So gotterdemerung wrote a mildly snarky piece titled Caption This on Wild Wild Left featuring a pic of Barack Obama goofing with a black guy on a street somewhere in mixed-race America. A piece which received several equally mildly snarky replies.
But…LOOK AT THE PICTURE!!!
Really.
LOOK at it, goddammit!!!
Look at Obama’s mouth.
Look at his stance.
Look at his comfort zone.
And read on.
His mouth?
The expression on his face?
That’s a street thing. It means “Gotcha!!!” In a (relatively) non-threatening, street goof kind of way.
What does the pic really say?
It says that Obama paid some street dues at one time. In black neighborhoods. It means that he really does have roots in both the black experience and in the working class experience of America.
Was he a gangbanger? A drug dealer? A street tough guy?
No, of course not.
But…unlike any other truly powerful politician in the history of racist America…he was there.
I walked those streets with him. In NYC when he was going to Columbia. Which university, in case you do not know it, is still about a 3 minute walk from some very…interesting…neighborhoods in Harlem, even after the area has undergone massive Bloombergification. I know the feel.
A Harlem story from those days-The wonderful jazz drummer Grady Tate was leaving the Apollo Theater late one night after a 1 AM show. His car was parked behind the theater on 126th St. As he got his keys out, someone approached him from the rear and stuck a gun in his ear. The thief robbed him, took his keys, climbed into the car and proceeded to drive away. As he pulled out, he lowered the window and said “By the way…loved your latest record.” Like dat. Obama would understand. He’d get a laugh from it. Betcha.
How did Obama live during this time?
Well, he has said that he “lived like a monk.” Lots of library time, etc.
I think not.
It is known Obama lived off-campus with a roommate identified as “Sadik,” who was not a Columbia student. Obama describes Sadik as “a short, well-built Pakistani” who smoked marijuana and snorted cocaine.
The AP tracked down “Sadik,” whose real name turned out to be Sahole Saddiqi. Obama first met him when the two attended Occidental and Obama was living with a group of Pakistani students.
“We were both very lost,” Siddiqi told the AP of his days in New York with Obama. “We were both alienated, although he might not put it that way. He arrived disheveled and without a place to stay.”
Now…I have lived “off campus”…way off campus and pretty damned disheveled as well…with people who smoked marijuana and snorted cocaine, and I am here to tell you that contrary to what the right might like to imply about such a lifestyle, I learned as much or more from the experience than I ever did attending classes at institutions of higher learning.
Been “lost”, also. Let’s Get Lost-the great jazz trumpet player Chet Baker’s favorite lick. Tragic hero? You bet. Sad junkie motherfucker? Yup. That too. But…he knew something. Bet on it. Obama knows some of that “something” too. Bet on that as well.
That single fact…that Obama lived off the grid for a while…is the most encouraging thing about him as far as I am concerned.
Not his undeniable intelligence.
Not his equally undeniable eloquence.
Certainly not his success as a President, which in his first year has been semi-negligible…a B or B minus at best.
But the plain fact that he knows the truth of what is going on in the urban streets of America. He has been there, his mortal ass walking down 125th St. at 2 in the morning on a rainy Saturday night. And he is alone in the field of potential leaders as far as this knowledge is concerned.
Why is this important?
Please.
It is popular to at least partially blame 9/11 and Al-Qaeda for our current financial troubles.
Bullshit.
The underutilization of the great talents of our population is the real reason that we are scuffling now, and racism has been the number one contributor to that failing. Without a racist culture, none of what is going down would have happened. Not in exactly same manner, for sure. And not on the same level of seriousness, either. Eliminate much of the massive financial drain of our so-called justice and public assistance systems…both necessities absolutely fueled by racism at their core…and the financial drain that is crippling this country simply would not exist. Is Al-Qaeda our active enemy? Yes. Would its efforts have successfully pushed the U.S. over a financial brink? No. There would be a surplus of funds available had we properly educated and given good work to minorities in this country for the last 50+ years. What they would have added to the GNP plus what has been subtracted from it by the systems that are necessary to maintain a culture in relative safety that has about 1/3rd of its people condemned to a position of permanent underclass? Priceless. Would the U.S. have even felt the necessity of running its economic imperialist routine on the rest of the world? The one that really fuels most of the enmity felt towards us by organizations like Al-Qeada?
