Pushing for a Change

From Vibe.com and Jeff Chang's "Can't Stop Won't Stop" Blog
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Throughout the north side of Pittsburgh, one of the city's three major Black districts, they lined up before dawn, hundreds deep in the 47-degree weather as if they were waiting for history to be made. Even after the polling places opened into an instant crawl, they kept coming.

And they kept coming all day.

One of them was a 19-year old named Loric Frye. Frye was a Pennsylvanian, and because of that, he was a key voter in the presidential election. Senator John McCain had staked his strategy on winning the state, hoping to steal it from Senator Barack Obama in his comeback bid.

But Frye was far from the kind of clean-scrubbed, neatly partisan first-time voter Republicans would ever think to appeal to or CNN would ever bother to interview.

Frye was a young brother in oversized pants. His young son was at home and his girlfriend was pregnant with their daughter. He had no high-school diploma. He had no fancy title. Frye was, no, still is in the process of putting it all together.

If you went strictly by the stats, he wasn't even supposed to have found his way into the voting booth yesterday. And truth be told, he almost didn't.

He admits that up until this year, politics didn't interest him. Barack got his attention. But the person who really turned him around was a man named Paradise Gray, a legendary hip-hop promoter and activist, who got Frye work as a community organizer doing voter outreach.

Frye spent the year canvassing, registering and door-knocking with Khari Mosley and the League of Young Voters. He started to feel deeply invested in the election and the political process. He spent the last few weeks doing get-out-the-vote work. All politics remains local. All transformations begin with the personal.

So Loric Frye was excited to cast his first ballot yesterday.

But when he showed up with his voter registration card, he was told he "wasn't qualified", he said. " Something about it was illegal."

At first he thought it was the fact that he had been arrested once. But he had never been convicted or charged. He called Mosley and Gray. They came and took him down to the Board of Elections. There, Frye discovered that there were 6 registration forms in his name. Faced with conflicting information, including different social security numbers, some clerk had decided to qualify him.

It was true that he had moved twice since filling out his first form. When you're young and you're trying to get yourself together, that kind of thing happens. But he was so hyped to vote he made sure to re-register his new address every time that he moved.

When the Board of Elections official pulled out the other three forms, Frye could see that they were fakes. The registering agents were from ACORN. They had apparently used his name, invented addresses, and forged his signature 3 more times. The irony of the ACORN voter fraud case is that, in the few instances that it did impact real people, it didn't affect McCain supporters, it affected the poor people most fired up to vote for Obama.

When dawn had broken, a massive national effort at election protection got underway, born of the nightmares from the disputed 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. It was aided in part by web 2.0 tools. A fraudulent text message and a hacker-produced email at George Washington University that urged Obama voters to show up on Wednesday were both exposed via the internet.

In battleground states like Pennsylvania, Virginia and Ohio, the highest voter turnout in almost a century led to worries about a lack of ballots and slow lines. At South Carolina State University, a historically Black college, dozens of students were told that their polling places had changed. Student activists and the NAACP organized buses to get 32 students to the correct locations, but worried that at least 50 more were discouraged from voting.

Even Republicans circulated a memo detailing voting irregularities. Most of the incidents rose nowhere near the level of the kinds of voter suppression that Democrats faced in Florida in 2000 or Ohio in 2004. In fact, the first listed on the memo, an accusation of intimidation by alleged members of the New Black Panther Party at a polling place in North Philadelphia, was little more than a hilarious televised encounter between a Fox News reporter and a Black poll-watcher that seemed as if it was scripted for The Boondocks.

Republicans also explored allegations of double-voting by students in Georgia and media in Kansas who may have voted both in person and through absentee ballots, unfilled absentee ballot requests in New Mexico, missing military absentee ballots in Virginia, and calls in Pennsylvania with fake polling information.

But hours later, all this seemed moot.

