...in Obama’s America the white kids now get beat up with the black kids cheering, “Yay, right on, right on, right on, right on,” and, of course, everybody says the white kid deserved it, he was born a racist, he’s white. Newsweek magazine told us this. We know that white students are destroying civility on buses, white students destroying civility in classrooms all over America, white congressmen destroying civility in the House of Representatives. —Rush Limbaugh,
Sept. 15, 2009
Ever the statesman, and often candid to a political fault, President Jimmy Carter asserted this week that much of the animosity directed toward President Barack Obama is “based on the fact that he is a black man.”
A lifelong Southerner, Carter acknowledged that the inclination of racism still exists, and that “it has bubbled up to the surface because of the belief among many white people, not just in the South but around the country, that African Americans are not qualified to lead this great country.”
Though courageous, the former president’s pronouncement will surely be considered controversial to many Republicans and Democrats alike. Some will view Carter’s comments as politically inexpedient. The topic of race in general, and charges of racism in particular, is political dynamite that typically explodes in the hands of the accuser—just ask Professor Skip Gates, Governor David Patterson, or President Barack Obama (the latter of whom I will return to momentarily).
Unless someone is wearing a Klan hood while yelling “Nigger, Go Back to Africa,” the charge of racism seems to offend the accused these days more than the actual victims. This is true, in part, due to the most prevalent view of the problem of race and racism in this country. In the eyes of many, the responsibility of moving beyond racial conflict in America is placed at the feet of minority communities of color as opposed to the dominant society. We’ve all heard it. America will move beyond race to a colorblind society only when minority groups cease dwelling on difference. Such a view permeates the melting pot ideal of American folklore, the myth of meritocracy, and even the “post-racial” dimension of electoral politics. Thus for President Carter to call out this segment of the white community, he is disrupting the conspiracy of silence concerning racial injustice that demands the allegiance of politicians on the national scene.
Think about it. Is this not the racial bargain that Barack Obama accepted to become the nation’s first African American president? Matters pertaining to race have been avoided unless absolutely necessary (cough, cough, Rev. Wright). And in terms of policy, obstacles faced by any particular group, like disproportionate unemployment among communities of color for example, are obfuscated by anemic and ineffectual broad-based prescriptions. Rising tides lift all boats, right?
Yet President Obama’s enormous success in life, whether as a highly educated community organizer or as America’s commander-in-chief, exposes the paradox this sort of faux post-racialism presents. It’s a one-sided deal for people of color; as “post-racial” in effect means post-black, post-brown, post-red, and post-yellow, while leaving the normative racial framework of whiteness intact. Race is the challenge people of color must confront and dare I say, “get over.” But a post-racial America does not demand the same of those who identify with, and claim the social construction of, whiteness and perceived privileges and cultural superiority therein.
This is why, it would seem, Barack Obama’s body standing behind the American presidential seal has a critical segment of America losing its hold on reality—a reality, I would argue, few have ever been forced to acknowledge up to this point. Whether it’s the birthers, tea-baggers, deathers, indoctrinators, or “You lie!”-ers, they have neither veiled their racial animus nor cloaked their white nationalism. The prevalence of racist images of President Obama brandished by protesters juxtaposed with calls of “taking our country back” are reminiscent of D.W. Griffith’s fictional America as depicted in Birth of a Nation. And the pride with which this segment of society has rallied the troops around its shared sense of whiteness reveals that their skin color is the one true object of pledged allegiance and determinant of professed patriotism. [See “Unregulated Capitalism and Christian Fervor: Report from the 9/12 Rally at the Capitol” from Sept. 17, 2009].
Herein lies President Carter’s perceptive point. President Obama can’t win with these folks because they are blinded not just by his race but also by an uncritical devotion to their own. His pigmentation rather than his policies cut against the grain of what these persons wrongly consider “natural” or “American.” More specifically, his very being is a haunting rejoinder to such white Americans of what they are not—indeed what they have never been. This African American man with an Arabic name has dared to usurp all of the cultural and cognitive tropes that white supremacy has historically claimed for itself. He is calm in the face of their unrestrained emotion. The more illogical they act the more rational he comes across. And, of course, the more eloquent and erudite he presents himself, the more he provokes the Joe Wilsons of the world to mindlessly blurt out, “You lie!”
