I have no faith – -never did – in the idea that Obama will bring Americans together into a joyful union where race does not matter. However, I’m becoming convinced that within a few years, there’s a 50-50 chance that “racism” will cease to matter. Here’s some evidence:
Democrats see race factor for Barack Obama foes
Eight months into Barack Obama’s presidency, as criticism of his administration seems to reach new levels of volume and intensity each week, the whispers among some of his allies are growing louder: That those who loathe the nation’s first African-American president, and especially those who would deny his citizenship, are driven at least in part by racism.
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“We think all of it is!” exclaimed Gwen Dawkins, a Democratic activist from Michigan and retired state employee when asked to what degree the fervent opposition to Obama was driven by his skin color.
Black Publishers Cry Racism Over Wilson Outburst, Join Boycott of South Carolina
A group of black newspaper publishers on Friday charged Republican Rep. Joe Wilson with racism for yelling, “You lie,” at President Obama during his nationally televised address to a joint session of Congress.
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“As African-American newspaper publishers we stand in solidarity with the NAACP and fully support the economic boycott of South Carolina,” NNPA Chairman Danny J. Bakewell Sr. said. “Rep. Wilson’s remarks were racist, disrespectful, and a disingenuous violation — not only of President Obama — but to the institution of the presidency and only solidified our position and the importance in not spending black dollars where black people are not respected.”
Obama as The Joker: Racial Fear’s Ugly Face
So why the anonymity? Perhaps because the poster is ultimately a racially charged image. By using the “urban” makeup of the Heath Ledger Joker, instead of the urbane makeup of the Jack Nicholson character, the poster connects Obama to something many of his detractors fear but can’t openly discuss. He is black and he is identified with the inner city, a source of political instability in the 1960s and ’70s, and a lingering bogeyman in political consciousness despite falling crime rates.
And so on. The New Conventional Wisdom is that all opposition to Obama and his policies is due to “racism.” Over the last thirty years or so, the accusation of “you’re a racist!” has worked like Kryptonite against rational discourse. The moment someone like Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson accuses someone of being a racist, that someone needs to go into full-bore grovelmode.
But the accusation is now being tossed around so commonly, and over such patently stupid ideas as the Joker poster or “You lie!” that the accusation will soon enough lose whatever meaning it once had. So instead of the current practice of responding to “You’re a racist!” with a long list of reasons why you’re really not, followed by meaningless but time consuming acts of contrition… it may soon be responded to with “so what?”
So Obama’s zealous followers could end up ending “racism” in this country. Just not in the way they’d hoped.