As soon as the polls closed in California, all of the networks called a landslide victory for Barack Obama. The margin was nowhere near close. In the popular vote, Obama beat McCain by nearly 6 million.

Over 90% of African Americans voted in record numbers for Obama. But he also won among women, split the white working class, and picked up a much larger number of white male voters than John Kerry had in 2004. Obama's electoral college tally corresponded to his margin of victory among young people, Asian Americans, and Latinos: 2-1.

The election of the first biracial African American president in the history of the U.S. set off ecstatic celebrations all across the country. Twitter's server stopped for a few minutes, overloaded by messages. In Oakland, Berkeley, and Seattle, people poured into the streets and instant block parties sprung up as if it was the Bronx in the summer of '77. Crowds marched cheering to the White House. They filled Times Square as if it was New Year's Eve. They came 1 million strong into Grant Park to hear Obama deliver his victory speech, the very place where the Democratic Party collapsed in police riots 40 years ago.

For a small group of people in Pittsburgh, the victory began earlier that day, when an elections official restored Frye's right to vote and handed him a ballot. For Mosley, the League's National Political Director, a longtime community organizer and a veteran of the 2004 battle, it was a gratifying moment.

"The biggest thing I've seen today is the number of young African Americans from the hood that have never voted—teenage parents, the formerly incarcerated, just an incredible number of people voting," he said. "We're really seeing a sea change. The college students have been voting. Now we're seeing a movement among those who never did go to college. That could be monumental not only on the local level but the national level."

"Man, I'm happy as hell I get to vote," Frye told Mosley. "I'm just so happy to get my voice heard."

The victory would not just belong to Barack Obama, but to Loric Frye. "I'm hoping for change," Frye said. "I know it ain't gon' come today or tomorrow, but I'm hoping for change. I'm pushing for change."

Racist Bugs

Someone posted this on myspace and I almost punched the computer where his face was. I can not believe how disgusting this is. First of all, it completely ignores the fact that if we're really trying to apply this to human Americans, the grasshopper does not dance and sing and play all summer as is alleged, he is struggling to work but can not because of the racist, pro-ant society. The only reason the ant can collect all that good stuff is because he has the key to the resources.....
This is so racist even down to the last sentence........ugh.
-Carley




