Thought of the Day - October 8, 2008

From a man who often says the most amazing things - Ralph Waldo Emerson (Thanks Kathy)

"Who you are speaks so loudly I can't hear what you're saying."

So no matter what is said, the greater message is delivered by your actions. The actions of last nights debate spoke so loud and clear about who McCain is.

That one. A statement that can be taken so many different ways. If the statement was used to describe an item on a table, it would be quite accurate. To use that term to describe another human being in your presence seems rude on the surface. If that person is a Man who is your colleague and Democratic rival for the job of the President of the United States, that statement is rude and inappropriate. Peel back one more layer and see that this man is Black and that term becomes condescending, dismissive and flat out disrespectful.
Unlike some of the critics who cover debates, as soon as John McCain referred to Sen. Obama as "that one" I felt a sharp twinge up my spin. I had to rewind live TV to see if what I thought I heard had just happened. Yes indeed, McCain pointed at the Senator from Illinois and called him "that one" with a sharp grin. As a person of color who some reporters describe as "sensitive to the subtle racial tinges in this campaign", I feel that most of the recent attacks on Obama from McCain/Palin is an attempt to reach the racist, whether open or closeted, in this country. By describing Obama as a "terrorist" and "as a person who doesn't view this country as you and I do", they are attempting to make him seem scary. Because making him seem inexperienced, naive and new didn't work. This plays on the fear of some of his base. That fear is based on racial and religious bias in this country. It appears desperation has taken a strong hold over the McCain campaign because that is low. Yes, it is even low for politicians. When McCain and Palin are at rallies where a man yelled "kill him" after a reference to Barack, we have a serious problem. The sick cancer of hatred is still alive and well in America. People of color have a reason to be afraid for Sen Obama's safety. I know that his candidacy has had an enormous effect on the self esteem of the black/brown community. Whether we all notice it or not, many of us are walking with our heads higher, more engaged in the political process, and with a sense of pride not seen among us since the civil rights movement. We are changing day by day into a prouder people and Barack has everything to do with that. Similar to the civil rights movement, that pride is being watched by the hateful minority of this country. That pride led to a King being murdered on a hotel balcony. In killing our leaders, the hatred of America essentially killed the civil rights movement. I pray daily that the hatred of America won't kill our dream, our change, our pride. We don't have another 40 years to wait, the time is now and as I saw on one of my friends facebook status yesterday, "Barack is not "that one", he is "the one"!

Have a prideful day!

~Maliek~