I am just so mad about this Obama birth certificate thing- that the Obama administration handed it over, that it’s still not going to be enough, and that so many people insist that Obama’s election indicates the ‘end of racism’ when this is so clearly such an expression of it. There’s no convincing people who believe Obama isn’t a “real” American, these folks don’t want to be convinced. Regardless of how many euphemisms the Right (and yes, I am conflating the Tea Party with the Right) throw out-they all stem from the same place, which is that because he’s a black man, he’ll always be seen as an outsider, as illegitimate, as undeserving of the Presidency, because ultimately, black folks (and anyone who’s not a Straight White Christian Dude) are undeserving of power. There are plenty of ways to see that reflected-in the health care debate, in who fights in wars, in education, and in all systems where racism is institutionalized.
I’ve tried not to engage with this whole thing, convinced that there are other more troubling issues, like the fact that Congress is trying to literally cut off women’s control of our own reproductive systems. Of course, it’s all ultimately related, and there is no ignoring it, especially if we’d like to see Obama or someone like him elected in 2012. We all need to get better at recognizing and calling out racism (etc) as it continues remain the same, to change form and as people continue to pretend it doesn’t/no longer exists.