Subje​ct:​ The Ant and the Grass​hoppe​rTwo Diffe​rent Versi​ons!​ Two Diffe​rent Moral​s!​OLD VERSI​ON:​ The ant works​ hard in the withe​ring heat all summe​r long,​build​ing his house​ and layin​g up suppl​ies for the winte​r.​The grass​hoppe​r think​s the ant is a fool and laugh​s and dance​s and plays​ thesumme​r away.​ Come winte​r,​ the ant is warm and well fed.The grass​hoppe​r has no food or shelt​er,​ so he dies out in the cold.​MORAL​ OF THE STORY​:​ Be respo​nsibl​e for yours​elf!​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​-​MODER​N VERSI​ON:​The ant works​ hard in the withe​ring heat all summe​r long,​ build​ing his house​and layin​g up suppl​ies for the winte​r.​The grass​hoppe​r think​s the ant is a fool and laugh​s and dance​s and plays​ thesumme​r away.​Come winte​r,​ the shive​ring grass​hoppe​r calls​ a press​ confe​rence​ and deman​dsto know why the ant shoul​d be allow​ed to be warm and well fed while​ other​sare cold and starv​ing.​CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provi​de pictu​res of the shive​ringgrass​hoppe​r next to a video​ of the ant in his comfo​rtabl​e home with a table​fille​d with food.​ Ameri​ca is stunn​ed by the sharp​ contr​ast.​How can this be, that in a count​ry of such wealt​h,​ this poor grass​hoppe​r isallow​ed to suffe​r so ?Kermi​t the Frog appea​rs on Oprah​ with the grass​hoppe​r,​ and every​body cries​when they sing,​ '​It'​s Not Easy Being​ Green​.​'Jesse​ Jacks​on stage​s a demon​strat​ion in front​ of the ant'​s house​ where​ thenews stati​ons film the group​ singi​ng,​ 'We shall​ overc​ome.​' Jesse​ then hasthe group​ kneel​ down to pray to God for the grass​hoppe​r'​s sake.​Nancy​ Pelos​i & John Kerry​ excla​im in an inter​view with Larry​ King that theant has gotte​n rich off the back of the grass​hoppe​r,​ and both call for animmed​iate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share​.​Final​ly,​ the EEOC draft​s the Econo​mic Equit​y & Anti-​Grass​hoppe​r Actretro​activ​e to the begin​ning of the summe​r.​The ant is fined​ for faili​ng to hire a propo​rtion​ate numbe​r of green​ bugsand, havin​g nothi​ng left to pay his retro​activ​e taxes​,​ his home isconfi​scate​d by the gover​nment​.​Hilla​ry gets her old law firm to repre​sent the grass​hoppe​r in a defam​ation​suit again​st the ant, and the case is tried​ befor​e a panel​ of feder​al judge​sthat Bill Clint​on appoi​nted from a list of singl​e-​paren​t welfa​re recip​ients​.​The ant loses​ the case.​The story​ ends as we see the grass​hoppe​r finis​hing up the last bits of theant'​s food while​ the gover​nment​ house​ he is in, which​ just happe​ns to be theant'​s old house​,​ crumb​les aroun​d him becau​se he doesn​'​t maint​ain it.The ant has disap​peare​d in the snow.​The grass​hoppe​r is found​ dead in a drug relat​ed incid​ent and the house​,​ nowaband​oned,​ is taken​ over by a gang of spide​rs who terro​rize the oncepeace​ful neigh​borho​od.​The Moral of the Story: Be careful how you vote in 08'

Outcast/ Revolutionary?

Be Nobody's Darling

Be nobody's darling;
Be an outcast.
Take the contradictions
Of your life
And wrap around
You like a shawl,
To parry stones
To keep you warm.

Watch the people succumb
To madness
With ample cheer;
Let them look askance at you
And you askance reply.

Be an outcast;
Be pleased to walk alone
(Uncool)
Or line the crowded
River beds
With other impetuous
Fools.

Make a merry gathering
On the bank
Where thousands perished
For brave hurt words
They said.

Be nobody's darling;
Be an outcast.
Qualified to live
Among your dead.

by Alice Walker

"It is only in being an outcast that you have freedom"

1. In choosing to be an outcast, you must consider and accept the pain and sorrow that necessarily comes with this path. Alice Walker's poetic call to be an outcast reminds me of Huey Newton's definition of being a revolutionary. In the introduction to his book Revolutionary Suicide he states: "The revolutionary must always be prepared to face death and hope because it symbolizes a resolute determination to bring about change. Above all, it demands the revolutionary to see his death and his life as one piece" (p.7).

Any ideas, thoughts about this notion of a revolutionary and/or outcast?

----Sonal

Hip Hop Activism and Black Mentorship

Carley posted this video on our Hip Hop Congress-SUA blog, and I am taking the liberty to post it here as it is very relevant to this class! Tell us what you think!!

