Let's face it, change is hard. It can be ugly. It's not about conciliation but confrontation. And what must be confronted is Obama's blackness, not his whiteness or some notion that he transcends race altogether. America should be able and willing to elect a black man to the White House, which might qualify as the biggest sea change -- and no small reason for hope -- in our political history.
We should be permanently retiring the one-drop rule, not by trumpeting a new multiculturalism or a new post-racialism but by acknowledging that it is indeed possible for somebody to be both unequivocally black and representative of other fellow Americans.
See Obama for who he is
He's a successful black man, not a symbol of a post-racial America.
By Erin Aubry Kaplan
February 29, 2008
The month of February saw one victory after another in the astonishing, historic ascent of Barack Obama as a presidential contender. It seemed like perfect timing to me -- Obama marched steadily toward the ultimate political prize week after week during Black History Month. But that's not an association people seem terribly eager to make.
In fact, the closer Obama gets to representing us all, the more people struggle with the notion of him as a black man -- reflecting in growing detail America's chronic schizophrenia about racial identity.
The question of race that has been raised repeatedly in Obama's campaign is both straightforward and existential: Is he really black? Isn't he really biracial? Or maybe post-racial, even nonracial? A writer for Salon.com, analyzing a swing through Kansas during which Obama lauded the relatives on his white mother's side, delved into why Obama wasn't playing up that part of his heritage and embracing his "inner diversity"; "Can America elect a zebra?" the piece asked. Another admiring Salon article credited Obama for taking the path to a "post-racial destination" -- but also for the bold move of "making himself black."
Such deconstruction speaks less to any new racial enlightenment than it does to old, deep-seated racial prejudice. The core of the resistance to seeing Obama as what he is -- a black man -- even among his supporters (or perhaps especially among his supporters) is an assumption that he is capable and successful because he is "other." Beneath the post-racial talk and the how-black-is-he speculation lies an antebellum belief that blackness is inherently limiting, while whiteness is inherently transcendent. (Blackness is, however, inherently good for style and "soaring" oratory, qualities the media have been quick to attribute to Obama.)
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I let folks have that post -racial BS
for now, because, as the author states, the more he succeeds, the less it's true...but, that's ok.
Talent, not charisma
In fact, the closer Obama gets to representing us all, the more people struggle with the notion of him as a black man -- reflecting in growing detail America's chronic schizophrenia about racial identity.
This is so true. And it seems to me that there's some confusion about the endless allusions to BHO's "charisma." Charisma [χάρισμα] is an irrational force, a divine power, like the ability to speak in tongues or prophesy/testify (in the tradition of the charismatic church). Hence, Obama's supporters (remember, a majority of non-GOP voters in caucuses, and in several primaries as well) are allegedly members of a "cult," albeit one that conforms to none of the defining attributes of one. Yet they are also the "wine and cheese" set, educated and (unsettlingly) affluent.* When they defend their positions or use rational argument, they're evil or wicked.**
This is the concept of charisma: HRC explains the whole idea here, ridiculing BHO's supporters as infantile and stupid (C.f., BHO's rejoinder ; a lot more civilized & adult, if you ask me). It is not really applicable to BHO. I actually chose Obama long before I'd even heard him speak, or even before I had a clear idea of what he looked like. Knowing only what journalists wrote about him, I can truthfully say I was immune to his charisma.
But he does have the ability to chose a logical strategy and use semantics that support his position. For example, he isn't Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde, one person in front of debate audiences and another in front of Obama rallies. He's pretty much the same person all the time. He's WYSIWYG. A charismatic can be non-WYSIWYG and compell you to accept him nevertheless, like a serial adulterer. Since he doesn't try to, I don't know if he's really charismatic at all. What he has is political talent. He doesn't make "Realpolitik" compromises with the adversary that strengthen the adversary's position for all future time; his "realism" takes the form of courtesy and civility. A talented politician can make snap decisions that are consistent with ideology or long-term goals; a klutz is constantly sacrificing long-term objectives to save face. Experienced klutzes still do this, regardless of how long they've been screwing up.
Talent allows him to signify on the dialect of race, which in this case is not about the old racial category of Black & White, but imperialism versus commonweal. For White people, he offers a prospect of commonwealth with non-Whites, rather than a cosmetic redress of racial injustice. I don't think anyone seriously believes that Pres. BHO (s.2009-2017) will erradicate the impact of a racist industrial system, because that would quite simply require a time machine.
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*This is not actually true.
** HRC, in the video, repeatedly insists that criticisms of her plan are "discredited" and "untrue." Oddly, she's never actually explained to anyone why the obvious objections to them ARE untrue, and in case I missed something, here's FactCheck.org on this particular issue.
It's as if people
Agreed, rikyrah. People
Agreed, rikyrah. People may believe that delusion or try to will it; but it has nothing to do with people's dependence on colorblindness and everything to do with a black man being capable enough to become President. And getting endorsements from other people of different races who are also capable of ascending the same heights.