Tonight I watched Obama stutter and contradict himself in an interview on CNN about the "incendiary" remarks made by Rev. Wright of Trinity Church in Chicago. Here, finally, was the moment when Obama was forced by "liberal" white America to denounce anti-racist militance. The moment was orchestrated by Fox News pundits who poured over hours of Rev. Wright's sermons on DVD looking for something to crucify him by. And they found two juicy tidbits.
In the first Wright says that Black folks shouldn't sing "God bless America" but rather "God DAMN America" for all the injustice it has done in the world. In the second Wright says that Hillary Clinton doesn't know what it's like to be discriminated against (he uses the classic Black middle-class example of not having a cab stop rather than a more working-class issue of job discrimination or police profiling). She's never been called a nigger, Wright argues. But Barack knows, according to Wright, what it means to grow up in a "country and culture controlled by rich white people."
These "incendiary" statements were broadcast by Fox and then picked up by CNN. I am reminded of the 1959 on the Nation of Islam entitled "The Hate that Hate Produced," which first put Malcolm X into national (read: white) consciousness. For the record Obama is no Malcolm X, but what IS similar is the white reaction to "black racism". I highly recommend watching the 1959 documentary and then watching some of the Hannity & Colmes clips on YouTube (part 1 and part 2 as well as this shameful clip. Please prepare yourself to see some class "A" house niggas!).
Trinity Unity church in Chicago is one of the major cores of cultural Black nationalism in the US. My mother used to drive us 2hrs to Chicago for the New Year's "watch service" so that we could be part of a religious experience with some cultural consciousness. It's a mega church with quite a few wealthy Black folks, a larger proportion of middle-class folks and a good deal of work-a-day people. For me the church doesn't go far enough, especially in regards to class questions, but as a sample of Wright's style will show, he's got the Black liberation theology thing going in some good directions in an era of extreme conservatism.
Now, as far as things go I'm not a fan of mega churches and the merely cultural consciousness of the Black middle classes, but the issue here is that the mere assertion of a commitment to the Black community is considered a threat to the u.s. According to my way of thinking this is quite true, if by u.s. we mean the state and the ruling class and by the Black community we mean our people's working-class and poor majorities. We might first be tempted to say that the conservatives are trying to throw mud onto Obama's campaign because he is winning. I think that's only a (small) part of the story.
What's really happening is that the entire white power structure is disciplining its Black middle class. Obama and all other would-be politicians with semi-conscious constituents, are being shown that any trace of anti-racist rhetoric or connections will NOT be tolerated, not simply among politicians, but amongst their constituents. They are basically playing the old trick of having so-called Black leaders discipline the more militant elements as a condition for sitting at the table. This comes in the form of hostility from the conservatives, but also from the "pragmatism" of the liberals (of whom Obama is a member) who try their best to eliminate race from the campaign. Both groups require that the issue of racial oppression be totally omitted from politics and that Black politicians police their consituencies. This is about the fear of a militant Black community entering the political arena and both parties are showing that they will NOT have it.
Is it a coincidence that after Obama "spoke" with the good reverend, Wright stopped giving interviews?
Yes, Obama is taking his whipping with head bowed. And it was in this same manner that last night Obama went on CNN and condemned the statements made by his former pastor, apologizing for knowing Black folks who are at least willing to stand up and talk about racism and power in the u.s. Obama stuttered his way through an interview with Anderson Cooper, who bent Obama over his knee like a three-year old and spanked him for going to a church where the pastor talks about Black life in a racist country.
And, like a child confessing for breaking the house rules, Obama apologized and renounced his pastor of 20 years and, by association, the constituency that had brought him onto the political stage in teh first place. Obviously giving the greatest attention to placating white fears but clearly shaken by the idea of losing Black support, Obama found himself making nonsense statements like this in the interview:
Now that Obama has been forced to talk about racism and choose sides, now that he has chosen explicitly to side with white reaction, there will be a shadow over the rest of his campaign. I am not saying that he has changed his position. I was always convinced that he was all for "America," meaning the ruling class, but now Black folks who have been supporting him because of what he represented for their hopes and sense of dignity have been slapped in the face and slapped hard.
To be sure many of these folks will continue to support the campaign of Obama. They will tell themselves that Obama is still a trailblazer, that he still represents the best choice we have, etc, etc. But the hope and sense of pride cannot but be mortally wounded. It might be politically expedient for Obama to cut off the man who baptized his children and married he and his wife, but it does not bode well for any sense of dignity amongst Black folks when they think of Obama.
(I HIGHLY recommend reading the transcript of the CNN interview here. And I'll keep an eye out for a YouTube clip so you can see Obama losing his shit when drilled by white folks about Black militance.)
In the first Wright says that Black folks shouldn't sing "God bless America" but rather "God DAMN America" for all the injustice it has done in the world. In the second Wright says that Hillary Clinton doesn't know what it's like to be discriminated against (he uses the classic Black middle-class example of not having a cab stop rather than a more working-class issue of job discrimination or police profiling). She's never been called a nigger, Wright argues. But Barack knows, according to Wright, what it means to grow up in a "country and culture controlled by rich white people."
