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Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

Can We Talk?

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When Barack Obama was elected President of the United States in 2008, it opened up a new dialogue on race in this country. Suddenly, something had happened  that many thought was impossible. An African-American had been elected to the highest office in the country. Many Americans felt a sense of pride in their country on the day Obama took the oath of office. There was even talk of a new post-racial America. Now, only two and a half years later, those feelings seem foolish and utopian. Americans are now wondering if, instead of a step forward, the election was actually a step backwards.

There is no doubt that President Obama has faced a racial backlash. He has even had to deal with that backlash from within his own party, as clearly shown during the DNC Rules Committee meeting in May, 2008. That backlash did not come as a surprise for those who had paid attention to racial tensions in this country, although the ferocity of that backlash has shocked just about everyone.

The 2008 Democratic Party campaign was historic in that the two front-runners were a woman and an African-American male. Both candidacies inspired passionate supporters. A rift developed between the two camps. That rift was never fully healed and has led to strident opposition to the winner that is rarely seen within a victorious party. That opposition continues to play out in the online world of political blogging. Subtle and not so subtle racism and sexism finds its way into online discussions. When added to the overt racism from the right, this in-party opposition creates a toxic environment for any discussion about race in America.

While the racial backlash unleashed by the Obama election has revealed deep racial tensions in this country, a more subtle division has become more visible in recent days.

It is rather easy for those on the left to come together to condemn racism when it comes from those on the right. What isn’t so easy is for those on the left to face any accusation against liberals of racial bias. This has become evident in the ongoing controversies of the past few months.

When people of color began to speak up for themselves on liberal blogs and in print publications about white privilege and how it affects both conversations about race and criticism against the president, white liberals reacted with outrage. “How dare they accuse me of being racist”, was a common refrain. “You are being too sensitive”, said many white liberals. POC responded by saying that whites can’t really identify with POC, because they haven’t lived with the constant racism that affects POC in this country.

The right is thrilled to see a rift developing between white liberals and POC. Anything that weakens the  president’s coalition is seen as a gain for the right’s cause. Major political blogs, like DailyKos, and publications like Salon have been caught up in the issue. TheGrio.com, an MSNBC web site, published an article on September, 30th titled “Are black Obama backers and white liberals parting ways?”. It seems as if racial discourse is trending backwards after so much hope for advancement. However, I think there is another, more positive, way to view what is happening in the online world.

For far too long, most whites in this country rarely heard the views of POC about racism or any other issue. What they did hear was filtered by the mass media and consisted mainly of the views of a few of the more vocal or prominent African-Americans, like Bill Cosby or Jesse Jackson. Hardly any whites had heard of people like Melissa Harris-Perry, Denise Oliver-Velez, or Van Jones. That is changing.

While POC make up a small percentage of political bloggers on sites like dkos, they are there and their voices are being heard. White discomfort with that discourse is evidenced by the reaction to MHP’s recent articles and by the dkos purge. Reaction follows action. In this case, the action is the entry of black voices into the conversation. That can only be a good thing.

While the right rejoices at seeing disarray on the left and the left struggles to deal with the new reality, everyone seems to be focused on the negatives. Both sides are wrong to view it that way.

The tensions and the conflict on the left is not something to be feared. It is exactly what so many of us on the left have been yearning for, for far too long. We are finally having that discussion about race in America with all voices being heard. POC are entering the discussion and it is changing the whole nature of the discourse. This isn’t a step back, it is a long awaited step forward.

As with any change, there will be discomfort, fear, and resistance on the part of many. As blacks and Hispanics gain more of a voice in the discussion whites will have to adjust to the change and accept a loss of control over the tone and direction of the conversation. As the voices of POC gain recognition, more and more of them will join in. This is the beginning of something truly significant.

Those of us that hoped the election of Barack Obama was the beginning of a new era were right. It’s a new era all right, just not in the way we thought. Don’t despair. Rejoice.


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136 comments

  1. Peter Jukes

    I read that Grio article (ht Al/Adept2U) and realised that the local struggles I’d witnessed on DKos were part of a larger firestorm. Part of it is, I believe, a xenophobic nearly nativist tendency among some on the left (something I’ve encountered personally as a Brit) which is so lost in its specific culture that it’s almost as insular as the Tea Party.

