RACE and POLITICS
| Heidi M. Pascual* Publisher & Editor * 2006 Journalist of the Year for the State of Wisconsin (U.S.-SBA) |
I have been controlling myself not to use this space in The Capital City Hues to express my own feelings about
this presidential race, but I’m tired of being silent, amid the flood of politics related stories, columns, mainstream/
Black media political analyses everywhere, including this paper. After all, I’ve been outspoken elsewhere, including
in my own magazine, Asian Wisconzine. My main reason has been: I don’t want my friends, particularly in the Black
community, to “disown” me simply because I strongly disagree with their political views nowadays.
I am a strong supporter of Hillary Clinton, not because she is a woman, but because of her qualifications and past
work on universal health care, especially how she faced the hostile Congress at the time she was First Lady trying to win
a lost cause. I also firmly believe that there is a grand conspiracy by the corporate media and other big corporate
powers to ensure her defeat in the Democratic National Convention so that Sen. McCain will face Sen. Obama in
November. Corporate media has annointed Obama as their darling. Many Republicans even admitted that they voted
for Obama in the primaries to defeat Clinton! My theory is that this support will slowly erode as November nears. I’m sure
big money’s well-paid researchers are now digging deep for a “shock wave,” saving the best for last.
But, setting that theory aside, I truly admire Sen. Barack Obama’s latest speech on race, in reaction to media reports
about his long-time pastor, Rev. Wright, whose hateful sermon on ‘God damn America” after 9/11 has been bombarding
the airwaves. Obama couldn’t help but confront the issue of race because Rev. Wright, one of his staunch supporters
(with a huge following, of course) publicly denounced how this society has been treating his own.
Obama's speech’s original purpose might have been a form of damage control, but I must admit, he opened a can
of worms that everyone — White, Black, Latino, Asian, Native American, and any combination thereof — refuses to talk
about
seriously and publicly.
He said he won't disown Rev. Wright although he rejects his derogatory and hateful comments, because it meant
also disowning the Black community and his White grandmother who herself had admitted of being scared when an
African American passed her by and had spoken stereotypical words against Blacks that made Obama cringe.
Obama cringed, why? We all know the answer.
We immigrants came here in the hope of improving our lives. We came with our own values and cultures, which
oftentimes are at odds with American society’s way of life. We are considered “foreigners” even if we had been here for
hundreds of years as well. We also experience racial discrimination, not only from Whites but also from other ethnic
groups!
Our perceptions are always shaped by our own experiences and that of others close to us. Just like what Obama said,
I cannot “disown” some people close to me who feel strongly against some Black people who had done them wrong
and therefore try to separate themselves from other Blacks for fear of experiencing similar bad experiences. They are
part of me and my community as well.
Racial discrimination, injustice, and unequal treatment are not the monopoly of my African American brothers and
sisters. Latinos, Asian Americans, and Native Americans are feeling the same way, too. No one can say that one ethnic
group deserves a preferential treatment than others.
I myself have been maltreated and felt discriminated against by both Black and White folks, but I cannot disown my
close friends in the Black and White communities who have always helped, supported, and loved me for what I am. I
truly believe that regardless of race, there are good and bad people. Period.
It is therefore important, for the good of this nation, to really have a serious dialogue on race involving ALL
ethnicities
and come to grips with the truth about what little groups talk about “in the barbershops, beauty parlors, and kitchen
tables,” and POSITIVELY MOVE TOWARD RESOLVING this divisive issue once and for all.
Racism is such a huge problem that neither one speech nor one racial-unity conference nor one workshop on racial
sensitivity is enough to solve. It’s the biggest domestic problem that I think a “race czar” should be appointed to
singularly
focus on. Maybe Obama is the best person to tackle this issue.
Meanwhile, I hope that American voters will choose Hillary Clinton as the next President, because she is best
equipped to handle the current economic, foreign relations, and health care woes of this country at this point in time.
