Thank you for answering the sad question that has been on my mind all morning.
LM - I'm a white guy who was born in '67 and so don't remember all the tragedies you cite, except as bits of history that my crappy Reagan-era public school education didn't really teach me enough about.
That being said, I had the exact same fears that you had watching Obama speak last night. Not as visceral, as immediate, as palpable as you and the lovely Mrs. LM felt, but the exact same thoughts went through my head.
So it isn't just a black-folk thing. It's an "everybody who recognizes how fucked-up this country still is" thing.
But even though Obama wasn't my first or even second choice (Edwards was my 1st choice, and I have a soft spot for Kucinich), damned if it wasn't electrifying watching Obama up there. Almost enough to give back a little bit of hope for this country.
If only that little voice of dread would just go away.....
Thank you for this.
LM...great post as usual.
It's amazing how two people can have such a different perspective on an event, though very understandable from our different perspectives.
My forebears were racist (though my mom has come around through the years, mainly because neither of her sons would put up with it). I remember him speaking at the DNC in 2004 and thinking, this guy will run for President someday.
I was a Dodd supporter until last night, so I don't know who I will vote for on February 5 yet, but that moment...wow. I had tears in my eyes both for what that moment meant, and frankly, Obama's words. I was proud to be a Democrat. So proud of Barack for that moment, and so grateful I got to live to see it. And grateful that I learned enough about life, and people, to tell my cracker relatives to go screw themselves decades ago). And yes, it feels a bit different than Jesse's run in 1988.
Like you, I hope the Secret Service does its job. But I sensed one of those once in a generation moments last night. I really look forward to seeing where it leads. Obama strikes me as the sort of FDR, JFK person who could really change politics for a generation.
Strong writing, LM. I love your perspective on these things. Thanks.
While I did not have the same fears, I can understand it very well. Another great piece...
Perhaps it is time to put the CIA, FBI, NSA and every other law enforcement bureau in America on notice... If this man dies from a snipers' bullet or other foul play there will never be an end to the repercussions. We, the People will not allow through incompetence or malice to lose our leader for change.
I recognize the whistling past the graveyard element in that statement... but it may need to be said sincerely.
At 51, I could add Kennedy to the mix as far as great people we've lost. Remembered the aftermath, too, with the riots, and that was before Al-Whatever perfected the skills of urban warfare.
Which is why Obama already has Secret Service protection, and I hope everybody on his team has been vetted thoroughly down to the relatives.
There's still a way to go. The point that I'm afraid about is if-or when it looks like there's nothing ahead of Obama but daylight and the nomination. That's one reason I hope Edwards stays in as long as he can, Edwards will keep them guessing and wondering.
"Better to die on your feet than live on your knees." Simply put, living in fear is far worse than going for the prize and getting cut down, because living in fear is no life at all. And for black folks, fear is a bad a poison as racism because it cripples you from within. Even when you get the breaks to use your skills, you are too afraid to take them, or you try to be perfect--or you do something that makes you feel safe, but holds you back. We can't live afraid. None of us can.
One addendum...
I do have to admit that I shared the concerns regarding his safety for just a brief moment last night. I pushed it out of my mind quickly enough, as I hope they did.
It saddens me deeply that we live in a world where those thoughts have to enter our minds.
That is true, desert rat. More on Obama's Secret Service protection:
Obama placed under Secret Service protection
This was back in May, when Hillary looked very inevitable and people were drafting Gore. Even some people thought that Edwards would be the "safe" choice. While Obama might win a couple of primaries, no one anticipated one of them would be the Iowa Caucus.
Sadly, Obama doesn't just have enemies among the usual polyester white sheet crowd. There are apparently a few Uncle Toms unhappy about his ascension too.
I posted this on The News Blog in May, 2007.
"Abraham, Martin and John"
I've had that "feeling" since day one. I lived through the King/Kennedys/X days. I'm sure there are plenty of guys sighting in their sniper rifles for a session with Obama, who's a threat to them because he has charisma that transcends politics.
BTW, I see this through 66 YO white eyes.
Yes.... I watched with baited breath. I guess I'm a cynic... but when you've been an eyewitness to some of the history I have experienced, it's hard to blot out memory.
I've not been happy this Primary Season. To me, it's been no different than Reality TV, fascinating to the tv audience at-large in a voyeuristic kind of way. I can't help shake the feeling that the Democrats are letting BushCo ride off into the Texas sunset where Chimpy will plan his Presidential Library as Karl Rove takes his circus act on the road to re-write history.
I'm not liking this scenario. It blatantly sucks! No offense to any of the candidates, but this simply does not resonate with the 'audacity of hope,' or the idea that we are truly on a path for change.
Seeing is believing in my world view. I've grown cobwebs waiting for change. But am ever-ready, prepared to welcome it with open arms.
We shall see......
LM, the fact that this kind of shit is still a worry tells you how far we still have to go. And even with the crazies that we have out there, I think we won't have to worry until the implosion of the gop becomes obvious to all - that's when the crazy will become really dangerous.
I guess I really do belong at GNB - I, a 59-year-old white grandmother who lives on the north side of San Antonio, as white-bread as you can get outside of Iowa, had the same frakkin' reactions LM did at the same frakkin' time last night, even to the drink moments. I, too, was watching for a tragic moment, eyes darting, teeth clenching. Depressingly, I still fully expect to see it, even as I hope at the cellular level to never see what I have come to expect from my country.
