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Jhud -> RE: Now that Obama is President... (7/31/2008 2:59:26 PM)
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quote:
Perhaps there should be limits imposed on crowds? Prohibitions on cheering too much for one and not for another? Forcing Obama to share some of his crowds with McCain?
Don't worry folks. Relax. Just ask yourself this question: how many of the screaming mob that Obama draws will actually vote for him?
You know Julius, having observed a number of your posts on the subject, I am beginning to think you have a one sided (though important) view of this election, and are actually blind to another very important consideration that is perhaps equally, if not a greater factor here.
The factor I am thinking about is actually borrowed from Spike Lee. It’s a term he used to describe the role blacks frequently play in American fiction. I will modify the term a bit because the original wording might be offensive to some, but it’s called the Myth of the Magic Black Man. Unlike one stereotype some whites have of blacks (gangstas, welfare queens, angry victims, etc.) this depiction is a positive one – it views certain black people as mystically wise, capable of helping others overcome there own weaknesses and troubles, and enlightening them in such a way so as to direct them into a better life. Frequently such characters seem to have mysterious origins, with no earthly ties, and exist primarily to help a particular person or group of people (usually white). We are familiar with such figures in fiction, like Will Smith’s character in Bagger Vance, Morpheus in The Matrix, and, well, virtually every character Morgan Freeman ever played.
And we have real life examples too. Oprah, though not a man, is very much like this – even though she has no particular education in any of the subjects she talks about, has never personally been married, or had a child, she nonetheless dispenses wisdom about all these things, showers her audience with gifts from her great wealth, and shares secrets that are supposed to give us success in this life.
I think we see the same phenomena in Obama – he is enough of a blank slate that we can project our hopes and wishes on him. We don’t care about his experience because he has ‘good judgment’. He has swooped in from seemingly nowhere to give us hope and change our lives and lead us down the right path. He is magical.
And interestingly the reason white folks do this is two-fold. The first is that blacks are enough of a mystery to many of us that we can imagine that they somehow have something we don’t; we often do the same things with Asians and Native Americans as well – we perceive them as somehow closer to the earth, more in tune with the wisdom of nature, able to give us insights beyond simple forms of knowledge.
The second reason is less pleasant – in this role blacks and others are still subservient – they were sent to us, to help us, they exist so that we might benefit, and would have no other purpose otherwise. When they have helped us, their job is to slip off into the twilight.
So I see two things at play here, one which might hurt Obama’s aspirations, one which might help him. And ironically in all this McCain really plays no role – we have summed him up, and he has no power against this mythology. On one hand there are the usual small group ignorant folks who want to ascribe to Obama some nefarious purpose, an evil they might not ever see in a white man who held the same views. And on the other hand, and I think there is a much larger group that sees him in this magical light.
Of course you have a lot of other folks in the middle, including some black folks who support him primarily because ’it’s time’, and other who think more critically about it.
The thing that concerns me is that neither view sees Obama as he needs to be seen – as a man in his own right, with all the strengths and weaknesses of any man, with ideas that may or may not help our country. What is not clear to me is whether or not Obama wants to be seen this way, and if he doesn’t, then I think we are all in for some big disappointments, because once he assumes office, he will never be able to live up to the image that has either been projected upon him, or has been cultivated by him or his supporters.
So I guess my take on this is that you are seeing something fairly narrowly which has much broader implications. Thoughts?
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