Thursday, October 7, 2010

The Rules Are Different

John Cole has a fantastic post about the African-American community's outlook on black-white relations in America. He points out you have to be "blind as a bat" to not see why the community isn't optimistic at this point in our nation's history.

From day one we knew, the first black president was going to have a different set of rules than any of his predecessors. Barack Obama happens to be the first, so it should be no surprise after the past two years the African-American community is disgruntled with white-black relations. As John points out it's nearly maddening.

Here is what I have noticed, what pisses off white people the most (in general) about Obama is that he is not the "Model Minority" and they don't know how to deal with it.

I am Frank Chow and I approved this message

3 comments:

desmoinesdem said...

Come on Frank, consider the other side of the coin:

CALLER: I'm 90 years old, and I just wanted to ask the colored man, why don't colored people instead of saying what we did to them, why don't they say what we did for them? They talk about the slavery, but since then, they have been given welfare, free medicine, free everything.

HARLESTON: Ma'am I think this is more of a conversation about the relationship between the administration and the people on Wall Street and not necessarily one that's based on race.

CALLER: Oh, okay. I'm not a racist. That was my comment. Thank you.

Paddy K said...

I agree with Cole but I think you miss a slight nuance in your last statement. In many ways, according to the Wiki definition you link to, Obama IS the model minority: self-made man, broken home, absentee father, rising to success through hisown hard work.

I would say he is the model minority, he defies stereotyping of black Americans and THAT is why they hate him. He's too upper-middle class, too educated and too not-what-they-expect from black folks, they've spent all this time trying to make him the "alien other" that they perceive the majority of black Americans to be or that they perceive likely voters perceive black Americans to be.

Asian-American Pundit said...

@desmoinesdem Thanks for stopping by! I remember that caller even though I try to forget...Sad but true.

@Paddy K I agree with you that in a lot of ways Obama is the model minority, but "he doesn't fall in line."

He is the president, he challenges his opponents (even within his party), he plays golf and vacations at Martha's Vineyard, he uses his veto power, he listens to gangsta rap, but enjoys U2, as you say he is "too not-what-they-expect from black folks."

So no he is not model minority, he lacks the last and most important criteria; recognizing "his place." And that is why they hate him.