The Exotic Card and That Minority Thing
In a column in this past Sunday's Washington Post David Broder wrote:
"To win the election -- and not just the debate -- Obama must show enough of himself that voters come to believe that despite not being able to identify with aspects of his exotic life story, they can trust him to look out for their interests as president."
And there's that word. Exotic. Whether Broder was speaking for himself or trying to describe the mindset of others he allowed some codifying to slip into his analysis; the idea that somehow Barack Obama's life is so vastly different than the quintessential American Story as to be "exotic."
If you've followed my Guide to the Palin-guage at all you know that I -- and literally thousands of readers -- have tried to track the little isms and signifiers that are routinely and sometimes reflexively used by the media to describe others in America. Others being blacks, Asians, Hispanics, Muslim-Americans, women, GLBT, the disabled... Pretty much any group that is underrepresented in the media, which is pretty much every group other than white guys.
As to be expected, there were those who've never had to decode codification who've taken the stance that sometimes words don't have surreptitious meaning. Arrogant doesn't mean uppity, inscrutable just means inscrutable, exotic is a compliment and bitch just isn't that bad.
I have to tell you, it gets tiring running from show to show and from outlet to outlet trying to point out the media's own myopia let alone that of sensitive folk like Rush Limbaugh and U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland.
So, I'm done running.
Instead, I've gotten together with an incredibly diverse group of folks and formed That Minority Thing.com. That Minority Thing is a place where minority voices -- ethnic, racial, religious, the disabled, gender and sexual minorities -- can come together, united in their interest and need to express themselves. In our beta version we've covered everything from the Paralympics in Beijing to National Hispanic Heritage Month to the discovery of previously unknown Jimi Hendrix material. Our bloggers have written about their perspectives on being Asian-American, black, gay... Our Executive Editor Saira Baig wrote about the effect of the creeping violence of Pakistan's extremists on the civilian population prior to this weekend's horrific terrorist attack.
And -- yes -- we've even got a white guy writing for us. White guys, by the way, are in the minority in America. But at That Minority Thing they're part of the great mosaic rather than the keepers of the gate.
And with an eye on finance we try to remind folks of the vast economic power of people of color. It's estimated to be at more than $1.5 trillion annually.
At That Minority Thing.com our motto is that "Knowledge Kills Myth." Our hope is that by the next election quadrennial the Barack Obamas of America will be thought as regular, rather than "exotic."
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Here's a solution for folks having problems with the race thing. After eight years of George Bush, don't vote for the black guy or the white guy, vote for the Democrat.
John,
Check out the latest from Rush.
Rush says Obama is not African American.. but an Arab.
Sorry to be off topic but this is pretty bizzaro..
http://www
I wish the neocons would make up their minds, last I heard they were saying he was a Hindu!...
http://tim
THANK YOU SO MUCH...... I saw you on Morning Joe the other day trying to explain this to Joe and Mika and of course that sat there with the " here he goes again" face and then mocked it for another 3 or 4 minutes. But i cringe everytime i hear it.
I know more people who travel to and live in Hawaii than anybody in Alaska who eats Mooseburgers. Why don't they come up with some adjective for that tha sets her apart. I feel like im not so alone in my thinking now.......
Another great Article...
Thanks John. I'm glad someone is expressing the sheer frustration that every African American feels in their gut everytime we hear the word "exotic," "elitist," or the expression "he's not one of us" in reference to Obama. Too many White Americans assume that being white is the God-given default for patriotism and being authenically American. And, the media loves to use these codes in order to instill fear and remind everyone (as if we don't know) that Obama is....blac
One doesn't have to be African American to have that awful feeling in your gut.
I'm originally from Iowa and I identify with Barack Obama because my parents instilled in me the same core values and world view that he has displayed.
Of course, whenever Midwesterners travel away from home we risk being labeled "exotic."
