This Hillary thing has got to stop!

I still don't understand why Hillary is being tapped for Secretary of State, but the pundits are going into overdrive trying to get some female angle on this. I hate to state the obvious, but what exact glass ceiling is Hillary breaking? Madeline Albright and Condi Rice did it for her - on both sides of the aisle. The problem with so many of the second wavers (at this moment) is that they are forgetting the strides that have happened, which means they don't completely understand the strides that have to happen next.

Mighty White Women Everywhere

White women make my life as a white woman very hard. Everyday I have to fight all those horrible stereotypes (deserved or not), everyday I have to show that I actually do understand how race works in this society, everyday I have to fight as a woman for all women. And just when I think things got better after the Hilary/Geraldine horror show, along comes Sarah Palin and it starts up again.

How can white women do this to me and to the country?

Let us call this for what it is. This isn't about vaginas. This is about race. This is about white women wanting a white person, preferably a white woman, in the white house. Really, all these white women could less about their politics and committment to a better world - voted for Hilary is the same for Sarah? No. Racism strikes its ugly head. And as usual, white women are going to forget the common fight.

I give up.

Post race

In reporting on Jesse's nuts gaffe, the NY Times states,

"if Mr. Jackson is no longer the leader of black Democrats, it seems fair to ask if Mr. Obama, in fact, is."

Blacks must have a leader!!! I mean, they are this giant monolith and only listen one person, and that person was Jesse! No, it was Farrakhan! Wait, wasn't it Al? And now you tell me that there are Black people who don't listen to any of them? Head exploding!

Seriously folks, so many white people are chomping at the bit for a "post-racial" world - that by breaking apart the old black guard (which was going to happen at some point), and then questioning if the "new black leader" can lead blacks (this is where I interject, where is the leader of the white Democrats?), what they are hoping for is that there is no "black leader." Without a leader, and everyone is on the Obama train, regardless of race, then we must live in a post-racial world.

Except this post-racial world would still run by white people (Obama running the country or not). Did anything really change?

Money

I think it is ridiculous that Clinton people expect Obama to pay off her debt. Where are all those big time donors she flaunted now when she needs them?

Its just that this whole scenario kind of reminds me of some of the White Overseers/Plantation Owners (Bill/Hillary - Hill did marry down) who would "cajole" former slaves into "helping" run the plantation after freedom. It was called sharecropping and it goes something like this:

The cotton needs to be picked, and its a win win situation if you help us Barack.
We will (pretend) to pay you,
we will try to get our former supporters to vote for you - but of course, we can't promise you any real votes
and by helping us, we will protect you from the white lynch mobs that are forming,
we will call off our attack dogs, the biggest one being Bill, and we hope you don't mind that Howard Wolfson just joined Fox News!
So get back to work for us!

Maybe its just me.

Reflections of Youth

There is a new movie out about white kids in the summer of 1994, trying to find themselves in "The Wackness." And yes, mandatory hip-hop soundtrack is included. As are Adidas shell top sneakers! (really 1994? then I remember, these are white people memories!) I go back and forth between ideas of white authenticity rooted in "blackness" versus the shared American experience (though its not like the majority of Americans willingly admit to the Black experience as being the American experience). And who am I to judge, given that I went through a similar stage, though five years earlier and without the white friends part.

Oh, and without the drug part. See, this is where the white/black divide really comes into play. The point of the story is of a young white kid who sells pot for pocket money. But we all know that he is going to college after the summer, and not about to become the next Pablo Escobar. So it is safe. No one is really going to judge him for his youthful indiscretions. This is not really the case for young black men. We don't have Black coming of age movies where there is that automatic happy ending of a middle-class life. Where we can laugh off the drug dealing. And ten years from now, that white kid uses his drug habit as a way to have "Street Cred." (with who? other white people)

The Overseer

I have to admit, Bill Clinton has always been a little too redneck white trash for me. And one can never really get rid their roots, you know? No what how much money you make, lose, etc., your core is your core - even people who had terrible childhoods have to work really hard their entire lives to not lapse. Doesn't mean people can't change, they just to work at really hard every day.

So, this whole Bill is going to endorse Barack makes me a little uneasy. The fact that Barack has to kowtow, and they are going to have dinner "on the former President's turf," makes me feel like someone has a lot of power and is forcing someone, who also has a lot of power, to bend. Its like Bill has become the Overseer of the (Democratic Party) plantation, and will let Barack know he doesn't tolerate any kind of "uppity-ness." And why isn't Bill the Plantation Owner? Like I said, he's white trash and we all know who did the dirty work for the slave owners.

