Black Americans have much to be angry
about but one choice to vent that anger has not surfaced and it is not likely
that it ever will.
Many political pundits and writers are
asking why Black people do not seem to hold President Obama
accountable for our current state. Despite the
so-called recovery, Black America is at its worst point in
half a century according to some.
Journalist don't seem to want to answer
this question. Then again, "journalists" these days can't find their
own asses with a GPS.
So, here's the answer:
To so many of us, Obama's Presidency is
symbolic of our acceptance by this nation and just like many of our lives, his
six years has been one struggle after another, always having to overachieve
just to be branded a failure, surrounded by smiling, grinning faces that mask
subversiveness and resentment. He's been insulted, threatened and disrespected as a politician and as a man.
Therefore, this intractable opposition that seems at its core, to be rooted in
race, can explain any failure.
And tell me, can anyone say that Blacks have no basis to believe that even a Presidency could be hobbled by prejudice
and racial discord? We all know the history, so there's no need to go over it
here. But when oh when will America look at itself and just admit who we are?
When will we stop all the flag-fucking and talk about exceptionalism
and count the bodies in our past and the abandoned lives in our present? Until
we do, Blacks will always have a basis to countervail the missteps of any Black
person holding high office within the power structure.
And so it this elasticity that
these pundits feel. Black America embraced the President but our condition has
not gotten better and yet we still support him at 90 some odd percent. It is
the nature of politics to fight dirty, name-call and
work against the opposition. But to Black people, how can we tell when it's just
politics as usual or the filth of racism? We cannot and not knowing the answer
is sometimes more frustrating than knowing it.
And in the most amazing irony of all, our unwavering
support of Obama comes in part from the fact that we give a loving pass to
other Blacks, empathize with their struggle and look outside of the race for
much of our validation and their criticism.
And so I don't wonder why there isn't more
anger toward the White House. It is as clear as the skin on the President's
face. But it does leave me to wonder if we are saving our wrath for skin of a
different color.
Copyright 2014
