Dirty Double Standard Drama

Yo, I need y'all to ponder something for me.

So, Barack Obama picks Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration. In response, a whole host of homosexual lobbyists get pissed at him because Warren is opposed to gay marriage. Like many other people on the left, these individuals now accuse Obama of betraying them, and wonder if he's lost his moorings. They note that they helped him get elected, and he owes them something for their support.

Y'all with me so far?

Here's the million dollar question in my mind.

How would the media be handling this if it was black people complaining that Obama wasn't looking out for us enough?

That question isn't totally hypothetical. I watched a program on CNN Wednesday where Donna Brazile was discussing that very same scenario with Wolf Blitzer. Blitzer asked Brazile if black people were out of line for complaining that Obama hadn't done enough to show his support for our community. He didn't say "some" black people, he lumped us all in there together.

I'm still waiting for him to ask that question about homosexuals.

This is a perfect example of how black people are insidiously denied equality in this country. Our concerns are minimized or ignored because the larger society deems them superficial and selfish. We are chastised for expecting loyalty from politicians or political parties that we support at overwhelming rates, while other groups with far less consistent support see their concerns hailed as earth-shattering issues.

We get told we don't really count.

Sidenote: I wouldn't have picked Warren to say the invocation because I think he allowed McCain to cheat during the Saddleback "debate," but that's just me. I'm also sick of people saying Obama shouldn't be buttering up the religious right because they won't support him no matter what he does. In order to be successful Obama must minimize his opposition by their support, and selecting Warren helps with that.

I've noticed that mainstream America has become increasingly less willing to critically examine racial issues, and things have only gotten worse with Obama's victory. I'm not talking about placing a camera and microphone in front of the usual suspects and telling them to discuss the current most popular racial issue. I want Americans to examine their basic assumptions about this country. I want black people to have the freedom to shake free of our role as constant complainer, and instead be seen as people raising valid issues.

If black people were criticizing Obama because we though he wasn't doing enough for us, it would be taken as further proof of our greed and innate racism. (That's right, many white people think black folks are the real racists.) Our protests would not be considered legitimate, not would Obama feel the consistent heat from the media that would compel him to respond to them. It would just be another example of black people showing their ass in the minds of the mainstream media.

This issue reminds me of the hoopla surrounding the passage of Proposition 8 in California, particularly the quid pro quo relationship implied by many gay people. Opponents of Prop. 8 seemed outraged that black people would heavily support that measure considering the fact that the majority of gay people supported Obama. (However, Obama received less gay support than John Kerry. Gays were one of the few groups he lost to McCain and it didn't matter what age they were.)

At the time I was outraged that some gay people felt like black people were being ungrateful by supporting Prop 8. That paternalistic mindset is not uncommon among white people, but it's even more galling when it's coming from people who are arguing that they are the victims of an injustice. It's one thing to disagree with black people's support of the proposition and to be appalled at the levels of anti-gay sentiments in the black community. It's quite another thing to tell black people they need to be more grateful to you because you were willing to let a black guy be president.

The recent uproar has the same undertones. Yet, very few people seem to find this mind set troubling even as black people are continually reminded that we don't have any special claim on Obama because he's everybody's president. If he's everybody's president, then why are gay people getting so angry that he's trying to appeal to everybody?

Makes no damn sense.

Scratch that, it makes perfect sense. It makes perfect sense in a country where double standards regarding black people are accepted with little critical thought. Some might wonder if I'm seeing the racial bogeyman where he doesn't exist, but they are wrong. This situation is exactly the sort of racism that black people face most often today. The subtle demeaning and undervaluing of our worth that erodes confidence and excuses injustice.

Same drama, different day.


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