Why Conservatives Are Really Afraid of a Black President

[The Overlord]

http://www.alternet.org/politics/143153/why_conservatives_are_really_afraid_of_a_black_president_

The president reminds Glenn Beck, and those who identify with his white neo-nationalism, of the lie of their own professed superiority.


... in Obama's America, the white kids now get beat up with the black kids cheering, "Yay, right on, right on, right on, right on," and, of course, everybody says the white kid deserved it, he was born a racist, he's white. Newsweek magazine told us this. We know that white students are destroying civility on buses, white students destroying civility in classrooms all over America, white congressmen destroying civility in the House of Representatives. -- Rush Limbaugh,
Sept. 15, 2009

Ever the statesman, and often candid to a political fault, former President Jimmy Carter said recently that much of the animosity directed toward President Barack Obama is "based on the fact that he is a black man."

A lifelong Southerner, Carter acknowledged that the inclination of racism still exists, and that "it has bubbled up to the surface because of the belief among many white people, not just in the South but around the country, that African Americans are not qualified to lead this great country."

Though courageous, the former president's pronouncement will surely be considered controversial to many Republicans and Democrats alike. Some will view Carter's comments as politically inexpedient.

The topic of race in general, and charges of racism in particular, is political dynamite that typically explodes in the hands of the accuser -- just ask [Harvard] Professor Skip Gates, [New York] Gov. David Paterson, or Obama (whom I will return to momentarily).

Unless someone is wearing a Klan hood while yelling, "Nigger, Go Back to Africa," the charge of racism seems to offend the accused these days more than the actual victims.

This is true, in part, due to the most prevalent view of the problem of race and racism in this country. In the eyes of many, the responsibility of moving beyond racial conflict in America is placed at the feet of minority communities of color, as opposed to the dominant society.

We've all heard it. America will move beyond race to a colorblind society only when minority groups cease dwelling on difference. Such a view permeates the melting pot ideal of American folklore, the myth of meritocracy and even the "post-racial" dimension of electoral politics.

Thus, for Carter to call out this segment of the white community, he is disrupting the conspiracy of silence concerning racial injustice that demands the allegiance of politicians on the national scene.

Think about it. Is this not the racial bargain that Obama accepted to become the nation's first African American president? Matters pertaining to race have been avoided unless absolutely necessary (cough, cough, the Rev. [Jeremiah] Wright).

And in terms of policy, obstacles faced by any particular group, like disproportionate unemployment among communities of color, for example, are obfuscated by anemic and ineffectual broad-based prescriptions. Rising tides lift all boats, right?

Yet Obama's enormous success in life, whether as a highly educated community organizer or as America's commander in chief, exposes the paradox this sort of faux post-racialism presents.

It's a one-sided deal for people of color; as "post-racial" in effect means post-black, post-brown, post-red and post-yellow, while leaving the normative racial framework of whiteness intact. Race is the challenge people of color must confront and, dare I say, "get over."

But a post-racial America does not demand the same of those who identify with, and claim the social construction of, whiteness and perceived privileges and cultural superiority therein.

This is why, it would seem, Obama's body standing behind the American presidential seal has a critical segment of America losing its hold on reality -- a reality, I would argue, few have ever been forced to acknowledge up to this point.

Whether it's the birthers, tea-baggers, deathers, indoctrinators, or "You lie!"-ers, they have neither veiled their racial animus nor cloaked their white nationalism. The prevalence of racist images of Obama brandished by protesters juxtaposed with calls of "taking our country back" are reminiscent of D.W. Griffith's fictional America as depicted in the film Birth of a Nation.


And the pride with which this segment of society has rallied the troops around its shared sense of whiteness reveals that their skin color is the one true object of pledged allegiance and determinant of professed patriotism. [See "Unregulated Capitalism and Christian Fervor: Report from the 9/12 Rally at the Capitol" from Sept. 17.]

Herein lies Carter's perceptive point. Obama can't win with these folks, because they are blinded not just by his race but also by an uncritical devotion to their own. His pigmentation rather than his policies cut against the grain of what these persons wrongly consider "natural" or "American."

