Obama's Anger--Redux

"The anger is real. It is powerful, and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races." - Barack Obama

In an effort to throw Barrack Obama's thoughtful statement onto the scrap heap of irrelevant racial rhetoric, Ed Kaitz, writing in The American Thinker has made Obama's point more completely than he ever could have.

Based upon shop worn arguments, writing anecdotally, Kaitz takes his readers through experiences working, in academia and in conversations with good black folk. He hypothesizes from flawed analysis of achieving Asians that blacks are not hungry enough to succeed and that blacks have squandered their chance to achieve the American dream because they have an entitlement mind set. Blacks, he avers, have joined the eager army of intellectual freeloaders in our nation's colleges, signing up for courses designed to teach them about their blackness and how much they should loathe America. Simply put, Kaitz's arguments can be distilled into the following statements: newcomers to America succeed because they try harder and are more self reliant than our home grown, indulged blacks; and, academicians perpetuate the problem by developing sub-standard courses that do nothing to elevate the race; and finally, that black anger is misplaced for it should be turned inward. This is an astounding piece of transubstantiation: changing fable into truth.

"... to condemn it (the anger) without understanding..."

Where to begin? Try this: Just over fifty years ago, President Eisenhower integrated the schools of Little Rock. You might not remember it but I do. I was a little boy, but I listened to my father champion that event and I can still feel his pleasure in the rightness of our country. His joy was that palpable then. Fifty years ago. That's all it was.

I went to an all white prep school. I never sat in class with a black boy. I went to a college in the Southwest, now renowned for its academics. Then there were few "academic minorities" in the school. Some great black athletes though! My first experience with integration came the day I moved into my dormitory. The dorms were set as suites, two rooms conjoined with a single bathroom. One potential suitemate came with his father, who upon seeing the bathroom and the possibility of use by a "nigra" (he stopped short of racist epithet), decided his son might be better off in a single room.

I served in Vietnam as an officer when young black men made up the majority of our fighting force. Some used heroin, some killed their officers, some shirked their duty, many came home infected with venereal diseases (not unlike their white counterparts) and most came home to the same rotten housing, lack of opportunity and second rate education they left.

I lived through Huey Newton. I lived through Watts. I lived through Rodney King. I lived in Los Angeles when Chief Gates led a racist police force and it was dangerous to be black. Don't tell me I don't know about it, that I just read about it. I served in a veterans group with LAPD members and I was very afraid for my black friends. I've been in a car in Beverly Hills driven by a black man who was stopped for no reason. It's called DWB and if you don't know the term, you don't get it. I've walked through an upscale fashionable department store with a black athlete and when we split an aisle, security followed him. Still don't get it? I've been the only white person in an all black nightclub. I can tell you first hand how scary it is to be racially different.

I went to Harvard for graduate school. There was a dearth of qualified African-American academics in my class as I recall.

I've lived in Colorado when Ward Churchill became a cause celebre for both sides of his issue. My view on him and his particular form of idiocy is that we need Churchillian extremes to remind us of how important it is to parse academic screed. Find some truth in it or reject it wholly as absurd, as the faculty of University of Colorado finally did. But we need the Berkleys and the Boulders--the Browns and the Columbias with their pseudo-intellectual liberalism to remind us how important it is to teach our children well. The danger we face is not in the courses presented, nor even the supposed rightness of their content, the real danger we face is in the lack of freedom to dissent that is rife in too many schools. But this abhorrence of dissent is as true in the imperial nature of physical science studies and economics as it is in African American or Women's Studies. I would venture this guess: most black students dabble in these ethnicity courses but don't take them all that seriously. Do you really think that a young black in a good university setting, given the choice of course selection that will lead to high financial reward or historic understanding of race will defer to the latter?

"... to condemn it (the anger) without understanding..."

I guess to understand black anger I would have to be black. I would have to be thought of first as three fifths of a man. I would have to have had my race lynched, economically deprived, educationally slighted. I would have had to be forced to live separately and had my women thought of as sexually available by the very fact of their blackness. I would have to be thought of as less intelligent. I would have to be thought of as black if but one drop of black blood made me so. What color is a man if his mother is white and his father is black?

