The cost of identity
I think it should be unsurprising that this is the ugliest primary that i can remember. But if there's any positive outcome here, it may be that recent events have shown with stunning clarity the folly of identity politics. Gloria Steinem's op-ed was perhaps the first high-profile effort to use Obama's race against him, though less sickening than the barrage of racist slander from the Clinton campaign.
The Clintons have deployed tired (and yet, ever relevant) racial stereotypes against Obama, portraying him as a drug dealer and a snake oil salesman/huckster-preacher. The media has been more than complicit in this, and has often employed a hypocritical double-pronged attack of demanding that Obama both pay his "dues" to his people, while not becoming a rabble rouser or pandering to minority interests.
Obama has gone to pains to appeal as a "uniter" and allay fears of racial strife. In doing so he has largely promised to take race "off the agenda" and has been greatly praised by some conservative commentators (like George Will) for doing so.
It looks like Obama's honeymoon with the media is over. Although it was always obvious that race would be a factor in this election, early on it seemed that no one wanted to speak of it openly, in contrast to the gender issue. Now the issue has exploded, and it has tied Obama's hands to a large extent. On the one hand, he must not seem to be denying or ignoring his heritage and "his" people. On the other hand, he must distance himself from the image of the minority demagogue, which to some extent prevents him (or at least threatens him) from making proclaimations about racial inequality and promising action to address this.
This seems contrary to the treatment of Clinton; no one has implied (that i have seen) that she will be under the sway of a special interest, and she was celebrated for crying, showing some kind of feminine solidarity with all her sisters out there. On the other hand, i find it unlikely that she will actually do much for women. Whoever wins or loses the election, it seems unlikely that people of color will stand to benefit.
The Clintons have deployed tired (and yet, ever relevant) racial stereotypes against Obama, portraying him as a drug dealer and a snake oil salesman/huckster-preacher. The media has been more than complicit in this, and has often employed a hypocritical double-pronged attack of demanding that Obama both pay his "dues" to his people, while not becoming a rabble rouser or pandering to minority interests.
Obama has gone to pains to appeal as a "uniter" and allay fears of racial strife. In doing so he has largely promised to take race "off the agenda" and has been greatly praised by some conservative commentators (like George Will) for doing so.
It looks like Obama's honeymoon with the media is over. Although it was always obvious that race would be a factor in this election, early on it seemed that no one wanted to speak of it openly, in contrast to the gender issue. Now the issue has exploded, and it has tied Obama's hands to a large extent. On the one hand, he must not seem to be denying or ignoring his heritage and "his" people. On the other hand, he must distance himself from the image of the minority demagogue, which to some extent prevents him (or at least threatens him) from making proclaimations about racial inequality and promising action to address this.
This seems contrary to the treatment of Clinton; no one has implied (that i have seen) that she will be under the sway of a special interest, and she was celebrated for crying, showing some kind of feminine solidarity with all her sisters out there. On the other hand, i find it unlikely that she will actually do much for women. Whoever wins or loses the election, it seems unlikely that people of color will stand to benefit.
Labels: alienating friends, Bill Clinton, George Will, Hillary Clinton, identity politics, Obama, racism, we're all fucked
posted by Chris at 7:26 AM
2 Comments:
There's a good related article in the Black Agenda Report about race in the S.C. campaign.
thanks, i read that piece on counterpunch and i thought that it was really good. i like black agenda report a lot, particularly glen ford, who i've heard as a guest several times on this is hell.
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