So like millions of people around the country, my eyes were glued to CNN on election night. After President Obama flashed upon the screen, there was complete pandemonium in the Afro American Cultural Center.
I’m looking at the TV and everyone is going crazy. Jesse was crying! Hope-rah was crying! Hell, I almost let a tear fall down. As Obama emerged from backstage to address the nation, there was a sense of hope for all Americans- that we truly can do anything that we set out to do. As people cried and cheered, I cheered along with them--- but then the cameras got closer to Obama and I had to ask myself... are those waves?!
A million questions started floating around in my head on election night about President Obama's fresh cut. Does he sleep with a wave cap? What products does he use? Who lines his hair up? How often does he get it cut? Does he carry a brush around in his breifcase? After seeing a bunch of tired combovers and receding hairlines, it’s nice to see a Commander in Chief with a fresh cut and waves deeper than the Mariana Trench.
Now that we’ve all cried, sung, and hugged everyone we know, let’s get back to business. America is still fucked up. Yeah, I said it. We have a black president and somehow we still look like we’re trapped in a land of bigots. Am I being rough on America? Yes. Will I give America a break? No. Because if I did, nothing would change and isn’t that what we’re all looking for?
Liberal media. Fail. Why? Because there’s a large chance you have no clue what those states have in common. Go ahead and google it…I’ll wait….
So now that you see what I’ve taken issue with, I will begin to rage.
Change - We asked for it. Begged for it. Shit. We even got t-shirts made. And not the spray paint or cheap screen print kind. We got the real won’t fade in the washing machine shirts. Yet these propositions allow for the continued disenfranchisement of homosexuals (and others in Arkansas). Where is the outrage from America? Have we become dormant already? Are we again entering the post-Civil Rights coma induced from patting ourselves on the back one too many times? This is the time to push on.
I cannot imagine the audacity of any person who would even attempt to deny another person of any right. And to imagine a black person that did or would have voted yes on Prop 8 were they given the chance? That’s insane. I know black people love their religion but can you not look past that to see that you are denying people their human and civil rights? I guess the Bible is an established truth…kind of like science. Which is why we still abide by Eugenics.
It’s hard to push for a separation of church and state here in the land of democracy where you have the freedom to practice whatever religion you want (long as Jesus is white) when you go in a court room and swear in on a Bible. Still I find it funny that Christians pick and choose which doctrines they choose to enact and stand behind. I didn’t know that sins came on a hierarchal system. Apparently things like homosexuality send you straight to Hell but sex before marriage is cool. You just get put in timeout or something. I didn’t even know Heaven had corners.
Besides that, you (possibly previously divorced) people out there want to protect the sanctity of marriage. Though homosexuals are allowed to appropriate the language of heterosexual romantic love, they are not deserving of the right to marry. That oh so sacred rite of Las Vegas marriages somehow alludes gay people. Change marriage? Impossible. Every interracial couple I know was ecstatic about Prop 8 passing.
I had a friend(?) of mine who was happy about the yes on Prop 8 tell me that things are still equal. That homosexuals can still be equal citizens without the right to marry. Umm hellllllo. Equal. Meaning the same. After alerting him that someone/anyone/everyone else not having all the rights he has is not equality and that with marriage came other shit like taxes and hospital visitation rights and other like protections under the law. So I asked him if a prop came around that said black people can no longer marry, would he still think we were being treated as equal. He says yes…as long as they had good reason. You can’t make this shit up. The reaches to which people will go to prove they are not in fact homophobic are amazing. They have gay friends and they’re totally cool with their lifestyle…they just don’t think they should get married.
Personally, I would think that marriage between two consenting adult human beings should be an automatic. There shouldn’t be a need for legislation to make anything outside of heterosexual marriage legal. You would think the same thing applies to legislation that requires equality for racial minorities and women but we know how that goes.
Rejoice America. Change has come in Obama but so much has stayed the same. Go ahead. Party and celebrate for four years and you will look up and see that America looks eerily the same.
According to the article, republican strategists in Macomb County, Michigan are trying to subdue "predictably left leaning" voters by challenging voters whose residence is listed at a foreclosed home.
However, the accused vote suppressors say that this is not so:
Whether or not this story is true, let's be real here. Such intimidation tactics are being employed in this election. The new voting block that turned out in record numbers during the primaries will play a crucial role in this election, so this story does not surprise me. We have to do our part to combat such tactics. Long voting lines, misinforming people about their voting eligibility, and outdated voting machines in lower income areas has been a serious problem in elections all across the country and very little has been said about it. We should be raising hell! We're talking about voter disenfranchisement! Where is the outrage from the media? the people?
Let us remember the men and women who lost their lives seven years ago from this date. You might be very busy today, but take a brief moment of silence to honor the brave fire fighters, city workers, victims, and families of victims.