Attempting to answer miki's question

After viewing Angela Davis’ interview and reading Ngugi wa Thiong'o’s Decolonizing the Mind I was left with an abundance of thoughts and reflections. First, the concept of historicity that Davis introduces was entirely new to me. That is to say, I have heard various arguments that serve as various components of this term yet, never before had they come together under the umbrella term historicity. I have previously heard an argument of history that depicts the “histories” recorded and integrated into the collective memory as “the history” as a concept entirely dependent on who won the right to give an account of events or whose voice was given credibility—the opportunity to tell the story.
I was aware of the bias nature of suggesting “the history” but never had I heard that concept applied beyond a conceptual context. Additionally, I believe the concept of historicity begins to pose an answer to Miki’s question (and I’m summarizing) of why race is the most prevailing or seemingly important topic in American society. In our pervious class I suggested that this may be because racism is still relevant due to its prevalence in society today. Davis’ argument takes my idea a few steps further and explains that racism not only continues to prevail today despite living in an age where it is generally understood to be a horrible thing but, it exists because we are living with the sediments of slavery as a result of a flawed abolitionist movement. As the abolitionist movement failed to truly liberate slaves by providing them with the adequate tools to such as a satisfactory and desegregated educational system, legitimate employment opportunities as freemen, and among other things equal voting rights, freed slaves were unable to adequately fulfill the role of citizens of the republic. This situation served to contribute to the plight of illiteracy, segregation, unemployment, poverty, and disenfranchisement endured by free slaves and their descendents for more than 100 years. Ultimately the lack of foresight and the ensuing dilemmas of the freed slave population lead to the creation of racial stereotypes from their white counterparts—who along with the abolitions failed to righteously usher freed slaves into society creating the dilemmas in the first place.
Because race originally played a major role in shaping the stereotypes that perpetuate and fuel fears that attached to the collective psyche of America through a mechanism I do not yet understand it is clear that race still serves as a major variable in creating the fear people hold. This is exemplified when Davis talks about her image as the apotheosis of white fear as she states “people might not be able to explain why an image strikes fear in their hearts but it’s still there.” Moreover, it’s the civil injustice against poor and black people spanning more than a century that has fanned the flames of America’s greatest problems of poverty, healthcare, homelessness, and drugs. As statistic show a large percentage or black or African American people comprise the categories of prison population, poverty, living without healthcare, homelessness, and drug addiction. Moreover, these variables have aid in creating the current stereotypes of black or African American people. Thus, because race initially played a role and I would argue continues to play a role—although perhaps smaller—in shaping the political, social and economic realities of today it is one of the most prevailing topics in discussions today.

Black Music: the quintessential Afro-American language

I'd just like to reply to Carley's blog (my own reactions to the link will come later) but i agree with your statement regarding language as an integral part of retaining and expressing one's identity and creativity. One of the questions you raised was, what is the language of African Americans? If it is true that they lost their mother-tongues a long time ago, what is theirs??

To me, it is blues, it is gospel, it is jazz, it is hip hop. All of these were bred out of a reactionary resistence to oppression by the white man. Although they have since then been exploited and many a times turned against the black man through globalisation, they will always remain the quintessential black music, the African American language. As exemplified in the popularization of hip hop and jazz, and even the blues, this language has been acquired by those interested all over the world, upon from which have sprung various dialects. Nonetheless, its roots are authentically African American.

Blues, which has its origin in slave songs were a way in which slaves told stories, expressed their humanity and retained strength.

Gospel, inherently a quality of black churches, came from a need for African Americans and recently-freed slaves to create their own religious community, separate from white christian churches.

Jazz, too, was a vamp on classical western standards. Louis Armstrong, when hired as entertainer in white bourgeois halls, mocked his oppressers through his horn..and they clapped---this is the ultimate irony!

Hip Hop, beyond just the slang used in rhyme (a code specific to certain geographic locations and experiences), is a versatile language expressed visually, orally, physically and aurally. Springing from a resistence to discriminatory urban policies, catching momentum from a resistence to the Reagon era, advancing through the resistence of Apartheid in South Africa, rising up from a resistence to corrupt police and drug wars, and recently waking from a resistence to the commercial rap music industry, hip hop is a language that empowers.

