Sadly, This Election May Just Be About Race After All

I found this editorial stunning in its ability to explain the way unconscious racial biases drive so much of the way the presidential and vice-presidential candidates are regarded. Please read it and let me know what you think.

This is Your Nation on White Privilege

By Tim Wise 9/13/08

For those who still can’t grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help.

White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because “every family has challenges,” even as black and Latino families with similar “challenges” are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.

White privilege is when you can call yourself a “fuckin’ redneck,” like Bristol Palin’s boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you'll “kick their fuckin' ass,” and talk about how you like to “shoot shit” for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.

White privilege is when you can attend five different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action.

White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be president, and people don’t all piss on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S. Senator, two-term state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means you’re “untested.”

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” part wasn’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.

White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people immediately scared of you.

White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member of an extremist political party that wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto is “Alaska first,” and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family, while if you're black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately think she’s being disrespectful.

White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and the work they do--like, among other things, fight for the right of women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end to child labor--and people think you’re being pithy and tough, but if you merely question the experience of a small town mayor and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a class she took in college and the fact that she lives close to Russia--you’re somehow being mean, or even sexist.

White privilege is being able to convince white women who don’t even agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your running mate anyway, because suddenly your presence on the ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women, and made them give your party a “second look.”

White privilege is being able to fire people who didn’t support your political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being a typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being black and merely knowing some folks from the old-line political machines in Chicago means you must be corrupt.

White privilege is when you can take nearly twenty-four hours to get to a hospital after beginning to leak amniotic fluid, and still be viewed as a great mom whose commitment to her children is unquestionable, and whose "next door neighbor" qualities make her ready to be VP, while if you're a black candidate for president and you let your children be interviewed for a few seconds on TV, you're irresponsibly exploiting them.

White privilege is being able to give a 36 minute speech in which you talk about lipstick and make fun of your opponent, while laying out no substantive policy positions on any issue at all, and still manage to be considered a legitimate candidate, while a black person who gives an hour speech the week before, in which he lays out specific policy proposals on several issues, is still criticized for being too vague about what he would do if elected.

White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God’s punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you’re just a good church-going Christian, but if you’re black and friends with a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on black people, you’re an extremist who probably hates America.

White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked by a reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you such a “trick question,” while being black and merely refusing to give one-word answers to the queries of Bill O’Reilly means you’re dodging the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced.

White privilege is being able to go to a prestigious prep school, then to Yale and then Harvard Business school, and yet, still be seen as just an average guy (George W. Bush) while being black, going to a prestigious prep school, then Occidental College, then Columbia, and then to Harvard Law, makes you "uppity," and a snob who probably looks down on regular folks.

White privilege is being able to graduate near the bottom of your college class (McCain), or graduate with a C average from Yale (W.) and that's OK, and you're cut out to be president, but if you're black and you graduate near the top of your class from Harvard Law, you can't be trusted to make good decisions in office.

Wall Street and Washington: Partners in Crime?

Former constitutional lawyer and current Salon.com blogger Glenn Greenwald has an excellent summation of how everything wrong with the Wall Street bailout is in perfectly harmony with all that is so desperately wrong with our government. Here are his 10 points in brief. Read more for a fleshing out of his argument:

(1) Incredibly complex and consequential new laws are negotiated in secret and then enacted immediately, with no hearings, no real debate, no transparency.
(2) Those who created the crisis, were wrong about everything, drive the process.
(3) Public opinion is largely ignored, as always, and public anger is placated through illusory, symbolic and largely meaningless concessions.
(4) The Government begins with demands for absolute power so brazen and absurd that anything, by comparison, seems reasonable.
(5) Wall Street, large corporations and their lobbyists own the Federal Government and both parties, and (therefore) they always win
(6) The people who run the Washington Establishment are drowning in conflicts of interest.
(7) For all the anger over what Wall St. has done, the Government—as it bails them out—isn't doing anything to rein in their practices.
(8) When the Government wants greater and greater power and wants to engage in pure corruption, it need only put the population in extreme fear and it gets its way in every case.
(9) On the most consequential and fundamental questions that define the country, the establishment/leadership of both political parties are in full agreement, and insulate themselves from any political ramifications by acting jointly.
(10) Whenever you think that the Government has done things so extreme that it can't top itself—torture, theories of presidential lawbreaking, a six-year war justified by blatantly false pretenses—it always tops itself.

