A friend of mine is starting to get scared.
She sees this protracted election season finally nearing its end and she's frightened. Not because she's worried about Barack Obama's safety, or because she thinks he will lose the election. Nope, she's worried about her own well-being.
She fears the dreaded White Backlash.
There is no need to pussyfoot around this subject. If a black man is our next president, there will be a certain segment of the white population that will be unbelievably pissed. Some of these folks will use Obama as proof that racism is dead. Others will blame Obama for every evil in their lives.
And, still others will be on the street looking for some catch back.
At least that's what my friend thinks. Since we live in a red state, she's concerned that some of our McCain supporting brethren may try to strike at random black folks since they can't get to the true source of their ire. She worried about getting cut-off frequently on the highway, getting snubbed in malls and potentially becoming a target for angry, frustrated white people. It may seem like a silly worry, but if white folks are plotting assassinations and beating up Obama's workers, well maybe she's not totally crazy.
But, I just told her to "nut up."
That's right, she needs to grow a pair like Hillary Clinton.
How dare she whine about people not holding doors open for her, or cutting their eyes at her in the checkout line? I'm not trying to downplay the threat of violence, but most of her fears were related to minor slights, not killing sprees. Therefore, I told her she needs to welcome this opportunity to have a little confrontation.
Get that shit off her chest.
I understand that it's easy for me to say all that since I'm a rather large man. She is a petite woman. Therefore the idea of a confrontation, particularly one that might turn physical probably doesn't appeal to her. The thing is, it's highly unlikely that things are going to get physical and if they do, she can just call the police. Unlike black people back in the day, modern black people have some legal recourse when we're mistreated. We have rights these days.
Personally, I would relish the opportunity to have some hardcore conversations with the sort of white folks who think they can jump stupid because their guy lost. Let's get all the cards on the table and let me know how you really feel so I can behave accordingly. If they want to be disrespectful, that means I can drop my veneer of respectability as well. Ain't no thing at all. I like when folks speak their mind.
Cause then I get to speak my mind.
So to my friend, who is also a regular reader of the blog, I say that you need to find a pair of cojones and buy you a sturdy rattail comb. Keep the Vaseline ready too.
If it's a scrap they want, then it's a scrap we need to be ready to have.
Share
Pay Attention
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
6 comments:
I was feeling like your girl for a moment, after all a sista lives up in Maine granted we are a blue state but still there is tension in the air.
However when I sat down and thought about this election from a historical point of view, I realized too many folks got their heads beat in or killed to get us to this point. That means I need to be ready to deal with any fallout which honestly I do expect a little up here should Obama win.
Bottom line is we have come too far now to look back and get scared and like you said unlike a 100 years ago, we can now call the po-po should things get rough.
You know, as cynical as I am, before my friend mentioned fallout, I never really thought about it. I figured folks would be upset, but I also thought "Well, so what?"
I was upset when Bush won the second time. I got over it really quick and I didn't act funny with folks. If they don't have that common decency something is wrong.
For the most part it will be the small passive aggressive things hell even those who do the HORRIBLE unmentionable tings to blacks often did it in the cloak of darkness with sheets over head.
It is what it is, no since in worrying about it, lets just see. Maybe it will surprise us, after all Barack's run most certainly took many of us by surprise who thought no black man could get the kind of support he is getting in our racially charged country.
-OG
I wouldn't worry about it. What kind of shmuck would get up in a petite woman's face?
Lots of people pick on small women. Cowards like easy targets.
I still don't think this will be a real problem though. I mean, how would we even know that folks are being mean because of Obama. They could just be assholes in general.
WNG
Things are pretty olive around here. But, that was the template that I liked. I tried changing some of the colors, but I couldn't.
Anyway, I'm not counting chickens, but I can't really do too much to drive folks to the polls. But, my pops is volunteering for the campaign. Or he was during early voting. I think my friend, like many of us, is becoming comfortable with the idea that an Obama victory is a real possibility, and with that realization, she's started to consider the consequences. It makes some sense, although I think she's overreacting.
Post a Comment