In the process, President Obama has transformed such opponents into the racial other, an uneducated and uncultured blob of white (and largely Southern) backwardness that is beyond the pale of social redemption or acculturation. Joe Wilson and the remaining Sons of Confederate Veterans have, in effect, become this “black man’s burden.”
Maybe this helps explain Glenn Beck’s ridiculous yet probably heartfelt assertion that the president has a “deep-seated hatred for white people.” The president reminds Beck, along with those who identify with Beck's form of neo-white nationalism, of the lie of their own professed superiority—a place of comfort and privilege in America that was neither deserved nor ever attained, yet still claimed based on the pinkness of their skin and straightness of hair. President Obama’s apparent success only further dismantles this lie and pours salt in socially insecure wounds.
Similar can be said of those who need the president to be Adolf Hitler. If Obama is Hitler, that means protestors can liken themselves unto the Jews; only this time it’s a victimized yet devout group of white Anglo-Saxon Protestants who want nothing more than to restore a nation that God, or more appropriately Jefferson Davis, decreed as divinely their own. The ability to make such ludicrous claims on conservative radio, Fox News, and on Capitol Hill, however, represents the kind of power that they unduly still possess. As tasteless as Joe Wilson’s heckling of the president was last week, it still takes an immense level of privilege to be a jerk on the floor of Congress.
My point here is simply that the problem of race in America has never been solely or predominantly a minority issue. It is first and foremost, as President Carter claims, a problem of whiteness.
Just as racial segregation in Joe Wilson’s fond memories of idyllic South Carolina was less about black people but a matter of white phobia, the lie of whiteness projects its fears upon minority bodies like the president’s in hopes of maintaining its own unhealthy and unrealistic sense of being in charge. This is why James Baldwin rightly suggested years ago that “the vast amount of the energy that goes into what we call the ‘Negro problem’ is produced by the white man’s profound desire not to be judged by those who are not white.”
I believe this applies to our current president and his most vocal critics. If he is framed as the foreigner, incarnate evil, and indoctrinating Nazi, many won’t have to acknowledge that he may just be smart, sophisticated, and a devout patriot. God forbid. And if he is, what does that make them?
Tags: glenn beck, hitler, obama, racism, white superiority, white supremacy
Good point. Now what about our other national crisis? Religion.
If President Obama is a devout Christian, what does that make their Christianity?
How has Obama shown himself to be a devout Christian? Rev. Wright aside, they haven't found a church, didn't attend the National Prayer Day, and hasn't done anything to show he's a devout Christian. Just because he says he is doesn't mean a thing. Its just words. I can say I'm Lois Lane, but it doesn't make me her.
Am still looking for more than words to show Obama is a devout Christian.
He is in good company. Jesus wasn't a devout Christian either.
Now that, Mr. Reed, is a nice one-liner!
What is a 'devout Christian' and how does one show that one is a devout Christian? Down to your opinion I suspect, or mine.
And here I thought Regan was considered a "Christian" and he didn't attend church while in the White House either-- something about respecting the privacy of other worshipers, and wishing to avoid the controversy of which church they worshiped in-- not to mention the hassle that security caused, even back in the early 80's.
Attending church does not a Christian make... it's a life philosophy, a personal thought process... at least, that's what I was always taught.
Were you aware that President Abraham Lincoln did not actually believe that Jesus was the Son of God? Did that make Lincoln more of a Christian because he chose a church to attend?
Were you aware that in spite of President George W. Bush vowing that no federal dollars would be spent on abortion, abortion was still funded to Medicaid patients during Bush's presidency? Did this make President Bush a better Christian?
I am certain that President Carter is right. I, for one, heard President Carter discuss some very sensitive topics about the Black race, and Carter knew a racist when he heard a racist. At my job (I am white), small-minded people found it necessary to make sure that the Black man "knew his place," even when the Black man's work record was better--even when the Black man was more intelligent.