More specifically, his very being is a haunting rejoinder to such white Americans of what they are not -- indeed what they have never been. This African American man with an Arabic name has dared to usurp all of the cultural and cognitive tropes that white supremacy has historically claimed for itself. He is calm in the face of their unrestrained emotion. The more illogical they act, the more rational he comes across. And, of course, the more eloquent and erudite he presents himself, the more he provokes the Joe Wilsons of the world to mindlessly blurt out, "You lie!"

In the process, Obama has transformed such opponents into the racial other, an uneducated and uncultured blob of white (and largely Southern) backwardness that is beyond the pale of social redemption or acculturation. Wilson and the remaining Sons of Confederate Veterans have, in effect, become this "black man's burden."

Maybe this helps explain Glenn Beck's ridiculous yet probably heartfelt assertion that the president has a "deep-seated hatred for white people."

The president reminds Beck, along with those who identify with Beck's form of white neo-nationalism, of the lie of their own professed superiority -- a place of comfort and privilege in America that was neither deserved nor ever attained, yet still claimed based on the pinkness of their skin and straightness of hair. Obama's apparent success only further dismantles this lie and pours salt in socially insecure wounds.

Similar can be said of those who need the president to be Adolf Hitler. If Obama is Hitler, that means protestors can liken themselves unto the Jews; only this time it's a victimized-yet-devout group of white Anglo-Saxon Protestants who want nothing more than to restore a nation that God, or more appropriately, Jefferson Davis, decreed as divinely their own.

The ability to make such ludicrous claims on conservative radio, Fox News, and on Capitol Hill, however, represents the kind of power that they unduly still possess. As tasteless as Wilson's heckling of the president was, it still takes an immense level of privilege to be a jerk on the floor of Congress.

My point here is simply that the problem of race in America has never been solely or predominantly a minority issue. It is first and foremost, as Carter said, a problem of whiteness.

Just as racial segregation in Wilson's fond memories of idyllic South Carolina was less about black people but a matter of white phobia, the lie of whiteness projects its fears upon minority bodies like the president's in hopes of maintaining its own unhealthy and unrealistic sense of being in charge.

This is why James Baldwin rightly suggested years ago that "the vast amount of the energy that goes into what we call the 'Negro problem' is produced by the white man's profound desire not to be judged by those who are not white."

I believe this applies to our current president and his most vocal critics. If he is framed as the foreigner, incarnate evil and indoctrinating Nazi, many won't have to acknowledge that he may just be smart, sophisticated and a devout patriot. God forbid.

And if he is, what does that make them?

[Callie Del Noire]

Gee.. I feel completely marginalized. Is there any way I can possibly counter any policy offered by the white house and NOT be a racist now?

[Jude]

Racism is a factor with some people but not with others.  The debate is over proportion.  Carter has supposed it's significant.  Personally I don't think it is, but until we have some concrete measure of racism's effect in relation to Obama (which will be hard to gather; people lie on surveys related to race very often) we'll have no idea.  So I don't see the point in discussing it.

[Vekseid]

Gee.. I feel completely marginalized. Is there any way I can possibly counter any policy offered by the white house and NOT be a racist now?

Yes, don't channel Glenn Beck when making an argument. At least Rush is consistent enough to make rational points in his bigotry.

Most of what progressives take issue with Barack Obama's current policy about involves his unwillingness to relinquish the expanded executive powers gained by previous administrations. There's one example.

Edit: Relinquish, not retain >_>

I don't believe anyone was accused of racism when he told the CEO of GM to step down. That was just dumb on his part. There are plenty of examples of stupidity in every administration.

Many protesting the president, however, have no conception of what they are protesting. When it devolves into incoherent yelling, monkey jokes, voodoo and Kenya references, if the conservative movement wants to be perceived as colorblind, they need to distance themselves from those sorts of arguments.