I had a classmate in college from Indiana who told me blacks had smaller brains, couldn't do the same tasks as whites and that in a fight you had to hit them first in the legs to bring them down because their skull bones were thicker and you couldn't hurt them in a fight if you hit them in the head. He honestly believed that. That was in 1967. Just over forty years ago. Barrack Obama would have been six then. I've been in bars where blacks weren't allowed. Barrack Obama would have been almost ten.

Remember Coach John Cheney of Temple University? His lifetime of anger must have come un-bottled because he exploded in a press conference and threatened to do bodily damage to another coach. Most people were appalled. I wasn't. As a young man, John Cheney was one of America's finest college basketball players. He was denied an opportunity to play professional basketball because the NBA had a limit as to how many black players a team could have. That he didn't unravel years before is a credit to the strength of his psyche.

One of my favorite people in the world is a seventy-nine year old first generation Pole. He is a true Yellow Dog Democrat. He won't vote for Obama though, "since black people haven't proven they can take care of their own race, how can they take care of the country?" He was the son of an immigrant in an area where Polish people were thought of as dumb. He overcame a family accent, put himself through college, went to church, put four kids through college, held a job for thirty-eight years, has two homes, two cars and a pension. If he could do it, so can blacks. "They just feel like America owes them!"

Close your eyes. Tell me the difference between the black man who failed and the Asian who succeeded. The truth is simpler than you really want to believe. Need some help before you open those eyes? Think of two people you know. One who is white, the other who is black. Now, describe them. Start with the white. He's how tall? What color are his eyes, his hair? Shape his nose and ears for yourself. I needn't go farther. Think of your black person. Begin the description without thinking, "he is black." You won't get much more in your description will you?

Without delving into the socio-economic or psychosexual reasons for the fear of blackness, the simple fact is that race issues in America begin and end with color. Europeans, Asians, Latinos and mostly all other immigrants can "overcome" their differentiation because they are not black. African Americans cannot. And because for more than three hundred and fifty years of American history they have been ill treated simply because of their skin color, they have been denied opportunity at every juncture of their own country's history, their anger is deeply felt and honestly come by. I can only share my understanding of their anger in the same anecdotal style that Kaitz has done. Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., John Cheney and their generation straddled the divide between nothing and the hope and promise of something. Barrack Obama and his wife Michelle have mostly chronicled the divide while living more of their dream. They have an understanding of the root cause of their predecessors' anger no matter how inarticulate they are in describing it. Their children and mine may yet see more change. I'm of the first generation though. I honestly don't know. But I think that every black in America of Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr.'s generation has a right to be angry. Really angry! No matter how counter-productive that anger is.

Here is my hope for change: I hope one day the "anger of race" will be confined to descriptions in history lessons taught by self-important professors in liberal colleges around this country. That won't happen until we first understand and then overcome the roots of that anger.

Comments

[JoeMN]

This column is not about racism, it's about classist-bourgeois guilt. There are many areas where race isn't the deciding factor about what is possible. It's about money, and it penetrates all colors. The divide has always been over money. Was there a big sign of relief when Clinton "apologized" for slavery in the 90s? No. There was anger because it didn't come with monetary retribution. Money to lift up those who felt oppressed and wash away the white guilt. My family came to this country long after slavery, made our way on our own, don't feel bad about it, and wonder why some people never quit asking for a hand out. Sure, we're generally caring about others - of any color, but it's still about money. By demanding retribution and burning innocent ears into warped siphons for anger, I see only perpetuation of the idea of oppression through money, or lack thereof. Until we come to terms with our guilt over a class system that will never serve all people equally and will never be eradicated, we can never move on to the questions and problems of racial understanding. Obama should be talking about the anger of economics, not the anger of a generalized black America. But that wouldn't address the point of why he stuck with the angry preacher for so long, even after he had climbed up the ladder, got some money, and got over it.

[SoulSistah]

Just because you rant it, doesn't it make it true. Did you take an "anger survey" to arrive at your ludicrous position? By reading your rant (while holding my nose), it doesn't appear you're in a position to demand any answers about anyone's "preacher".

[ResidentChimp]

African Americans never made up the majority of our fighting forces. That's a canard being repeated by lying liberals and was debunked decades ago. Any justification of hate speech or violence by minority groups is dispicable.

