The Fix

What Up, America?

In my line of work, I hob-nob with Caucasians of every stripe. I have been shocked and disappointed by the reaction of many White folks–many of whom I have known for years and consider friends–to last month’s “speech on race” by Barack Obama. When I learned the speech was in progress (and lacking cable) I frantically searched the radio dial to find someone broadcasting it live. I finally found the one and only station.

I found the speech to be honest and very moving. I was swept away–surely Americans would embrace a man capable of such modest, intelligent bravery. The abject, hysterical hypocrisy of the “Reverend Wright Controversy” would soon be put to rest…

From the neighborhood bar, to the hallways of various work places, to snatches of conversation overheard on the street, these White people were not only unimpressed by (what they’d actually heard of) Obama’s speech, they were very angry at him. They viewed him as a phony and a racist.

Almost every day, I hear White people drop the “N-bomb”, mock Black speech patterns, sneer about Blacks supposedly being parasites, over-sexed, stupid, violent, loud, messy and arrogant. I hear them state matter-of-factly how their music sucks and their clothes are silly. What angers these Whites most of all is how Liberals “coddle” and “make excuses” for them.

In some circles, it is talked about in code words. In others, more crude terms are used. While some White people strenuously agree with such talk, others sigh and nod knowingly. Some try to diffuse such situations with “humor”. Once in a while, some White people actually defend Black people. These Whites are usually, in so many words, referred to as naive or worse. One thing I never see in these cases is people leaving that neighborhood bar, workplace or street corner with friendships dissolved forever, never to return. Yet that is precisely what some people expect of Obama, based on a few comments by his minister.

These White people almost never consider themselves racists–they are merely saying things that “everybody knows”. This crap is so deeply ingrained in White American culture, so ubiquitous, that it is almost a part of our identity. If I totally avoided people who engage in this type of racist behavior, or the establishments which tolerate it, I would never be able to leave my house.

The sick part of all of this is the amount of projection involved. When White Americans say something rude or lascivious, or attempt to dance, or bust a move athletically, when they borrow money or intend to buy illicit drugs or sex, when they depict a person with false eloquence, self serving generosity, or unthinking religiosity, how often do they affect a “Black” accent?

What Mr. Obama politely called “White Anger” is real and in many cases, justified. This other stuff is just raw, ignorant racism. Everybody knows that if the Republican Party “repudiated” everyone engaged in this type of behavior, they would have to fold up shop tomorrow. Sadly, the Democratic Party wouldn’t be in very good shape either.

Back to the live broadcast of Obama’s speech: when he’d finished, the voice of a middle aged white man broke in… “Oh brother, give me a break!” he said. I then realized that the only radio station I’d found that was broadcasting the speech live was a right-wing talk show–to mock it.

These are the (legal) things Marion Kind has done for money: cabbage picker, office clerk, landscaper, ice cream man, injection molder, forklift driver, film and stage actor, drycleaner, comic book artist, truck driver, dishwasher, fanzine putter-outer, bartender, housepainter, singer, UAW shop steward, warehouse and packaging person, courier, waiter, guinea pig, illustrator, poet, writer, fashion model, five instrument recording artist, assembler, construction, cabbie. Not saying he did them well, only that he got paid.