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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
It's not that I expect all Black people to feel the same, but I do expect that the basis for however they feel makes sense. It's well-established that you have a beef with Obama. That's on you, but that long lamentation of how Obama's victory means nothing for African-Americans cuz he isnt descended from Yazoo, Mississippi betrayed, in my view, a complete ignorance of slavery's legacy, and, however you feel, that is what I had a big problem with. Does that mean Mandela's freedom and ascendency to the Presidency of South Africa was insignificant for the folk here? Does that mean that people such as Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte aren't legitimate spokespeople for Black causes?
I dont expect Obama to be perfect, but you seem predisposed to assign a negative motive to every action he even thinks about taking. And then you lament in writing that you feel estranged from all your friends and family. Maybe if you'd get over yourself, that'd serve to ease your sense of estrangement.
Not a sermon, just a thought...
You think it's cool that the #2 in Al-Qaida uses racial epithets to talk about the President-elect of the nation you allegedly live in. That's "hilarious" to you?
Seek help.
No one is asking anyone to worship Obama, or kiss his ass or feet, or avoid substantive criticism or debate, or...ah, hell, why bother?
Seriously, I am so tired of the nasty anti-Obama invective based on flimsy evidence, suppositions, or sheer bias; the constant revisiting of the primary battle; the calls for Clinton to work actively to undermine Obama's presidency and, by extension, the Democratic Party; the insulting putdowns of Obama's supporters; the poorly-argued cries of sexism, race-baiting, and homophobia directed at Obama or his supporters; the...well, just all of it.
I'm done with it. Have fun dominating the Salon threads, haters. Part of me really hopes you get your wish of an undermined and weakened Obama presidency, a divided and weakened Democratic Party, a conniving and duplicitous HRC who tries to yank the party back into her orbit, and a revived and strengthened GOP that takes back national control in four years. That's pretty much what this country deserves anyway.
Have at it, bitches.
By the way, I wanted to fully address your snide remark concerning Haitian immigrants (Louima and Dorismond) and Diallo (African immigrant), racism, and the NYPD. You betray your ignorance of the out of control NYPD under the Giuliani regime. It was not always about race, in fact, race was only one factor in their brutal treatment at the hands of the NYPD. You let the NYPD off the hook when you say things like that. They rode roughshod over everyone's civil liberties, they physically abused EDPs regardless of race or income, they beat and harassed the homeless regardless of race, they harassed and humiliated gay people, and they all covered up for one another. Giuliani encouraged that behavior when he ran for office (he did engage in race-baiting then), he defended them no matter what they did, and he did everything he could to obstruct the DA's investigations. So, before you crack wise about me and what I know about my city, don't. Worry about what you know about Mississippi.
I am not determined to see the worst in Obama. I see him for what he is: a politician capable of anything. I do not think that Hillary or Bill Clinton are any better. As for my being alienated from other black people, I have gotten over that. My point of view is that, I am alienated from them because I am not caught up in the myth that Obama's blackness, as it were, will have any material impact on my life. I was weirded out by the whole thing and I regret that stupid lament. I never expected such an outpouring of joy, so it took me by surprise. Nevertheless, the high will wear off and they'll see.
Why are people like you calling this some historic victory for black people? I think it is an historic victory for immigrants and no one is giving that any attention. Black Americans should not lay claim to Obama as if he belongs to them. He is the son of a Kenyan immigrant. His success should give immigrants hope that their children can become president. Most black people are caught up in his hype, so whatever.
Speaking of black people, notice how no one is talking about how they might be annoyed with the Lieberman thing or Obama's staffing picks or cabinet picks. Black people and their turnout put Obama over the top in the southern states in the primaries and the general elections. They had more to do with his victory than Daily Kos or leftist activists. If the members of Kos deserve a cabinet pick, why not black people who voted like sheep for Obama? No one seems concerned with them as a group. I think I know why: because the majority of black voters, especially first time black voters, are not invested in Obama beyond their similar phenotypes.
Anyway, I stand by my position that Hillary Clinton would be a fool to be part of the Obama administration. She has been so desperate to try to get in the good graces of a party that has told her to get lost that she campaigned for him (even though she was allegedly irrelevant), she made speeches that undermined her own words in the primaries, and now she is acting like a dog jumping up in the air to catch a treat held my her master. She needs to find her self-respect and do what is best for her. It is her fault at this point. If you act like a pussy, you're gonna get screwed.
Why are you saying that I "allegedly live in Gotham" and that I think it is cool that al-Qaeda's #2 insults the president-elect of the "nation [I] allegedly live in?" Do you doubt my citizenship?
Look, I think that to people abroad, Obama does come off as an Uncle Tom. Now, their definition might be a little skewed. They are referencing his capitulation to white people and the majority of Jewish people who tell him that he has to pledge unqualified allegiance to Israel if he wants to get elected. If you see film of the Iranians protesting the US during the hostage crisis, there were big banners in the audience that read "American Blacks Rise Up Against the US." People who are oppressed by the US abroad find our willingness to cooperate with the government in spite of the way we have been and still are treated confounding. Look at it this way: The US district Court saw it fit and proper to adjudicate Holocaust survivors' law suits against Swiss Banks despite those incidents having taken place on another country's soil. But, if I filed suit against a company or family whose assets are tied to profits from the slave trade, the suit would be dismissed. Asking for reparations for slavery is considered an extreme position. So, yes, Obama could come off as an Uncle Tom to people abroad. They are not taking into account Obama's heritage, so the point still remains.
Regarding Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte, I do not have much to say about black men who would never give a woman like me (a black woman) the time of day. They are no civil rights icons to me because they think women like me are not worthy of marriage or dating. I do not think that Mandela's freedom had any material impact on the lives of blacks in America. Rates of incarceration still went up, drug use got worse, crime is worse, gangs are more entrenched in our neighborhoods, we have not closed the income gap, and we do not have access to good education. So no, I do not think his freedom and subsequent election was good for blacks in the US. But, if you can see a way that it was, I would be interested in hearing it.
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Once seen as a lunatic fringe, reactionary anti-women groups are courting respectability
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