These "incendiary" statements were broadcast by Fox and then picked up by CNN. I am reminded of the 1959 on the Nation of Islam entitled "The Hate that Hate Produced," which first put Malcolm X into national (read: white) consciousness. For the record Obama is no Malcolm X, but what IS similar is the white reaction to "black racism". I highly recommend watching the 1959 documentary and then watching some of the Hannity & Colmes clips on YouTube (part 1 and part 2 as well as this shameful clip. Please prepare yourself to see some class "A" house niggas!).
Trinity Unity church in Chicago is one of the major cores of cultural Black nationalism in the US. My mother used to drive us 2hrs to Chicago for the New Year's "watch service" so that we could be part of a religious experience with some cultural consciousness. It's a mega church with quite a few wealthy Black folks, a larger proportion of middle-class folks and a good deal of work-a-day people. For me the church doesn't go far enough, especially in regards to class questions, but as a sample of Wright's style will show, he's got the Black liberation theology thing going in some good directions in an era of extreme conservatism.
Now, as far as things go I'm not a fan of mega churches and the merely cultural consciousness of the Black middle classes, but the issue here is that the mere assertion of a commitment to the Black community is considered a threat to the u.s. According to my way of thinking this is quite true, if by u.s. we mean the state and the ruling class and by the Black community we mean our people's working-class and poor majorities. We might first be tempted to say that the conservatives are trying to throw mud onto Obama's campaign because he is winning. I think that's only a (small) part of the story.
What's really happening is that the entire white power structure is disciplining its Black middle class. Obama and all other would-be politicians with semi-conscious constituents, are being shown that any trace of anti-racist rhetoric or connections will NOT be tolerated, not simply among politicians, but amongst their constituents. They are basically playing the old trick of having so-called Black leaders discipline the more militant elements as a condition for sitting at the table. This comes in the form of hostility from the conservatives, but also from the "pragmatism" of the liberals (of whom Obama is a member) who try their best to eliminate race from the campaign. Both groups require that the issue of racial oppression be totally omitted from politics and that Black politicians police their consituencies. This is about the fear of a militant Black community entering the political arena and both parties are showing that they will NOT have it.
Is it a coincidence that after Obama "spoke" with the good reverend, Wright stopped giving interviews?
Yes, Obama is taking his whipping with head bowed. And it was in this same manner that last night Obama went on CNN and condemned the statements made by his former pastor, apologizing for knowing Black folks who are at least willing to stand up and talk about racism and power in the u.s. Obama stuttered his way through an interview with Anderson Cooper, who bent Obama over his knee like a three-year old and spanked him for going to a church where the pastor talks about Black life in a racist country.
And, like a child confessing for breaking the house rules, Obama apologized and renounced his pastor of 20 years and, by association, the constituency that had brought him onto the political stage in teh first place. Obviously giving the greatest attention to placating white fears but clearly shaken by the idea of losing Black support, Obama found himself making nonsense statements like this in the interview:
I have never been naive enough to think that we get beyond these issues of race or gender or our history or our past. What I have said is that we have the capacity to move beyond them and improve our relationship with each other in a way that actually reflects the best of American values and American ideals.What is clear is that the equilibrium Obama maintained between his Black constituency and his "cross-over" white constituents has been ruptured by being forced to choose sides on the issue of racism. And Obama chose to side with the white backlash reactionaries (conservative and liberal) who say that racism is a thing of the past. Indeed, Obama carefully phrases racism as an issue of the "old days":
Reverend Wright as somebody who grew up in the '60s, had very different life experiences than I had, has continued to harbor a lot of anger and frustration about discrimination that he may have experienced.Notice his use of tense: "continued," "experienced." Even more troubling, notice how he says that the rev harbors anger and frustration about discrimination he may have experienced!! Oh yes, the center can no longer hold.
And, so, his [Wright's] life experiences have been very different than mine. And part of what is going on within the African-American community is a transition, in which some of the rhetoric and statements and -- and frustrations of the past have given way to opportunities that I have experienced, and -- which is part of the reason why I speak in very different terms. And that's part of what our campaign has been about, is to surface some of these issues and to be able to move forward and get beyond them.
Now that Obama has been forced to talk about racism and choose sides, now that he has chosen explicitly to side with white reaction, there will be a shadow over the rest of his campaign. I am not saying that he has changed his position. I was always convinced that he was all for "America," meaning the ruling class, but now Black folks who have been supporting him because of what he represented for their hopes and sense of dignity have been slapped in the face and slapped hard.
To be sure many of these folks will continue to support the campaign of Obama. They will tell themselves that Obama is still a trailblazer, that he still represents the best choice we have, etc, etc. But the hope and sense of pride cannot but be mortally wounded. It might be politically expedient for Obama to cut off the man who baptized his children and married he and his wife, but it does not bode well for any sense of dignity amongst Black folks when they think of Obama.
(I HIGHLY recommend reading the transcript of the CNN interview here. And I'll keep an eye out for a YouTube clip so you can see Obama losing his shit when drilled by white folks about Black militance.)
1 comment:
God DAMN America
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