I just wanted to add that it is not just White America who is afraid of a Black President, but some African-Americans themselves. I think that the root of the problem goes back way before my time, actually, to the alleged Willie Lynch Letter. Blacks are finding it hard to prove to the watching world that we can be as supportive of each other as many races do. We find ourselves being asked the question, "Are you going to vote for Obama because he is black?" This question really offends me because I think the answer should be unanimously yes. Why would I say such? Because this is an opportunity of a lifetime and if we can not unite behind our own, then who else will. I am not saying this is a racist remark, but we need healing in the Black community. We need to understand the power of one. Look at the list of Presidents from America's beginning and ask yourself, how many of those who put them in power were asked the question, 'Are You Voting for Abe Lincoln because he is White?" The answer is obvious here. Yes. Why? Because there was no choice. Heck, there was even a time when we couldn't think about voting, let alone someone of color actually trying to assume the position of the President of the United States.
Are we really "LAND OF THE FREE & HOME OF THE BRAVE."
Excuse me, but white people don't vote for white people because they are white. They might NOT vote for someone because the candidate ISN'T white, but "white" is considered the default. Democrats who won't vote for Obama because he is black will just not vote--they certainly won't vote for McCain because he is the white guy.
I'm not voting for Obama because he is black, but because he is black, he has learned a different way to approach problems and challenges that is very appealing and permeates through his campaign. Of thirty or so Obama volunteers in my district that I have met, only two are black, and they have always been involved in the party helping elect democrats--they did not just show up because they identify with Obama. Most of these people are older white people (at 45 I feel young!) although we have 3 or 4 young people who joined because of Obama (and they are white.)
I cried when Iowa. America is maturing. Yes we can.
"Exotic" is code for "dark skin". Check out the title of AnnCoulters latest bigot rant on Human Events.
"Lucifer is Obamas Homeboy."
I've never understood why someone raised between a single mother and his grandparents who worked his way through college maintaining excellent grades, worked for the poor and disenfranchised, married and remained faithful while raising what appear to be some very well-adjusted little girls is "elitist".
I would consider and elitist to be someone who has traded on the favors garnered by oh let's say being a legacy to their father, grandfather, etc. , to get into a military institution and rank at the bottom end of their class, decided that they'd gone through too much to stay with a wife who suffered not knowing the fate of her husband while raising his children so after she's been in a horrible accident takes up with a younger richer woman, then uses that money and influence to purchase a house in a district they hours later decide to run for office in.
Not to mention the disparity between having 13 cars to another's 1 and having more homes than you can keep track of while trying to suggest that you could understand the concerns that "regular Americans" have around their kitchen table.
So, "elite" means some minority who had the nerve to take their education and "pull themselves up by their bootstraps" into the American Dream society. How dare we try to encroach into white man's land!
Exotic = minority
Elite = wimp
out of touch = old
World View = Christian
Family Values = Christian
Conservative - Reagan
Liberal = McGovern (kennedy hater)
White Working Class = White Trash
And the list goes on - politically correct, is prejudice's 'don't ask - don't tell'
One more -
Colorful = Gay
Reading you're post I finally realized this use of codewords is exactly the technique Reps use against Dems.
Sorry to go sort of off topic but this was revelation. I'm a white male and miss a lot of the racial codewords, in fact when I first started reading I thought taking offense at the word "exotic" was a bit much. I have positive connotations attached to exotic. The words on your list, elite, family values, conservative, struck a chord making me think of how Reps attack you and then deny it.
I have a whole new view about how this insidious tactic works.
A longer list would be appreciated
Hi John,
I wanted to present to you another perspective of the word "exotic": it may have less to do with where Obama's been and more about where the user of the word has NOT been. Keep in mind that growing up in Hawaii is exotic to someone who's never left Ohio, physically or mentally.
