Wright should and must be seen in this context instead of through the superficial and grossly over simplified choice of simply switching ministers. His bond was with Rev. Wright and the community he found at Trinity United Church. Expecting or demanding him to sever those bonds would be tantamount to asking him to exile himself. Cutting off all of his ties to Rev. Wright would be exactly like asking him to cut off contact with his maternal grandmother. Blood may be thicker than mud but the ties that are created when you choose to call someone family are no less thick and lasting.
See FN,
I told you you were the bartender, dispensing that wisdom to us, and I appreciate it sooo much.
Hathor, I actually think he will get out of the primary. ( lucky for him he piled up his delegates before this bru ha ha)But he will be toast in the general.
rikyrah, thanks for the kind words, and for the link from P6's blog.
Hey field this is off topic, but can I repost your "ban" advertiser list that you have on your sidebar?
hey Field, boycotting the advertisers (sidebar) is a good gesture, but you know our peeps: we will patronize the folks and then say "i'll start boycotitng tomorrow," cause "i just got to get this (whatever)."
Field I hope you are wrong. I'm sure you'd be happy to eat your words - secretly of course. I'm still not voting for Hillary no matter what. I'd like to know how we can strategize to have our concerns addressed by whoever winds up in office. And you know if it ends of being Hillary..yeah right she was never gonna win..ok McCain who knows zip about the economy and can't differentiate being Sunni and Shi'a this country is even worse shape than I thought. I just picked up the book "Getting Out" so I have contingency plans in place.
You know I just had one of those days when you see live American's Fear of a Black Planet. I get on the train and it is packed beyond limits. As I am standing by the door being pushed deeper within the train, my computer bag rubs up against this White guy. Now normally I wouldn't jump to conclusions like this but when the man was facing me, he was riding along like everyone else. As soon as he had to turn away for me with his back to my front, he took his wallet out of his back pants pocket and placed it in his front jacket pocket.
So her I am at the end of the day reading about some pseudo-intellectual with his Bubble Gum theory about "bargaining"? I have a headache .....
This ain't nothing more than a new take on the term "Passing". When Lightskin Black folk lived a life of Whiteness so they could be accepted by Whites.
It's A Wonderful Life
FN,
THANK YOU SO MUCH about Earl Ofari Hutchinson as House Negro of the Day.
He's so absolutely pathetic.
When he couldn't find something positive to say about Obama after IOWA - I was TOO THRU with him.
He's a Clinton SHILL.
Hey Field,
You nailed it once again. I don't think too many commentators on here have ridden Obama as hard as me. Yet, here he gives a speech that asks all of us to appeal to our better angels and these white and black conservatives are trying to tear him to pieces. See he would not keep driving the bus over folks because at some point that shit had to end. They are so mad at him right now because he would disavow black folks. Hell he could not leave this community and have black folks keep eating shit while went for the throne. Hell as I have reapeated often here he would have been castrated before assuming the office. I am not asking for a black president, but someone who would speak to our struggle and plight. He did that and more the other day in his speech. I got his back on this one. You notice they never say Pastor Wright was wrong, but he cannot say that. They better be glad we are talking instead of acting like Ray Ray an nem and shootin mofos.
Peace
Rather than use the word bargaining.. which implies buying and selling..I would like to substitute the word negotiating which implies dialogue..
On one hand blacks don't trust him and on the other whites don't.. this is the curse of being of mixed heritage.. he is 'other'. He has had to negotiate his whole life to be to be heard.. his speech was not apologetic.. he has insight into the 2 most disparate secions of society..he is appealing to you all to as a 'because' and not'despite.
He is born to this..
No matter what happens, Barack is still family. He did not turn his back on us when it was politically convienent.
now brother Field... you know that yo boy Shelby is half american black and white and O man is half African and white and this is a funny mixed heritage status play in a sense..why is Steele posed on your photo clip in front of law books in the background when he does not have a JD? Was this to done to send a subliminal message of authentic word speak? Steele is paid to do just what he has done make whites feel comfortable with their uncomfortable histories.. He is the neo-Booker T Washington. I dont like Steele cause i see him as a sychophant who depending on who's blood he sucking will flip da script in a heart beat.
Field, you're usually right but I hope you're dead wrong this time.
There is so much dirt on McCain that all we need to do is exploit it. If dumbass George W. Bush can bury him in South Carolina eight years ago, why not us? We have to use the progressive blogosphere to get the message out to the media, and believe me, the ones who do make it on TV want the O-man as POTUS #44.