C’mon…
Of course not.
And…exactly who in our current possible leadership brigade has a fucking clue as to the reality of all of this? A visceral, experiential clue?
Ms. Clinton comes closest, but she is miles away from the reality of what Obama lived.
Any Republicans?
Please.
Any other Dems?
Nope.
So…snark away, folks. Mr. Obama has taken on a massively difficult task, and the odds of his being able to get even a part of it done are equally massively against him. Given the circumstaces, his B/B minus mark ought to be graded up on a curve to an A/A minus at the very least.
Go get ’em. bro’!!!
At least you’ve taken the risk.
Good on ya.
AG
Please.
AG
precisely. for ppl who wonder what Barack is trying to solve and why it’s taking a while and why he proceeds cautiously. in my reading, he knows what he’s up against and he plans to succeed. (and re: HCR: he watched his mother on her deathbed arguing with the insurance co’s.)
this is closest to my way of thinking of anything you’ve ever published here, Arthur. All that’s missing is the other side of the coin. That goal number one isn’t to pass this or that, or change this or that policy. Goal number one is to keep the muthafuckas out of the White House and, hopefully, out of the majority in Congress, as well.
Doing that requires changes in policy and new legislation, but that is secondary.
Yup.
Precisely.
AG
And that is why they truly fear him.
Because he knows what’s up. He knows the score. He’s operated out there on the fringes, with the fractions, the less thans, the broken, the invisibles.
A man with that knowledge in his position is arguably the most dangerous man alive.
There is a reason “community organizer” is an epithet and an insult among the GOP. It’s another phrase for “man of the people”.
And they fear that shit.
.
Need to lift people out of poverty through education and jobs. During the SOTU I didn’t hear Obama mention the word, possibly not to depress his listeners and convey a message of hope and decency of America. He’s fooling himself, the administration he has to lead and Congress who are so conservative and lacking of ideas, Obama would need a third term to effectuate change. Another point, Obama lacks boldness and avoids taking risks. No AG, your man of the streets is a single-term president, he didn’t get his priorities right and missed opportunities for results.
Just an alternate view, take the build-up of the United States vs. Europe (Old and New). Look at the job potential, education and health care for all, ecology, green policy and investments in infrastructure of roads and rail. Europe is speeding forward, same with China and upcoming Asian countries. The US corporations are occupied with job transfer and globalization.
Comparisons by its nature often are lame, nevertheless one comes to mind. Look at the development of Haiti (Land of Mountains) ruined by the US versus the Dominican Republic affiliated with France. A model of development similar to the United States (poverty and racism of all sorts) and the European Union (less inequality).
Just a thought, I too gambled on a thoroughbred. However, his loyalty to his peers surpasses his risk taking for the needy. True, there was no alternative.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."Could be. We shall see. Remember…he’s only a little into his 2nd year. That’s a lot of Ratpub bullshit he’s got to clean up before he can even start to “do” things.
I do not think that the difference has much to do w/”corporations”, Oui. More to do with the dead weight that the U.S. has accumulated over hundreds of years of racism. Obese like a sonofabitch we are. No triathlons into the future for us. First we’ve gotta turn a great deal of that fat into muscle. Can we do it in time? I dunno. I really don’t.
Maybe…but the DR is actually much more “Americanized” than is Haiti. Much more. The truth of the matter? I think that in Chinese feng shui terms…the mysticism of geography, really…the Haitians just got the shitty end of the geographic stick. I have been to both places, and that’s what I smell.