And, right now, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and a number of politicians are not exactly doing that. It's rather frustrating, because I firmly support many conservative causes. But if my choices are 'batshit insane' and 'not particularly bright' I'm in a difficult quandary.

[Callie Del Noire]

Thing is.. I got the trifecta (sp?) .. I'm white, male and southern.. being moderately republican is just the icing on the cake. The way that article is written I'm a frothing at the mouth cross burning bigot whenever my opinion alters from the president's.

[Jude]

Thing is.. I got the trifecta (sp?) .. I'm white, male and southern.. being moderately republican is just the icing on the cake. The way that article is written I'm a frothing at the mouth cross burning bigot whenever my opinion alters from the president's.

It's all about how you express yourself.

The calls of racism towards him are largely due to the fact that a number of very public figures have done very stupid things.

Glenn Beck blatantly called Obama racist, Rush likes to play Barack the Magic Negro, and Joe Wilson, who has a shady history on the subject of racism, unprecedentedly interrupted the first black president during his speech.

It's not at all surprising that people have begun to wonder how much of an influence racism is having when we've seen so many prominent examples of it in media "arch-conservatives."

If the party as a whole wants to distance itself from this ugliness, they need to find a new figurehead to get behind who disassociates with that brand of people.

And Republicans have shown time and time again that they refuse to stand up to the Rush Limbaugh crowd.

[Callie Del Noire]

And Republicans have shown time and time again that they refuse to stand up to the Rush Limbaugh crowd.

Actually it's that we can't get the party infrastructure from the old coots who support them.

[Vekseid]

Thing is.. I got the trifecta (sp?) .. I'm white, male and southern.. being moderately republican is just the icing on the cake. The way that article is written I'm a frothing at the mouth cross burning bigot whenever my opinion alters from the president's.

There's a lot of political power to be had if someone with enough influence takes a part of the Republican party in a rational direction.

I'm quite surprised it hasn't happen yet, though I think Bill O'Reilly is tempted. We need nuclear power. I want the right to keep and bear arms. Coal burning may actually be the solution to both our oil problems and rising CO2 levels. Many progressives are all too happy to toss the baby out with the bathwater.

Actually it's that we can't get the party infrastructure from the old coots who support them.

I'd love to see a rational conservative party form. Things would get done : /

[Callie Del Noire]

My brother ran for office (won't say where or for what) but he's conservative republican.. and rational. We disagree on certain issues but who doesn't? Anyway..he was cast as the naive newcomer (which he wasn't) and had a hard time getting folks to listen. At first..

Then when he and the other canidates for the republican nomiation were all set,  someone else jumped in at the last moment and threw all things askew (Despite the history of that person's office FAILING to get elected to the office in question). Not to mention stabbing my brother in the back. (My brother asked him if he was going to run when he started his own campaign)

Then when the old hardliners jumped behind his friend and were stunned by the fact that they LOST against someone who had spend FOUR times the time he had campaigning (and god knows how much more money).

The more rational types are out there folks.. just not always convincing the party machine to back their plays.

[Cythieus]

It's important to note that every group has its loud idiots, excuse the phrase. It's the same reason why people think Muslims are all terrorists when the huge percentage of them are not. The people in the group who are sane speak the lowest and are not seen to be doing crazy things, thus they are not shown to us out there.

I'm a mixed race, moderate with a conservative lean, who comes from Texas mind you and I can tell you right off the bat I voted for Obama, is it because he's black and I wanted to see a lot of white people get angry? No. Is it because he spoke pretty words and dazzled me? No. It's because I was frankly scared of a Palin/Mccain Ticket, I thought that McCain was out of touch, I thought Palin was touched in the head and I thought that more importantly the Republicans were out of touch with society, the world, and the many other things.

In 2004 I voted for Bush, not afraid to admit it but I voted for Bush because I didn't think Kerry would do as good as him, that might be hard to believe. But things could have been worse.

