But things like this have me worried about the chances of our biracial presidential candidate winning in November.
Alleged racism attracts online attention
Full disclosure: I worked at the Herald-Zeitung and lived in New Braunfels, Texas, from early 1997 to late 1999. And yes, it’s very Republican, mostly white, and a bit intolerant.
But there’s also a strong Hispanic community, and a growing number of black residents. I hope most of the good people who live there are outraged by this incident. But I know others have no problem with it.
And that’s why I don’t know that we’re ready to elect Obama.
While it’s hard for me to think of Obama as black–I tend to see him more as a young Jimmy Stewart or a young Frank Sinatra, snap, snap (and where is his fedora, anyway?)–I think the most likely racial problem we’ll face with a President Obama is a paralytic timidity to criticize our first black President.
Shouldn’t be that way, blacks are supposed to be equal, right? But there is still that fault line along which every party seeking only its own advantage will be trying to get at least a fingernail’s grip of relative advantage over its opponent. If I can stun you to my advantage as a putative racist for criticizing him, how hard will it be for me to forego that and resist doing so?
TIMID? You are kidding, right, R.J.? Rush and Co. make millions attacking people. They will not stop because Obama is (sorta) black. They have already cut this one off at the pass by talking about this issue ad nauseum at all the right wing blogs. These guys will not hold back for race. What will happen, is that left wingers defending Obama will attempt to use claims of racism. Rush and Co. will wear this like a badge of honor. Kind of like if the NYT criticizes them. This will increase their ratings with the “base” who will love to hear how their favorite blowhard didnt let accusations of racism stop them from speaking the truth.
Steve
It’s not the oppositional radicals one has to worry about, it’s the good folks that put a candidate in. I’m thinking not too many people had a problem criticizing yet another pseudo-Texas oilman. Being part of a tarnishing criticism of the first black President, though, is very likely to give folks pause, even subliminally. If that hesitancy is actively reinforced, even obliquely, it would likely table the critique.
While Tom is undoubtedly right that there is anti-black sentiment out there that will vote against Obama, his current standing would seem to indicate he’s up to overcoming that. I see the more insidious and subtle problem being one of electing, to use the HR term, a self-selected as protected “protected class” of President.
But as with Bush acceding to the sheltering cloak of criticism being painted as anti-patriotic, it would ultimately be up to Obama whether he affords himself the protection of any such equivalently specious racist shield or not.
Guess I will still have to disagree. I think the people who will be hesitant to criticize him because of his race are those who are most likely to vote for him. Fox news ran non-stop Wright loops, Ayers stories, Rezko stories and is he a Muslim? for weeks. They claim that the only racism that still exists in this country is affirmative action (at least 3 of the writers at the Corner claimed this).
Obama will probably get the brief honeymoon most presidents do. If he continues to talk to blacks about being responsible, he may be able to keep conservatives mollified a bit longer. I think that is the most he can expect from his race and the opposition.
Steve
Guess I will still have to disagree. I think the people who will be hesitant to criticize him because of his race are those who are most likely to vote for him.
It sounds to me as if you’re agreeing, not disagreeing.
Hmmm, I misread part of your post. The sun was in my eyes.
:-)
Steve
Anonymity is likely to breed vice and crime in general, so I think we should be hesitant to say that this is an example of racism in particular or just the result of people acting in a consequence free environment.
For example, in a psychology class I took years ago, the professor asked the students to write, anonymously, what they would do if they knew ahead of time that no one would find out. One student wrote “sing and dance”. Everyone else – every single other student – wrote they would steal, vandalize, humiliate, or, in two cases, even rape.
I said that I would take lots of pens from Office Max. I really like to be well-stocked in office supplies.
Racism in particular is alive and well and often not discussed (”post-racial”, what a joke), but the anonymity of the internet is most certainly a revealer of our darker nature.