Here in Cali, McCain isn't quite as popular as you think. He's quite vulnerable if we hammer home Iraq and the economy, which he's on the wrong side of.
Keep the faith, my friend. We will give Obama a change of address on January 20th, 2009: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
I'm still supporting him. We'll win.
Hey Field you might want to go to YouTube and see this.Sean Hannity got smoked on his show by Malik Shabazz.He got smoked like the chronic. Also Al Sharpton shuts down Greta Von Frankenstein. BTW . I saw your sidebar. Let's figure a way to Boycott Fox directly , like standing in front of the movie theater showing a Fox movie. Maybe we could make boycotting Fox worldwide, hell they did pissed the world off.
"Mr. Obama's run at the presidency is based more on the manipulation of white guilt than on substance..."
Shelby is full of sheyat.
Barack happens to be the most qualified person in the race.
He's a break from the past and he's not a Bush and he's not a Clinton.
This is why A-merry-ca is so mad at the "O" man, and ultimately, this is why he will lose the presidency.
I think it's a long time between now and November.
In seven months, voters who are pissed at Barack for comments made by Jeremiah Wright will have forgotten. Seven months is an eternity.
What Barack needs to do between now and then is move away from discussing Jeremiah Wright and get back to discussing the issues Americans care about like the economy, healthcare and the Iraq war.
kid, I am open to that suggestion. I am ready to picket those mofos. I hate FAKE NEWS that much.
la~msviswan, please do use the advertisers on my sidebar. I am hoping everyone that comments here with a blog will do the same thing.
"No matter what happens, Barack is still family. He did not turn his back on us when it was politically convienent."
anon. 2:37AM, that pretty much sums it up.
Is Steele condemning the bargain or those who enter the so-called bargain, the bargainers?
He surmises that the diffusion of white "anxiety" is a natural outcome of the bargain--a kind of devil's pact, one in which blacks are the only ones who lose their souls in the transaction, since whites escape the devil's wrath, pitchfork in hand, and thereby have the least to lose.
White's then can maintain the status-quo without being challenged or rebuffed.
With the excerpt presented here, its difficult to discern whether he sees the bargain as a good or an evil, but the tone suggests the latter.
Assuming that the bargain actually exists (a dubious premise, at best), it would serve only to salvage immediate transactions between whites and blacks at the expense of enduring solutions.
This type of arrangement is akin to the transactional analysis approach to understanding human relationships.
In this instance, both sides (the bargainers) seem to agree that "I'm OK, and you're OK." But there's some fudging going on here: blacks are saying "I'm OK, but you're not OK," and whites are saying just the opposite.
Conflicting attitudes that would ultimately shred the social contract of mutual understanding.
A healthier approach would be, of course: "I'm OK, and you're OK."
Since most of these interactions between whites and blacks are not that well balanced, it would be rare to see the "I'm OK, and you're OK," transaction played out in mainstream interactions.
Hence, I would discount the "bargain" premise since it implies that both sides perceive a benefit in the transaction, and still allow the other to be seen as not OK.
What we have, then, in such an interaction is something approaching Controlling Parent evoking an Adaptive Child response, where the response to the perception of parental power and control can teeter on the precipice of either acquiescence or rebellion.
And in the case of blacks, it can be both, or one or the other, depending on the circumstance, and the situation.
Rarely have blacks found themselves in the "driver's seat," so to speak, in these interactions, hence the occasional hostile flareups that befuddle whites.
"Mr. Obama's run at the presidency is based more on the manipulation of white guilt than on substance..." Steele
If Obama is seeking white votes as Steele states by manipulating "white guilt," it would appear that he would first need abandon the "bargain."
He would have to first evoke that guilt in order to manipulate it, a clear violation of the contract.
Steele would no doubt say that it's because Obama avoids race that he manipulates it.
You can't manipulate that which you avoid.
I would say, rather, that Obama approaches whites transactionally by using his adult self, his "'grown up' rational [self] who talks reasonably and assertively, neither trying to control nor reacting," and expecting the same from others, black and white.
