Comments on: Obama Heckled

By: Kevin

Kevin — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 08:29:34 +0000

“The truth is I am a fan of his wife but not of him”

Ok, I just gotta ask. What is up with our love of Michelle Obama? I’m not gonna lie. If Michelle was running for president, this would be the “Michelle Obama for President” blog. But we have to acknowledge that if a woman that we love so much is willing to stand behind and support a man that we have issues with…well, are we missing something? What does she know that we don’t?

But damn. I wish I was voting for her this cycle.

By: Renee

Renee — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 23:31:05 +0000

What I dislike the most about this campaign is having my identity as a black woman questioned dare I say anything that is considered even remotely anti-Obama. The truth is I am a fan of his wife but not of him. While I understand the need to speak out about racism and all of the other interlocking isms that does not mean that Barack is above criticism. He feels that he will have loyalty no matter what he will never be accountable to the voting public. Now as a Canadian I should probably stay out of this mess altogether..but I cannot help but believe if the worlds largest superpower could achieve real and lasting change it would have a large effect on other countries.
Discursively Canada defines itself as not American rather than have a true Canadian identity. If the US were to take a more left leaning stance it would bolster those elements within Canadian government that were left leaning. As Canadians we pride ourselves on being more socially generous than Americans..healthcare,welfare ,etc.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 06:12:25 +0000

“The bottom line is that for all of his rhetoric Obama is a centrist. Despite the fact that he worked in impoverished neighborhoods he is a member of the black afrostocracy”

I’m completely behind you on that. Word. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. It’s an odd situation I find myself in. Because of all the sexism and racism and other bullshit I’ve seen this election cycle, I find myself defending people that I otherwise would spend my time complaining about.

By: Renee

Renee — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:36:47 +0000

@Yobachi…I followed your link and I feel that what you are asking come January is an impossibility. The bottom line is that for all of his rhetoric Obama is a centrist. Despite the fact that he worked in impoverished neighborhoods he is a member of the black afrostocracy. The changes that you outline are far to progressive of a road for him to even begin to travel with his particular political leanings. If any group of blacks benefit at all from an Obama presidency it will be the black upper/middle class while those at the bottom will receive no real benefit. This is a man that is anti-affirmative action remember that. He is also a devoted capitalist and despite his claim of thinking of the impoverished it does not extend to real change that would unbalance the current power structure. I believe that the young men that protested at his speech are well aware of his position in this regard. Obamas message is not for the poor it is for the middle/upper class and out of racial loyalty he will end up with the support of the poor even though a vote for him is not necessarily in their best interest. They would do better with the Green Party. Personally I believe no matter which party gets elected there will be no change because it is not inspired from below.

By: Renee

Renee — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:29:37 +0000

@Kevin yes there is a tendency with those of us that have had the privilege of receiving an education to devalue others who have not. Education is an opportunity that has not been available to all and with the decrease in library funding, self education is much more difficult to attain. It is important to acknowledge someones feelings about a certain event whether or not they articulate it in the same manner that we do. I regularly play with post structuralism and Marxism on my blog without relying on dense esoteric language because it is alienating to those that have not had the same privileges in life as me. They may not recognize what I am doing as theory but they are leaving enriched regardless. This is a purposeful decision on my part. I am following the lead of bell hooks in terms of understanding and conveying that deconstruction of the essential situation need not mean inaccessibility. In fact when we use certain language to convey a message what we are doing is policing who has access to certain places, thus creating a hierarchy of knowledge….now back to street speech. I’m laughing a little because there are some who believe that I am not capable of writing the way that I just did simply because I occasionally swear..keep the secret ok .

By: Yobachi

Yobachi — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:39:17 +0000

Renee, rather than you and I go back and forth about the veracity of the young hecklers statement, I whould like to offer that you take a look at my proposals visa via Obama and the Black agenda: http://www.blackperspective.net/index.php/obama-heckled-about-not-spea king-for-the-black-community/

I think discussing this is more critical and would be more productive. I love to hear you comment on it.

It also links to a more elaborate piece on the subject matter.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:32:46 +0000

@Renee: I don’t know how well you know Yobachi, but actually y’all are on the same page. I don’t believe that the basis for their questions were illegitimate, and I suspect Yobachi doesn’t either. I firmly believe that Obama needs to be held accountable.

For instance, you bring up a specific instance where Obama falls short and back it up with evidence. Had they done that, I wouldn’t have taken issue with them.

But I gotta say you got me thinking about something: I do come at things like this from a position of privilege, one informed by graduate education and the like. I wonder if I don’t expect my dissent to be framed as if it’s a Master’s thesis. There *is* something to say for just expressing displeasure at a situation, even if you aren’t articulating it as if you’re in grad school. My objections to their heckling come from my drawing conclusions from *how* they went about it, and maybe that’s something I should examine some more.

Just my thoughts.

By: Renee

Renee — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 03:22:53 +0000

@Yobachi that again is a matter of perspective. I don’t feel that he spoke up nearly enough about Katrina…do you not remember him saying that incompetence has no race…that implies no racial overtones to that disaster and we know that is an untruth.

By: MrsGrapevine

MrsGrapevine — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 21:43:22 +0000

Did anyone else notice the elder gentlemen slapping their sign down…It took all of the hot air out of the tire at that point…

By: Yobachi

Yobachi — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 21:01:11 +0000

Renee, the questioner/heckler was factually incorrect. That’s not a different read, that’s a failure to read.