Obama's decades-long support for the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, combined with his refusal to completely disavow this man, suggest that beneath his calm exterior, Obama may be seething with racial resentment. So far he has managed to conceal it, while his wife Michelle Obama lets out the occasional petulant outburst. But inner rage is the only explanation for why the Obama family is so close to Wright. He articulates their deepest feelings about race in America, feelings that they know are imprudent to air politically.
Yet what do the Obamas have to feel resentful about? They are one of the truly privileged families in America. They both got an Ivy League education. They had the benefit of top graduate schools. They have held enviable jobs such as Michelle Obama's hospital post that pays more than $300,000 a year. They live in an upscale neighborhood very far removed from the drug and crime-infested ghettos of Chicago. So what do these two have to whine about? Would they trade places even for a week with a working-class white family?
Well, the standard answer goes, it's still painful despite one's advantages to live in a racist country. But how can America be a racist country if Obama has a serious shot at the presidency? How would it even be possible for Obama to win predominantly white states as he has been doing in the primaries? Would a racist country be likely to have allowed affirmative action and preferential programs to blacks in university admissions, job hiring and government contracts for nearly 40 years?
The Obamas seem to be experiencing what Ellis Cose years ago termed "the rage of the privileged class." Cose accurately identified the rage, although he could not diagnose its source. For many black leaders, there is one obvious source: white racism. Several years ago I debated Jesse Jackson at Stanford University and challenged him to show me a racism today that prevents his family or mine from achieving the American dream. Jackson admitted he couldn't, but then he said this merely showed that racism had gone underground, it was covert rather than overt, racism had now become institutionalized. To italicize his point Jackson went into some impressive rhyme schemes: "I may be well dressed, but I'm still oppressed," and so on.
The racism may have largely disappeared from view, but the rage of the privileged class is real. I think I know where this African American rage comes from. Imagine if you were Michael Jordan and someone said to you, "Every time you reach to dunk the ball into the basket, let's lower the net by six inches." This is basically what affirmative action does: it gives historically disadvantaged groups a break to compensate for the effects of past and present racism. Whatever the justification, however, the effect of such policies is to completely discredit the achievement even of competent beneficiaries. Michael Jordan's claim to be the greatest basketball player ever would be utterly destroyed if he played by a different set of rules as everyone else. And I wouldn't be surprised if Geraldine Ferraro were on hand to say, "Jordan only got where he got because of the color of his skin."
Consequently those who stand to benefit from racial preferences, as the Obamas may have done in gaining admission to university and graduate school, typically accept the subsidy while at the same time resenting the implication that they have gotten an unfair leg up. Their seething anger, however, is not directed toward affirmative action or toward the liberal paternalists who have implemented it. Rather, they ascribe generic blame to societal racism. In this weird framework, more affirmative action is then demanded to fight this unseen bigotry. Needless to say, the rage shows no signs of abating and only intensifies.
Want to learn more about all this? Read my book The End of Racism, a national bestseller which offers a vision for how we can truly transcend this destructive racialization of our society. Don't buy it to pay me reparations for the colonial subjugation of my ancestors over many centuries. Buy it because it's really good stuff.
Reader Comments ( Page 6 of 29)
76. "as I'm sure there will be a flood of responses seeking to show me the error of my ways in thinking so"
Nah. We prefer to pass on the ignorant trolls who drop in here.
brandon at 10:53AM on Mar 26th 2008
77. "I'm glad that Muslim journalist converted to Christianity in Rome. He is an intellectual. Not some radical savage."
WOW!
Mokele-Mobembe at 10:57AM on Mar 26th 2008
78. Simon; I can't blame McCain for saying it. But you are right about the disproportionate attention it's receiving.
Ryan Anderson at 11:02AM on Mar 26th 2008
79. Good morning everyone:
This was a thought provoking opinion piece. I want to share a story. I have always celebrated St. Patrick’s Day. Growing up; every year in school we would wear green, eat green cupcakes, drink green punch, eat green stew, etc. I loved it. I didn’t grow up Catholic, so I was ignorant of the religious aspects of the holiday. Now that I am Catholic, it means even more to me. I thought everyone wore green on March 17th, went to parades and had a pint of Guinness. Imagine my shock when I encountered hostility among some black co-workers toward St. Patrick’s Day. It never occurred to me that St. Patrick’s Day was off limits because I was African-American. I soon found myself explaining the origin of St. Patrick’s Day. How Patrick was enslaved, escaped, and later returned to Christianize the Celts. How Patrick used the shamrock to describe the trinity. How Patrick is also the patron saint of Nigeria. Still, there was this resistance to the holiday; a resistance that was never expressed toward Cinco de Mayo or the Caribbean Festival. I soon realized that the hatred was race based and it saddened me. At the same time, my white co-workers would never take MLK Day off because they felt that it was not created for them. Not all my coworkers acted this way, but too many voluntarily excluded themselves.