I believe that this is why he has succeed to this point, and, if he is to win the White House, it's the only contract that will assure his success.
dear field, i too hope you are wrong. it has been a sad week indeed. but let us hope that the o-man is right and that things are not static.
second, i want to point out that things are not always just about one thing. actually, they seldom are. yes, i love obama because his blackness makes him symbolic. yes there is probably white guilt in my love. i would prefer to describe it as hope for better days. but there is also his speech on iraq in 2002. it was visionary. that is what really matters. i want a choice of a candidate who saw and spoke when the fascists were on the move.
i wonder what the good rev had to say about iraq in 2002? might it have influenced obama? this is part of what they want to squash. the idea that america sins towards the world as well. it isn't just our former slaves, it is all the people that we bombed over the last century. they must not be acknowledged.
andy
Field, don't give up hope just yet. I was worried about the Wright flap, but The Speech showed that he is more presidential than either the Borg Queen or the Old Coot.
Field, I'm sorry, but we part ways on Shelby Steele and here's why.
As I think I've informed people who visit here, that I've managed to make a career working in the industry of civil rights and Equal Employment Opportunity - mostly with the Federal, State and Local Governments. My jobs largely required me to enforce all EEO and Civil rights laws and legislation prohibitng discrimination in employment, education, health care provision and small business contracting.
Sellouts like Shelby Steele, the first and probably primary benefactors of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity, come through the doors that the 1964 Civil Rights Act opened for them, and decide they want to be the only "fly in the buttermilk", so they spout off their diatribes about how the Black Man demeans himself further by demanding that the playing field of competition be even.
Affirmative Action was never about quotas, preferential treatment or loopholes because of gender, race, religious/national origin, disabled status. It was about leveling the playing field so everyone could compete based on merit.
Shelby Steele, Ward Connerly, Larry Elder, Star Parker, Amy Holmes, and others get paid and make their living by becoming "pundits" to rail against the very conceptual principle upon which they gained their own access. What kind of madness is THAT?
It is the madness of our people being bought and sold for the equivalent of $24 worth of colored glass beads (that's how much it cost the Dutch to get New Amsterdam, aka, New York, from the Native Americans). Judas sold out Jesus for more than that (although 30 pieces of silver was not much more).
They get paid to lie about what is affirmative action and how it is supposed to operate, because the opponents behind those initiatives know damned well they can't come out openly, because they will get automatically denounced as racist.
But when you have ethnic people doing it, that gets the attention the opponents want, and succeeds in infiltrating organizations, institutions, corporations in a way that they piss on the Civil Rights Act and anything else that goes along with it. In other words, they make my job, which is already difficult, even more difficult, because at least we can use the law to bring recalcitrant contractors in line, especially if they don't want to lose millions, if not billions of government funded contracts.
Now, these SOBs skirt the law until they get caught, and that's thanks to Stepin Fetchits' like Connerly and Steele. Steele is more egregious, because he's hiding behind being a tenured professor at Stanford University.
On a personal note, I've encountered Steele at EEO conferences, where he's trying to give his viewpoints, and wonders why the audience isn't receptive to his rhetoric. You wouldn't be responsive to concepts that would render you unemployed and raises the potential for job discrimination without penality, would you?
Every time I've asked Ward and Shelby to provide a backup plan to prevent discrimination, the answer I always get from them is that the goodness and inherent decency of the white guy will ensure that discrimination does not take place (and that's a direct quote from Connerly back in 1996, when he was hawking Proposition 209 and looked like he wanted to break out the can of whip-ass on me for asking the question).
These two clowns have set my home state of California back to a period it has never known; the period of segregation. In the 40s and 50s, my family left Louisiana and Texas and relocated to California because brothas got hired at every defense plant in the state; sistas, too, and the only people of ethnicity that couldn't get a job were American-Born Japanese (they were allowed to work anywhere but the government defense plants). Life was considerably better for people of color in Cali back then.
Ward Connerly grew up in California during that time period. Chris Rock had it right when he asked him what happened to him to make him turn like he did.
So, I have no love for Shelby Steele because of my own involvement in trying to remind him that he is where he is because of affirmative action, and a willingness to tote the water that guaranteed holding other African-Americans, Latinos, Asians, Native Americans, gays and lesbians, the disabled, and those of distinct religious beliefs, down.
It would make sick sense that he would write a book hating on Obama, because if the "O" man gets the White House, brothas like him and Connerly are going to be seriously challenged, especially when they're no longer considered relevant to the political discourse.
Sorry for the long post, but thanks for allowing me to share.
Field, I can't afford most of those products listed in your sidebar, but thanks for the looking out.
