- Tom on August 11, 2011 10:54 AM:
The predominately white progressive intelligentsia don't see Obama clearly because of our racial blind spot. We don't see the role of race in how he seems to understand himself and how other perceive him.
First of all, we think that he understands himself as one of us. A progressive activist, heir to the radical and New Left movements most of us were raised in. He is not; I think that he understands himself (and certainly his real base understands him) as the first African American President. We're thinking Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. We should be thinking about Harold Washington, the first African American mayor of Chicago. Washington was elected and immediately faced a solid wall of opposition from most white aldermen in the city. Washington understood his role as breaking down that wall of opposition and assembling a governing majority, which he finally did after his re-election. Unfortunately, he died shortly thereafter. By the way, one of Washington's political strategists was David Axelrod.
How does Obama break the iron unity of the GOP opposition to assemble a governing majority in the US Congress?
If we progressives were not blinded by our own assumption that our history is the only history, we might see how Obama may be seeing his situation.
White progressives often think that African American elected officials are politically naive. We will far more credit to Cornel West, who has never been elected to anything, than to an elected state senator, or even the President of the United States. We think that Obama does not understand the nature of John Boehner, Mitch McConnell or Eric Cantor, as though he has not sat across the table from them. He doesn't understand how mean they are, we think.
Obama acts entirely within the tradition of mainstream African American political strategy and tactics. The epitome of that tradition was the non-violence of the Civil Rights Movement, but goes back much further in time. It recognizes the inequality of power between whites and blacks. Number one: maintain your dignity. Number two: call your adversaries to the highest principles they hold. Number three: Seize the moral high ground and Number four: Win by winning over your adversaries, by revealing the contradiction between their own ideals and their actions. It is one way that a oppressed people struggle.
Obama has taken a seat at the negotiating table and said "There is no reason why we cannot work out solutions to our problems by acting like responsible adults. That is what people expect us to do and that is why we have entered into public service." That is the moral high ground.
Honestly, I have been reminded more than once in the last few months of those brave college students sitting in at a Woolworth's lunch counter, back in the day. Obama sits at that table, like they did at the counter. Boehner and McConnell and Cantor clown around, mugging for the camera, competing to ritually humiliate Obama, to dump ketchup on his head.
I don't think those students got their sandwiches the first day, but they won in the end.
Obama is winning. Democrats are uniting behind him, although some white progressives think that they could do the job better. Independents are flocking to him. Even some Republicans are getting disgusted with their Washington leaders. Obama is not telling us about lack of seriousness of the Congressional GOP; he is showing us the vivid contrast between what we expect of our leaders and their behavior. The last two and half years have been a revelation of the essential conflicts in our society and politics.
If white progressives understood much about the politics of the African American struggle in the United States, we would see Obama in the context of that struggle and understand him better. And you don't have to be African American to know something about the history of the African American struggle. The books and the testimony is there. It's not all freedom songs. But you have to be convinced that it is something that can teach you something you don't already know. - * * * * *
- Tom's comment was also flagged on this terrific website which I've only now discovered. In fact, I am putting it in my blog roll. Take a look at W.e.e. See You.
A reader sent me this comment from another blog. It is buried deep in the thread of the Political Animal column of the Washington Monthly. Take a look. Tom, the writer, gave me much to think about:
23 Comments
Rationalist
8/17/2011 05:25:30 am
I think this is really interesting. When my leftie friends start going off about Obama not being the progressive hero they thought he'd be, it would be so good for them to consider his alternatives. He's one frustrated offhand comment away from forever being painted as the angry black man.
Reply
BC
8/17/2011 06:03:58 am
Somewhere in that articular was raised the question. How effective would Obama be if he became an angry man toward his opponents?
Reply
Viola-Alex
8/17/2011 06:21:08 am
once again, L, you cool my fevered brow. I confess to wishing Obama were more forceful, and this gives me a new perspective.
Reply
8/17/2011 06:27:31 am
In a way I understand the frustration with Obama, but in many ways I don't. He inherited an impossible situation and a group of "mean kids" who don't want to sit with him at the cafeteria table and who can't stand seeing him get the best grades.
Reply
GypsyGirl
8/17/2011 07:49:57 am
While Obama is viewed by those on right as only a Black man because they keep forgetting the other half of him that came from an American WASP family, it shouldn't matter what color he is.