I once used to hang out with a Cuban girl in California. One day while driving along in her convertible I made some passing remark about the differences and similarities between Cubans and Puerto Ricans. She pulled over, gave me and hard look and said. “You don’ understand. In the old days, the Caribé Indians lived in Cuba and the Borinquen Indians lived in Puerto Rico. When the Caribés got hungry, they got in their canoes and rowed over to Puerto Rico, where they ate the damned Puerto Ricans!!!” Regardless of the relative historical accuracy of this statement, the fact is that something makes Cuba a center of a certain kind of energy in the area, and its proximity to the northernmost part of the island shared by Haiti and the DR seems to have leached all of the power out of Haiti.
Too out for you?
So it goes.
I only report what I see and feel.
You also write:
And:
Maybe your “no alternative” idea is the more accurate of the two, Oui.
And maybe his “peers” are not really the fat cats.
I see “peer” in the photo above, and I see defensive posture when he is with the powerful. Defensive in an intelligent way.
The fat cats?
They are there to be hustled.
That’s what I see.
I hope so.
Like I said…we shall know soon enough.
Soon enough.
Yup.
#1-Is he hustling them?
and
#2-Is he a good enough hustler to pull the fat out of the fire in time?
We shall soon see.
Bet on it.
AG
.
Perhaps I’m a bit too optimistic about the social development in Europe and neglected the upcoming right-wing politicians based on populism and racism. European nations nave had a great influx of immigrants from North African countries and Turkey. I always felt the US had coped with racism and given opportunity to all its citizens. I was wrong. The US is a land of opportunity for the wealthy and healthy. This was my impression in the mid 60’s and the reason to look for employment in Western Europe. After the bursting technology bubble in 2000, the economic collapse post 9/11, the Bush policy and erosion of the dollar, today I have much anguish for the future of the working class people in the US. Their wages have eroded for decades and their savings wasted by the banking conglomerates and the bonus of the bosses. Poverty and inequality foster extremism.
In the link I provided, China is spending our US dollars to invest $293 billion in a nationwide high-speed, energy efficient rail network. An investment in today’s manpower and future economic growth.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."Europe has such a different history difficult to draw much from a comparison. European countries have nonwhite minorities but dominant white majorities, often of one culture. For USA our only route forward is to deal with the multiplicity of histories and ethnicities and cultures and have equality and inclusion in all the economic and political and cultural processes. Unlike Mexico, for example, no one is kicking the Europeans out, and unlike Europe, for example USA has substantial indigenous population as well as descendants of slaves, descendants of immigrants and present day immigrants. It’s difficult to transform the practice of a white dominated society but its the only way forward.
Patience is a virtue.
Sometimes.
This is one of those times.
Yup.
Later…
AG
Outstanding, AG. Something we need to be reminded of.
I have been trying to “remind” people of the essential decency of a few pols for several years. Leftiness shmoon seem to want it all now, with ice cream on top. That ain’t the way it works.
Keep on keepin’ on Tarheel…just keep on keepin’ on.
Later…
AG
You’re just rehashing the thinking that underlay the initial enthusiasm among progressives for Obama, AG. Given that Obama has exceeded the worst fears of people like me who suspected that he was a corporate tool but voted for him anyway because there was nothing else to do, a rational person would reevaluate that thinking.
I don’t think that he is that good an actor.
I could be wrong…but that’s not what I am reading from him, and I am not easily fooled.
We shall see.
Conning the PermaGov, conning us or conning everybody.
I am a connoiseur of cons.
You can con some of the people all of the time; you can con all of the people some of the time; but you cannot con all of the people all of the time.
Every con has its end.
We shall see where this one ends.
Bet on it.
AG
I don’t think it matters all that much how good an actor he is. Having a good actor was important when the assault on liberalism began, under Reagan. Now our system of managed democracy is so well consolidated that I don’t think it matters all that much who is actually president.
For example, when it came to what to do about Afghanistan, Obama was given a set of options by the Pentagon. Reducing US troop levels in Afghanistan wasn’t one of the options.