Mr. Ridley does a fine job in pointing out how the Republicans are using certain language to show the U.S. how Barack Obama is different. However pointing out these obvious racially motivated terms is just part of what has been going on since reconstruction. Ever since reconstruction ended race has entered into an implicit dialogue all the way to today’s presidential election. Now a ‘black guy’ is actually running for president and now nobody knows what to say. It’s very explicit that he is a minority, but how the Republicans use their language is implicitly telling us that he’s different than the rest of us. He isn’t patriotic; he’s uppity and they don’t like his ‘jib: these comments have underlying racial tones. However all other factors in campaigns across the country are open and being mentioned in the media constantly. In a senate race in North Carolina the two candidates have done everything except say that the other is the devil incarnate. Why do the Republicans hide with their racial tones? Most of the educated populace knows what they are really talking about. Now if you really mean what you are implicitly saying just come out and say it. Then, we can move on and actual talk about real issues facing the American people today. We can no longer live in a society that doesn’t acknowledge people of color and low income have its harder, its time we get over ourselves and talk about what’s happening to our country.
I don't get what the big deal is about white people becoming a minority in America., nature goes in cycles...l
I think the sense of panic comes from white people who while insisting the loudest that there is no such thing as white privilege are terrified that in a world without white privilege, they can never succeed. I feel confident that I can be successful in a meritocracy, so I support a meritocracy. A lot of people are afraid of a meritocracy, so they want to make sure that their potential opponents remain handicapped.
Outstanding reply. Your comment should become a thread on this blog.
The exploitation of our fear of "otherness" also works in reverse. Remember Invasion of the Body Snatchers? The enemy aliens took on the form of the friendly, familiar townspeople everyone knew and trusted. That was how they were able to easily infiltrate the community without challenge. How about Little Red Riding Hood? There's a reason the wolf dressed up as her grandmother. It was to lower her defenses and gain her trust SO SHE COULD BE MORE EASILY DEVOURED!
When candidates go overboard to appear "just like us" they may indeed be hiding their fangs under their bonnets.
As voters, it should set off alarm bells when a candidate goes overboard with the message, "Trust me, I'm just like you!" (I'm just like you as long as you don't notice that I own seven houses, 13 cars, I'm allowed to ignore subpoenas and I surround myself with advisers who have been in Wall Street's back pocket for the last 20 years).
Nice points, Speakupper.
I have never understood the media insisting that Obama is somehow exotic and playing into the hands of the righwing racists.
I simply do not see how being a Senator from a corn state and living in midwestern city with a wife and 2 daughters is exotic.
Or even being born in Hawaii is exotic. I'd think it would be fantastic and something we all fantasize about. Growing up in a paradise like Hawaii.
And how is growing up in Hawaii any more exotic then Alaska for god's sake. Yet the pundit present Obama coming from Hawaii and Chicago! as exotic and Alaska as just small town average.
I live in Illinois and I never saw Chicago as anything more then a city. Not as exotic.
But, I never understood this deal with the pundits telling people that Obama has a problem connecting with average people.
He connected fine with rural Illinois. And if he had a problem with connecting with people, then why is there lines of tens of thousands lining up hours before an event just to hear him give a political speech after being on the road giving speeches for 2 years. And why are the crowds just as excited now as they were 2 years ago?
I think that is more then connecting so, please tell your pundit friends like that egostical Scarborough and his 3 hour a day republican agenda show that Obama does just fine with average folks and always has.
JOHN YOU WERE ON MORNING JOE TODAY WHY NO MENTION OF RUSH LIMBAUGH BIGOTRY . JOE WOULD NOT LET YOU. I COULD NOT BELIVE YOU WERE THERE 3 HOURS AND U SAID NOTHING . WHY? IF YOU ARE GOING TO COMPLAIN ON A BLOG THEN WHEN U GET ON NATIONAL SHOW BRING IT UP. OK . JOE SCARBORUOU IS LIMBAUGHS FRIEND . TELL HIM GET LIMBAUGH FROM HIDDING BEHIND THAT MICROPHONE AND FACE PEOPLE
John, glad you were on "Morning Joe" today; you kept Scarborough in place. He is always bashing Dems, and he is always trying to spin McCain in a favorable light. He just cannot spin this economic mess, infact, Scarborough and especially Buchannan, are looking a "little green around the gills", for they appear to have "lost a bundle" in stocks and investments so they are both out for rugulations and blood now.
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