Why I'm Trying Not To Write About the Presidential Campaign [Said the Anarchist]

Last night I removed my comments regarding Jesse Jackson and Barack Obama that were somewhat tacked on to a post about judges and stock ownership.

I did it, in part, because a reader got really upset and though they claimed that was about something they assumed I did but did not do and did not say I did, it may have been because I was undermining their Obama dreams and I don't need to do that.

I wasn't going to talk about taking down the material unless someone asked until I read this post about Talib Kweli's comments on Barack Obama and voting over at The Rap Up.

It sounds like Kweli has maintained a strong stance against voting for awhile, though I don't know the details, and is reconsidering it because he's so inspired by Barack Obama.

At this point I should point out for folks that don't know that I am an anarchist.  Though many anarchists would deny that because, believe it or not, most of the noisy judgmental ones have massive amounts of rules, that denial can't stop me from knowing who and what I am.

That said, I do support voting as a tactic though so-called representative democracy is a shadow version of what I would consider democracy because you're voting for someone who is ultimately unaccountable for years at a time.

But I don't want to put my faith in politicians or be inspired by them for twp very specific reasons:

1) They can be assassinated and if your movement is built around a cult of personality it will die.  It's a sign of the strength of the Civil Rights Movement that the assassination of Martin Luther King did not stop them from completing their initial mission.

2) Most shiny happy politicians have a down side that ultimately feels like a betrayal to me when I'm on my shiny happy purity trip and they turn out to be as human as the rest of us.

On that note, if you're putting your faith in Barack Obama because he's black and smart and looks good and is a great speaker and doesn't have too bad a visible past, except for that pesky drug issue which the Republicans are going to exploit like a m*therf*cker, consider how you will proceed to realize your political dreams:

A) If Barack Obama is assassinated.

B) If Barack Obama loses.

C) If Barack Obama turns out to have a significant downside or chooses/gets forced to enact business as usual in the White House.

If your movement can't handle any of those outcomes, you are on very shaky ground in terms of serious social and political change and don't really have a movement.  What you have is a cult of personality.

That said, it saddens me that black Democrats are currently Obama's biggest threat.  Barack Obama is the logical extension of the Civil Rights Movement because the conditions for him to come into existence required such a movement and the radical change it brought to the United States.  The attack on Barack by such folks is a strong example of how leadership can be coopted once there is money and legitimacy to be had.

PS:
If you're going to actually work to get Barack Obama into office, you should be thinking about how you're going to counter the Republican attacks on Obama that will characterize him as a drug dealer who listens to gangster rap, i.e., a menace to society.  Saying "shame on you" or "that's not true" isn't going to get you nearly as far as it did with Bob Johnson cause the Republicans do not give a f*ck about your opinions if you can't back them up with action, yadadamean?

Davey D:
Is Obama a Threat to the Old Civil Rights Leaders?

Comments

[Slav]

Thoughtful and insightful post as always, Clyde. I am an unabashed Obama supporter since I read his autobiography and you can say that I'm in the "cult of personality" when it comes to him. Fact is, though, so are other journalists and justifiably so.

I don't see any problem with that. Politics is all about personality, look at what happened here in California with Arnold getting in office. What I'm saying is leadership is leadership and Obama's certainly a leader. Hilary got a head start (get it, head?) with Clintusha (as my Russian aunty would say) but she's too terse for my liking in the debates. That crying thing in NH was ridiculous, but I let it slide.

In regards to Obama, though, so what if he's used drugs, of course politics are a dirty sport and that will be exposed and GOP is very predictable in what they will use and who (OG Bobby Johnson, stand up).

I could go on and on ... but what I admire about Obama now and forever really is what he said in his autobiography. What I derive based on that book is ... If he's elected, he will refine his policy as needed, I'm sure, but he'll always use shrewd judgement and have a wider worldview than anything GOP has to offer.

[Slav]

Another thing: t's reckless and even foolish to even suggest BO and the a-word in one sentence.

Clyde, maaaaaaan ... if BO is murked, there will be, umm, civil unrest.

If there's civil unrest, and yeah, you can be anarchist, best believe ProHipHop's reader base and prospects for success will diminish, wouldn't you agree?

Lastly ... if BO is murked, I put this on everything, I'm going to Tanzania and turning in my U.S. passport.

[Clyde Smith]

Would that be Dreams From My Father?

I'll have to check that out.

Does he talk anywhere about how he would handle passive/aggressive foot dragging and behind the scenes sabotage in DC?

Or is he counting on his opponents to put away their differences and play fair?

"Politics is all about personality"

I guess that's what bothers me in general but if Obama can leverage it, all power to him, literally.

[sally]

Do you live your entire life on what if's? Clyde, have you EVER done anything straight from the heart? You're not an anarchist, you're afraid to live life.

[Clyde Smith]

"Another thing: it's reckless and even foolish to even suggest BO and the a-word in one sentence."

Say what? That one was widely discussed when his security was heightened.

Clyde, maaaaaaan ... if BO is murked, there will be, umm, civil unrest."

And about time too. Unfortunately people don't pick their targets very well. Except for insurrectionary anarchists and commie hangers-on most people just f*ck up their own hood cause they hadn't thought that one through.

[Clyde Smith]

Sally, you're projecting your own pathetic lie of a life on to me.

Go find somebody that can teach you about contingency planning in a manner that's understandable to you or you too will continue to be cannon fodder for whoever's sucking off your surplus labor.

[Clyde Smith]

Why are my harshest critics always anonymous?

Can't any of you go public with your beliefs?

Sally, Testbet, what about it?

[Slav]

anonymous critics are puss ... and i mean no disrespect to women or feminists when I say that. get some cojones.

[Clyde Smith]

anonymous is a punk.

Coda:

A disingenuous commenter whose only agenda is to attack me has returned in another form.

sally/Testbet/? returns with a reminder that Barack's going to have his hands full if our future success is based on America pulling together!

Comments closed.