Fear of a Black President

UPDATE: It seems like a lot of you are reading this and concluding that I'm either an idiot or a racist. I'll cop to being an idiot -- HuffPo probably isn't the best forum for unflattering self-analysis, especially where race is involved. But let me point out two things: one, I believe Senator Obama will be our next president. I've donated to his campaign and phone banked on his behalf, and I believe he's a brilliant, once-in-a-lifetime leader -- not because of the color of his skin, but because of the content of his character, and the quality of his mind. I agree with djarvis: "we are electing a person, not a symbol." Two, what I was trying to do was identify that fear of the unknown (which I believe is the root of all prejudice) and shame it. I failed to make either point. So idiot? Sure. Note to self: less soul-searching, more McCain bashing. Anyway, here's the piece, warts and all. -- SGS

I like being white.

Generally speaking, it's the easiest color in America to be.

It's so easy being white that when someone discriminates against me because I'm white, it's called "reverse" racism. My racism has its own special name -- that's how cool it is to be white. I can walk into any store without being followed; hail the cab of my choice; and there's not a country club that wouldn't welcome me, so long as I was clad in the requisite slacks and collared shirt.

I'm a liberal, college-educated white guy. I think gays should be allowed to marry, I think women deserve equal pay for equal work, and I firmly believe that the more ethnically diverse America becomes, the more perfect and lasting our Union will be.

But there's something about the idea of a black president that scares the shit out of me.

Until now, the notion of a black chief executive has belonged exclusively to Hollywood. I remember seeing Morgan Freeman in Deep Impact, and thinking what a cool, novel choice it was to cast a black man as the president of the United States. Cool, because it hit my progressive sweet spot. "Yes! That's the way the world should work!" Novel, because the idea seemed impossible. And that was scarcely ten years ago.

But the idea is very real now. A black man may well become the leader of the free world. And even for someone who fancies himself a progressive, that's forced me to take a long, hard look at what that would really mean to my white mind. To identify that tiny, obscure part of me that's suddenly afraid, and find out what its problem is.

Here's what I found.

It's been easy believing in equality, because part of me -- the part that's suddenly afraid -- didn't really think we'd ever achieve it.

For as long as I can remember, I've felt secure as a white person. Secure in the unspoken belief that no matter how much social progress we made in America -- no matter how many blacks and Latinos graduated Magna Cum Laude or how many trophies Tiger won -- that we'd always be the ruling class from sea to shining sea.

That belief was so ingrained in my DNA that nothing could shake it loose. Not the first billionaires of color, not the surging growth of the Latino population, not the Congressional Black Caucus...not even Oprah.

For though my better angels usually won the day, and though I was happy with the strides America was making, I was also -- deep down in that DNA -- gratified by the knowledge that mine was still the easiest color in America to be.

But a black president? That's different.

A black president means anything is possible. It means that that last little parcel of earth -- which for 232 years has been solely inhabited by white men -- is now open to people of all colors. That may seem insignificant. After all, there are black CEOs, black movie stars, black Senators...but the "highest office in the land" is just that.

The problem is, I think there are untold numbers of whites who can't bring themselves to pull the lever for Obama because of that fear -- the fear that a black president somehow takes us white folks down a notch.

I have friends and family members who support Obama as I do, but who are "certain" he won't win in November for this very reason. They just don't think white America is ready to pull that lever. Ready to put their vote where their mouth is.

Some of these hypothetical people are simply racists. People who've let that fear consume them, and who would never vote for a black candidate no matter what. Others are like me -- whites who embrace equality, and who've loved people of all colors with all their hearts, but who (somewhere deep down in that DNA) are afraid of what this brave new world will look like. Of what their place in it will -- or won't -- be.

As for me? I don't think we've arrived in a "post-racial" America just yet, but I have faith that more of us white folks are ready to give it a try than ever before.

I guess we'll see how big those better angels have grown.

Comments

[Soothsayer08]

This was a good insightful post. As a black person the perspective that I see whites feeling is the fear of the unknown." Most whites only interact with blacks on a superficial, casual level at work on public transporation, etc The press rarely reports anything favorable about minorities unless they are entertainers or sports figures. So whites don't really know that much about blacks in the positive sense.