I prefer to describe humans based on continental origin; i.e. Asian, European, African, North American, etc. It is more accurate because we are all human. Skin color is the least reliable indicator of origin. Incidentally, have you ever noticed that we never refer to Hispanics as brown people or Asians as yellow; just an aside for thought. I use to wonder why colonial Europeans chose to create societies with slavery. When I visited Europe a few years ago, it became clear. They knew no other way to organize a civilization. They came from places with a strict class system. They were use to being servants, serfs, etc. I have met many Africans. African often gets a pass for its participation in the slave trade, yet it was African tribes that captured and sold their neighbors. I ask them why you would willingly depopulate a region for short term gain. Their response is that there is very little history of cooperation between African tribal groups and that this explains why it has been so difficult to foster a sense of nationalism in post-colonial Africa. I am not condoning the slave trade or its aftermath, but I believe that studying each other’s history might shed some light on the actions of the past. We don’t really know one another. There is good and bad in all people. Our lack of desire to really explore the positive and negative aspects of our histories only serves to further divide us. I think that Obama because he is bi-ethnic could build bridges and promote healing. Instead he has embraced a minister that preaches intolerance and hate.
janesophie1 at 11:13AM on Mar 26th 2008
80. tim and ryan,
calm youself i said i heard that was there any truth ? just a simple question .are you that stirred up. i myself found it hard to believe,thats why i asked. i mean coming from obama, a man who clearly loves his country i had doubts,sure i did.
so chill out
brian at 11:17AM on Mar 26th 2008
81. Rudy Giuliani's priest has been accused in grand jury proceedings of molesting several children and covering up the molestation of others. Giuliani would not disavow him on the campaign trail and still works with him.
Mitt Romney was part of a church that did not view black Americans as equals and actively discriminated against them. He stayed with that church all the way into his early thirties, until they were finally forced to change their policies to come into compliance with civil rights legislation. Romney never disavowed his church back then or now. He said he was proud of the faith of his fathers.
Jerry Falwell said America had 9/11 coming because we tolerated gays, feminists and liberals. It was our fault. Our chickens had come home to roost, if you will. John McCain proudly received his support and even spoke at his university's commencement.
Reverend John Hagee has called the Catholic Church the "Great Whore." He has said that the Anti-Christ will rise out of the European Union (of course, the Anti-Christ will also be Jewish). He has said all Muslims are trained to kill and will be part of the devil's army when Armageddon comes (which he hopes is soon). John McCain continues to say he is proud of Reverend Hagee's endorsement.
Reverend Rod Parsley believes America was founded to destroy Islam. Since this is such an outlandish claim, I have to add for the record, that he is not kidding. Reverend Parsley says Islam is an "anti-Christ religion" brought down from a "demon spirit." Of course, we are in a war against all Muslims, including presumably Muslim-Americans. Buts since Parsley believes this is a Christian nation and that it should be run as a theocracy, he is not very concerned what Muslim-Americans think.
John McCain says Reverend Rod Parsley is his "spiritual guide."
What separates all of these outrageous preachers from Barack Obama's? You guessed it. They're white and Reverend Jeremiah Wright is not. If it's not racism that's causing the disparity in media treatment of these preachers, then what is it?
Tim at 11:28AM on Mar 26th 2008
82.
Is Mr. D'Souza's book really about ending racism?
Because his blog just seems to perpetuate it.
tay at 11:36AM on Mar 26th 2008
83. the whites in america have sit back and let the blacks take over . like you said they make up 13% of the population.the whites have always taken care of them. they can call all these laws that have been put into place what they want to but it all means the same. whites have to take care of them.racism is still strong in america,but its more on the blacks side than the whites. because the whites know what is going on.
DEMOCRAT at 1:09PM on Mar 26th 2008
84. Post 83.
Look brian there is a lib who agrees with you.
Gwen at 11:44AM on Mar 26th 2008
85. Gwen, that's because it IS brian (my guess). Observe the dearth of capitalization in his prose, or spaces after his commas.
Mokele-Mobembe at 11:52AM on Mar 26th 2008
86. Good insight Moke. I think you are on to something.
Gwen at 11:56AM on Mar 26th 2008
87. DD says;
Obama's decades-long support for the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, combined with his refusal to completely disavow this man, suggest that beneath his calm exterior, Obama may be seething with racial resentment. So far he has managed to conceal it, while his wife Michelle Obama lets out the occasional petulant outburst. But inner rage is the only explanation for why the Obama family is so close to Wright. He articulates their deepest feelings about race in America, feelings that they know are imprudent to air politically.
What a disingenuous cowardly way to lie about somebody, in this case Obama. First he makes an assumption that Obama is seething with racial resentment. Then he says Obama is concealing what is his assumption. Then says Obama has inner rage which is his projected assumption, and goes even farther, and says this rage is evident because of what someone else says about how they feel. Then he goes on in the article ranting as though assumptions he has made were beyond doubt, and he is stating facts. All or this put in such a way to tell what appears to be total lies. What is the reason for a man such as this author to have such hatred in his heart? If this author had any integrity he could state his objections on facts without the assumptions. Except the facts would show his assumptions are based on hate not facts. Character assassination based on assumptions coming from a heart filled with hatred. Of course the hate does not stop at Obama, he spews it on atheist as well.
Jerry Brown at 11:57AM on Mar 26th 2008
88. I wish I could say "nice try", but it was really rather pathetic, actually. I was thinking brian, from the first 'sentence'.
And Tsar Nicholas II is dinesh. There is no doubt.
Now if I could only figure out who I am, that would be something. I only know who I am not.
DEMOCRAT = brian at 12:02PM on Mar 26th 2008
89. "'Logan - Nice paragraph. A few corrections: That should be 'you're a racist' not 'your a racist'. Also, the word is "tout" not toute. And what are "potential" Muslims?'
Are you being hypocritical??????" --Gwen
______________________
Not in the least...considering the FACT that somebody named Dave (I think it was Dave) made that comment to Logan. But that's a nice attempt, your pettiness.
Paul at 12:09PM on Mar 26th 2008
90. DD you pathetic Reepuke apologist. Answer #81 Tim's question?
Larry at 12:18PM on Mar 26th 2008