The Tennessee Hussle

So this is what Karl Rove has to say about Obama:

“Even if you never met him, you know this guy. He’s the guy at the country club with the beautiful date, holding a martini and a cigarette that stands against the wall and makes snide comments about everyone who passes by.”

Now we know what he is implying by the "country club with beautiful date" is Obama likes the white girls. So this how is the Republicans are going to go after him and Michelle (and don't even get me started on the cover of US Weekly - "Why Barack Loves Her." Though could you imagine if they tried to do this with Hillary and Bill?). They are going to pull a Harold Ford. How very 2006.

Subway Musings, Part II

I got on the subway today and there were two people taking up a lot of space - which meant there was room for me to sit down. One, was a man with his legs spread apart (why do all men sit this way?), and there was a woman next to him reading a rather large bible (with highlighter in hand, of course). So in order to sit, the woman was going to have to move a bit. And while I let my hips do the talking, I ever so slightly bumped into her bible. After jamming myself into the seat (I am not a large person - but the woman refused to move an inch), I looked at her and apologized (for the bible bumping, not the hips a thumping). And she GLARED at me. Not very Christian of her, was it?

Finally!

A nice bio piece on Michelle by the New York Times, no less. Annoys me that the Obama Campaign believes she needs a "slight" makeover, but I understand why. For the article, click here.

But here is another reason why I heart her:

“I hate diversity workshops,” she says. “Real change comes from having enough comfort to be really honest and say something very uncomfortable.”

White Shadow needs to work for her when she is First Lady.

Subway thoughts, Part I

Here is what I hate: a barely crowded subway train and I am the whitest girl on it. Why do I hate that? Because everyone's un/conscious racism kicks in, and then they all have to sit next to me, when there are PERFECTLY other fine people to sit next to.

Sold at the Texas Republican Convention last week....

White people kill me.

And another one...

Article on the GOP Smear campaign against Michelle in today's Politico. Read it here. The only real flaw with the article is that the author doesn't take on the race dimension, though she does recall the smear tactic used earlier this month about a supposed interview Michelle gave when she said she didn't like "Whitey." (But really, who does?) And now we all know that not only did she not give said interview, but the story comes from a fiction novel, The Power Broker. Read about that here.

Speeches

Senator Obama's speech on race in February was heartfelt, intelligent, and necessary (for both his campaign and the country). He knew he had to make that speech, and he rose to the occasion.

Hillary Clinton did not make a speech regarding her historical campaign or the sexism frenzy that occurred due to her campaign. I don't know if a speech was necessary, as there were (and are) many supporters willing to raise the issue of sexism and of her being the first serious female Presidential contender. (Side note: Obama had to make his speech, because it is a trickier when airing the racism of the country and media - he couldn't really rely on supporters, both prominent and on the ground, to make the racism case for him. It would have hurt his campaign.)

Some now want a speech on women/sexism/misogyny and politics and the shaping of the nation. And they want Senator Obama to make it. As reported in today's NY Times,

"Some are calling for boycotts against MSNBC and CNN, and many are urging Mr. Obama, who addressed racism in a major speech, to address sexism, too."

First off, does anyone not see the irony in asking a man to do this?

Second, why is it that one always expects non-white men to speak for other non-white men? Because Senator Obama spoke on racism, he then can speak on sexism? It reminds me of all those times when "well-meaning" white people ask me, what do Black people think? Or when some "well-meaning" black friends ask me, what are white people thinking? It is also akin to when people ask me, what do women think? Or asking Roc, what do Black people think?

How about we ask Clinton to do this speech? Or another prominent woman - like Speaker Pelosi? Or former Secretary of State Albright? (you know we can't ask Secretary Rice)

Or, how about MICHELLE OBAMA?!?!?!? Okay, we can't ask her because many white women would feel uncomfortable having a black women speak the truth - and it would make many HRC supporters recognize the confluence of race and gender, and we can't be having that, now can we?

Michelle Smear Watch - Day 3

Fox News outdid themselves! While discussing the Michelle Smear Campaign (they of course disavow knowledge or participation), the following headline appeared:

OUTRAGED LIBERALS: STOP PICKING ON OBAMA'S BABY MAMA!

