Originally Posted by Cy
"Forget the fact that Obama has as much to do with the American Black (children of slaves) experience as I have with southern masters (i.e. none). That doesn't matter. Because identity politics is all there is. All that matters."
I needed to expand on something...
What I meant by this comment is that, I don't really believe for a minute that voting for Obama will mean anything in terms of the USA dealing with its race issues. It will mean TONS in the classic tradition of good ole American "Anyone can make it here". I mean, the son of a Kenyan makes it as president, that's pretty cool.
But in terms of dealing with our deep historical scars of slavery and racism, it does nothing. Obama adopted his "American black heritage" like a typical post-modern soul searching for a designer identity. Sort of like Walter (John Goodman) in Big Lebowski deciding that he was going to be Jewish.
Nevertheless, Americans voting for a black man has nothing to do with a true redemption of our racial scars (something that we will indeed make a big step toward when the first descendant of black slaves becomes president).
Rather, it has to do with themselves.
By way of analogy, I think of Christians who participate in "evangelism" programs. They may stand out on the street corner and hand out pamphlets. This is far more about their personal pieties, their personal guilt, or their fears than it is about some "desire for the lost." Because when you deal with them, they give you that glaze-eyed look like, you're not human, but just some "target" for their cult.
It is with those eyes that the American populace is approaching the Numinous Negroe, Barack Obama. It's more about appeasing their guilt, or their personal pieties, than about the possibility of any real redemption of our racial scars.