“You can con some of the people all of the time; you can con all of the people some of the time; but you cannot con all of the people all of the time.”
That’s what Jimmy Carter told Reagan. Looks like he was wrong.
On what we need: C or D.
On what could be done given the dysfunctional system: A-
Actually, the “C or D” should be upgraded a little.
After all…this system could very well have completely collapsed immediately after Obama’s inauguration.
We most certainly do not need that. Blood in the streets of America? Followed by certain martial law and a reactive collapse of the entire world economic system? While there are thousands of WMDs out there in the hands of all kinds of fools?
Please.
Let’s not.
Like I said…B/B-.
AG
Wait & see. Absolutely right.
It’s great that he ‘knows something’.
I’m not sure how relevant this is to the tasks at hand, though. Many of us have lived & survived outside the Dream. So what?
We’re not who we’ve been, even if we’re still there.
There’s another picture that gets posted around sometimes that I love — I think it’s in the Capitol or Exec. office building somewhere — Obama stopping to do a fist bump with a maintenance worker in the hallway.
For Bush, for Cheney, for most of that crowd, the common people barely existed, except as vague generalizations in talking points. The service people, the working people, those who worked shifts, and took public transportation and had to worry about hours, benefits or their jobs being cut, they were basically invisible. They weren’t “the base” — regardless of what party they belonged to. They didn’t matter.
But Obama sees them. He stops to talk to them, shake hands, LISTEN to them, read their letters at night. He knows what it’s like to be at the bottom of the income ladder, to make do on next to nothing, what despair looks like. He has seen it first hand. And he hasn’t forgotten, and he still sees those working people in the factories, at the airports, in the hallways, as individuals, with families and lives and jobs that are more than lines on a corporate quarterly budget report.
I’m thinking of him stopping to greet the marine outside the helicopter one of the first times he got on it. 🙂
I think he knows he’s swimming with people who eat sharks for snacks.
One thing more I like about him is the way he can’t hide his care for his family. He knows he married up, no foolin’ around. And he’s got to know what danger he’s in, even if the ss hasn’t bothered to protect him to the degree that they could vs all the repeated threats to his life.
What country (or even fictional nation) has a functional model of surpassing racism? What were they like before they fixed it?
Questions?
Sure.
That one’s easy.
South Africa.
I’ve seen it.
Felt it.
Amazing. My Excellent South African Adventure.
Truly amazing. Especially given the hypnomedia hype telling us all about how dangerous and racially divided the place is.
Amazing.
They are way ahead of us.
That one too.
They were fucked.
Way worse than us. Plain as day.
Maybe that’s why they made it.
Here?
Lotsa secret haters over the past 60+ years or so.
Harder to pin.
AG
for them? either you were black/hated or white/powerful, and once they resolved that, much progress?
we’ve got such a mix here, the haters can just move down the chain to find another group to hate 🙁
South Africa’s “minority” wasn’t a minority.
As of 2006: Black 79.5%, White 9.2%, Coloured (mixed race) 8.9%, Asian 2.5% (2006 est.)
Translation?
A 10% “minority” totally dominated a 90% majority by the use of miltarily-backed terror for several hundred years.
Deep shit.
And even deeper?
When the sheer numbers of that 90% majority finally emerged and took over, it didn’t massacre the 10% minority!!!
This is almost unheard of in all human experience.
A miracle of sorts.
Really.
S.
eventually America will have a white minority, so at least THEN a change becomes likely, if we can’t figure out how to catalyze it sooner?
Maybe.
But…will it be as generous and good-hearted as the South African model?
I fear not. We would need our own Mandela, and his approach was rooted in eons-old tribal traditions that we simply do not possess on any sides of the great American racial divides with perhaps the exception of the Native American strains that have survived here or moved northward from Central America.
The white populations lost theirs when they left their homelands and the black population had its own African roots forcibly torn from it by the slave owners in fear of slave uprisings.
Things could get nasty here.
Nastier.
I hope not.
AG