I think we all know a deal will be struck and a gargantuan bailout is on its way. What is a little encouraging is that the final bill may contain at least a few crumbs of legislation that will benefit the average citizen, rather than simply one giant boondoggle for the filthy rich. Here's a telling quote from Greenwald's post to leave you with:

"Nancy Pelosi's tens of millions of dollars are invested in firms such as AIG, AT&T and others. It only stands to reason—as always—that if Wall St. is both owning the Government and running it, it will prevail over the proverbial "Main Street" every time."

Quote of the Day #10

"A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes."
- Hugh Downs

Quote of the Day #9

"A man's health can be judged by which he takes two at a time--pills or stairs."
-Joan Welsh

The Great Debaters?

Excellent column on Why Smart Talkers Lose Debates and How Obama Can Beat McCain Anyway, but I beg to differ over the point made that "So far, Obama hasn't come close to figuring out how to sound like a man of the people." I've noticed that lately, he has a very casual, offhand style and a gee-whiz manner that makes him sound like he was back on the farm in Kansas. I agree with the premise of the article—of course he can't sigh, roll his eyes, or use polysyllabic words. But I think he does come across as folksy in most interviews, so I'd be surprised if he didn't do so equally well in the debate. That said, debating is not a strength, and I'm sure he'd much prefer to be giving a grand oration on Friday night. But since he's facing McCain, it shouldn't be all that hard. That guy is a terrible speaker in debates and pretty much everywhere else.

Reality Bites Back

In this vicious political season (is there any other kind?), it's tremendously difficult to figure out which attack ads and campaign claims are true. For example, if you were to believe what you've heard on TV or read online, you think Barack Obama is a Muslim, John McCain invented the BlackBerry, and Sarah Palin tried to ban 93 books from the Wasilla library. All of those statements are false, and yet we are often tempted to believe them because they confirm our prejudices about the candidates.

I'm happy to report there are several resources for establishing the accuracy of the ideas floating around this presidential race. I've found three solid ones, which I've linked to below. Please share any others you know of.

FactCheck.org
PolitiFact
The Fact Checker

Quote of the Day #8

Alisher Usmanov

"In America today profit is privatized but risk is increasingly socialized. It's a form of crony capitalism that would make Russian oligarchs blush."
-Paul Campos, of Lawyers, Guns and Money, on the AIG bailout

Recommendations for Traveling With Kids

Those of us who are parents know well how tough it can be when we're trying to get somewhere with the kids—if our destination is far away and we have to fly, it's usually even harder. With that in mind, we at SmarterTravel decided to survey our readers about how best to travel with children. The article I wrote about what they had to say just went live today. Hope you like it.

Quote of the Day #7

God Bless America/Pat McDonald Must Die

By James McMurtry, © 2008

Look yonder coming, mercy me
Three wise men in an SUV
Corporate logo on the side
Air-conditioned, quiet ride

That thing don't run on french fry grease
That thing don't run on love and peace
It takes gasoline to make that thing go
Now bring your hands up nice and slow

Take us to the land of milk and honey
Sing and dance all night long
Whatcha gonna do with all that money?
Whatcha gonna do when that money's all gone?

Negotiation's just no fun
And it don't serve our interest none
Gonna turn up the heat 'til it comes to a boil
So we can go get that Arab oil

And we'll suck it all up through the barrel of a gun
Everyday's the end of days for some
Republicans don't cut and run
Tell me, ain't you proud of what we've done?

Take us to the land of milk and honey
Sing and dance all night long
Whatcha gonna do with all that money?
Whatcha gonna do when that money's all gone?

You keep talking that sh** like I've never heard
Hush, little president, don't say a word
When the rapture comes and the angels sing
God's gonna buy you a diamond ring

Take us to the land of milk and honey
Sing and dance all night long
Whatcha gonna do with all that money?
Whatcha gonna do when that money's all gone?

Take us to the land of milk and honey
Sing and dance all night long
Whatcha gonna do with all that money?
Whatcha gonna do when that money's all gone?