    But yes and yes to the main thrust of your argument: this kind of conflict is, in many ways, a sign of success. Many repressed grievances are finally being aired, and challenging, discomfiting perspectives being bought to bear. It’s hard. It’s full of conflict. But this is the open expression of dissent (at least on the blogosphere if not yet in the mainstream media) which ultimately leads to more insight, understanding and justice

  2. Adept2u

    If you’re not familiar with him, he’s fierce anti racist white academic and commentator with an international reputation.  His first pieces were on the operation of racism within the right which was really well received, but in that article he gave a promise I knew would spell the end of his participation, he said he discuss the operation of bias on the left.  When he put out that work he was savaged and I knew he would be.  See in the 3 years I spent as a contributor in “progressive space”  before they threw my Black ass out for being an uncompromising supporter of the Democratic President on a Democratic blog I have seen on more than 1 occasion heck on more than 100 occasions flat out racism incubated and condoned.  They had bands of racist hound Black people and when the discipline came down none of them were on the list.  The owner is so myopic and unaware of what happened on his own blog he actually asked me if I could identify the racist for him.

    Now if he were serious that would have been a conversation he had before throwing our Black asses out, but that’s the thing he isn’t serious, for you see racism is cool in America.  Sure they talk a mean game ohhh I’m so insulted by racism, but when given the opportunity to address it we were told there were no rules, and when the rules were re-established we were told we were the problem.  So, typical in this country as to be disgusting.

    You’re right there is a problem.  The BlackVoteTm is closing and its that meme that got me tossed out of “progresssive space”  they expect us to just follow them because the Republicans are so much worse, but they are wrong and they can’t be told they are wrong because they know everything.  The DK is run by a man who wasn’t even in this country in 1979 and the man thinks he can be a leader in racial matters or any matter for that matter, he can tell us what is important to him.  He can sick his front pagers on our diaries to troll them, and then when we have the audacity to speak up we’re tossed out.

    There aren’t that many Black Americans with the talent or inclination to discuss politics on a blog and “progressive” space, Democratic Underground, Balloon Juice, all of them are run by white men with other agendas and little desire to press ours.

    My Mom’s was a Hill raiser, know why?  She was a real civil rights warrior and she told me America wasn’t ready.  That White America would turn on Barack Obama with all the venom and hypocricy that has made this country famous, and they have.  There is wisdom to listening to ones elders.

  3. anna shane

    and wrong.  America will never be ‘ready’ for a real look at slavery, much less current racism.  Many if not most seem to feel personally blamed and need to defend their own sense of goodness.  Since never ready, why not now.  I think the only backlash to worry about it the legal kind and that started before Barack was elected, and I think his election makes that harder. Even that Gates fiasco and the beers was positive, in that even a man like Gates needs to be polite to the police or he’ll get arrested and everybody knows it.  

    In many ways Barack has changed things for all of us, he’s a very solid normal guy who is clearly doing his best for the nation.  He was maybe the perfect first.  There is likely no post-racial if that means a sea change in recognizing past crimes and injustices with a collective will to let it no longer happen.  People aren’t like that.   Too much seeing only our own selves and assuming most others are like us.  

    I was a Hillary supporter, and I am not sure that this rift wasn’t healed, it was just an election, and it came to an end.  Hillary is more admired than ever, and Barack pushed her to be SOS and he did that mostly because she’s great, but partly for me, for those of us who didn’t want her talent wasted.  

    I think this is a good thing, there must always be the education part, and then time for it to sink in.  Kos is a kid, he just has a blog that gets press and so make some of us want to chime in there. HIs opinions and decisions are unimportant.  It’s the debate that’s important. Once something has been pointed out, it’s harder to be blind to it.  Lies only live in the dark.  

    It’s hard to see the change when it’s happening around us.  I see it, in the increased confidence of younger African Americans.  I have a lot of contact with young adults, and have for generations, and I  see it and it makes me happy.  

  4. creamer

    This is really a tough subject. As a white hetro American male I have no real life experience to understand what it means to be anything else. While I remember the 70’s with hair past my collar and the looks I would get from older store clerks and the like. It was more being viewed as a rebellious youth than a discomfort or fear of my color.

    We (me & my white peers) were never taught what it meant to be black. My elementary school wasn’t integrated until I was in 4th grade. Prior to that we used the n word to degrade each other with no real reference or concern for what it meant. I still remember the hurt in our new school mate’s eyes when he heard me calling on my friends n****. In that moment maybe I started to grasp that we didn’t all walk the same road.

    When I reference never being taught what it means to be black I’m referring to what our schools pass off as social studies and history. Most text books look to glorify the white American heritage. They will spend a fair amount of time on European history and what it means to us, but no time on West African history. They consistently paint a picture that highlights white history (Europe), and cast everything else as insignificant. They make almost no reference to the wealth that was created by slaves, and tread very lightly on our founding fathers involvement with slaves. The Civil War is often treated as an issue of tariffs and states rights, rather than slavery. As a nation we quite often avoid any truth we find inconvenient  or embarrassing. This leaves white students with little understanding of their African American peers and African American students with self image problems.

