This is my first time writing on here, and I'm excited! I'm a senior in college, and I do light blogging on my blog and facebook site, but I'd like to reach out to others in the Daily Kos Community. I have a few thoughts about Mr. Herman Cain...
We all know Herman Cain has made quite a few incendiary comments in his recent rise to the top of the GOP pack. Personally, I feel as though one of the most outrageous ones that he did make was sharing his feelings on how racism doesn’t “hold anybody back in a big way.”
“I don’t believe racism in this country today holds anybody back in a big way,” said Cain, former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, during an interview on CNN. “Are there some elements of racism? Yes, it gets back to if we don’t grow this economy, that is a ripple effect for every economic level, and because blacks are more disproportionately unemployed, they get hit the worst when economic policies don’t work. That’s where it starts.
When it comes to African Americans struggling economically he said, “They weren’t held back because of racism.” He added, “People sometimes hold themselves back because they want to use racism as an excuse for them not being able to achieve what they want to achieve.” via Huffington Post
Reading this last month definitely made me raise an eyebrow. While many on the left, including prominent black activists and scholars, have questioned aloud whether Herman Cain could be cast into an “Uncle Tom” category, I never wanted to place him in that category…until recently.
Regardless of my politics, I support African-Americans and other blacks educating themselves on the issues and choosing the ideology that fits best with their interests. I believe that in order for African-Americans and blacks to play a more major in politics, and to continue on the path of normalizing ourselves in American society, we need to allow our community to have diversity in thought. I have no problems with Conservative black people. We know that most black people tend to be a bit more Conservative on social issues. One word that bothers me in particular is the word “Oreo”, meaning someone who is black on the outside but white on the inside. I think it’s ignorant to assign certain characteristics or beliefs to a race. I’ve been called an oreo before because of my vocabulary, music tastes, and other reasons, and I find it offensive. Is Mr. Cain an oreo? No. Should he be called that? No. Is there some sort of justification for calling him an Uncle Tom? I’d say so….
There are a few different definitions of what an Uncle Tom is, but for me, an Uncle Tom isn’t simply a Republican or one who breaks from what could be called the “mainstream” of black thought/consciousness (or the plantation, as Cain so quaintly put it). An Uncle Tom is one who goes actively out of his way to cater to the thoughts and opinions of the white majority for the purpose of advancing his social standing, regardless of what consequences these actions may hold for others in the black community. When Cain made the comment that I quoted above, he did so to further his favorability amongst White Conservatives who have been singing the same song for years. The notion that race and ethnicity do not play a part in affecting one’s life is the narrative that the Right has been fostering since Reagan’s Great Mischaracterization of “The Welfare Queen.” A man can do whatever he wants when he puts his heart, soul, and drive into it, right? The Right now had a black man, who is undoubtedly the second most visible black man in this country behind President Obama, who indulged and supported their stance. They’re not racists, because a black man says it!
There are many prominent Black Conservative figures in American politics that have applauded the principle of hard work reaping beneficial outcomes, but never have we seen one make a comment like Cain has. We see Black Conservatives such as Michael Steele and Colin Powell acknowledge that, while they are proud to be Conservative, they realize that the Republican party does have a problem with race, and this problem needs to be addressed if the party is going to grow and encompass more minorities in the future. This isn’t music to the ears of the White Conservative pundits, such as Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh. Ann Coulter recently made the statement “Our blacks are better than their blacks.” Her explanation was that Black Conservatives have more diversity in thought and are less brainwashed….and of course, they don’t call out the racist and bigoted sentiments that exist within the Republican Party.
So, fast-forward to this week and the allegations of sexual harassment made by now three women against Mr. Cain. What response does Mr. Cain have for the media and the public? He blames the Perry campaign and says that they are racially motivated! Really, Mr. Cain? Now you wish to acknowledge that there can be racially motivated attacks made by political parties or the media? Did you not just say that racism cannot affect somebody in a big way? If this scandal leads to your downfall, these “racial attacks” that you claim will affect your life in a big way. Hypocrisy? Irony? Poetic Justice? We’ll see.