I can't afford those cars and going to those places because in George Bush's "America", making a good salary just means you're a couple of paychecks from homelessness.
I hope you are wrong Field.
I know many whites like myself who simply see Obama as a much needed inspirational leader. Most of us immediately began comparing him to JFK.
Finally, many of us, for the first time in our lives have a candidate we can get behind and feel good about, not just another 'lowest common denominator' candidate.
If there are enough of us, Obama CAN win. If not, he loses.
I hope you will help the cause whenever you get a chance and not add to the negative background chant.
Field,
I'll lay money down they'll feel OUR anger once they've taken a hit to the pocketbook! I've already gotten rid of some things that were in my house. I'll be damn if I buy them again!
you can't use the master's tools to dismantle the master's house.
--audre lorde
this presidential race is becoming exactly what i knew it would: 'a real niggas please stand up' moment in time. we know that pastor wright is telling the truth, and we know that white folk can't handle it...that's why they are trying to crucify obama in the media. white folk (and these phony uncle tom ass negroes runnin around) act like their desire to ignore america's racism is more relevant than it's very existence. they do this because we allow them to and so it continues. they duck and dodge their accountability for past and present racism and pretend as though we are just angry or crazy (like they are tryin to make the pastor look) for tellin the truth about it. this is the manifestation of america's white supremacist thinking in and of itself; as well as its guilt. they are afraid now that obama might come in and hold that mirror up to their asses. i think he's smooth enough to do it and at the same time, let them know that black folk don't want their blood; we just need that foot off our neck.
one
I think the point here, which some people seem to miss, is that Shelby Steele is himself mixed race, and he tends to view this whole question - of race, as well as Obama - thorugh the prism of his experience (though he tries very hard to generalize away from it). And the question of acceptance, both in black and white communities is something I think he feels very much personally - just my impression; being youn ger than him, I know where he's coming from (also being mixed race), but I think things have progressed considerably.
But not that far... I think, until Obama's candidacy, which has, I think, finally helped take "black enough" off of the table. That itself is heartening.
So I think Steele is partly right - there is a bargaining, and until Obama had to "choose" a side, he was odin a fine job threading the equation of not bringing up ugly past angers to confront whites. But even with this speech, he's still, to some extent, making a bargain: which is to say, the speech doesn't really ask anyone to do more than come together around his candidacy as a solution. Black people are angry, whte people are angry, he said... so let's move on. It's nice as a theory; but there are reasons we don't.
So Field, I somewhat disagree with your pessimism; I think if Obama can balance the forces of the racial divide, he may well succeed... but that, in the end, simply puts off the day of reckoning, possibly until some time into his own Presidency. And it's the putting off that worries me... because this always threatens, at some point, to simply boil over. If it did on his watch, I think the fallout would be fierce.
Field, I agree with much of what you say as it relates to Obama and Steele, however I disagree with your outcome. I do believe that Obama will ascend to the presidency.
Yes, he will get 90% of the black vote, but he will also get the youth vote. The youth don't want McCain, and the youth did not use Rev. Wright's comments as a reason to jump into Hillary's camp.
We can all agree that Obama has brought many young folks of all stripes into the process, they will ultimately push him over the top. The youth can do what their parents could not do, and that is, see a Black man as president.
Field, even the Confederacy had it's coons. This is nothing new. Besides, we see this same combo of cynical insouciance and self interest played out in another ball park re: black leaders supporting Hillary.
But back to O man--I think he's a threat yes, which is ironic given the fact that he's not spitting fire. That makes him the THREAT. To Shelby Steele coonery, to CBC coonery. White folks love that fake equilibrium, and find comfort in it. Along comes somebody who truly disturbs it and POW.
Still, Obama could have had a fire spitting moment, given that he truly as nothing to loose at this point (I still think he'll be the nominee).
As I said on Jack and Jill Politics:
"We still don't want to just come out and say what needs to be said, as white people are shielded by a thick wall of denial. This isn't about victimization or blaming. It's about simple truth, history, reality, and just as we don't like to hear the truth about ghettofab behavior, hip hop or Tyler Perry, they refuse to hear general truths about this country. Simply put, most African Americans position themselves closely with what Re. Wright says. I say most because you have a segment that's just plain ignorant or swimming in nihilism; you have that continegent of Booker Rising douchebags, creatures of the white Right, lunatics such as Clarence Thomas, or bought off clowns such as Armstrong Williams or any number of pastors getting Faith Based cash from Bush and who think gay marriage is the number one issue facing black folks today.