Disrespect of the presidency has never been as blatant as it has since Barack Obama became president. Are those that speak these racist and "religious"remarks about President Obama better Christians and patriots? "Methinks they protest too much."
If you go by evangelical fervor, Christians are better Christians. If you go by Jesus' teachings, atheists are probably better Christians (on the average).
I think Obama has shown himself to be a devout Christian by his concern for the poorest people in the USA, and his work to provide health care for everyone. Jesus didn't say his followers would be known by what church they went to, but by how they treated other people.
President Obama is a Christian and his family may be attending a church very privately and quietly. They are Christians and live every day of their lives showing how truly Christian they are. I trust this fine man because he represents good for the nation. I trust him to make decisions not for corporate lobbyists, but for the best interests of the public. It is so wonderful after the horrible president and vice president who lied continually and could not be trusted about anything, even attacking another country.
I have to raise issue here. What does religion have to do with nationalism? I believe that our government has certain responsibilities, as do our religious institutions, but to consider Religion as a national crisis? I need some further explanation.
I'm also unclear about your question about the President, are you presenting some kind of hypothesis? If this, then that? And who is "their"?
I believe the President is a professing man of Faith, he calls upon Christ to connect to God, and also respects others avenues to reach God. I believe his passion for the marginalized is the most indicative aspect of his devoutness.
Mr. Mclaughlin,
Thanks for the response and questions. I agree with your statement about Obama being a man of faith with a passion for the marginalized.
I was struck by this great statement from the author, "If he is framed as the foreigner, incarnate evil, and indoctrinating Nazi, many won’t have to acknowledge that he may just be smart, sophisticated, and a devout patriot. God forbid. And if he is, what does that make them?"
That statement is great, but not the end. We can see the problems the political conservatives are causing for themselves. But if we look closely, we can also see the problems the conservative Christians are causing for themselves. Many Christians (and a large majority in the voting booths) have to look on this thoughtful, caring, and fairminded man as something less than themselves because he is not evangelical enough. That is the further explanation of our national religion crisis. Those churches that consider themselves to be the "real" Christians must now deal with the Obama problem. Their religion requires them to regard him as not a real Christian because he doesn't accept the evangelical church as the one and only way to heaven. Plus after voting their man in as president, and then voting against Obama, they have a hard time accepting the fact that Obama is a better president than Bush. Their conservatism blinds them. It might ultimately be terminal. I know this isn't a good enough explanation for your question, but perhaps it can start to show what direction this all is heading.
I think I understand a bit better now. It is a national crisis that religion and politics have become too intertwined. I would love for President Obama to tell the nation, "We'll keep you safe from foreign attack. You who claim to be in relationship with God, answer your call and take care of one another.
"We'll keep you safe from foreign attack. You who claim to be in relationship with God, answer your call and take care of one another."
Wow! What a great statement. Thank you. Thank you. I will use this one if you don't mind.
'They' are what I call False Christians because they put more emphasis on the Old Testament and view the life and teachings of Jesus as 'amazing'. I saw a brochure the other day entitled 'Jesus on Homosexuality'. The inside was blank, of course. Even though they focus on the O.T., I really have to wonder WHY they judge people.
So, if one disagrees with an African American, they're racist? Ridiculous. And, a huge leap in logic. There may be some racists in the dissenters, but primarily, they just don't like what he's doing. Its as simple as that. Why is it necessary to make the issue about race, when it isn't? And, if anyone bothered to check, there were plenty of African Americans there, as well as Hispanics, Asians - you name it.
imo, Carter is a racist, and to cover his guilt, calls everyone else one. Why anyone even listens to him blather on is beyond me.
Sorry but this comment shows a rather profound misunderstanding of what racism is.
Most racists don't think they are "racist." They genuinely believe that black = bad. My step-father is a life-long Democrat who would not vote for Obama because of his race. He admits to this yet insists that he is not racist. I have no rational explanation for this otherwise good man's stupidity.
