No, Joan Walsh, racial criticism does not equal ‘identity politics’
Ah … Walsh thinks Burris is an affirmative action hire. An incompetent black person being handed an undeserved position of power, just like Bara…oh, I won’t say it. Now, I shouldn’t need to point out (especially to a “professional” feminist–See how condescending that sounds, Joan?) that mediocre white men get appointed to things all the time. It is women and racial minorities and gay people that have to be exceptional. I can’t help thinking that all of this is really about Clinton vs. Obama…again. Walsh is still licking her wounds about Obama winning the Democratic nomination and, as her recent political recap proved, is still angry at those “fools who threw the word ‘racism’ around carelessly.”
Please get over it, Joan. Read more …
My beef with Walsh isn’t that she is ambivalent about Barack Obama; I’m mad at her racial f-ckery. And calling out said f-ckery does not amount to playing “identity politics.” From, I think rightly, calling out West, Walsh pivots to a bit of Tea Party-ish wingeing about analysis of race and politics. You know how Tea Party types always disingenuously claim that they are being accused of racism just for criticizing a black guy, rather than, say, all those racist emails, sound bites and placards featuring Obama in tribal dress with a bone through his nose?
Walsh writes:
But I continue to observe a disturbing ad hominem campaign against Obama critics (the Twitter war rages on, with or without me). If you’re white, it’s “white privilege” speaking. If you’re black, you’re old or jealous or angry you’re left out of Obama’s inner circle. If you’re neither white nor black, you just don’t get American race relations and you should “STFU.” Just today on Twitter, I saw two (white) progressives I respect make wildly contradictory and nasty generalizations about a grouping of Obama critics (of different races; I wasn’t among them): One suggested they’re trashing the president for fame and money; the other that they’re angry they’ve been marginalized by Obama’s popularity. Which is it?
It couldn’t possibly be that any of these people, whatever their age, race or social class, wherever they went to school, have genuine differences with the president? (Or conversely, in the case of Obama defenders being attacked racially and personally, have wonderful and sincere reasons for continuing to support him fervently.)
Of course the election of the first non-white president has sparked lots of debate of race and racism, just as Hillary Clinton’s historic run for the White House sparked talk of gender and naked sexism. We are a highly gender- and race-biased country. Having a man of color or a woman in prominent and powerful spaces touches a sore spot. Sometimes the discussion is foolish: like folks evaluating Obama’s blackness or worrying whether Sarah Palin could handle the vice presidency…because she is a mother…a charge that would never be leveled at a man with children. But the 2008 presidential election and Barack Obama’s presidency have also sparked a lot of sharp analysis of the ways America still fails at race and gender. It’s not all bullshit. Some of it needs to be said.
I would love to have a meaty discussion about what Barack Obama owes progressives, including members of the black community. I’d like to talk about whether black people are really more loyal to Barack Obama than, say, Bill Clinton. I’d be game to discuss whether the vitriolic Twitter discussions Walsh cites are responses to Barack Obama’s blackness or simply reflective of the nature of social media. But by shoehorning herself into this latest article, Walsh reveals a particular sensitivity to racial criticism and, in my opinion, undermines and overshadows her larger points about political discussion.
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