[paul195]

Generally speaking, it's the easiest color in America to be.

IF you prefer to need better grades to gain admission to the same college a person of color gets into with lesser grades.

IF you prefer to pay more money for the above

IF, when you fail, you simply failed and cant blame something that happened long before you were ever born

IF you suceed, it wont be due to your hard work, but based on something, again that happened long before you were born and hnce couldnt control or work to stop.


IF you ignore the crime statistics

IF ah IF...

Seth, you sound like Barries Grandma "Typical"

[dadw5boys]

You live in the deep south apparently because nothing you have posted is true.
Coleges often take people with low test scores because history has shown them that the "C" students are the ones who return and build the large buildings the Universities need.,

I bet you blame welfare on the people getting it too.

But you ognor the Business Owner who breaks the laws and refuses to hire someone because of the color of their skin.

Like in areas with high welfare. You will see Illegal Imigants working and Americans not working because of their skin color.

You have been lied too for so long your blind to their lies.

[Chinampas]

Your reference to the deep south is as insulting as the comments you are attacking. Very elitist.

[paul195]

I blame welfare on the people who abuse it the most: The Mormoms in Utah who have many wives who then file for welfare as 'single moms"

[ignrnthllblly]

Paul, you sound just like my racist cousin, who makes these same arguments before the alcohol wins out--then, it's just the fearful and self-loathing "the ni**ers, the ni**ers, the ni**ers," before lapsing into a drunken stupor.

By all means, keep making them. They're so effective. For Obama.

[paul195]

I actually live in Queens ny, in the mist diverse county in the entire country. So no need to defend my thoughts, which are entirely equal to you.

No white guilt here, just objective reasoning.

[paul195]

Besides, I'm no rapper and have never used the N word (whether ER and AH) at the end of it

[Soothsayer08]

You really have a personal problem, and it's projected at in this instance Black People....sad.

[chi]

You are right ofcourse, becauseGeorge Bush got into Yale because of his brains.

[tbone99]

Paul195-

I hope you are are as incensed by alumni admissions ( y'now the C students that get in because Daddy and Granddaddy attended ,or made a donation) as you are affirmative action admissions, becauset hey are MUCH MORE prevalent.

Who pays more for college?Students on scholarships come in all colors.And why shouldn't poor people have a shot ? Supposedly we don't have a caste system

Some people blame failure on something that happened in the past and others like yourself, blame it on people of other races.

If someone succeeds , where's the blame?.

Crime statistics - ever heard of racial profiling? And ever wonder why someone who robs a Circle K gets twenty years and someone who robs 10,000 retirees of their pensions gets five.? Or why a man who kills someone in a knife fight gets the chair, while a man who's killed 100,ooo is running the country?

[cynara]

This is ridiculous. We are embattled in a war, our economy is in the toilet, the earth is on the edge of a meltdown, literally, due to global warming. How small minded does a person have to be to put all these priorities and real problems aside and pick a president based on skin tone? I'm glad some people have absolutely NOTHING else to worry about. Me, I'm thinking about our economy, our country, our world. A tan? I could give a rats #$%.

[teembee]

It's about getting even.

[djarvis]

I appreciate your honesty and I can see how some may feel a slight tinge of fear of the unknown when it comes to electing a black president. I myself grew up in a small town in southwest Kansas where I never even met a black person. Fortunately, when I went to college I met black people and found out they were people just like me, different only in the color of their skin.

The important thing to remember is that we are electing a person, not a symbol. We have a chance to elect someone who is a great orator, who refuses to take campaign contributions from lobbyists and wants to end the war in Iraq. Look away from the TV and you probably wouldn't even know that Barack Obama is black, not to mention the fact that he is also half white. Obama never says that we should vote for him because he is black and he has never given any indication that if he is elected president he will make African-Americans the dominant race in this country.