This afternoon, I checked my email and found another disheartening story about ignorance in connection with Barack Obama. (thanks to Naima for bringing this to my attention)
Doron Braunshtein, an Israeli-born designer, created a $69 t-shirt that says "Obama is my Slave". WHAT?! According to the New York edition of Metro News, a 25 year old graduate student was wearing the T-shirt in UNION SQUARE and was confronted by 4 teenage girls. They pushed her, pulled her earphones out of her ears and spit on her. Now this person wants to sue the designer for "all he's got". So much is wrong with the whole situation, I don't even know where to begin.
I understand that everyone doesn't support Obama, but I don't understand why people would feel that this reference to slavery is an appropriate way to display their displeasure with his candidacy. At least create a T-shirt about legitimate concerns like his 'lack of experience'. Why insult him and Black people everywhere with such an awful slogan? In the Metro News article, the designer, which here means, placing not-so-witty phrases on t-shirts and selling them for 3 times what they're worth, claims that "his outrageous design reflects not his views but those of 'ordinary WASPs'.” Later in the article, we learn that he "can't stand Obama" because he reminds him of Adolf Hitler. Wow.
Moving on to the alleged beat-down of the lovely lady wearing the shirt. Maybe it's naive idealism on my part, but I highly doubt that an educated person would wear a shirt like this. In Union Square of all places. It just doesn't make sense. If she did, I'm not sure why she'd sue the designer of the shirt. He didn't force her to wear the shirt that day. And I can't imagine why she'd be surprised that people were upset about the shirt. In fact, she's pretty lucky that something worse didn't happen to her. Some of the other bloggers think this may all just be a publicity stunt, but either way people are still buying this and other awful, overpriced shirts. Braunshtein claims he's sold 1,200 shirts that say "Who Killed Obama?" Clearly, there's a lot more ugliness to be unveiled before this election is over.
Original article: http://ny.metro.us/metro/local/article/Obama_slave_shirt_sparks_lawsuit_threat/13001.html
Other blogs posts: http://www.hiphopmusic.com/2008/07/obama_is_my_slave_tshirt.html http://www.livesteez.com/news/news_detail/934 http://www.missinfo.tv/index.php/2008/07/17/sightwo-morons-one-obama-is-my-slave-shirt-one-too-few-beatings/ http://blogs.bet.com/news/youthvote/?p=426 http://gawker.com/5026752/race+baiting-media-whore-is-a-credible-source-to-one-dumb-paper
Barack and Michelle Obama are gracing the latest cover of the New Yorker magazine, but I get the feeling that they might not be too thrilled about it. The latest cover of the premier magazine features Senator Obama dressed in traditional Islamic clothing while giving his wife Michelle their trademark fist pound. Add a burning American flag, a portrait of Osama Bin Laden, and over exaggerated facial features (with a dash of hyper sexualization) and we have our selves a nice gumbo of racism, ignorance and regression. Anyone hungry?
The picture is problematic for so many reasons. The image clearly suggests that the Obama family is anti-American…Now are they anti American or anti status quo? Let’s tease this out a bit. Senator Obama is the only black Senator in the U.S. Senate and the first African American to be the presumptive presidential nominee for a major party…I’m inclined to go with anti status quo.
The image also feeds into the notion that Michelle Obama is an angry black woman or unpatriotic. Despite her education and career accolades, her accomplishments have been devalued on account of her race and sex. A strong, black woman is often labeled as bitter or angry, which is a SERIOUS problem. This image suggests that women of color should not exercise the same rights enjoyed by others; it also limits their right to freedom of expression. The fact that the New Yorker thinks that it was fine to dress Michelle Obama in Army gear and a gun is indicative that we have a long way to go.
Aside from the image being entirely inaccurate in its portrayal of Barack Obama as Muslim, it is also inaccurate in its less than subtle message about followers of the Islamic faith. The New Yorker cover clearly suggests that followers of the Islamic faith are unpatriotic. There are four million Muslims in this country who love and appreciate their rights as Americans and deplore the actions of Osama bin Laden, yet they are unjustly devalued, and in turn, denied full citizenship.
Yes, everyone does have the right to free speech. This does, however, infer that one has the right to question, protest, or react when attacked or discriminated against. Jeffrey Goldberg from The Atlantic stated, "As someone who appreciates a good joke, as well as a bad joke, it bothers me that people are reacting so dyspeptically to the cover.” Hmm, now why would anyone be bothered by an oppressive image with offensive racial and sexual undertones that infringes upon the right to citizenship? I don’t know…
The North Star is an online forum of discussion and debate maintained by black activist and justice-minded students at Yale University. By creating an easily-accessible online library of social and political commentaries, we strive to foster a community voice that calls for positive change at Yale and across the world.