--Sonal

Response to "Decolonizing the Mind"

After reading the quotes from Ngugi wa Thiong'o's Decolonizing the Mind, and recalling bits and pieces from previous history lessons regarding colonizers' or slave masters' tactics in demoralizing the culture of their oppressed, it is clear to me that standard forms of discourse, such as Standard American English, is used as a colonizing force. It is probably the most potent and improtant ingredient in the immobilizing, poisonous elixr fed to the oppressed population. As Thiong'o stated, his language was his people's world. They passed on stories and lessons, incited creativity and playfulness, it instilled the values of community and cooperation. I can not imagine living in such a beautiful world and having that which provided such intellectual, cultural, and emotional sustenance turned into a thing of shame, hatred, evil. It would be like having your mother who has loved and cared for you your whole life turning against you and trying to convince you that you are a terrible, disgusting person. I wonder what the colonizing forces are thinking when they impose such a terribole fate on people. Do they know the psychological effects their efforts have, or do they simply despise the people's culture and laguage, looking down on it enough to rationalize their actions? Either way, they seemed to figure out that it worked. Taking away a people's language takes away a huge part, maybe the heart, of its culture. It debilitates them in such a fundamental way- creativity is harder to grasp until the adjustment is made to the dominant language, I suppose.
So, I would maintain that a people in this position should do whatever it can to resist the dominant language. In African countries this might be easier than in others, however, namely in the United States. Many of the languages shunned by colonial forces have still been maintained. However, African Americans lost the languages of their motherlands a long time ago. Although there are differences in the way white and Black people in the U.S. speak, it's more similar than different. Obviously, American Standard English is the only accepted language in the U.S. So should the oppressed use this language? Is it succumbing to the power's authority by doing so? Many wise, creative African American scholars and leaders have been using Standard American English to get their points across for generations. In a way, this becomes the inheritance of Blacks in the U.S. now. So we may go as far as to say it is denying one's ancestors to deny Standard American English. However, I recognize that given the social situation of the African American since the beginning of slavery, these "prominent" African Americans are not necessarily representative of the larger population of their people, at least linguistically. Herein lies the conflict. What is the language of the African American? It differs across classes, regions, generations. We may find some distinct similarities but they are few. Do we take those similarities and try to build on them to create one solid, Black Language? Would this be helpful, empowering, to the opressed Black person? Or, to quote Aneil's question, Can the mind be decolonized using the colonizer's language? It would be so easy for me to say, Yes! Just take on that language and go for yours! It's your causes, not your laguage, that make the difference. However, that would be denying something culturally rich and relevant, even essential, to so many people's lives. I myself would have to reconsider some of my word choices and grammar habits, etc. But for African American people, taking to using only Standard American English would not only be humiliating, but it is not realistic. I guess for now, it is up to the individual to make the choice of which version of the English language to use, and when. The issue of Standard American English being the only one accepted, being the "standard," still confuses me, though. How should we change it, if we should, and toward what aims?
Anyone????
Sorry for the long post. :)
-Carley

Assata Shakur Link

http://www.assatashakur.org/

There is a thread on Ngugi wa Thiong'o Decolonizing the Mind that may be of interest to you, given our recent discussion of language/writing via June Jordan.

http://www.assatashakur.org/forum/open-forum/17592-ngugi-wa-thiongo-quotes-language-decolonizing-mind-1986-a.html

The following questions spring to my mind: Is it useful to consider standard forms of discourse (Standard American English) as a colonizing force? Does language shape the imaginary? If so, is it useful to resist/reframe dominant language/discourse? Can the mind be decolonized using the colonizer's language?

For a lesbian, feminist take on this question I'm also thinking of Audre Lorde's "The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House" from her collection Sister Outsider.

Angela Davis Links, etc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU-PNWxhjr8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-KGTmUauKY

I'll be interested in hearing your thoughts about what Angela Davis mentions (especially her idea of reparations). I'm also wondering if there is in what Angela Davis suggests something of a response to Miki's question.

--posted by Aneil

Is Kanye a Racist? or is Bush the Racist?

I still remember when I first saw this on TV. I had a lot of mixed feelings. What the federal government did to the New Orleans people was completely unacceptable. They did not do their job to protect its own citizen nor save them from the natural disaster. Journalists were pleading for more aid yet it didn't come. I saw the images of people living in the Dome with bodies all over the place. I couldn't believe this was taking place in America. It reminded me of a conflict zone in a third world country.

