A Different Sort of Racism III

Trey Smith

This is your brain on Obama:

Smoking Obama increases apathy and reduces empathy, regardless of race, creed or color. Now blacks, as well as whites, don’t care in the least how many dark-skinned people America kills throughout the world. Before the Obama epidemic, the entire American working class had no class consciousness, but now it’s most historically progressive element (blacks) has no race consciousness either. (Blacks, like all factions of the Democrats, only have symbol consciousness — tangible improvements are never required.) For American capitalism, that Obama is some good shit.

Using Obama makes some people prone to wild mood swings and abrupt changes in personality. In their brainwashed cult-like state, Obama users have turned on friends and colleagues who kept their principles regardless of which capitalist flunky commits the crimes. What were shameful atrocities ten minutes before Obama was inaugurated suddenly became badges of “toughness” after he swore to uphold/destroy the Constitution. (Take your pick — that’s what he does.) Obama users need treatment but, unfortunately, funds have been fast and furiously diverted to buy guns for Mexican drug cartels.

Sometimes the initial Obama trip will ruin a life for years. After that first big hit of Obama on election night four years ago, liberals soon papered over their “Question Authority” bumper stickers with a smorgasbord of new ones: “War Is Oftentimes The Answer,” “Love Your Mother Drone,” “All Options Are On The Table,” “Visualize World Domination,” “Live Simply — That’s All You Can Afford Now, Assholes,” “The Earth Does Not Belong To Us — It Belongs To The US,” “Please Spy On Me And Strip Me And Check My Cavities And Make Me Safe,” and “Indefinite Detention And Execution Without Charge Or Trial: Fuck Yeah!”
~ from Your Brain on Obama: Waiting for the Man by Randy Shields ~

One of the ongoing critiques of the generalized progressive movement has been its dominant white hue. Various organizations -- the ones who fight against poverty or racial injustice, for example -- too often are led by white middle class activists. Black progressives frequently complain that the very people these groups say they represent are frozen out of meaningful leadership positions and exert little influence on the overall agenda.

From my experience, these are not unfair characterizations. Unconscious racial undertones exist in progressive groups just as much as the more overt racism of conservative groups. Consequently, many white activists have become very sensitive to these types of accusations.

Enter Barack Obama. As his 2008 presidential campaign gathered steam, white activists flocked to it. They badly wanted to show that they could get behind a person of color. To show their loyalty, a rather unconscious decision was made not to criticize their standard-bearer, even when he deserved it! They had no problems whatsoever criticizing a female candidate -- one Hillary Clinton -- but they wouldn't hold Obama to the same standard. (It was odd to see Clinton criticized for positions she held in common with Obama.)

This same rule of thumb has held up through this year's election season.

There have been many times on a plethora of issues that progressives rightly SHOULD have condemned the actions of the Obama administration, but in almost every case, that criticism was muted or, more frequently, entirely nonexistent. It is sad to say that one of the chief reasons that far too many white progressives have swallowed their tongues is that it has become a new racist-based policy not to challenge Obama BECAUSE he is black.

This new schema has been further reinforced by the overt racism of groups like the Tea Party. They detest Barack Obama for the simple reason that he IS black. Because of the color of his skin, nothing he says or does is acceptable. If the President went on TV and said, "The sky is blue, so have a nice day," Faux News, Rush Limbaugh and the conservative echo chamber would declare that Obama's greeting only proves that he is, in fact, a foreign-born Muslim Socialist!

Since diehard white conservatives hate Obama for being black, diehard white liberals love him for the same reason!! Neither side actually takes much of any time to examine the policies of this black man who happens to be President of the United States. They don't look at his actions to try to discern if they match up with his rhetoric.

On the right AND the left, the chief variable is the man's race. Both are racist; just in different ways.