As a rational mostly conservative person, I cringe when I hear Glenn Beck the same way some more liberal thinkers want to grab a hand full of their own excrement and chuck it at a screen when Michael Moore starts yammering on. I don't watch FOX news unless I want a laugh and I don't think that the Republican Party represents me or my views or has my interest in mind. They've got one goal, to down the other person and oppose the other side.

As long as that is their sole purpose, they will forever be behind. 

[Callie Del Noire]

I think a big part of it is the ultra-conservative factions that have been the back bone for decades to accept that you can't solely focus on 2 or3 single issues to the exclusion of all others.

1. Abortion
2. Gay Marriage

seem to be the big ones..

add in the fact that 'big government' seems to have become their byline rather than what they hated.

[Cythieus]

I think a big part of it is the ultra-conservative factions that have been the back bone for decades to accept that you can't solely focus on 2 or3 single issues to the exclusion of all others.

1. Abortion
2. Gay Marriage

seem to be the big ones..

add in the fact that 'big government' seems to have become their byline rather than what they hated.

Problem is they don't realize that big government is what many of their candidates push for, just in different ways.I mean what's more invasive? The government regulating the economy or your sex life?

[Callie Del Noire]

Problem is they don't realize that big government is what many of their candidates push for, just in different ways.I mean what's more invasive? The government regulating the economy or your sex life?

That and we seem to be betrayed by people who are intent on filling their bottom line.

[Cythieus]

That and we seem to be betrayed by people who are intent on filling their bottom line.

Not really, they want things done their way. When you deal with your average person who thinks that everyone should be Christian, straight and white like them, there's not really much room for free thought around it. Remember it's still illegal to have gay sex here in some parts of Texas...what about that law sounds like its less invasive than what most liberals propose?

The problem is that they see certain freedoms as freedoms and others as wrong.

[Callie Del Noire]

I think it's more of the folks in office are more beholding to the PACs, Lobbyists and Special interests. Both parties seem to have a big 'beltway' buffer zone.. and there have been a few cases of what I would consider outright corrupt business practices done by BOTH sides in the last 2 decades.. steadily getting worse.

[Cythieus]

I think it's more of the folks in office are more beholding to the PACs, Lobbyists and Special interests. Both parties seem to have a big 'beltway' buffer zone.. and there have been a few cases of what I would consider outright corrupt business practices done by BOTH sides in the last 2 decades.. steadily getting worse.

Both parties are deep in bed with the companies, but it seems the Republicans want to deepen it. I mean do you really know the story of Blackwater? Really know it?

It's basically the selling of war to people who can do it at the cost of the taxpayer without all those "pesky" Human rights look out groups there to say anything about it.

[Sabby]

Herein lies Carter's perceptive point. Obama can't win with these folks, because they are blinded not just by his race but also by an uncritical devotion to their own. His pigmentation rather than his policies cut against the grain of what these persons wrongly consider "natural" or "American."

More specifically, his very being is a haunting rejoinder to such white Americans of what they are not -- indeed what they have never been. This African American man with an Arabic name has dared to usurp all of the cultural and cognitive tropes that white supremacy has historically claimed for itself. He is calm in the face of their unrestrained emotion. The more illogical they act, the more rational he comes across. And, of course, the more eloquent and erudite he presents himself, the more he provokes the Joe Wilsons of the world to mindlessly blurt out, "You lie!"

A very well put paragraph there.

[Cythieus]

A very well put paragraph there.

I don't think I ever thought of it that way, but it does make sense. I guess its more that they don't see in him a part of themselves. Presidents have always been white, male and had names that sounded European or American.

[Jude]

There's a very large segment of the American populace that is out of touch with reality.

They still live in the days of the 1950s when, in their eyes, America singlehandedly won the war against the Nazis, liberated the Jews, stopped the Japanese, instituted the Marshall Plan, etc.

