Obama\'s race neutral strategy unravels of its own contradictions
<Dbachmozart <at> aol.com>
2008-05-01 00:46:17 GMT
By Glen Ford -
clip -
Rev. Wright succeeded in drawing a line in the sand, whether that was his
intention or not, daring Obama to take his stand on one side or the other. Race
"neutrality" - an impossibility in the actually existing United States - went
out the window as Obama in extremis positioned himself at the
political/historical fault line alongside the defenders of the Alamo and American Manifest
Destiny. As dictated by the logic of power, Obama furiously maneuvered
toward "white space," shamelessly taking cover in a kind of populist white
patriotism that has always branded Black grievances as selfish, even dangerous
distractions from the larger national mission. Rev. Wright's "rantings" amounted
to "a complete disregard for what the American people are going through," said
Obama. "What mattered to him was him commanding center stage."
.....................
Ironically, in practice, race-neutrality also requires that Obama disarm
himself in the face of racist attacks. "If I lose," he told reporters with a
straight face, "it would not be because of race. It would be because of mistakes
I made along the campaign trail."
Perhaps it is fitting that, having absolved American racists of all manner of
crimes against others, Obama also holds them blameless for their assaults on
himself. That's his prerogative, as long as he's the only one being
assaulted. But Obama was also dogged over the long weekend by the ghost of Sean Bell,
whose death in a 50-shot New York City police fusillade was held blameless
by a white judge. Many African Americans anxiously awaited Obama's reaction to
the three police officers' acquittals on all charges. "We're a nation of
laws, so we respect the verdict that came down," said Obama, when asked about
(Continue reading)
RSS Feed