Change is good
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Some post-election thoughts from 'round the Internets:
In my mind I saw a vision of the middle passage. I saw my ancestors chained together, surviving on menstrual blood and feces. I heard the cruel cry of the whip as it sailed through air, permanently scaring the bodies of my ancestors. I heard the weeping of my foremothers as they watched powerlessly as their children were sold away from them. On this night I saw the culmination of all of that suffering for millions of Americans and beyond, for all of us.
I was actually sort of fascinated last night, flipping channels, Juan Williams, Eugene Robinson and Roland Martin (Fox, MSNBC, and CNN, respectively) were all crying. I mean, these are men who, while not anchors, are literally quite close to the tops of their professions, and yet it took this to make them feel actually accepted, was the sense that I got. It was kind of amazing.
Who exactly is the mythical Joe Six Pack (or Joe the Plumber, for that matter)? What happened to the soccer moms, NASCAR dads, and hockey moms? For far too long, these shifting labels have masked the political identity of white voters, who have had the luxury of not having to deal with the issue of their race in past presidential elections. For the only ethnic group that was permitted to be split into unique demographics instead of a monolithic voting block, Obama changed the game forever.
President-elect Obama opposes marriage equality, yet marriage equality is part of the solution to many ills we suffer in this country. Marriage equality would allow for two men to be on each other's health insurance. Obama isn't planning on creating a national healthcare system, so we are going to need to make sure everyone can get on our partner's insurance plan. It would alleviate a widow's double whammy, allow her to collect survivor's benefits and live a better life. Immigration is an issue as well. There are 1138 Federal rights afforded to married couples and not civil unions OR marriages allowed by states.Obama espouses a message of unity and he can't unite the country until he faces this question of inequality head on.
It's terrific that we are seeing a decline in racism to the extent that we are able to elect a black president. We've come a long way and there's no taking anything away from those who waged the struggle over all these centuries. But our society is not truly changed if it's still writing discrimination into law.It's as if we just can't be America unless we are taking active steps to marginalize somebody.
What are we left with, then, as the identity-politics election of 2008 comes to a close? We have a Republican Party more committed than ever to a fetishized picture of working-class white maleness and unthreatening womanhood. We have a Democratic Party freshly aware of how difficult it is to look honestly at the history and reality of race and gender -- but also aware of how powerful those forces are. We've elected our first African American president, but we've done more than that. We've opened up a rawer, more meaningful national conversation about identity than we've had since the heyday of the civil-rights and women's lib movements. Race, gender, and their discontents haven't gone away. The fact that we're talking about them again? That's progress.
But the best part of the night is a text message from my baby sister:"I feel invincible. :-)"
As you should, baby. As you should.
And finally, Tim Wise:
And so it is back to work. Oh yes, we can savor the moment for a while, for a few days, perhaps a week. But well before inauguration day we will need to be back on the job, in the community, in the streets, where democracy is made, demanding equity and justice in places where it hasn't been seen in decades, if ever. Because for all the talk of hope and change, there is nothing-absolutely, positively nothing-about real change that is inevitable. And hope, absent real pressure and forward motion to actualize one's dreams, is sterile and even dangerous. Hope, absent commitment is the enemy of change, capable of translating to a giving away of one's agency, to a relinquishing of the need to do more than just show up every few years and push a button or pull a lever.
What are your favorite election-reactions so far? Leave your links in comments...
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that's a wonderful image. thank you!
My favorite reaction so far has been when my younger siblings, ages 16, 14, and 10 called me last night right after Obama was projected winner by all the networks. They were keenly aware, at their tender young ages, of how profoundly important this moment was. Each of them (even the 10 year old) were talking about how they would always remember that night and tell their children about it, and how proud they were that their senator was the first African American president of the US. I had just finished crying before they called, but the waterworks started again as soon as my 14 year old brother started quoting MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech. My sibbies are so profoundly cool.
Obama's not a huge change of pace, he's half black, half white. I guess even the racial divides have to be gradual.
This change is certainly good for race relations in America. However the high black voter turnout wasn't so good for gay rights in California. It is a common theme throughout history- one oppressed group turns around and discriminates against another oppressed group, without seeing the hypocrisy and cruelty in it all.
Feminists should take note and learn from this.
http://tinyurl.com/6xp83p
@unapologetic feminist
By your commentary I assume that you are issuing a warning to white feminists because WOC who happen to be feminists as well don't count in your analysis. Believe it or not WOC who are feminists voted for Obama, exactly how are they going to turn around and oppress feminists? In the words of Tim Wise, I think your whiteness is showing.
Unapologetic feminist / Renee,
"Believe it or not WOC who are feminists voted for Obama, exactly how are they going to turn around and oppress feminists?"
I know you were saying this in jest, but, just wanted to note that it's white feminists that have been discriminatory towards WOC...for the record.
About prop 8. I was kinda shocked as all of us were about it's passing. To think that in order for prop 8 to pass many democratic voters had to have voted in favor of it. I've read many articles that noted the trend of higher Obama voter turnout = higher number of votes for prop 8. The polls also showed that support for prop 8 was high among the blacks. I read an article earlier by a feminist, WOC, lesbian, who talked about the homophobia in the black community, which she goes on to explain more in detail as having a lot to do with the role of religion. Obama also noted this homophobia, in an earlier speech this year. I think however new president elect Obama can be influential in helping to change these attitudes. Hopefully as president he will address gay discrimination and repeal some of the anti-gay laws such as the definition of marriage act.
Fortunately, and thanks to the overall positive result of this election, I think our country is moving forward and not backward...These bills are wrong and unconstitutional and I think eventually the courts & the people, will rule in favor of equality.
And I do like the poster...yes, change is good. I'm so glad we can finally get rid of those warmongering hateful monsters that have ruled our country into the ground these past eight years. January 20th can't come soon enough! Good Riddance!
Here's the article, that I mentioned. Although it was written before the election it's still an important perspective from a WOC lesbian feminist regarding the prop 8 issue.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/10/30/proposition_8/index.html
@unapologetic feminist
From what I understand, black people make up only 6.2% of the population in CA. And blacks make up maybe 10% of those who vote in that state. If 7 out of 10 blacks voted for Prop 8, while, of course, a lot for the black population (and definitely disappointing because they chose discrimination over inclusion)... it's really NOT a "tip of the scales" in terms of voting. I don't believe that the high black turnout was a make-or-break for Prop 8. The fact remains that approx. 90% of the voters were NOT black. I'm not saying that the black vote didn't have an effect. It obviously did. But it isn't as if blacks make up 50%, 30%, or even 15% of the vote in CA.