No, nothing will change for white people, except that we will have a president who can restore America's standing in the world, help our economy, and make health care affordable. If that takes putting a black man in the White House, I'll do all I can to make it happen and I hope everyone else will forget about skin color and think about what's best for the country.

[b8akaratn]

I agree with the statement, "I don't think we've arrived in a "post-racial" America just yet..." In fact, my only fear of having a Black male President is that someone who can't stand the idea of a Black male President tries to assassinate him. As a person of color (Yellow, not Black) I actually haven't felt any threat by the race or sex of our candidates thus far. What I see is a handful of millionnaires who are up for the top slot, and no matter what race or sex they may be, I have a hard time seeing any of them really keeping their promises to the words they say.

[Spesabsquemetu]

Seth, perhaps we should all be very afraid of the real issues to fear rather than the many shades of heritage to a man's skin:

- fear what 100 years in Iraq will do to your children, my children, our children and this nation.
- fear what a pancake posture on a variety of policies can do to the US economy, to poverty here in America, to the hopes and promises for our children's future, to real Americans living in substandard conditions while speeches are made about how much we should "help" them.
- examine how the Katrina victims were "helped" by John McCain
- examine the years of poverty in this nation, and how much it has CHANGED.
- examine the years of public trust being violated ....make a list of all the examples, and WHO was involved.

A brilliant writer once said that we could not walk in fear into an age of UNREASON.

Use reason to examine what we truly should fear.

[1will]

I'm a White Conservative and I have no problem with a black president. It's a shame you liberal elites are so racist. I do have a problem with this black candidate but it's more about his politics than his race. Now if Alan Keyes had the same chance of success as Obama I would be his biggest supporter and race would be a non issue among Conservatives.

[babylonandon]

While I would be the first to admit there are probably a few million redneck types out there that sitll think that way, it amazes (and it shouldn't) me that the left still thinks we Conservatives all think this way.

We've had 2 black Secretaries of State, a black Supreme Court justice (2 if that rat Sen. Cain hadn't interfered!), black Senators and Governors and all of them wildly supported by us. Hell there was a huge push on Condi to run (I was one of the early folks in on this, too).

Its about ideology, dammit, not skin color. I don't support Obama because he's a big government socialist. I applaud the fact that he's running and I think if he were a JFK Democrat verses a George Soros Democrat I would far prefer him to that rat Cain. I would vote for him under those conditions as we do need new blood in DC ... just not Marxist blood.

[1will]

Ah....but it's not about ideology on their part. The goal is to tar all Obama critics as racists. Nevermind that most of his supporters cannot list 2 of his accomplishments that would make him seem like a good President. If they support him merely because he's black then that's different. If Conservatives oppose him because he's never been a uniter, favors big government, higher taxes, running away in Iraq and are troubled by his ties to Ayers then we're racists.
I had some fun about a week or two ago. I asked several Obama supporters at work to name 3 of his accomplishments that made them think he might make a good President. They started with the whole "Hope" and "Change" rhetoric but I reminded them that Bush is gone next year. Change is mandatory no matter who wins. These Obama supporters could not name one accomplishment of his. At least one guy had the decency to be embarrassed and started checking on the internet. It's a start. Ignorance is the Democrat's bread and butter at election time.

[Soothsayer08]

Sorry but it isn't necessarily red-necks that feel that way. I grew up with those so called red necks and some of them are nicer than the snooty covertly racist whites that I have encountered in the racially divided Boston area. Coming from an area where people lived where they wanted it was a different experience. When people are separated by ethinicity it breeds distrust of other races.

[harvboa]

As a black American, I'm really really REALLY sick of white liberals using us as a "cause". Go save the whales or a tree. Obama WILL NOT be elected not because he's black and America is racist. It's because he's a run of the mill CRAZY liberal like most of the CRAZY liberals on this site. Now go to Starbucks and find a new bumper sticker for your VW bug.

[paul195]

Thats the true liberal mantra, they may scream about equality, but deep inside dont want it and questions whether they can compete.

To me true equality, doesnt start the conversation off "these poor black folks"

It's what I term the "liberal puppy" syndrome, whereas in lue of true equality rich white liberals like to play "equality" (think tea set in the abckyard)..