Soon after Hurricane Katrina passed, the battle broke out. One moment I saw people pleading for help and the next moment I saw police officers and soldiers shooting people who were caught looting. It became like the LA riot of 1992. It was like an all out war zone which then brought forth the one major 'problem' America has never been able to overcome: Racial division.

As W.E.B. Du Bois states in The Souls of Black Folk, "They approach me in a half-hesitant sort of way, eye me curiously or compassionately, and then, instead of saying directly, "How does it feel to be a 'problem'?, they say, I know an excellent colored man in my town..."

What took place within early American History has clearly shaped how we view human diversity. Slavery, inhumane treatment towards African Americans, white superiority.. it might not be so obvious these days.. but it has truly left a deep wound in many people's hearts. Although in most of our daily lives, racism isn't something we clearly see or experience. As Americans, we try to ignore the fact that we have this 'problem' but then something always occurs that triggers this 'problem' to come back and it reminds us of where we are as a society. Blacks continue to feel victimized.. whites continue to feel awkward knowing they still indirectly maintain that 'white privilege' within society. This can be clearly seen in Hurricane katrina and its aftermath.

Not only was the looting and shooting taking place, but then Kanye goes on a show to bluntly say "George Bush doesn't care about black people..."with an awkward silence following it by the white man next to him, Mike Myers. Then all chaos break out. Every news station was showing this clip over and over again, people were searching on youtube to see the clip for themselves. People were madly writing comments to each other on forums to express their opinion. Some saying Kanye was a racist towards white people while others saying that Bush was the racist towards black people.

Now, three years has passed since Hurricane Katrina and Kanye's infamous line. Has anything really changed? Nope, I doubt it. We're all still divided on the color line. We can't break this social construct. Why can't we? I mean ultimately, it is we, the humans, who created this phenomenon by giving social significance to this word called race, then surely we are the ones who can truly break it? We can look at an individual and not automatically make assumptions and judgments solely based on his or her physical looks, right?

No.. maybe having racial division is better. Maybe its just a easier and more convient way of living. Sometimes its too difficult and troublesome to always be looking for the "humanity" that we all supposedly share.

OR.. maybe we're all just too scared to face this 'problem' together and to put trust in one another as fellow human beings...

Posted by: Miki

Tim Wise on "White Previlege"

This is Your Nation on White Privilege

September, 14 2008By Tim Wise
Tim Wise's ZSpace Page
Join ZSpace

For those who still can't grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help.

• White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because "every family has challenges," even as black and Latino families with similar "challenges" are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.
• White privilege is when you can call yourself a "fuckin' redneck," like Bristol Palin's boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you'll "kick their fuckin' ass," and talk about how you like to "shoot shit" for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.
• White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action.
• White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be president, and people don't all piss on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S. Senator, two-term state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means you're "untested."
• White privilege is being able to say that you support the words "under God" in the pledge of allegiance because "if it was good enough for the founding fathers, it's good enough for me," and not be immediately disqualified from holding office--since, after all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and the "under God" part wasn't added until the 1950s--while believing that reading accused criminals and terrorists their rights (because, ya know, the Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law school requires it), is a dangerous and silly idea only supported by mushy liberals.
• White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people immediately scared of you. White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member of an extremist political party that wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto was "Alaska first," and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family, while if you're black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately think she's being disrespectful.
• White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and the work they do--like, among other things, fight for the right of women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end to child labor--and people think you're being pithy and tough, but if you merely question the experience of a small town mayor and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a class she took in college--you're somehow being mean, or even sexist.
• White privilege is being able to convince white women who don't even agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your running mate anyway, because all of a sudden your presence on the ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women, and made them give your party a "second look."
• White privilege is being able to fire people who didn't support your political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being a typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being black and merely knowing some folks from the old-line political machines in Chicago means you must be corrupt.
• White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God's punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you're just a good church-going Christian, but if you're black and friends with a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on black people, you're an extremist who probably hates America.
• White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked by a reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you such a "trick question," while being black and merely refusing to give one-word answers to the queries of Bill O'Reilly means you're dodging the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced.
• White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW has anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while being black and experiencing racism is, as Sarah Palin has referred to it a "light" burden.
• And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly allow someone to become president when he has voted with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing, people are losing their homes, inflation is rising, and the U.S. is increasingly isolated from world opinion, just because white voters aren't sure about that whole "change" thing. Ya know, it's just too vague and ill-defined, unlike, say, four more years of the same, which is very concrete and certain.
  

