Psychological Warfare On The Notion of a Black President

[jaysunb]

Psychological Warfare On The Notion of a Black President; Playing On Black Fear and White Lunacy
May 31, 2008

The notion of the first black President in the history of the United States has become very real over the past couple weeks. So much so that we are now beginning to see both Barack Obama’s opposition (in both parties) and the media engage in a very vicious and mean-spirited wordsmithing that seeks to subtly unearth some of the worst memories in American history, for the purposes of invoking fear and lunacy on the eve of a historical occasion.

Psychological warfare is a big part of politics. Who has the most money, the most endorsements, the most votes, the most delegates, the most “momentum” plays large in positioning, or re-positioning candidates. Those who hold psychological advantages have a different type of swagger than those who don’t. When the obvious advantages are not apparent, candidates seek to create some not so obvious ones to justify their existence. The obvious advantage we’ve witnessed in the last six years of the Bush administration is fear.

The politics of fear, fear of “what might happen in a post-911 environment” got a highly unpopular President re-elected. This time around, “fear” is a two-edged sword. White people’s fear is what might happen if Obama is elected the first African American President of the United States. Black people’s fear is what might happen to Barack if he’s elected the first Black President of the United States.

http://www.laprogressive.com/2008/05/31/psychological-warfare-on-the-notion-of-a-black-president-playing-on-black-fear-and-white-lunacy/

[glowing]

1. and editorials/ articles such as these work to push the fear.. if you don't

have anything good to add or positive to say, just shut up.

[samdogmom]

2. Sigh! Once again...please just look at the man!

When I look at Barack I don't see a skin color...I see competence, empathy, intelligence, leadership, inspiration....the list goes on and on!

What is wrong with some people who need to keep bringing up race! Did being white ever help Dubya be a competent leader? END OF STORY!

[sharesunited]

3. Ha ha! Bush has set white people back a hundred years!

[samdogmom]

7. HA! Did you ever hear Charlie Rangle's retort about Bush--

basically he said that Bush has put to rest the idea of white supremacy!

Who here wouldn't agree with this premise?

(Disclaimer--I am a 50+ year old WHITE woman who is truly disgusted with my country right now!)

[Gman]

4. You mean kinda like the fear of a woman president?

It's done by accusing her of not being a democrat, being a feared DLC'er along with calling her a "fucking whore".

I can't believe someone had the audacity to write an article like the one in the OP.

[samdogmom]

5. Sigh! Again...the "woman" in Hillary's title isn't the problem!

It's the other things...just three top examples:

like voting for the war in Iraq and refusing to apologize;

like the lies...the many, many lies...(classic example: her coming under sniper fire in Tunisia); and finally

like trying to change the rules of Democratic primary voting in the middle of the campaign (after you've already agreed to them initially) because you are now losing and need these votes!

These, plus many, many other things large and small spell DISRESPECT for the Hillary campaign. And, trust me sexism is no where in the equation.

Signed,

A 50+ year old, white woman who is disgusted with Hillary and her tactics!

[Gman]

6. All you're doing is enabling the fear of women

I understand it's hard to stand up to it.

[samdogmom]

8. H...U...H....??????

[notesdev]

11. It's not 'a woman', it's THAT woman

which is the problem. She is not a good example of or for women, at all. Who would she be if not for her husband?

In fact, to get her seat, she pushed aside just the kind of woman that we should want on our ballot - a self-made one, not one whose political career runs off the fumes of her husband's waning popularity.

[bhikkhu]

9. I used a line from Frenchiecat on my RW McCain-disliking boss

having some coffee a month or so ago in the front office - "I like my coffee like I like my president". It took him a minute to get it, but he laughed.

And then again the other day he was sipping coffee and I asked him how he liked his coffee...he laughed again. A tough nut to crack, as he listens to talk radio all the time, but the big thing he had against Kerry and Gore was honesty - he was convinced they were liars. I think some of the same tactic has been rolled out against Obama via HRC channels, but it doesn't stick so well.

McCain has no real base, and looks worse the more you look at him. The campaign against Obama will be very negative, as McCain has no real charisma or draw....but things are looking good, and I think the Obama campaign will be a historic success...lord knows the country needs it now.

on edit I think it was Frenchiecat's line...anyone else remember it?

[notesdev]

10. Skin color

is, along with gender, my very last concern when deciding among candidates for any office.

I'm far more concerned with the "content of their character".

And on that, Obama is by far the least bad of a horrific lot.

I really wish that we could re-roll and get a new set of candidates to choose from. Since that's not realistic, it's the O-man for me. Come election time if things look like a blowout (which I think is very likely - McCain will be lucky to do as well as Goldwater), I may just end up casting a third-party ballot to plant the seed of a little more competition in the political marketplace of ideas.

A few million votes for a truly labor-friendly party might be just the wake-up call the doctor ordered.