[SoulSistah]

Only the majority is justified to speak hate or direct violence against others? Weird thinking . . .

[adl]

I really commend you for being able to explain some of what black people feel as a result of our history in this country. But, we need to keep in mind that lots of black people have succeeded in this country DESPITE the racial climate. I remember when the Cosby show first came on and many people commented that it was unrealistic to have a black doctor and a black lawyer couple. I found this very interesting. I am a doctor. I grew up in an all black neighborhood made up mostly of doctors, lawyers, business people, etc. A black doctor and lawyer together was not at all unrealistic, but I also know black people who had never met a black doctor until they were adults. I also have a white friend who doesn't think I have any right to ever have a complaint about the racial climate in this country because I've managed some level of success. But, it is hard to sometimes put your day-to-day existence into words. I would imagine that if someone asked a white person what it was like to be white in this country they'd find it hard to answer because it's difficult to get the perspective on it required to describe it. This author has managed to describe some of it, and from the perspective of a white person observing it, that touches on the pervasive climate in a way that people may be able to grasp.

[dadumdee]

Pure genius, Mr. Price! I applaud your empathy, the articulation of your experiences, and the comprehensive view of American racism from its roots to its modern day impacts (DWB, etc). Excellent post, sir. You have done what every Black American wishes every White American would do, and that simply acknowledge our shared history and examine its current impact.

[parkjung]

Asians, and other immigrants had their culture to fall back on and draw strength from to succeed.

The American blacks were effectively removed of that resource when they were brought here as slaves.

[mhoiles]

Such as, Communist China. Nice try.

[Incredulous]

WOW! You think that a civilization thousands of years old can be defined by less than 100 years of modern history. You're a true idiot! While the Chinese may have been "enslaved" by Communism, they weren't kidnapped from their homes and shipped off to a new country to be abused by white Americans. Nice try!

[oracle99]

Thank you Mr. Price. It will take more whites like you that know enough about racial prejudice to speak to others whites openly about it. So many whites think that blacks are making this up and using it as an excuse, when in reality things have changed somewhat but there is still more to be done....much more.

[nolalily]

What I don't understand is, when something like the controversy surrounding Rev. Wright flares up, no one asks any questions but everyone has a strongly held opinion that they wish to strangle anyone who doesn't agree with.

[deb123]

Thank you. I was trying to express the same thoughts to a friend the other day, but did it awkwardly. I wish I had had this article then. I will pass it along now.

[ylpatriot]

one word ..... phooey......

[MsLiz]

Yet, you say nothing to support your point of view. Here's an image for you:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1343/993167203_adaed0ed8e.jpg

[mhoiles]

I really share the sentiments of this article. When you have one of the most powerful women, Condi Rice, Secretary of State refer to being black as a birth defect, you have to throw in the towel with the hope that America will ever get past this. On thing that was left out is that African Americans don't want to listen to this part of the "conversation".

[adl]

I don't think she said that being black was a birth defect. She said that the U.S. has a birth defect, as in it was a defect in the birth of the nation.

[aflurry]

mhoiles,

I am no fas of Ms. Rice, but you better go back and reread what she said. She was referring to a (metaphorical) defect in the birth of America, in that slavery existed while they were penning "all men are created equal." Just stop and think for a second before posting nonsense.

[joja]

You don't have to be black to understand racism. You simply have to participate in the exercize of racism.

I grew up in Lousy-ana during the 1950s & 60s -- I know what racism is. I participated in it -- much like Bill Clinton has done during this campaign, and is still doing -- but I reject it now.

It is a dead-end, like jealousy or anger or thirst for revenge -- it's a waste of time and energy.

And it shows how dumb people -- white AND black -- can be, when given the right excuse.