    I don’t write this to excuse anyone of their indifference or bias or ignorance. But its worth recognizing that while each group has a hard time knowing what its like to walk in the others shoes, there are more reasons for this than just racism. Watching Shaun and Adept2 go back and forth reminded me of how uncomfortable it is for me to talk about race, always fearing that I might be misunderstood or that I might offend. But it seems to be more and more obvious that we need the conversation to take place, and maybe everyone needs to listen a little more.

  5. DaNang65

    I’m out the door for the doctor’s in only moments, but I just wanted to point out how much I loved reading that list of honest and powerful black voices; Melissa Harris-Perry, Denise Oliver Velez, and Van Jones. In that order.

    Two are widely known, often appearing on the teevee machine. The third not so much, but no less powerful, no less important to understanding the racial tension and discussion than her better known brother and sister. I’d actually turn my boob tube on if I knew she was going to appear.  

  6. nancy a heitzeg

    While i appreciate the optismism here, it is frankly misguided..

    Quite the opposite of this is occurring —

    The tensions and the conflict on the left is not something to be feared. It is exactly what so many of us on the left have been yearning for, for far too long. We are finally having that discussion about race in America with all voices being heard. POC are entering the discussion and it is changing the whole nature of the discourse. This isn’t a step back, it is a long awaited step forward.

    Not all voices are being heard — far from it..Fewer and fewer are…

    The continued exclusion of a variety of voices of POC is not progress but more of the same..The insistence — on the part of some white “progressives” to control the discourse on race ( which often means suppressing it or offering up a few “tokens ” voices which are deemed safe” is regression..

    This is not acceptable and we should just say so..

  9. mahakali overdrive

    Yes. This is very well said. And I continue to notice the impact of the DK Purge/mass defection as there are now very, very few discussions ABOUT race there, and also, so many people who I am used to seeing every single day are, quite simply GONE. I wonder all the time what they would think about various things. But they are not there to provide their perspectives. Now I want to tap into these conversations better, because they don’t seem to be in the void left behind over on the GOS, post-purge/exodus.

    I’m glad as Hell to see a little talk here.

    But I want to see what you say,

    As blacks and Hispanics gain more of a voice in the discussion whites will have to adjust to the change and accept a loss of control over the tone and direction of the conversation. As the voices of POC gain recognition, more and more of them will join in. This is the beginning of something truly significant.

    come to fruition, because it still looks like something out there, or inaccessible to the average white progressive.

    As Peter says in the first reply, the local struggles were part of a larger firestorm, some nativist (I’ve seen this with Latino rights in California quite a bit). Some racist or authoritarian.

    I want to HEAR MORE DIVERSE VOICES. Now. Especially with so much mass shifting around with populist uprisings at hand. The issue of intersections between race and class are deeply important.

    But still, I’m hearing more silence than I would like.

  10. mahakali overdrive

    Yes. This is very well said. And I continue to notice the impact of the DK Purge/mass defection as there are now very, very few discussions ABOUT race there, and also, so many people who I am used to seeing every single day are, quite simply GONE. I wonder all the time what they would think about various things. But they are not there to provide their perspectives. Now I want to tap into these conversations better, because they don’t seem to be in the void left behind over on the GOS, post-purge/exodus.

    I’m glad as Hell to see a little talk here.

    But I want to see what you say,

    As blacks and Hispanics gain more of a voice in the discussion whites will have to adjust to the change and accept a loss of control over the tone and direction of the conversation. As the voices of POC gain recognition, more and more of them will join in. This is the beginning of something truly significant.

    come to fruition, because it still looks like something out there, or inaccessible to the average white progressive.

    As Peter says in the first reply, the local struggles were part of a larger firestorm, some nativist (I’ve seen this with Latino rights in California quite a bit). Some racist or authoritarian.

    I want to HEAR MORE DIVERSE VOICES. Now. Especially with so much mass shifting around with populist uprisings at hand. The issue of intersections between race and class are deeply important.

    But still, I’m hearing more silence than I would like.

  11. Inoljt

    Maybe white liberals don’t fully understand what it’s like being a minority in America.

    But America is a country in which most people by white, and it’s a country run by white people. Most of those white people are not white liberals, especially if they belong to the Republican Party. Minorities need all the allies that they can get. Minorities and white liberals (who combined are still far from the majority in the United States) need to present a united front, not to get distracted by internal bickering like this which alienates white liberals and leaves minorities all the more powerless.

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