Reply
curiouser
8/17/2011 08:31:29 am
Thank you, Laura! Tom gives us much to consider.
Reply
Dis Gusted
8/17/2011 08:39:24 am
Voters may not like Obama, but they care for the GOP field even less. Obama's popularity numbers are currently low, but guess what? No other candidate comes even close.
Reply
Bobcat Logic
8/17/2011 08:52:30 am
I grew up in the Deep South and have vivid memories of the attitude of "whites" before, during, and after the civil rights struggles. It was, and remains, intensely ugly, and vividly embodied in the Tea Party Movement.
Reply
bees-wax
8/17/2011 09:43:18 am
Bobcat, I agree about how it would have been difficult for a Hillary Clinton administration.
Reply
Suelu
8/17/2011 10:01:31 am
I think Tom's commentary was very insightful and I think true. I see President Obama as the change we said we were waiting for, but now are either resisting, or unable and sometimes unwilling to recognize because of preconceived expectations, or reliance on previous standards of measure.
Reply
ginny11
8/17/2011 11:28:51 am
I read that comment/post after it was tweeted a few days ago. While I am not on the "whining/bitching about Obama" progressive bandwagon, this post by Tom also offered me another perspective into the "why" behind the way President Obama operates. I agree that he knows exactly what he is up against, and he has accomplished/is accomplishing alot considering the wall of absolute obstructionism he has been up against since day one. I have disagreements with Obama, but I trust and respect him, and I will support him and vote for him, and will likely work for his re-election campaign.
Reply
Very interesting and a perspective I had not considered. And I think that if Obama had raised the debt ceiling unilaterally they would have tried to impeach him. But there are things that Obama could have done without being considered angry - such as some recess appointments - which would make the government run more smoothly.
Reply
Up
8/17/2011 11:38:07 pm
When you are part of the dominant group in a society it can be difficult to recognize that people from other backgrounds experience the world differently. Tom explains that very well.
Reply
Michael
8/18/2011 01:55:19 am
Laura, Thanks for posting this. After reading it I find myself re-evaluating my perception of just what Obama has been through and what he is up against. Talk about a titanium spine. Always better to walk in anothers shoes to gain perspective. Go see the new film just out "The Help" With southern whites dictating policy in Washington it is reminescent of what African Americans in Mississippi and elsewhere were facing in the early 1960's. Boehner, McConnell, Cantor, Perry & the Tea Baggers et al are acting like the petty housewives in the film, self absorbed, racist and entitled. I hope for all of our sakes that Obama prevails and helps make this a better country for all.
Reply
8/18/2011 02:11:17 am
Thanks Michael, and all of you. After being a "medical mom" for so very long, I have learned that it is not up to me to judge anyone else's journey. Until I've walked in their shoes, lived their life, or had to make their decisions, I cannot criticize or judge. At least I try not to.
Reply
Bennett
8/18/2011 02:32:21 am
In case you missed this comment on The Daily Dish a few months ago, it is a far better explanation of why President Obama is the way he is:
Reply
8/18/2011 03:00:37 am
Bennett, thank you so much for that link. I'd not read that comment nor heard that term.
Reply
Viola-Alex
8/18/2011 03:13:36 am
great links, all. My belief in Obama has been revitalized by your comments.
Reply
Bennett
8/18/2011 04:43:33 am
Your welcome, Laura! That's my all-time favorite "article" on Obama.
Reply
Bobcat Logic
8/18/2011 06:01:07 am
@Victoria
Reply
curiouser
8/18/2011 07:44:51 am
Bennett - Thanks for the TCK article and your comments.
Reply
@Bobcat Logic - I did not know that about the recess appointments. I agree that the right wing is sabotaging the country. Patriotism, indeed.
Reply
physicsmom
8/20/2011 08:10:17 am
I read this comment a few days ago and was blown away by its insight. I'm one of those liberals who has been frustrated by Pres. Obama's lack of fire and seeming reluctance to fight for core Democratic principles. These observations have helped me look at the situation from a different perspective, which was enormously helpful. The later addition of links to the articles about "third culture kids" (TCK's) was also informative. Thanks, Laura, for providing this forum to discuss this.
Reply
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Laura NovakReporter, Author, Blogger, and Mother...
|