I have never seen a comment on any site where someone said they were a racist. Lots of people saying just because we say this or that does not make it racist. Everyone has an opinion about race and some will never admit their racist opinion. Whatever you may feel about that we now have a smart, hardworking and honest bi-racial President Obama. Whether conservatives ever realize how fortunate we are to have this fine man as President is unlikely. I know we are very fortunate. Bush just about brought the country down with incompetent and corrupt policies.
Radmdau, it's not a matter of discussion. There has been no discussion since Obama was elected, only screaming and shouting down of debate. Accurate or not, the picture of the Right is of the angry screamers, the crazy racists, the gun-toting "protesters." And it will stay that way unless more reasonable voices on the Right condemn the extremists and say what in fact they are in favor of. My belief is that the Right is truly afraid of a reasonable fact-based debate, even though the terms of debate in American politics are still largely defined by them. The Left has yet to imbed any key concepts into the American subconscious -- concepts like "political correctness," "welfare queens," "death panels." It is making small inroads, yet even this has some white people very, very fearful. God help us not fear the Other and God be with us.
Race has nothing to do with my and most people's opposition to Obama. My oppostion is based upon a Constitution hating, America bashing, dictator loving, never met a Communist or socialist he didn't like, elitist, Chamberlin like, redistributionist, taxing fiend, emasculated man. I would have voted for and supported Condi Rice, J.C. Watts, Colin Powell, Walter Williams, or any number of "real" people. The left's racist name calling is losing more and more steam as people realize it for what it is, the angry ravings of a more and more marginalized minority.
Right on Brother! You are right that, "Race has nothing to do with my and most people's opposition to Obama." After all, your comment is quite obviously a fair, rational, unbiased, and very well thought out expression of an entirely understandable disagreement with President Obama's blatant disregard for truth, justice, and the American Way. Not a hint of racism darkens your unassailable rhetoric. Hard to believe that the "ravings of a more and more marginalized minority" such as the racist left was somehow able to bring this fake person (fake birth certificate = fake person) to power in our great democracy. You must be heart-broken that President Bush was illegally and unconstitutionally prevented from seeking a third term to continue his God-approved crusade against the likes of the pinko, commie, socialist, elitist, effeminate-tax-happy-redistributionist and godless fiends that continue to plague our dream of a world free of the ridiculous notion that torture is a morally reprehensible way of . . . oh never mind. Who are we kidding? The left-wing racists on sites like this can never understand the truth. Fight on non-racist right-wing defenders of God's Constitution!
I find it really interesting you include emasculated in there. On what grounds?
And considering this "emasculation" charge in relation to the still perpetuated stereotype of black men (and women - but especially men) as hypersexualized... interesting.
But I still think you're wrong that it has nothing to do with race.
Could you please cite where and when you discovered President Obama is a "Constitution hating, America bashing, dictator loving, never met a Communist or socialist he didn't like, elitist, Chamberlin like, redistributionist, taxing fiend, emasculated man"?
Did you learn this from personal experience, from radio, television, newspaper? I really do wonder how people learn and decide that others have particular traits that are hated.
MBergman, that is one of the more ridiculous posts I've seen in some time. Congratulations.
Did you get it all out yet? I doubt it; surely you have a few more inflammatory epithets you can throw in there.
Got all your so called facts from Rush Limbaugh or Fox Newsless? Obama is not any of the horrible names that republicans have called him. Obama is smart. He is hardworking, determined, friendly and kind, works well with everyone, and is getting things done. He will be a very successful and great President because he is a GOOD man. That is the most wonderful thing I can say about anyone. My President is a GOOD person.
MBergman is sadly lacking in truth or honesty. President Obama is not the one who constantly trampled the U.S. Constitution. I believe that was Bush and Cheney and the republican rubberstampers who did that. President Obama stands proudly as an American, has never bashed America and has shown no love for dictators. He has decided to negotiate with our enemies so as to protect our country. Diplomacy was not in Bush's corrupt ideology. There is no truth or validity that our President is a communist or socialist or likes them at all. He is one of the least elite presidents we have had. Hopefully he will redistribute the wealth since republicans have had no problems with giving it all to themselves (the wealthy). Taxing people honestly and fairly is also something that will be good for the nation. Obama is very real and very fit and manly. You are a racist Bud, and we are not racist name callers unless we see or hear one. Angry ravers and ravings are a sign of stupidity and arrogance of the right wing extremists and liars of this country. They can and may end up being a danger to the fabric of our democracy.