Our society refuses to acknowledge that many black folks join the military due to opportunity and not misguided patriotism, just as generally many people period, especially white kids, join because they were the B- to C (or worse) students in high school, liked the fact that you could buzz cut your hair and be hardcore and travel, make money (very little), and otherwse have meaning in your life other Wal mart, botched football scholarships or getting pregnant at 18.
Facing the truth's tough..."
By the way, Happy "Holy Week." Yet as I posted on my blog, today, rather than Easter, is my favorite part of the holiday. I think Barack can empathize.
Let me reaffirm earlier comments. The general election will not hinge on race, but will be between an eloquent young man looking to improve the lot of all Americans, and an elderly, out-of-it jackass who missed his opportunity to do some real good for his party and the country years ago, and who continues to promise people nothing besides more of the GOP same.
Maybe if the GOPers had something to run on besides eight years of failure and embarrassment, maybe the old white guy prevails. But this year, I don't think it will be close.
Free your mind, field.
It's time to get the superdelegates off their asses to do the right thing. Please please please write
http://votersforobama.blogspot.com/
Field, my highly esteemed brother--
on this one, I'm afraid you're wrong.
You're listening to the conservative mouth-breathers; but you're mistaking their volume for their number.
They are loud, the sorry sonsabitches, but there aren't that many of them any more, the Shithead/Asshole administration has put paid to that.
What Christopher said above is correct; and many many A-Merry-Cans agree-- this man IS the best qualified candidate for the Oval Office.
Let us not be afraid! We go forward behind a candidate of courage, character and conviction; one who has bested every foe and overcome every obstacle.
We will win. We will win because we have right on our side. To quote Napoleon, no slouch in the generalship department: "The moral is to the physical as three to one."
Hello, I am Ivan, and I am by GOD an Obamaholic!
The news is trying to force Obama out this race with the Rev. Wright tapes. America seems to have a problem with anyone who screams to loud. For example, look what happen to Howard Dean the man was running a pretty good campaign until that video of him yelling. The news media had to play it for 1,000,000 times on tv.
That rebel yell from a guy like Dean cost him dearly. Now, if white middle America can't take a white guy like Dean yelling. Do any of you honestly believe they will forgive Obamas Black pastor for screaming about "Amerikkka", " Aids created to kill blacks by the White government", " calling sainted White Natalie Holloway a slut", the "God Damn America " line Etc..
True most in Black America may have not believed what Rev. Wright said was wrong. However, Blacks are not the majority race living in this country "Whites Are". They want to punish Rev. Wright through Obama by taking out there anger on him.
So, basically Rev. Wright and is gospel of black truths most likely cost Obama. White middle America can't handle the truth. Not, now and never will.
I still believe Obama will go on to win the Democratic primaries... and beat McCain in the general election.
You see, Obama's white supporters experienced a moment of fear that will die a quick death. Originally, whites saw Obama as a great-equalizer who could deliver on changing the nation's direction and unifying people across the board.
The "inflammatory" comments by Wright inspired a bolt of fear that Obama might be a closet extremist who won't display level-headed balance in unifying the nation.
Now that the issue is out in the open, and Obama maintained his level-headed approach to inspiring a new future for this country, I believe the pendulum will swing and we'll see Obama gain even more supporters.
In fact, now more than ever, whites may see Obama as the opportunity to reverse much of what they hated about Wright's remarks (in terms of anger level).
Face it, whites didn't really feel they had an access point to the "angry Wrights." Inflammatory comments simply made the news. Whites talked to whites about the comments and blacks promoted the validity.
Now, whites have an access point to the "Wrights." The great unifier, with a toe in both race pools, can speak from both angles and change the debate from fiery to almost-productive.
That's just my afternoon off-the-cuff response. I have some more thinking to do on this subject...
Hawa from
Fackin Truth Blog
One thing that also bothered me about the Rev. Wright blow up.Is didn't Obama know about these tapes? Did he really believe the mass majority of White middle America would look at those tapes and say "You, know what Rev. Wright speaks the truth."
Obama should be realistic America only forgives White Bigot pastors like John Hagee etc... We live in a sexist & racist nation Obama. So, once again how in the hell did he think they would simply over look Rev. Wright?
