Race for States...

This is a post I resisted writing for several days.

Race is always a delicate subject at best, filled with loaded and evocative terms, from Affirmative Action to White Resentment. It is a difficult subject because of the emotional responses that it generates in the people who attempt to talk about it, and the still grievous chasm in race relations in this country. But there is an aspect that has been troubling me for sometime.

There is a question commonly asked this election cycle, "Why isn't Obama up by more?".

Simple enough question to ask, and with all the head winds pointing democratic one would think it would be absolutely academic that a crushing tide of democratic electees would storm the capital and the White House. Obviously if Obama is not slaughtering McCain, then he is doing something fundamentally wrong? The list is legion, he does not connect with the voters, doesn't feel their pain, is inexperienced, etc. There is no lack of rationales for this, however, there is a topic that very rarely gets much mention. What effect does Senator Obama's race have on his relative standing in the polls.

That got me thinking about this in a more concrete way, perhaps there was some metric to look at that might shed some light on the subject? Well late last week a poll was released by AP/yahoo. some of its findings were fairly jarring. I wasn't able to track down the cross tabs for the poll, but here are some analysis by various news agencies:
The Page
Huffington Post
The Politico

A few of the interesting data points were:

• 40 percent of all white Americans hold at least a partly negative view toward blacks, and that includes many Democrats and independents.
• One-third of white Democrats harbor negative views toward blacks — many calling them ‘lazy,’ ‘violent’ or responsible for their own troubles.
• Nearly four in 10 white independents agreed that blacks would be better off if they “try harder.”

Interesting stuff. This is where that "White Resentment" comes in as a topic. If you are not familiar with the subject, it is generally localized to regions that have experienced severe racial strife over the last 30-40 years (regions like the suburbs around Detroit,Philadelphia, most of the deep south). With Affirmative action being a standard issue to rail against. The basic grievance is that, why should someone pay a penalty for something they personally did not perpetrate?

This is a very real sentiment, I have heard it expressed to me, in both overt and subtle ways. There is an understandable aspect of it. That being said there is a flip side that is rarely if ever discussed, that would be thecorollary to "White Resentment" that would be "White Privilege". Tim Wise wrote a fairly instructive piece on the subject especially with regard to the presidential race. I highly recommend reading it. It vividly shows the difficulty any minority faces competing on that level in virtually any non-athletic field. One example listed would be.

White privilege is being able to say that you support the words “under God” in the pledge of allegiance because “if it was good enough for the founding fathers, it’s good enough for me,” and not be immediately disqualified from holding office--since, after all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and the “under God” partwasn ’t added until the 1950s--while if you're black and believe in reading accused criminals and terrorists their rights (because the Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law school, requires it), you are a dangerous and mushy liberal who isn't fit to safeguard American institutions.

I am not sure how I want to tie these two together. They are definitely part and parcel of the same cloth. I can not accurately say it is an artificially suppression of his numbers, because it is not artificial, it is absolutely ingrained in out society and culture. So I find it hard to discuss the situation as if it is a separate aspect. I know in my own life I have had such issues used to justify some of the successes I have experienced. Affirmative Action as the buzzword of choice, for this I will turn to Ta-Nehisi Coates when he says:

The idea that Affirmative Action justifies white resentment may be the greatest argument made for Reparations--like ever. Let's grant that white people have the right to resent black people because of 40 years of race preferences. But black people suffered through 300 years of race preferences which included, but weren't limited to--slavery, pogroms, wanton rape, land theft, and wealth transfer. Southern whites (the very people who perpetrated much of that sad history) can have their resentment, unashamed and public--right after they give us the deed to the entire Deep South. Sounds fair to me. What's that you say? Most whites didn't own slaves? And your grandfather hated the Klan? My sentiments exactly. Most black people don't benefit from Affirmative Action either. So what are we saying here?

Last week Mike wrote a touching post on marriage, its effects on our lives and the real emotion that should be expressed during those festive times, the end of one story and the beginning of a new one. He wrote a moving piece on an emotional issue. So it motivated me to write about something that draws a distinct emotional response from me. I don't posit any solutions to anything I mention here, I can only try to articulate the frustration it breeds. Upset about busing? Well try being "watched" and "followed" whenever you walk into a store.

So the next time you hear someone ask, "Why is Obama having such a hard time sealing the deal?", you will know what I am thinking.

Maybe this week, I will try to write some lighter posts? Maybe tackling abortion rights, selling orphans on the black market, or buggering goats.

-cheers