A scintillating discussion began in my journalism class the other day, and I felt like this would be the perfect opportunity to expand upon it. The question we asked unto ourselves is whether or not we think the heat Obama is getting is race related or not. Jimmy Carter said it is, but what did we say? Well, here’s what I said. Skim it over and let me know your thoughts – I’d love to know if you agree or disagree. My teacher, who just so happens to be a brilliant journalist and an excellent professor, told me it was a first rate paper. Now I’d love to see what you have to tell me.
Although we like to consider ourselves largely a colorblind society, many of us know that is not truly the case. Not to say we haven’t come a long way since slavery, or even Jim Crow Laws for that matter, but to deny that racism still lives, breathes, and dare I say thrives in our society is simply naïve. There’s no denying, therefore, that at least some of the political heat President Obama has been receiving of late is due to his race, or even more specifically what it may mean, in terms of race, to have someone of color is such a significant position of influence.
First and foremost, before any good racial debate can ever begin, the definition one is using to describe racism must be laid out. Because race is an ambiguous, socially created categorization (e.g. black, white, asian), as opposed to ethnicity (e.g. Egyptian, El Savadoran), it’s clear it must have been created for social purposes – those purposes being success, power, and ultimately money. Given that this is the case, I find the best definition of racism comes from Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, which states that racism is “a system of advantage based on race”. With this definition in mind, there’s no arguing that having a president of color in the White House has huge racial implications, which many who are on top of the racial ladder, may not like, policies aside.
No president has ever been unanimously loved by the population in the past, so it’s no surprise that the current president isn’t either. It has, though, been quite a surprise to see some of our social lines recess while we coincidientally have our first black president. Nothing to the likes of the “You lie!” outburst by Republican Representative Joe Wilson or the “We Want Our Country Back” marches has ever been seen during any previous presidency, even with controversial leaders such as Bill Clinton and George Bush preceding him. So why now? It’s easy for us to say it’s all about politics, and it has nothing to do with race. It makes many feel better about themselves to state that their feelings are purely because they don’t agree with his healthcare reform or are not on board with tax changes. What it really boils down to though is power. If black people are going up, where are white people going?
For the longest time, our social norm has been the White, Christian male – an easy backdrop for us to tint in order to get the “others”. When a black man entered a position of power, though, it was apparent to all a shift in society had begun – especially when he followed up his inauguration by appointing numerous people of color to help him in his success. With such dramatic changes, it’s clear that minorities are clearly not as “on the bottom” as once believed. So what’s the fear? If racism is defined as a system of power based on advantage, white people feel as though they are losing the advantage, or the edge they get, just by being white.
A lot of people don’t even think of the natural systemic advantage they receive based on things they can’t control as long as it doesn’t hinder them (like their gender, or the color of their skin). For the longest time, white people didn’t have to ever worry about their personal views being upheld in politics because the person in charge was always like them and therefore always worked in their benefit. Of late, though, it’s obvious that politics is no longer for the white man, but instead every man. The fact that our current president is half black and half white should give him some leeway in the white community, given that he’s just as white as black, but it doesn’t. Why is that? It’s because he’s simply not fighting for their cause. He’s not fighting to keep the poor, systemically disadvantaged minorities poor and the rich, systemically advantaged whites rich. Instead, he’s looking to help raise up those without opportunities, which just so happens to more often than not be people of color.
In essence, the Joe Wilson outburst, or the “We Want Our Country Back” protests are just fearful grasps. No president has even been so openly disrespected or torn apart and it’s easy to see it is fear – fear of losing position and advantage, fear of change, and fear of not being able to keep the wealth to themselves.
Much has changed: slavery has been outlawed, segregation no longer exists in our country, and we’ve even allowed ourselves to put a black president in office. In truth though, much is just now changing. White people before slaves and after them have always maintained the advantage, the privilege associated just with being light-skinned. It’s clear, though, that the advantage is beginning to dissipate, colors aren’t becoming so clear, and changes are nigh, which work in favor of those who need it most.
Obama may not be for everyone, but his opposition isn’t just simply based on politics. Presidents have been opposed or disagreed with before, but never has one been so disrespected or such a catalyst for racial change. Healthcare reform, no healthcare reform, tax change, or no tax change, opinions about Obama will not be changing any day soon. Race, which was aptly named, was socially created for a reason. Whites created the game and put themselves in the lead, holding their position until now by leaving hurdles in the way of minority groups. It’s easy to see, though, that people of color are quickly coming up the rear – and with Obama encouraging and removing the hurdles before them, white people are truly in fear for the first time of losing the race.
