I haven't had much time to blog lately, mostly due to the large workload that never fails to sneak up on you at the end of the quarter...
So... I'm going to do another quick post...
Can I just make one thing clear?
Michelle and Barack Obama are not anybodies Messiah... they are not indicative of the Second Coming... they are not God's gift to the world... and they do not represent the defeat of racism against African Americans, sexism and misogyny against black woman and every other kind of oppression present in the world...
... they just don't...
I'm frustrated because I feel like black people are being totally unrealistic on this one...
Every girl friend I have has had a facebook status talking about how shes looking for "her Barack" at least once... and a significant number of my male friends have had status msg's about how they are lusting after Michelle...
Whats worse... are the articles like the one recently printed in Newsweek that goes so far as to argue that it is Michelle Obama's responsibility to represent all black women everywhere and to fight every negative stereotype thats ever existed about them.
I hate to disapoint everyone... but it's really not...
Now don't get me confused, like most of my friends I am a bigger fan of Michelle, than I am of Barack. And I continue to get excited about the presence of all those black women in the White House... living and not serving... I love the thought of soul food cooking in the White House kitchens and hot combs and pink hair oil in the bathroom...
But at the end of the day, our communities compulsive need to find a new "messiah" to represent us, in the way we fantasize Malcolm and Martin once did, is ultimately what cripples our journey toward social justice in this country. We point to the Obama family as the answer to harmful stereotypes about our families, our women and our men.
We argue, like the Newsweek article did, that if there are just enough "good examples," then suddenly racial and gender injustice will just suddenly stop being present in our lives.
When the reality is... at the end of the day... it just really isn't that simple...
And I would think the larger presence of articles about Michelle Obama's ass... than articles about what she brings to the White House as First Lady... would be indicative of that...
a la higher learning....
WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
peace...
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2 comments:
Oh Alex!
Stop being such a stuffy buffy! (just made that up, lol!)
You know America has a ridiculous facination with beautiful people. (See any grocery store shelves lately?) Were you sleep during the election? The President-elect was a "rock star."
Fortunately (and unfortunately) the President and the first family are always brought up to celebreity status of some sort; some more than others. Our wonderfuly idol obsessed country did this with the Kennedy's in our parent's generation (my mom still has a letter from Jackie O), and in jolly old England, we saw poor Princess Di die at the hands of paparazzi.
We just have to grin and bare the idiocy of fanatics who follow the celebrity rather than the credibility. But it's fun to watch and read. (checkin' out Vibe blog now. ;p)
hi there,
you just got a new friend because of this post...
like you i'm a big big big fan of obama simply because i share in the principles he spells out... like he just did in his inaugural speech where he talked about honest, hardwork etc being old principles which we must adopt...
and he makes it clear these are not principles he invented... therefore i'm not overly 'intoxicated' with obama... i'm only living with hope once more cos i see a reason to!!!
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