He's Supported by Who?

It's a well-known fact that Sen. Barack Obama is dominating the black vote. While this might not surprise some folks, it's worth repeating that early in this campaign Obama struggled to convince black people to take him seriously and abandon the Clintons. Shoot, my own father thought Obama was a joke at first, and now he's browbeating old ladies to give him one of their Obama lawn signs.

Despite our initial skepticism, black people now love them some Obama.

But, while that support has made the senator successful in some primaries, the latest news is that it hurt him greatly in Ohio and to a lesser extent in Texas. This Washington Post article outlines exactly how the vote broke down and how the support of black people may have turned off some white voters.

That's an interesting and ironic thesis.

Remember, one of the main reasons black folks were suspicious of Obama(besides his funny name and white momma) was his pretty hefty support among certain groups of white people. I mean, after his speech in 2004, Obama had a pretty good profile in the media and among the liberal elite.

In fact, although I despise the tone of Hillary Clinton's campaign, the remark by one of her surrogates that voting for Obama allowed certain white folks to believe they had a "hip, black friend" wasn't that far off base. Because of his mixed ancestry and race-neutral rhetoric, Obama was, and still is, the kind of Negro white people can feel good about supproting. And if there's one thing black folks have learned throughout history it's that it is smart to keep black people who are really popular with white people at a safe distance.

And it appears that some white folks have internalized the same mantra.

It really shouldn't be surprising. I've had many conversations with white folks who are considered to be "the salt of the Earth" (which is an interesting metaphor since salt is actually an anathema to agriculture), and I've learned some things about how this group tends to view the world.

Many, many of them really struggle to accept the idea that institutionalized racism and discrimination afforded their ancestors opportunities that minority groups did not receive. That means they reject the idea that they have benefited from anything but hard work and sacrifice on their way to obtaining the American Dream. Racism for many of them is confined to name calling and physical attacks, it has nothing to do with school systems and unions.

Consequently, they often view black people as rabid complainers who don't want to work hard. While these white folks may acknowledge exceptions to this rule, they still think it's the rule. And many of them blame black people for failing to pull their own weight and living on the tit of the federal and state government. Of course this is not based in fact, but Hillary's campaign has demonstrated white folks cannot be limited by facts when creating their realities.

So, it's really not surprising that a certain segment of white America would feel threatened by black support of Obama. Typically, it's the individuals scrambling to eke out an existence that harbor the most resentment towards minorities. Upper class white people can be virulently racist, but because they are secure in their own place in the world it can hard for them to generate the same level of resentment. After all, black folks are not a credible threat unless they meet us in a dark alley.

This dynamic not only concerns me in the Pennsylvania primary, but in the general election. Republicans are master of using resentment and fear as scythes to cut down unity and progress. I understand that Obama has won primaries in states like Wisconsin and Missouri, but I still have concerns about states where unions are prevalent and education is lacking. These people feel put upon, they feel shortchanged and it's highly likely they'll feel comfortable blaming a black dude.

It's the American way.