While we are still struggling with the problems of racism and white privilege in the USA, our actual population is moving away from issues of white/black. We are becoming a mixed-race nation, slowly.
Is it not more correct to say that the President is simply of mixed race? He comes from both sides of this binary racial divide. He is "of color" rather than white, certainly. But if he is not white, neither is he black. If he is black then he is also white.
The failure to address the racist assumptions in the very claim that he is only one rather than both is a huge problem for the left and the right.
When George W Bush was president, people wished horrible things against him. Some said that they hoped Dick Cheney's pacemaker would fail. They said horrible things against them both personally. I don't think any of them were in good taste, but I stand by their right to say most of what was said.
Now that we have a new president, why shouldn't he be subjected to the same treatment? Because he's "of color" he gets a pass on his poor policies?
There is racism in American and all across the world, but just because he's "of color" doesn't mean that we have to just accept his policies. I think that people have a right to speak out against any president or congressperson. That is our right many people died to give to us. Now, because we have a president "of color", we shouldn't be able to speak out against what we see as wrong? Maybe these people are looking at his character and not the color of his skin, and not racist at all. Isn't that what Dr. King wanted? Would he have wanted a president to get a pass just because he's black or mixed race? What if the president was Condi Rice? Would you be speaking out against her policies? Your darn tootin you would. See, it's his policies, stupid, not his skin color.
Yes, it is true that people voiced their dislike of Bush (and any former President, for that matter) but the difference lies in looking at the reasons people are upset. Bush's critics were upset about tax cuts for the rich, torture, escalated funding for 2 (unnecessary) wars, etc. Obama's critics are upset because he's attempting to pass groundbreaking reform in ensure that people in this country are taken care of.
No, he is not getting a pass on his policies because of his race. And citing other persons of color in a hypothetical manner don't help the argument at all. Neither does calling people stupid.
As a Southerner AND a liberal-minded person I have quite a bit of experience with racism - overt, internal, structural and otherwise. Race IS the 'original sin' of this country (thank you, Jim Wallis), and I can speak as a white person who's actively worked to defy white privilege with serious social consequence.
At the end of the day, call me a bleeding-heart if you'd like, but I'm concerned with making sure that people who need care not only get it, but aren't further burdened by the cost of that care.
Further, citing a right to free speech as the reason it's 'okay' to wish death upon someone you disagree with is seriously flawed to me. The right to free speech is part of a constitution that also guarantees all people the right of life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness. Rights also imply a certain amount of responsibility. I don't affirm anyone who wishes death or pain or violence upon another person. Its unproductive and morally reprehensible, not to mention a denial of one's right to life and happiness.
Do you know anything about Obama's character? Have you studied the U.S. Government's Website and read the Health Care Bill for instance? Have you read Obama's credentials, voting record in the Senate, etc.? Do you know a terrible secret about Barack Obama that you could share with us?
Has Obama begun a preemptive strike against another country? Has he secretly attempted to lease our precious U.S. Wilderness land to oil speculators without our knowledge? Has Obama recently signed an "I'm for torture" policy? Have you taken a poll to see how many people would have voted for Condoleeza Rice if she ran for president? Unless you have research on that of which you speak, it is really unacceptable to call anyone else "stupid."