Field,
you're ready to make conclusions too soon. The speech hasn't had time to marinate and it will be a few weeks before we can tell whether the speech resonated with the masses or not. McCain is a particular good foil for the Democratic Party -- a vote for McCain is a vote against your pocketbook and "it's all about the economy, stupid" (as the perennial quote tells it). Either way the Democratic Party has never won without black folks. The real question is how do independents view his post-speech and do the galvanized suppoters who came out during the primary and caucuses remain galvanized by virture of Obama being on the ballot. Field, if you can definitively answer those questions with certainity -- then you're on to something.
Hey Field,
I hope that you are too pessimistic about the general election. McCain keeps messing up enough to draw a lot of media attention even when neither of the Dem candidates (ostensibly) even have time to be digging dirt on him. And I know that anecdotal info doesn't mean a lot, but yesterday, I overheard too ve-ery Republican "suburban" New Orleanians, both of whom STILL support David Vitter (!), saying that McCain is a mess and also noting that they thought the Obama-Wright business was totally uncalled for because 1) Wright was right about a lot of things and 2) what his pastor said doesn't matter to them anyway and 3) they think that Obama is the best candidate. Not making this up.
What really worries me is that today's Gallup poll in your state showed Obama down by nearly 20 points, down by over 10 points from last week with African-American voters and just way down with all the "demographics" that Gallup could come up with. I haven't seen a recent enough poll in N.C...but yikes, I hope that doesn't hold. A week or so ago he was only 5 points behind.
main, I'm glad you put that house negro Olif Earl Hutchinson on the side bar. I have had the displeasure of reading his articles on alternet and it was some of the worst crap I've ever read, and he is such a Clinton shill
You know, I simply hate Tucker Carlson. I'm so glad they canned his @ss over at MSNBC!
Hey Field;
You nailed Shelby Steele he is clearly a right wing opportunist. You will probably disagree with me on this one but Steeles analysis did have a bit of truth in it and its why some right wingers were even feeling Obama and its because he made them comfortable. They were saying he had transcended race and he was careful to distance himself esp early on from the black community.
Whether he stands up and at least advocate change for black folk including poor black folk remains to be seen. His speech was great but don't forget he was forced into a corner. And he did accuse the Rev of being angry rather than prophetic and truthful.
Whooaaa there Field slow down. The jury is still out on the brother man. But he and Dr. Wright allowed folks white and black and otherwise to have an honest discussion about race and we will be always be indebted to both of them for this. And boy is the discussion crazy. Regular white folks are showing that they want to be like their ruling class cousins something bad.
And Field you know what the ruling class whites say to these dupes, "We're your color but not your kind."
Steele's rants about Obama is full of quotes like the one above. But is he really trying to manipulate white folks or does he really believe in what he is trying to sell? It's a tough question, and one that I have been asking myself since the start of the "O" man's campaign.
I have been reflecting really really hard on this question, paying attention and trying to figure it out. My gut has told me all along that Senator Obama is speaking and acting from his truth, that he is coming from a space of integrity. But still various people (IRL and in what I have read) have suggested that he has been and is pandering to white people and that is certainly something that happens and why not in this case ... so I have been taking that in also. The collision of these two opposing perspectives has been happening over and over in me.
His speech on Tuesday pushed me way way further toward trusting my gut. It helped bring into focus for me what I think is a coherent, passion-based REAL (not manipulating/political) perspective from Senator Obama. I don't always agree with him on content, I certainly don't have the kind of faith in the US that he does. But my sense of things is that all along he has been coming from a place of real passion and belief -- that his way of understanding and acting is real, is internally coherent and is not contradictory, calculated, or manipulative.
I feel that the actual issue is with the white comprehension -- white people collectively translating Senator Obama into someone who is comfortable for the white sensibility. When all along he hasn't been that, not in truth. But up til now the incorrect white translation was not significantly challenged by anything Senator Obama said or did.
This is why A-merry-ca is so mad at the "O" man, and ultimately, this is why he will lose the presidency. They are disappointed and angry, because he fooled them.
IMO, white A-merry-ca fooled itself on this one. Senator Obama has only been coming from where he is coming from all along. I don't think he went to the edge of selling out and decided not to. I think he hsa been coming from where he is coming from all along. The fact that it overlapped with white delusions -- that up until this point white collective delusion could translate Senator Obama into an object and use him to feed itself -- that is not, in my view, his fault or responsibility.