They don't realize it's been 60+ years since we acted particularly benevolently, and that all of the years since then have been filled with war after war of self-interest.  Even if we were fighting to protect smaller groups in Vietnam and Korea, we were still trying to control the shape those countries would take and ensure they emerged from their civil wars as capitalist nations.  This was due to our fear of communism which was ultimately self-centered; we didn't want to deal with closed markets and we wanted to stop the expansion of communism out of fear of monolithic communism.  Iraq and Afghanistan are similar, only motivated by fear of terrorism and Muslim theocracy (which is a bit more justified than fear of Communism I'll grant).

America has burned through its political capital.  Yet people still think we're owed for what past generations did.  A lot of Americans have this myth of exceptionalism, they believe our nation is better than the rest of the world, no one does it better than an American can, and that there's just something special about our populace and way of life.

The gap has closed as we exported our ideals and economics throughout the globe.  There are places in the world that educate better than us, take care of their citizens better than us, rank happier based on statistical surveys, etc.

This is still a great nation to live in, but we need to accept that it has its flaws and needs to be repaired (and in many ways brought into the 21st century).  Talking points and rhetoric don't help anyone, the Republicans are most guilty of sticking to the most antiquated of ideas.

What we, as a country really need, is a modern conservative ideology based on rationality and logic not a pathological, evangelical fear of government or Christian morality.  We don't need to personify government and view it as evil to be opposed to it.  That low-brow rhetoric started by Ronald Reagan has taken its ultimate manifestation in Sarah Palin; lets face it, it's batshit insane.

I believe in as little government intervention as is possible.  I want to be free to live my life and do as I please as long as I'm not hurting anyone else.  This is the basic credo on which all of American politics should be built.  Lets face it, the Democrats want to protect people from themselves in many instances--as do the Republicans.  If we want a real conservative party to emerge, it needs to toss that out the window, stop trying to legislate morality, and truly rethink the problems facing our country and their approach to politics.

This will not happen until the Conservatives grow a pair and throw the religious right under the bus; as they continue to shrink and atheists continue to grow, the chances of this increases none the less.

[germwaster]

I think a big part of it is the ultra-conservative factions that have been the back bone for decades to accept that you can't solely focus on 2 or3 single issues to the exclusion of all others.

1. Abortion
2. Gay Marriage

seem to be the big ones..

add in the fact that 'big government' seems to have become their byline rather than what they hated.

Don't forget the gun crowd.  I am one of those moderate Republicans that voted for Obama.  One of the major reasons I voted for Obama was that McCain put his gun statement very high in his list of positions (top 5?  no more than top 10).  I'm sorry but the legality of guns had better not be in the top ten priorities of my president, especially in current times...  Of course, his position of guns may have been in the top ten of his ability to fund his campaign.

Both parties are deep in bed with the companies, but it seems the Republicans want to deepen it. I mean do you really know the story of Blackwater? Really know it?

It's basically the selling of war to people who can do it at the cost of the taxpayer without all those "pesky" Human rights look out groups there to say anything about it.

I'm not sure I agree with the second part of your statement.  The system works the way it works.  The entire system is run by money and the 'good' old gang of Washington (both parties).  I am most amused when a candidate switches parties.  Ultimately, the power is with the voters, though, and the voters spoke loud and clear with Obama - We don't want the same old, same old (And Hilary and McCain both would have given little more than that, with Obama there is a chance for something different).

-gw

[Cythieus]

If we want a real conservative party to emerge, it needs to toss that out the window, stop trying to legislate morality, and truly rethink the problems facing our country and their approach to politics.

I couldn't disagree more, there are universal morals that need to be legislated and certain groups like the financial markets are in need of heavy legislation to make sure they're not just making imaginary money grow, but actually making real movements forward with the best interests of all involved.

Your statement about the religious right couldn't be more badly timed, the atheists victiories that so many proclaim are a moot point when the Christian sects growing the fastest are the most radical and least likely to promote change. Basically you're going to be looking at more people who believe like Palin in a few years time than people who don't as far as Christians go.

I'm not sure I agree with the second part of your statement.  The system works the way it works.  The entire system is run by money and the 'good' old gang of Washington (both parties).  I am most amused when a candidate switches parties.  Ultimately, the power is with the voters, though, and the voters spoke loud and clear with Obama - We don't want the same old, same old (And Hilary and McCain both would have given little more than that, with Obama there is a chance for something different).