[mspost]

This is a good article:


Is Wright Right About Racism?
Posted March 28, 2008 | 01:52 PM (EST)

Part 1 of 4

Is Jeremiah Wright right about racism? There, I asked the question - a question that should be at the center of the "controversy" surrounding Barack Obama's former pastor, but which has been completely ignored. Somewhere deep down, I am guessing Wright feels some shred of vindication, because the entire "controversy" surrounding him now answers that question resoundingly. As I discuss in my newspaper column out today, Wright has become the latest target of the media lynch mob - and in becoming that target, he has proven his very assertions about the persistence of racism in our culture.
There are some things Wright has said that I strongly disagree with, and I certainly may disagree with more of his statements that come to light in the future. However, as the column shows, the specific statements at the center of the Wright "controversy" today are rooted in undeniable fact. Yes, there is a black community in America - and acknowledging that does not make one a "black separatist." Yes, terrorist attacks are often the product of what our own government calls "blowback" - even if that "blowback" is undeserved, criminal and immoral. And yes, bigotry is still a powerful force in American culture - and our society would do well to understand that bigotry makes African-Americans unhappy

[mspost]

Part 2 of 4

As archconservative Mike Huckabee (R) said, "I grew up in a very segregated South and I think that you have to cut some slack...we've gotta cut some slack to people who grew up being called names."
But the intolerance the media lynch mob has shown toward Wright - and the tolerance the same media has shown toward the real extremists around John McCain and Hillary Clinton - is a telling double standard proving Wright's fundamental thesis correct. While Wright has dominated the news, anti-Catholic pastor John Hagee and anti-Semitic Reverend Billy Graham have received scant attention for their close relationships with McCain and Clinton, respectively. The Serious Media have followed modern day Bull Connors like Sean Hannity, Pat Buchanan and Charles Krauthammer into the ugliest gutter - the gutter of racial politics. And these three racist lynch mob leaders will undoubtedly retain their perches on cable networks and on the op-ed pages of Serious Newspapers. They will continue championing what one expert calls "colorblind racism" - the kind of racism that hides itself in platitudes against racism and extremism itself.
Clinton, of course, has fueled the fire. Just this week, she granted an interview to the fringe right-wing Pittsburgh Tribune Review - the tiny newspaper owned by the same Richard Mellon Scaife who financed Republicans' anti-Clinton infrastructure in the 1990s. Clinton used the interview to specifically stoke the Wright "controversy" ahead of Pennsylvania's primary. Her much-vaunted political "firewall" that she says will stop

[mspost]

Part 3 of 4

Obama has very clearly become a "race wall" (more on this in a new In These Times article set for release on Monday).
This was a very difficult column to write. It took a long time to craft, because racial and foreign policy taboos (especially those that question American exceptionalism) are such sensitive topics - and I've gotten some hate email already this morning. But I'm glad I wrote this. With so much of the well-heeled, white Establishment simultaneously preening around like they oppose racism while pushing this story in a fundamentally racist way, I felt it was important to make the basic point that started out this post. And that is, again: This whole "controversy" has confirmed Wright's fundamental assertion that our culture is still deeply afflicted by bigotry. If the media is a mirror reflecting what we as a society consider acceptable and unacceptable, then that mirror is right now telling us just how powerful racism still is in American life.

[mspost]

Part 4 of 4


You can listen to my discussion about the column on Colorado radio this morning here. Or, read the whole column at Creators, Credo Action, The Denver Post, The Vail Daily, The Ft. Collins Coloradoan, In These Times, TruthDig or Alternet. The column relies on grassroots support, so if you'd like to see my column regularly in your local paper, use this directory to find the contact info for your local editorial page editors. Get get in touch with them and point them to my Creators Syndicate site. Thanks, as always, for your ongoing readership and help contacting local editors. This column couldn't be what it is without your help.

[2012isnear]

Thank you for taking the time to put out this article.

[barphyle]

WOW, I'm so touched - I have tears in my eyes !!!
Thank you, Mr. Price: Thank you, very, very much for just simply telling the truth.
I just cannot believe this article ......... This has got to be one of the most touching, extremely rare articles that I have ever read - I am neither White nor Black; and, apart from this lady (teacher) that I saw on Oprah, somewhere during the early 90s (can't really remember her name right now) .........
she was conducting an experiment on race, on the program - I cannot remember another time that I have been so touched by such R A R E Honesty! Such HUMANITY!
It is true, most immigrants feel and think pretty much the same way as the majority of Whites.

Thank you so very much for your articulation, your time, and just simply, for caring.
At the risk of sounding so very maudlin, I think that Heaven has a very special place for
rare souls like you, Mr. Price, and Jane Elliott (I think that is the name of the lady I was talking about).