Seriously? Did I read that correctly? The man's wife of untold years, is being called his baby mama? See how they are enforcing the stereotype of single-mother households within the Black community? What's next - Michelle driving in her Cadallic that she bought with her welfare check? (Thank You President Reagan!)

Head Exploding....while fists are bumping......

Can't even deal with this situation. Jim Rutenberg of the New York Times sums it up and critiques it perfectly. Read the whole Fox News declaring Obama a terrorist because of a fist bump here.

And yes, Michelle is caught up in the mix. The smear campaign continues...........

It's Alive!

The campaign against Michelle Obama has begun. For more on these evil antics, read today's New York Times - Maureen Dowd has the skinny. Click here.

Or you can read this piece in the Los Angeles Times. Click here.

What Would Jesus Do?

Even today when I do something nice for someone (like giving up a seat on the subway, or holding the door), there is a good chance that I will be told "That was mighty Christian of you." Ooooh, so close to being mighty white! Anyhoo, for today's post, we are going to have switch it around a bit, and say to Senator Joe Lieberman, "That was mighty Jewish of you." (I couldn't in good faith use Christian, as that would really make me mighty Christian!)

Its bad enough that Lieberman continues to insinuate that Obama is a secret Muslim (not that there would be anything wrong with that - mighty Mulism indeed), but that he behind much of the agita in the Jewish community on how Obama is perceived.

Now Lieberman is calling Obama "sleazy." Not very Jewish or Christian, if you ask me.

When is Harry Reid going to take Lieberman down for the good of the party? I know the Dems have a one person majority, but this is just embarassing. I look forward to the day that Reid ousts Lieberman and then I can say, "Harry, that was downright Mormon of you."

Its not one or the other....

I am officially tired of people thinking the campaign, the voters, the media, the spokespeople are either sexist OR racist. Howard Dean recently said:

"Major networks have featured outrageous comments that… if the words were reversed, and they were about race, people would have been fired."

Its not like the media has not been racist simply because they are sexist. Racist language has become coded, so its harder to see, hear, deconstruct, protest. It is also unfortunately true that women's "place" in society is such that sexist and misogynistic comments are the norm and don't need to be as coded. But by focusing solely on sexism, and ignoring the racist implications in commentary and candidate support, we miss a larger opportunity to really examine the race and gender power structure in the United States.

Its not a either/or situation. I am going to tell you something shocking, so brace yourself:

PEOPLE CAN BE SEXIST AND RACIST AT THE SAME TIME!

We all should be fighting BOTH racism and sexism at the same time. Let's not make it an either/or situation. Demand respect for both HRC and Obama, because to hurt one is to hurt the other.

Musings

I have been thinking recently about what will happen when Obama gets the nomination - what will be the line of attack by both Republicans and Democrats against him? (let's be honest, all those HRC supporters are already lining up behind McCain - sour grapes if you ask me.)

The line of attack will not be aimed at Obama, but rather at his wife. Black women have been the lighting rod for race and sex in this country for over 300 years. Its going to get ugly as they use every stereotype in the book to discredit her, then thereby discredit him. And all those lily-white women who are claiming sexism re: HRC - what are they going to do? Will they follow through with their feminist proclamations and demand that sexism and misogyny truly need to stop? OR will they turn a blind eye, and believe that feminism is only for white women? They will think that Michelle isn't one of them, simply because of her race. Oh, its going to get ugly.

Going off the deep end....

In a May 30, 2008 op-ed piece in the Boston Globe, Geraldine Ferraro seems to have gone a little wacko (as if all the other offensive pieces she has written didn't show that already). In terms of why white working class voters might not vote for Obama, she says its not because of his race, it because of Obama's racism! And,

"They don't identify with someone who has gone to Columbia and Harvard Law School and is married to a Princeton-Harvard Law graduate."

And yet they do identify with someone who has gone to Wellesley and Yale Law School and is married to a Georgetown-Yale Law graduate? Who knew the white working class were so open minded? I guess it is just the going to an Ivy for undergrad isn't what they like. Now I know not to run for national office!

I was thinking of giving this week's mighty white award to Portland, OR, but instead it is going to good old Gerry! Now excuse me while I drive off in my Delorean....

For the complete article, click here.

Hillary and Race

was it just two weeks ago that Hillary wanted everyone to know that Barack is black and therefore can't win the white vote? And yet in a recent interview in Chicago, she states that its easier to vote for a black man than a woman...the white shadow thinks there is a pattern emerging here