Sarah Palin: The Dream Interview

The Nation's Katha Pollitt writes a scathing review of Sarah Palin's "qualifications" for the job of vice president, and then she issues 10 simple yet deadly questions the Alaskan Governor needs to be asked by someone, anyone. Read the whole article here or just the questions below:

§ Suppose your 14-year-old daughter Willow is brutally raped in her bedroom by an intruder. She becomes pregnant and wants an abortion. Could you tell the parents of America why you think your child and their children should be forced by law to have their rapists' babies?

§ You say you don't believe global warming is man-made. Could you tell us what scientists you've spoken with or read who have led you to that conclusion? What do you think the 2,500 scientists of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are getting wrong?

§ If you didn't try to fire Wasilla librarian Mary Ellen Baker over her refusal to consider censoring books, why did you try to fire her?

§ What is the European Union, and how does it function?

§ Forty-seven million Americans lack health insurance. John Goodman, who has advised McCain on healthcare, has proposed redefining them as covered because, he says, anyone can get care at an ER. Do you agree with him?

§ What is the function of the Federal Reserve?

§ Cindy and John McCain say you have experience in foreign affairs because Alaska is next to Russia. When did you last speak with Prime Minister Putin, and what did you talk about?

§ Approximately how old is the earth? Five thousand years? 10,000? 5 billion?

§ You are a big fan of President Bush, so why didn't you mention him even once in your convention speech?

§ McCain says cutting earmarks and waste will make up for revenues lost by making the tax cuts permanent. Experts say that won't wash. Balancing the Bush tax cuts plus new ones proposed by McCain would most likely mean cutting Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security. Which would you cut?

§ You're suing the federal government to have polar bears removed from the endangered species list, even as Alaska's northern coastal ice is melting and falling into the sea. Can you explain the science behind your decision?

§ You've suggested that God approves of the Iraq War and the Alaska pipeline. How do you know?

Interesting Debate About Meaning of Socialism

My friend—not the one who thinks the media is liberally biased—and I had a very interesting exchange via instant messenger today. Here's the transcript:

My Friend (2:31:55 PM): you might be interested in going to this chat in JP. I'm going
My Friend (2:31:57 PM): Alternative Radio's David Barsamian:
What We Say Goes:
Afghanistan, Pakistan & the War On Terror

6pm Thursday
September 11th
Jamaicaway Books
676 Centre Street
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

Whether it's the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, threats against Iran, the conflict in Georgia, the overthrow of Musharraf in Pakistan, or the ongoing struggle for Palestine, most of the news we receive comes from the same corporate media that lead the charge to war. As the award winning founder and director of Alternative Radio, the independent weekly series based in Boulder, Colorado, David Barsamian has used this forum to speak out against US imperialism. His interviews and articles appear in The Progressive, The Nation, Z and other journals and magazines.

David Barsamian is the author of numerous books with Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Eqbal Ahmad, and Edward Said. His latest books are What We Say Goes with Noam Chomsky and Targeting Iran.

Sponsored by the International Socialist Organization
isoboston@yahoo.com
www.socialistworker.org
Me (2:37:50 PM): I am curious about that. A little wary of the International Socialist Organization, but it does look interesting.
My Friend (2:38:39 PM): haha. i think they'd be more honest with the material than a mass media enterprise
My Friend (2:42:23 PM): i'm going to be meeting a friend there and think the speaker will be powerful. i thought you might want to come and ck it out. if you decide it's not your thing you can always just walk the few blocks home
Me (2:43:03 PM): I'll go b/c I think you're right about the speaker, and I am very interested in the topic.
Me (2:43:44 PM): but I'll remain skeptical of anyone advocating international socialism at this point. Too much like international capitalism, if you ask me. Not enough democracy involved.
My Friend (2:44:20 PM): i thought you might be interested in the topic as well cause i know you're exploring the media feeds you've been reading.
Me (2:44:48 PM): yeah, for sure
My Friend (2:44:58 PM): interesting take. i'll more readily take the socialist pill than the "democracy"
Me (2:45:31 PM): I somehow doubt you'd say that if you had lived in a socialist country.
Me (2:46:10 PM): but I agree that this country's democracy definitely deserves quotes around it.
My Friend (2:47:34 PM): what was happening in your wife's country in her lifetime was as much socialism as what's now happening in China is Communism. They're warped.
Me (2:49:42 PM): that's probably true, but I do think we have to be very, very careful whenever we give allow very powerful institutions to run our lives, whether they are corporations or Communist parties or whoever else may want to be in charge.
Me (2:50:46 PM): I just want to live in a society where individual rights are respected while not ignoring the needs of the larger society.
Me (2:50:58 PM): there needs to be some balance
My Friend (2:51:45 PM): wholly agree, but my point is that you were a little turned off/treading cautiously when you saw who was putting on the talk yet we live in fascism now and we all eat it up like pudding
Me (2:52:02 PM): I sure as hell don't!
Me (2:52:35 PM): I think I had better go to this thing (I think I can) so we can have a more informed discussion about it afterwards.
Me (2:53:14 PM): let's just see what these "socialists" have to offer.