She might not be the best orator around, but she can deliver. Have you ever doubted a woman’s ability to solve
problems no matter how insurmountable they are? (Oops, I think you caught me there!)
this presidential race, but I’m tired of being silent, amid the flood of politics related stories, columns, mainstream/
Black media political analyses everywhere, including this paper. After all, I’ve been outspoken elsewhere, including
in my own magazine, Asian Wisconzine. My main reason has been: I don’t want my friends, particularly in the Black
community, to “disown” me simply because I strongly disagree with their political views nowadays.
I am a strong supporter of Hillary Clinton, not because she is a woman, but because of her qualifications and past
work on universal health care, especially how she faced the hostile Congress at the time she was First Lady trying to win
a lost cause. I also firmly believe that there is a grand conspiracy by the corporate media and other big corporate
powers to ensure her defeat in the Democratic National Convention so that Sen. McCain will face Sen. Obama in
November. Corporate media has annointed Obama as their darling. Many Republicans even admitted that they voted
for Obama in the primaries to defeat Clinton! My theory is that this support will slowly erode as November nears. I’m sure
big money’s well-paid researchers are now digging deep for a “shock wave,” saving the best for last.
But, setting that theory aside, I truly admire Sen. Barack Obama’s latest speech on race, in reaction to media reports
about his long-time pastor, Rev. Wright, whose hateful sermon on ‘God damn America” after 9/11 has been bombarding
the airwaves. Obama couldn’t help but confront the issue of race because Rev. Wright, one of his staunch supporters
(with a huge following, of course) publicly denounced how this society has been treating his own.
Obama's speech’s original purpose might have been a form of damage control, but I must admit, he opened a can
of worms that everyone — White, Black, Latino, Asian, Native American, and any combination thereof — refuses to talk
about
seriously and publicly.
He said he won't disown Rev. Wright although he rejects his derogatory and hateful comments, because it meant
also disowning the Black community and his White grandmother who herself had admitted of being scared when an
African American passed her by and had spoken stereotypical words against Blacks that made Obama cringe.
Obama cringed, why? We all know the answer.
We immigrants came here in the hope of improving our lives. We came with our own values and cultures, which
oftentimes are at odds with American society’s way of life. We are considered “foreigners” even if we had been here for
hundreds of years as well. We also experience racial discrimination, not only from Whites but also from other ethnic
groups!
Our perceptions are always shaped by our own experiences and that of others close to us. Just like what Obama said,
I cannot “disown” some people close to me who feel strongly against some Black people who had done them wrong
and therefore try to separate themselves from other Blacks for fear of experiencing similar bad experiences. They are
part of me and my community as well.
Racial discrimination, injustice, and unequal treatment are not the monopoly of my African American brothers and
sisters. Latinos, Asian Americans, and Native Americans are feeling the same way, too. No one can say that one ethnic
group deserves a preferential treatment than others.
I myself have been maltreated and felt discriminated against by both Black and White folks, but I cannot disown my
close friends in the Black and White communities who have always helped, supported, and loved me for what I am. I
truly believe that regardless of race, there are good and bad people. Period.
It is therefore important, for the good of this nation, to really have a serious dialogue on race involving ALL
ethnicities
and come to grips with the truth about what little groups talk about “in the barbershops, beauty parlors, and kitchen
tables,” and POSITIVELY MOVE TOWARD RESOLVING this divisive issue once and for all.
Racism is such a huge problem that neither one speech nor one racial-unity conference nor one workshop on racial
sensitivity is enough to solve. It’s the biggest domestic problem that I think a “race czar” should be appointed to
singularly
focus on. Maybe Obama is the best person to tackle this issue.
Meanwhile, I hope that American voters will choose Hillary Clinton as the next President, because she is best
equipped to handle the current economic, foreign relations, and health care woes of this country at this point in time.
She might not be the best orator around, but she can deliver. Have you ever doubted a woman’s ability to solve
problems no matter how insurmountable they are? (Oops, I think you caught me there!)