Diversity is great (for the press conf) but not for THEIR child..

School choice is great, but not if the black parent wants the same choices they already have..

[dadw5boys]

Why are you here in the USA if you seek TRUE CAPITALISM???

Why not go to Brazil where the type of life you seek is prasticed. You would be at home I am sure.

By the way in Brazil the largest industry is Personal Security.

Seem people there have this strange need to GET HOME ALIVE.

But that is the world you think is so great right?

[Sparty1]

Joe Williams, Alan Keys is that you?

I know we should all hate bleeding heart liberals b/c they're for helping Americans, not for demolishing and rebuilding a foreign land.

[chi]

If you are black,I"m an eskimo.That goes for your colour or your mentality.

[mom2sons]

As a black 46 y.o. woman, it will just be a joy to have an intelligent person in the WH, surrounded by other intelligent people. I take heart that as he has run his campaign, he will run the WH. I bet you won't have people running around "looting" the Treasury. He won't stand for unethical behavior. Of course, there will probably be a few that will try, but they will be gone before they know what happened. I have confidence that for the first time in my adult life, we will have someone who will work for our best interests (All Americans). It would be delusional to think that Corporations won't still try to get "corporate welfare", but it will be under different rules. He will say "what are you giving back to the American people"? Well, here's what you need to do.......We're talking about scholarships, neighborhood investments, business investment in rurual and urban areas, etc....This is a new day and as Sam Cooke said, "It's been a long time coming". Thank you God!

[LeaveArtieAlone]

I applaud your honesty! I have always suspected that it was always cool to want diversity, however, when the true reality of a boss or true competition occurs, it becomes very uncomfortable for many! Very adult of you to admit this to yourself, let alone the public!

[CookieCrunch]

One of the best things about this race is that people are talking honestly about how they feel. Maybe for the first time in a long time we can finally confront our individual fears and move forward. I for one am optimistic. It's interesting how many people are deep down fearing that a black president will somehow take something away from the majority and give it to the minority. I think it's safe to say that this won't happen. It's a great new day for America!

[blaqntelligence]

A salute to you for honesty.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with these thoughts. What's wrong is the fear of talking about them. OOr pretending they don't exist.
The reality of a Black president in America causes a pause among people of all races....Blacks included.
It's never been done before.
A president that has the concern of all Americans in mind when making decisions is what's needed.
America's racial history is cause for concern....At the top of that list is the worry that a Black president will:
A. Get "revenge" for past wrongs...
B. Shape policy to mainly benefit Black America....

Senator Obama is successfully demonstrating his desire to bring peace and prosperity to all Americans.
Not just govern to Black America to redress past sins.

[eaglecapri]

What an honest post!

But, just like the Jim and Jane Crow laws of yesteryear, everything has to come to an end at some point. I believe there are more americans (of all colors) who will vote for Obama than those who will not. Civil Rights would not have been possible if whites did not march with blacks. This time, we're all marching. Have no fear, Seth. Have no fear.

[tressie22]

i swear to white je-sus. what the h-e-l-l do some of these folks really think will happen the day after Obama's inauguration? that they'll be asked to give back land stolen, made to pay for rapes and murders committed by ancestors long ago dead? do you really think you'll go to work the next day and the VP chatter will be about spades tournaments and the House of Prayer of revival? That business deals will be conducted in ghetto nightclubs on MLK Blvd? NOTHING about being white in america will have changed. Your children may be a little less euro-centric, but, really wasn't that already happening? the wealth and technology and asset and health gaps will not have been narrowed between black and white americans. poor, black children will not be supplant "deserving" suburban white kids at brand new schools. no one will take your job or your wife or your daughter or your dog or whatever. just a few brown folks will feel a little more at home in what is, to be fair, their country, too. that's all folks. that's it.

now, what happens when we're all speaking mandarin and spanish in 15 years is anyone's guess, but i'd be a whole lot more worried about an industrialized China than a black guy in the white house. can we BE a little more myopic in our cultural viewpoint?