White privilege is, in short, the problem.

Editorial in today's New York Times

September 22, 2008
Editorial Observer
Barack Obama, John McCain and the Language of Race
By BRENT STAPLES

It was not that long ago that black people in the Deep South could be beaten or killed for seeking the right to vote, talking back to the wrong white man or failing to give way on the sidewalk. People of color who violated these and other proscriptions could be designated “uppity niggers” and subjected to acts of violence and intimidation that were meant to dissuade others from following their examples.
The term “uppity” was applied to affluent black people, who sometimes paid a horrific price for owning nicer homes, cars or more successful businesses than whites. Race-based wealth envy was a common trigger for burnings, lynchings and cataclysmic episodes of violence like the Tulsa race riot of 1921, in which a white mob nearly eradicated the prosperous black community of Greenwood.
Forms of eloquence and assertiveness that were viewed as laudable among whites were seen as positively mutinous when practiced by people of color. As such, black men and women who looked white people squarely in the eye — and argued with them about things that mattered — were declared a threat to the racial order and persecuted whenever possible.
This obsession with black subservience was based in nostalgia for slavery. No sane person would openly express such a sentiment today. But the discomfort with certain forms of black assertiveness is too deeply rooted in the national psyche — and the national language — to just disappear. It has been a persistent theme in the public discourse since Barack Obama became a plausible candidate for the presidency.
A blatant example surfaced earlier this month, when a Georgia Republican, Representative Lynn Westmoreland, described the Obamas as “uppity” in response to a reporter’s question. Mr. Westmoreland, who actually stood by the term when given a chance to retreat, later tried to excuse himself by saying that the dictionary definition carried no racial meaning. That seems implausible. Mr. Westmoreland is from the South, where the vernacular meaning of the word has always been clear.
The Jim Crow South institutionalized racial paternalism in its newspapers, which typically denied black adults the courtesy titles of Mr. and Mrs. — and reduced them to children by calling them by first names only. Representative Geoff Davis, Republican of Kentucky, succumbed to the old language earlier this year when describing what he viewed as Mr. Obama’s lack of preparedness to handle nuclear policy. “That boy’s finger does not need to be on the button,” he said.
In the Old South, black men and women who were competent, confident speakers on matters of importance were termed “disrespectful,” the implication being that all good Negroes bowed, scraped, grinned and deferred to their white betters.
In what is probably a harbinger of things to come, the McCain campaign has already run a commercial that carries a similar intimation, accusing Mr. Obama of being “disrespectful” to Sarah Palin. The argument is muted, but its racial antecedents are very clear.
The throwback references that have surfaced in the campaign suggest that Republicans are fighting on racial grounds, even when express references to race are not evident. In a replay of elections past, the G.O.P. will try to leverage racial ghosts and fears without getting its hands visibly dirty. The Democrats try to parry in customary ways.
Mr. Obama seems to understand that he is always an utterance away from a statement — or a phrase — that could transform him in a campaign ad from the affable, rational and racially ambiguous candidate into the archetypical angry black man who scares off the white vote. His caution is evident from the way he sifts and searches the language as he speaks, stepping around words that might push him into the danger zone.
These maneuvers are often painful to watch. The troubling part is that they are necessary.