Dad has always leaned a bit Republican, too much spare time in front of Fox. At 85, and at bingo with a lot of old Midwesterners, he hears a lot. But he also reads a lot, listens to everything, and hungers for accurate information. Our Father's Day visit was not just enlightening--it was an "Aha" moment. It's something we have to consider and share.
Follow me for a bit, please...
I could tell he wanted to talk about Obama right away. He said: "I would have voted for Clinton..." That surprised me, until I remembered that my Repub-leaning Father-in-Law had totally had it with Bush. So I asked: "Why? She has about the same policies as Obama..."
The waitress interrupted us. He tried another tact:
"I hear there's a tape out about Obama's wife that's going to appear in October...She's really anti-white" I explained that the "Whitey" tape was a total sham.
Appetizer!
"Obama has a lot of strange friends..." "Yeah, Dad...so do all of us. He was born in Hawaii, and his parents were grad students...really poor for awhile. But his grandparents who helped raise him were from the Midwest farm country like you..." Another break in the conversation. Good pasta...
I started to talk about the economy and gas prices. We skirted around the thousands of unused oil leases, and the power grab for ANWR.
I talked about a son's efforts to get a job. Then it came out. "If Obama wins, the boys won't be dark enough to get jobs. All the jobs will go to the black kids..." He knew I'd argue, but wanted me to.
Because Dad isn't a racist. He isn't a bigot. He's really, really intelligent. He's got a map on his coffee table of red and blue states from 2004. He plans to take notes on it as the season progresses. But the Republicans have got to him in a way that we have rarely discussed. They've spread a virus of fear. He wanted reassurance.
That's because every elderly person of Dad's age remembers the time when the injustices were blatant, and he knows the guilt. He knows that people are still angry. And he's afraid of that anger. Those pictures of Obama and Wright? They aren't meant to suggest Obama is a terrorist, or that Wright is crazy. They are meant to reach deep into the psyche of older Americans, and remind them that there is still anger out there.
I should have known! I heard it on talk radio last week--a caller that Schulz cut off: "What's Obama's stand on reparations?" There's a viral lie going around out there, and it not related to Muslims or birth certificates. That's all a diversion, meant to keep us busy. What's scaring white, Midwestern voters is that they know there are centuries of injustices out there, and the Republicans have begun to spread a subrosa rumor that payback time is coming.
Dad wants to vote Democratic. He just wants to be assured that there won't be a surprise when he does--payback time. I hope that by the tiramasu he was convinced. But I'm not sure.
The good news? We have five months to pour the coffee and reassure the older generation that the change that's coming isn't scary. (The only person who loves change is a baby in diapers, they say!)
I think we've totally misunderstood the way that Republicans are playing racism this time around. They aren't reaching for people's bigotry, they are again playing on their fears.