It is very difficult to not see that many of those opposing the Obama Administration from the right have either overt or unacknowledged issues regarding the president's "racial" background. These people are playing out a script long in the making.The concept of skin color as connoting superiority is a cherished and widely held notion in the history of Western civilization. “Most basically, ‘whiteness’ is an ideological fiction naming those properties supposedly unique to ‘white people,’ properties used to claim that they are a ‘superior’ race and the ‘norm’ by which others are judged.” (Jay, 2007) This ‘ideological fiction’ has paved the way for the privileging of one group against the other, as George Lipsitz, professor of ethnic studies at the University of California San Diego points out in his essay entitled “The Possessive Investment in Whiteness”:
“Whiteness is everywhere in American culture, but it is very hard to
see. As Richard Dyer argues, "white power secures its dominance by
seeming not to be anything in particular." As the unmarked category
against which difference is constructed, whiteness never has to speak
its name, never has to acknowledge its role as an organizing principle in
social and cultural relation.” (Lipsitz, 369)
Others argue that we must abandon the term race “if we have any hope of progressive political change.” (Jay, 2) This statement is indicative of the depth to which the concepts of whiteness and race are ingrained within Western culture.
Another of the difficulties of dealing with whiteness is that almost all human beings associated in any way with this culture are connected to the structure of whiteness in some way or another, and those who are considered white themselves are particularly complicit in being advantaged by the privilege that whiteness entails. We are discouraged from saying anything negative about the paradigm, told that things are ‘the way they are’ and little good can come from upsetting things now, or many such similar cautions.
With the discovery that human beings could be exploited for resources, such as labor or property, the idea of dominance developed. This idea made civilization possible, by providing the dominant group with enough leisure time and surplus goods to begin to establish more stability in everyday life. By coercing human beings to provide for one’s own survival needs as well as their own, the coercing person or group then had time to focus on other issues. Once this exploitation approved effective, and the dominators grew accustomed to this way of life, it became necessary to institutionalize this exploitation. This exploitation then becomes the foundation for civilization.
White supremacy, which has led to much inequality and injustice, can be de-constructed and discarded. In this process of de-construction and discarding of entrenched systems of response to existence, the hope is that new ways of living can be assembled, new modes of discourse, interaction, and behavior in which human beings are not exploited but rather encouraged and empowered to live lives of meaning.
Very well stated. Roediger (Wages of Whiteness) and other historians/theorists need to be required reading for the entire nation, which is increasingly beginning to look like an insane asylum.
The rich tend to be more republican and the republicans don't like nobody messin' with their money...so radio programs and tv shows like, let's say, Fox will use the fear of a certain portion of the populace to get them riled up so to achieve their ultimate goal...conservative control which protects the money honey...it's funny too to me that the liberals tend to think the right control the media and the right thinks it's the left...while those in the middle are left scratchin' their heads...
I have recently been traveling for the first time in my life. Speaking as someone who was raised in Southern California and my first 2 children were black...I've been shocked by the blatant racism- from the blacks- across the country. Emboldened doesn't even describe it. To me it's heart wrenching. The election of this president...aside from any of his policies here or abroad, has divided this country. There isn't even any semblance of civility anymore.
Is this President Obama's fault? Is this country divided because we don't like the president or is it divided because the Far Right think that they are the "Chosen People"?
As far as "emboldened doesn't even describe it": how did you decide that this condition of an "emboldened population" was directly caused by the election of President Obama?
His election does make more clear some of the divisions in our country. It is not his fault, and should ultimately be for the good because it might help young people see the problems and grow beyond them. When you think about it, the Bush administration also revealed some things about politics and conservatives and even about our religion. If we were to return to how things were in the Clinton era, we would be returning to a false sense of security about our nation's greatness. If the revelations of these divisions don't cause us to destroy ourselves, they might some day make us stronger.
Some of these comments defy credulity... Kathymm says "my first 2 children were black"--I don't even know what that MEANS, but I suppose it's the way of saying, "hey...i'm immune from any racial-bias." Then she says she experiences racism from blacks across the country. Really? Where and how? Have their been a rash of white lynchings by black mobs? Have blacks been burning down white churches? Have blacks been asking white people for their birth certificates? Have black cops been racially profiling white drivers or gunning them down? Have blacks insituted some new Jim Crow policy and been keeping white kids out of swimming pools, schools? Have black talk show hosts been asking for segregated buses? Have blacks been burning white leaders in effigy or portraying them as European shamans on posters, making monkey jokes about them, etc.? Where's this "shocking" black racism sweeping the country? And by "emboldened"... are you just trying not to say "uppity?"
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