Just flipping by CNN for a peek & I catch Roland Martin telling the truth when John Whosit (what is that guy's name? Man he is vapid) says almost rhetorically as if it is absolute fact and proof that something is fundamentally weak about Democrats: "Shouldn't Obama be whooping them?" And Roland jumps in, "No, what are you saying? He's a BLACK guy running against John McCain! Of course he's going to be running an uphill battle. He's the 1st post-civil rights generation nominee for President. It's race & generation."
Ok, that's paraphrased, but I hope someone made the catch & can post this up to the toobz.
And in the interest of making this an actually diary, let's talk about race & how the fact of Obama's race is actually a HUGE asset for this country: an opportunity to face the problem of fear-based racial bias, air out the dirty laundry, and maybe this time, wash some stains away...
If we are brave and smart enough to have a discussion about it...
This is an important discussion to have. I have a 90 yr old Grandma who thinks McCain is a crock, but probably won't vote this time, she just can't feel trust in Obama. But what about the middle agers, like me, or even young folks who have been brought up perhaps in insulated, racailly biased cultures?
Every smear is really just a cover for the underlying fear that many white people "still" have of black people, but haven't honestly faced. I have been thinking lately that if we don't pull this race-fear out of the closet now, it's going to be too late. Believe me, when the election is close enough that McCain can cheat his way to another Rep "win" that's all we're gonna hear in analysis. "Well, he was black, how could we expect all these white 'Muricans to vote for him as President?"
We might as well talk about it NOW. When you are talking to a doubter or a smear-buyer, don't be afraid to address it head on & without shaming. Many white people (of any age) just haven't ever been pushed past their cultural comfort zone. "Obama is great & the republicans suck, but have you noticed that he's black?? 20 years ago there were no black quarter backs, 5 years ago there were no black NFL coaches. Now we're going to elect a black president to get this country out of this mess. What do you think of that?" Get people talking about it & the fear can go away.
We have to get good at, for lack of a better word, proselytizing. Recognize that the muslim thing is probably a handy cover for the real underlying fear. It's the people who silently fear that worry me. The truth is that we have precious little time to reach into the "undecideds" & get them to see Obama as a person. Not as "a black". Not discussing race has worked to keep his campaign mainstream & get him the nomination, now I really believe that we have work to do to win this thing. The best way to ensure Obama in the White House is a landslide, & we need to work in every state & with every doubter. And, as a side benefit, think of the racism we will heal.
So we need to try with all. Many just need a chance to air it out & may have never been in a setting to talk about it. I was lucky, I grew up with a racist dad making N---- jokes without shame, but in college I was part of a group that sought to understand cultural & "racial" differences. I always thought everything my dad did was shitty anyway, but made it possible for me to examine & move thru my own biases in a constructive way. Let the healing begin, yes we can!