I had to do it. I wanted not to get into American electoral politics, but I mean really, who can resist? Even the Europeans are excited about Obama.
In the past couple of days, since the beginning of Obama’s trip to the Middle East and Europe, people have been saying that he “needs to be careful” about not appearing like he’s already won the office of the President. And to that I say, “Good point.” He isn’t yet el presidente, and may not be (Dear God, I hope that is not true). But what is the line between acting like he’s already president and then also acting “presidentially” so as to effectively show Americans that he can be president. It’s tough to make that distinction between “I’m eager to get this job, so let me show you how I would act if I did indeed get it” and “I already got it, biaaaaaaatch(imagine that in Too $hort’s voice).” Maureen Dowd at the NY Times writes about this today in her column (not about Too $hort though, sadly).
Now, this would be a fair warning to Obama if it weren’t for one thing that nags me. Would they be saying this if it were McCain who were over there? Well, first of all, this many people wouldn’t even be over there because really McCain is uninteresting. I doubt he can hit a jump shot like Obama. But still, I think what the various pundits (including some of the blatantly pro-Obama ones), in their “wise words to the Senator” say, condescend in a manner that is quite familiar to us.
*Picture me reach into my back pocket and pulling out a card–the RACE card.*
Yep, I said it. It’s a race thing, though perhaps not solely. Obama’s aura of assurance should pose as relief for Americans. A person who has the potential power to shape foreign policy acting like they know what they are doing…someone tell me why this is a bad thing? I can imagine a retort: Humility is an important quality for any person, especially the President of the United States. And to that, I say “what kind of humility are we talking about?” Because let’s be straight here; there are different kinds, namely two.
1. Self-Deprecation. It’s the most Jewish comedian-esque of all the types. I basically make fun of myself to the point where you know that I’m not serious and then assume I know what I’m talking about/doing since I couldn’t possibly be revealing that I’m terrible if I actually were.
2. Sycophancy aka Tomism (not to be confused with Thomism–the line of theological thought stemming from Thomas Aquinas). It is the most Louis Armstrong-esque of all the types. I make myself into a yes man to the point where I have convinced you that I really love you and your white children and thoroughly enjoy being talked down to, even when you think you are just speaking to be normally.
Wait, what? That’s it? Isn’t there a middle ground between Larry David and Bo Jangles? Yes, of course there is, but it’s not readily available to all people in equal proportion necessarily. And this is because for someone like Obama, a bi-racial man (or swirly in common parlance) who identifies as African American has different rules for humility. To draw yet again an unfair parallel, let’s take the whole “bling culture is really wack and crude” line of thought that exists out there. On the one hand, yes it sucks. Like why do you need a Bentley? (Sidebar: It’s silly that some of my favorite rappers talk about Bentley’s because it’s not really a car that you drive. If you are rapping about a Bentley but also have a driver, then I say it’s fair. But really, shouldn’t you clarify instead of having all of us imagine you as Mr. Belvedere?) On the other hand, isn’t this kind of what American capitalism is about? Money-making is the cultural value par excellence in the US. Real talk, as they say. Why do people want to shield the fact that, as Lil’ Kim once said, “first you get the money, then you get the power, and then you get the respect.” (Sidebar: Is she really with Young Joc? Hmmm…Didn’t know he was into women with a 20/80 human flesh to plastic ratio.) And don’t come at with me with the Americans-value-other-things-too argument because you know it’s McDonald’s, bad fashion and other not so reputable things. No, but my point simply, is that people get mad at rappers for showing off their wealth (as meager as it is in relative terms) but say nothing of rich white people who spend their money on more “classy” things like…I don’t know…country houses???? The conditions of cultural and social capital are set up so that anyone who is newly endowed with loot has to hit a big learning curve to know how to play like you are rich, which in limousine liberal circles translates to: having a lot of assets but then making fun of people for being gawdy. Listen, you and the chick who you just made fun of for having an expensive but ugly LV bag have a lot more in common than not.
So, how does this relate to Obama? Well I think there is a similar set up where the conditions for “humility” are set up for Obama to be damned if he doesn’t act presidential and damned if he does. People want to see him deferential enough but then also not weak. This harkens back to Bo Jangles because for the majority of history of media representations of black men in America, the dominant typology was clear. A black man can be on TV only , as Jesse Jackson alluded to, sans balls. Why? “Well, he’ll rape white women otherwise!” It is one of the reasons why black men in America for a very long time were referred to as “boys.” That is, not yet man (and thus sexual).Philosopher Lewis Gordon argues that the act of lynching(with the requisite castration of the black male body) was not so much a symbol marker of white-male patriarchy (“You can’t have our women, not even if they want to be with you. And this is what will happen to you if there is even an intimation at the possibility.”) but a fear of being penetrated (Keep in mind the historical links between description of land and of women. A woman who is unable to bear children, for example, is dubbed “barren.” Err…is she a desert? One’s homeland is referred to as the “Mother Land.” Thus, women are at once the wombs of one’s community but nevertheless kept in abject positions) by the absolute Other of the white phallus–a black one.)
Small things like “he’s acting too COCKy”(see…I’m not making this stuff up) actualize the histories that are only buried in the top soil of the history of race in the US. So as John Riddley at Huffington Post writes, when someone like Karl Rove calls Obama “arrogant,” he means uppity, that is, out of place, out of line. In other words, not like his given role in the landscape of race and power.
Now, I know I’m sounding like crazy ass Eldridge Cleaver right here, but please rest easy. I’m not going to be adopting a nationalist politics any time soon (too masculinist, sexist, homophobic, and uncomplicated). But I do think that we have to be a bit more semiotically rigorous as people pat themselves on the back for having a black presidential nominee.
And that means you Chris Matthews (although I love you and watch your damn show every night).