Readers: What do you think? Do socialists have anything to offer in this day and age? Given their record in the 20th century, is there any reason to expect that socialism could "work"?

The Liberal Media? (Update 1)

From Left: Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann

In my previous post on the topic of a possible liberal bias in the American news media, I promised to keep an eye out for relevant events. Well, it didn't take long to find one, now that NBC has pulled Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews from their positions as anchors for all campaign events. It looks like my previous post's first bullet was on target in terms of this decision. I wrote that "The right wing has been so incredibly effective at painting the media as liberal. To counter this accusation, the media studiously avoids offending conservative sensibilities, and is thus co-opted."

In the Olbermann/Matthews case, all it took was a few days of whining from the McCain campaign about MSNBC's biased coverage, and a change was made. I will be the first to admit that Olbermann is liberally biased and Chris Matthews is just a nutcase, but I'd love to see an example of where the same kind of staffing decision has been made by a right-wing news organization (such as Fox News) under pressure from Democrats.

I'm quite sure Fox has never bowed to such entreaties, and likely never will. Why? I'd say it's because the conventional "wisdom" is that the media is liberal. Never mind that said conventional wisdom is a fiction planted and nurtured for decades by the right wing. With a prevalent narrative like that, NBC feels the heat when it's turned up by the Republican Noise Machine and Fox merely laughs it off as the insignificant threat it represents.

Salon's Glenn Greenwald fleshes out the argument I'm making in his post from earlier today.

The Liberal Media?

A friend and I have been having an ongoing debate/discussion about whether or not the U.S. press is biased in a liberal direction. It's an old argument, but it seems to have an increased relevance now that the McCain/Palin campaign is relentlessly accusing the media of attacking her unfairly.

I can't tell if our positions on this issue are mostly driven by our political views (his are more or less centrist while mine are on the far left wing of the Democratic Party). Hence, he sees the press as overly liberal while I see the fourth estate as much too willing to embrace right-wing talking points. Here's what I think is going on:

• The media has been loath to portray the last eight years of horrors—Iraq, state-sanctioned torture, denial of global warming, warrantless wiretapping, Katrina, and all of the Bush corruption—as the catastrophe they really are. Why? Well because the right wing has been so incredibly effective at painting the media as liberal. To counter this accusation, the media studiously avoids offending conservative sensibilities, and is thus co-opted.
  
• The media is lazy. This is pretty undeniable, but I wonder about its importance. Clearly, many reporters are happy to have their stories pre-written by White House press releases and Republican talking points.
  
• Many, perhaps even most, journalists are more liberal than conservative, but publishers and the money people behind news organizations are far from it. The idea here is that editors assign certain types of stories to please their bosses, journalists cover those types of stories to please their bosses, and you end up with a right-wing viewpoint. This seems quite plausible.

Anyway, the point of this post is to begin to peel back the onion on this issue, so we might come to an understanding of what's actually going on in this country's press. I will be keeping an eye on what I see as examples of bias in the news media on either side, because both my friend and I are quite certain of our positions, and we can't both be correct. I'd love to hear what any of you think, too.

Quote of the Day #6

"In a world in which people are paid to spin every utterance so that it seems more and less than it is, a writer is someone who is un-spinning words, who is unashamed of the complexity of truth, who is not interested in dumbing down for the benefit of the sound bite"

-Baron Wormser

More August Fun, in Pictures

Here are some of the highlights of my adventures over the past month. In addition to taking in Boston-area attractions such as the zoo, Lenka, Lukas, and I visited family in Pennsylvania, western Massachusetts, and northern Vermont. Below are a few of the two dozen images you can find in my latest album on Fotki.com. Enjoy!