No the system doesn't work the way it works, look back, there have been recent legislative movements to corrupt the system and put it deeper into bed with large companies.

[Chea]

I'm a black male ( I'm actually mixed but since I'm like 75% black I identify as black). My political orientation is generally centrist and I'm a registered independent, and very much an atheist. Though I mostly agree with Democrat ideology mostly in the economic arena, I agree with Republicans on abortion.

I proudly voted for Obama, both because is black and because for the most part I agree with his ideology. I believe a big part of the struggle is between the young non-racist generation and the old racist generation. We youngsters were a key component in Obama's victory and I believe the oldies are afraid of a new era of americans not trying to be bigots for a change. It is evident that the Republican party is full of old coots belonging to the group that wishes to maintain a white chistian America.


On another note, has anyone noticed how people are all pointing out making a big deal out of everythig Mr Obama does? For example, remember that thing with PETA lashing out at him for swatting a fly? I bet if a white president would've done that everyone would be like " He's so cool, He's so tough!". PETA and any other groups that comment on stupid shit like that need to fuck off.

White House --> BLACK HOUSE !!!!!  O8)

[Cythieus]

I'm a black male ( I'm actually mixed but since I'm like 75% black I identify as black). My political orientation is generally centrist and I'm a registered independent, and very much an atheist. Though I mostly agree with Democrat ideology mostly in the economic arena, I agree with Republicans on abortion.

I proudly voted for Obama, both because is black and because for the most part I agree with his ideology. I believe a big part of the struggle is between the young non-racist generation and the old racist generation. We youngsters were a key component in Obama's victory and I believe the oldies are afraid of a new era of americans not trying to be bigots for a change. It is evident that the Republican party is full of old coots belonging to the group that wishes to maintain a white chistian America.


On another note, has anyone noticed how people are all pointing out making a big deal out of everythig Mr Obama does? For example, remember that thing with PETA lashing out at him for swatting a fly? I bet if a white president would've done that everyone would be like " He's so cool, He's so tough!". PETA and any other groups that comment on stupid shit like that need to fuck off.

White House --> BLACK HOUSE !!!!!  O8)

Oh I have to VERY much agree with you on the old versus new generations. The best thing that can happen to this country and the rest of the world is more mingling and mixing. That's how ideas are spread and viewpoints become understood.

[OldSchoolGamer]

I think it is naive to claim racism plays no role in the antipathy from some quarters toward Obama.  And it is disingenuous at the least to label principled criticism of Obama policies "racist."

Having said all that, I think there's a deeper issue here: America as it exists today has hit an economic asymptote, primarily because of the oil shortage, but significantly because we had fiscal and monetary policies that are simply unsustainable.  Much of the economic "growth" of this decade was predicated on the notion that houses are a magical font of wealth, forever destined to appreciate and spit out new pools, RVs and home theaters for their owners.  This idea contravenes the laws of thermodynamics: a nailed-together collection of wood, vinyl and glass out in the sun, wind and rain gets LESS valuable over time as it wears down--not more.

To an extent, I think Obama has become a focal point for the increasing angst the American public is feeling as it comes to grips with the reality that we as a nation really stopped progressing at least a decade ago, and that the prospects for further growth are rather dim for some time to come.There has to be somebody to blame, and it's easier to attach the blame to a black man with a funny name that it is to question the cherished assumptions of American capitalism and exceptionalism.

[Vekseid]

I proudly voted for Obama, both because is black and because for the most part I agree with his ideology. I believe a big part of the struggle is between the young non-racist generation and the old racist generation. We youngsters were a key component in Obama's victory and I believe the oldies are afraid of a new era of americans not trying to be bigots for a change. It is evident that the Republican party is full of old coots belonging to the group that wishes to maintain a white chistian America.

One of my clients is an 82 year old retired white male who worked the phones for two months supporting Obama.