Race and the 'Obama Effect'

Ok, here we go kids, off onto politics and race - too VERY sensitive issues, but I think you will see I am looking through a little different lens:

First and I have said this before, I am a DEMOCRAT. I voted Obama in the Primaries and obviously voted that way again on Tuesday. My thoughts here are not at all about a black man becoming president, a woman being president or a Jew, Muslim or Mormon becoming President. I hope I will see all of them in my lifetime.

My specific purpose here is to examine the mindset of what this means in a 'white male dominated' society that is America. If you don't think we are a white male dominated society then we can have a whole different discussion :-). As a GROUP, whites like to look at what has happened since the Civil Rights Movement and talk about ALL of the progress we have made. WE like to hold up 'people' as example, athletes, entertainers, business people and politicians to say "hey, they have made it, we have broken through the racial divide". From a very myopic view this is CORRECT and yes things have changed from that perspective but have they really gotten better on the whole? More people live below the poverty line than ever before. There are more people in today's prisons than ever before. Illiteracy rates are at an all time high. Healthcare and access to basic needs are severely hurting in our urban centers.

Here are some statistics and facts I have learned in my own city that scare me:

1. 36,000 out of 50,000 KIDS in the Atlanta Public Schools are living below the poverty level (pop. is 85% African American)

2. Prison bed population is forecasted based on the # of kids FAILING 4th Grade reading. This sick and disturbing

3. It costs $18 Billion a year in the State of Georgia in servicing the high school drop out group. The State funds $14 Billion for education. Don't you think if we put more resources INTO education we could spend less on dealing with dropouts?

4. If person 'X' is found with a single piece of crack (personal use, problem or not) faces the same MANDATORY sentencing guidelines as person 'y' who is found with a POUND of cocaine in powder form (this would be for DISTRIBUTION purposes). Interestingly enough, crack is urban...pounds of coke - suburban.

What do these facts have to deal with Obama being elected President? My fear is that Obama will become held up, by the white community, as "they got theirs, it's all good". As John McCain would say, "My friends, it is NOT all good". Racism is still prevalent today. It is far different from the 1950's. Rarely do you see the Klansman running around burning a stake, but how often do you see a 'roll of the eyes' or people crossing the street to avoid one another?

There are no easy answers and we all come with our own set of prejudices, and that is ok. The issue with racism is systemic and institutional. Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? Can we change the education system, the healthcare system, the welfare system, etc all at once? Probably not.

I do think we can begin to make differences in small measures but the onus MUST come on us, the privileged class, to recognize this issue does not go away with an election. It is ok to talk about the issues and not deflect them. We can take ownership of the past, ask for forgiveness and work to make tomorrow a better place for everyone...

My political rant for the week

So this week, we hear that Barack Obama is an 'Elitist' based on a choppy sound byte pulled from a fundraiser. Am I surprised that Clinton and even McCain are taking these things and using them for attempted political gains? No. Do I think it is hysterical now watching Clinton throw back a beer and sip on a shot and tell stories about learning how to shoot a gun? No.

What surprises me is how the political pundits and the media take these things and twist them for ratings and shock value. All I have heard for 3 days is Obama an 'Elitist'? My favorite quote, he's a "latte drinking, Volvo driving...". Since when is this a 'bad' thing? Isn't the PERSON, not guy, running our country supposed to be better than the rest of us? Seriously, I realize we are coming out of 8 years of a guy who can't string 2 sentences together, but shouldn't that be the exception to the rule? Don't we want the best and the brightest to lead us? Doesn't it make sense that he/she would be educated at the best schools, be fairly well off, articulate and worldly. Should we be surprised that they aren't 'in touch' with steel workers and manual laborers. There is NOTHING wrong with this, they don't work in a vacuum, that's why they have advisers and staff.

Anyway, this political season is turning into a sound byte, commercial fight that only benefits the networks as they scramble for viewers trying to turn the 2008 Presidential Campaign into Big Brother 10.