tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post4127665940392128442..comments2024-03-22T20:34:13.792-05:00Comments on Indomitable | The online home of Chauncey DeVega: A Historian's Reflections on the Political Use of Racial Fear by the American Right WingLady Zora, Chauncey DeVega, and Gordon Gartrellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09138154899923808806noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-40083456326466679022009-08-20T15:33:32.344-05:002009-08-20T15:33:32.344-05:00Great post that gets at the heart of the issue tha...Great post that gets at the heart of the issue that not just healthcare, but really everything Obama has done or will do while in office will always be about race to a certain segment of our nation, even as he tries to do it not just for black people, or people of color, or poor people or any other special interest group seen as lying outside of the "real America," but for all Americans of all backgrounds... I would also direct folks to a really clear analysis by Tim Wise of why "socialism" when used by the conservative right as a rule stands for all things wrong and colored re: modern governance in the age of Obama. Check it out http://www.redroom.com/blog/tim-wise/red-baiting-and-racism-socialism-new-black-bogeyman and in the meanwhile try to contain your outrage and stay informed as the debate over salient issues continues to devolve into insanity...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-2356032360359487582009-08-20T10:43:28.012-05:002009-08-20T10:43:28.012-05:00Thanks again Chauncey for reposting me.
To back u...Thanks again Chauncey for reposting me.<br /><br />To back up Gordon, I think that whiteness has a lot to do with the rage we're seeing. Universal health care is predicated on the idea that we all belong to the same community, and so no fellow member ought to go without something so important and basic as health insurance.<br /><br />We are the only wealthy nation in the world without universal health coverage, and the fact that a large percentage of white people do not view African-Americans as part of the same community as them is one the deciding factors. <br /><br />I think that the corporate interests are looking to maximize their profits, but are more than happy to benefit from rage that has its sources in racial fear.Werner Herzog's Bearhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01918845193415571702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-61446408650953320102009-08-19T19:42:06.317-05:002009-08-19T19:42:06.317-05:00Thank you for your insightful comment, White Dude....Thank you for your insightful comment, White Dude.<br /><br />But I take issue with one aspect of your analysis:<br /><br /><i>We are looking at part of the rage of the elite/rich WASP man's system, a system which has built its economic empire and regime on the backs of all those, bar none, who are not of its own ilk.</i><br /><br />Though it's stoked by elites--talking heads, millionaires, politicians--I'd wager that the most virulent grassroots hatred is coming from those who haven't benefited that much from the system: poor rural and suburban whites. <br /><br />So the real question for political analysts and progressive activists is what accounts for the right's hold on these poor white Americans. Some blame poor education and the failure of the media; but it really seems to be about the psychic wages that whiteness offers these poor, marginalized white folks.gordon gartrellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07453017150507048961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-16150441323728312472009-08-19T12:58:15.062-05:002009-08-19T12:58:15.062-05:00We live in a capitalistic economic system. The be...We live in a capitalistic economic system. The benefits of that system are that we can get amazing stuff for very little, relatively, and that some among us can make money for ourselves (by God's grace). The problems of that system are that there has always been, and will always need to be, a class of 'have-nots' who can be exploited in order to both produce things at low cost and to make money for others. The issue behind the health-care debacle - and really, the issue that underlies most of the anti-Obama rhetoric and feeling - is that many of my fellow [white] Americans who have benefitted from the capitalistic system are tremendously upset about the possibility that their gain will be taken/ redistributed to those who have NOT benefitted, irregardless of whether it was gotten “legally” or “illegally.” [As always, whether something is “legal” or not is defined by the WASP cultural system ‘winners.’] We are looking at part of the rage of the elite/rich WASP man's system, a system which has built its economic empire and regime on the backs of all those, bar none, who are not of its own ilk. Finally, however, someone - Obama - is calling the system on the carpet, and ingeniously doing it through the mechanics of the system itself (i.e., by being President). In some ways, the ‘white anger’ which we are seeing the talking heads display is unfortunately prototypical – and is going to need to play out in multiple arenas before we can really get to the next level.White Dudenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-48557989923979180342009-08-18T18:55:57.339-05:002009-08-18T18:55:57.339-05:00this has to be my favorite post thus far. excellen...this has to be my favorite post thus far. excellence in the highest degreeIsaachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03285548466635671505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-78699099878774055852009-08-18T17:27:35.880-05:002009-08-18T17:27:35.880-05:00In Zora's absence I will answer :)
That is th...In Zora's absence I will answer :)<br /><br />That is the joke--we all embody blackness and respectability in our own way. But, there is also a hidden meaning--there are clues throughout the site.<br /><br />cdLady Zora, Chauncey DeVega, and Gordon Gartrellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09138154899923808806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-91870667660772087072009-08-18T16:13:48.554-05:002009-08-18T16:13:48.554-05:00I know this is the wrong place for this comment, b...I know this is the wrong place for this comment, but WHY on earth is Zora's picture represented by white Angelina Jolie playing 1/6 black Mariane Pearl?Jillianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01792137126898623243noreply@blogger.com