Hillary Clinton's klan seamstress, Geraldine Ferraro, gave yet another interview to the small California paper that started the whole story, and says she doesn't like being lumped in with Jeremiah Wright:
"To equate what I said with what this racist bigot has said from the pulpit is unbelievable," Ferraro said today. "[Obama] gave a very good speech on race relations, but he did not address the fact that this man is up there spewing hatred."
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0308/Gerry_Ferraro_still_swinging.html
Why won't this hag shut the fuck up?
The media is trying to derail a viable black candidate! Rev Wright gives the S.O.B.'s a reason to alert the white voters so they will stop voting for Barack.
America will never own up to her failures of the black race! 221 years later, when America has a chance to make it right---She fails----AGAIN!
Hi Field!
I'm an unapolegetic obamaholic.
I take exception with your field-negro of the day.
You do realise that the french government is a right-wing one, dont you?
Would you have Condi as a field-negro?
Cos' that's how Sarkozy sees and parades Rama Yade
I'm a field-negroholic too...
@Christopher:
"Why won't this hag shut the fuck up?"
Because she likes the sound of own pathetic voice!
field,
you are giving up too soon. Obama has gone through the worst week of his campaign. Clinton is up in national poll today, 49% - 42%. A couple of things are immediately evident;
a) even with the Wright controversy, HRC can't get over 50% in a national poll.
b) even with the Wright scandal, Obama support is still only down 7 points.
c) Fox News released a poll today that said 57% of voters feels Obama does NOT share Wrights views.
d)MSNBC polls after 'the speech' indicate that Obama satisfied the concerns of 68% of respondents concerning Rev. Wright.
This is March, field. Hillary Clinton is finding a way to use the whole episode in just the righ way to piss of the Democratic Party activists. Yesterday, Mondale's campaign manager warned that an attempt to exploit the Wright situation would likely backfire on HRC. And today the Governor of Tennessee is pushinng a plan to have Super Delegates hold a mini caucus in June to end this thing.
Obama is going to be the nominee. And John McCain is going to mix up Iran and Al-Quaeda in a televised debate with Obama and it will be all over.
Your bigest problem is going to be figuring out how to hold President Obama accountable for actually getting something done.
Yup, it's over now. And no one can really point to the minister flap as the reason. The man and 'nem weren't really going to vote for Obama anyway. Come this November, I can't even move myself to vote for Hillary in my right mind. And I won't fool with the lever beside McCain's name either. I'll just vote in the local elections.
We take two steps forward and ten backwards.
Field,
You are so right about the fact that he fooled them. Barrack Obama is VERY afrocentric. I have always said that. Look at his wife. Lets face it for the typical influential black man, his wife would probably look like Halle Berry or Lark Vorhees...LOL He got a real sister! Who is black and proud.
It would eventually come out that he did and said what he needed in order to get where he needed to go. America wants a white man in a black man's body to be the president. You have to be the type of black man that would sell his soul completely. Hell he would be better off not even having the soul of a black man. Trust me these type of black men are being breeded in the suburbs. Even if Barrack does not win this nomination or election, he will still be the greatest black leader ever.
Your fellow field negro,
Ava
To Marci,
Who told you that blacks dont trust Barrack Obama? That's not true. Actually, he seems TOTALLY, TOTALLY, TOTALLY different than the typical biracial black person. He is nothing like them. He is very afrocentric, very black unlike most people of mixed heritage who want to be white. Dont even try seperating him as biracial because he does not have that typical, superior, biracial mentality.
Maybe I am in some sort of unrealistic bubble but I see him getting clearer and clearer and I think he is going to win. Could be wrong but...
Ava,
I totally agree with you, Barack scored big time with the majority of black women in his choice of a wife. Sisters can identify with Michele, she is us in all our glory and majesty. Folks there are 2 Americas and the conservative pundits don't know a damn thing about our America nor are they interested! White America has the paternal outlook on black folks in that we are not capeable of choosing our own leaders. The core of all of this hoopla around Rev. Wright is white supremacy. America was built on white supremacy and continues to run on it. I am 53 and sold black panther papers till my daddy found out & made me stop. I continue to hold the values of black self determnation, and education as a means to upward mobility. I know so many people of my generation that hold views similar to Rev. Wright that the hoopla seemed almost a mute point. Of course there is black anger, I always knew white people weren't listening, only when convient. Barack has my vote now and I will continue to support him. At my age I am thrilled that a new approach to race can be viewed in our country, if not then truly God Damn America, the truth hurts
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