Last night Obama got permanently put on my prayer list, folks. Godde save Barack Hussein Obama and the United States of America. And I'm an Edwards supporter...
i been saying this for almost a year now. dig it with graphics
If You Kill Obama, We Will Blow Shit Up
I'm old enough to remember the latter half of the 60s quite well, so yeah, these thoughts come to me, too, when someone compares Obama to RFK.
But since Obama doesn't seem to be the kind of threat to the Establishment that Malcolm X, Dr. King, or even RFK were perceived to be, cynic that I am, I'd wager his odds of surviving this campaign are somewhat better.
This of course in no way detracts from his accomplishment in Iowa. And it's sweet indeed to see the pundits grinding their gears as they try to shift out of "Hillary is inevitable" mode.
Now we're going to get a chance to see how Mr. Comity deals with being the front-runner, i.e. a high profile target.
I didn't watch anything Iowa until about 10:30 PM when I checked out BBC America; I did not see Barack Obama's speech, but this morning I did get a question from my sister; "What do Muslims believe?"
I told her Muslims believe in Allah.
She had been talking to a friend of hers and the friend said that Obama was a Muslim.
He's not:
"Faith doesn't mean that you don't have doubts."
"You need to come to church in the first place precisely because you are first of this world, not apart from it. You need to embrace Christ precisely because you have sins to wash away - because you are human and need an ally in this difficult journey."
"It was because of these newfound understandings that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity United Church of Christ on 95th Street in the Southside of Chicago one day and affirm my Christian faith. It came about as a choice, and not an epiphany. I didn't fall out in church. The questions I had didn't magically disappear. But kneeling beneath that cross on the South Side, I felt that I heard God's spirit beckoning me. I submitted myself to His will, and dedicated myself to discovering His truth."
Call to Renewal Keynote Address
June 28, 2006
Washington, DC
http://www.barackobama.com/2006/
...ote_address.php
I bring this up because it is election season, and I'm sure Barack Obama is now perceived to be the "front runner" and I'm sure the long knives are now being sharpened for him (and for Huckabee, on the Republican side).
Nice piece LM.
In a sickly ironic way, HuffPo currently has a front page article with Obama's picture and the title in huge bold letters: "Target: Obama"
Someone's got a really sick sense of humor, or wasn't thinking when they posted that one.
LM,
I had the exact same reaction. And I'm a young white guy living in Chicagoland.
I couldn't stand the amount of empty space around him. I guess I have a very cinematic appraisal of assassination, but I wanted him to be moving or doing a little dance even. He was just such a staid target-naked in all that empty space.
As his speech progressed I relaxed a little, but the discomfort will only heighten as this campaign goes on.
"Perhaps it is time to put the CIA, FBI, NSA and every other law enforcement bureau in America on notice... If this man dies from a snipers' bullet or other foul play there will never be an end to the repercussions. We, the People will not allow through incompetence or malice to lose our leader for change."(...)
Amuseinc
-This reminded me of the Godfather, when Don Corleone had the sit-down with The Bosses in order to straighten the business with Sonny's death and bringing Michael back to America, when he said that there were some in this room that he would not forgive if Michael were shot, hung in his jail cell, or struck by a bolt of lightning (paraphrase).
I am not a black American and so I didn't have the immediate fear for Obama that was so eloquently described in your post. But I did think about him being assasinated. I wish we were further along the evolutionary trail. sigh
minstrel, i think that the graphic dark wraith designed for you should be blown up to six foot poster size and wheat-pasted on every downtown building in every american city. by the thousands.
i'm not an obama guy - i would have been a dodd guy, or a kucinich guy, and i might be an edwards guy at this point - but i'd still take a bullet for barack. and i mean that most sincerely. we need to think of him as a family member, and protect him as such, with our bodies. as well as our hearts and minds.
I asked a question on Daily Kos as to what Obama actually did that would make me excited for him as a candidate.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/20...0401/986/
430232
There was one interesting thing that he did: "Obama proposed requiring that interrogations and confessions be videotaped."
I didn't know that and kudos to Obama for this bill.
But the interesting thing is that the majority of people responding to me could not and DID NOT list any actual accomplishments, but instead advised me to "watch him" or "get his energy".
I remember when in politics, people used to say that "do not listen to a politician talk, but watch what he does".
Meaning that it USED TO BE that a politician had to be a good public speaker and a good campaigner.
Have we fallen this far in America that we get excited by a candidate that can speak well, on a level of a high school debate, without mispronouncing a word?
Is this the bush legacy to us?
PS
I STILL don't know what Obama actually did pre his presidential run.
Having expected that Hillary would face a nut with a firearm if her situation took her to the nomination, it was just taken for granted in my mind that Obama and Richardson could face the same fate.
But your post makes that concern ever more abundantly clear, LM.
Beneath the desire for change, I don't think some folks realize the rage that exists among us as well. And to me, I think that rage has the potential to be much more frightening than that from the usual crowd of mouth breathers and their enablers.
I don't think our side would accept an assassination quietly, regardless of who it was among the Democratic candidates.
The time for segregation has passed. The risk may still be there, but it's time for people to wake the fuck up and realize the dark ages for black people are past.
OOOOooooooohhh. This entire blog is a total jerk-off.
If they strike him down, he will become more powerful than they could possibly imagine!
Oh thanks, LM. I had been thinking "damn, that's a terrific speech." Now I'm going to be thinking "holy shit!" for the next 6-108 months.
Wow, slow down dude... too many words, too much bologna... you don't have to WRITE so much. I saw this on Reddit, decided to take a look, and was just overwhelmed by all the fluff... get to the point when you right man!
Michelle Obama corralled the girls and for the first time—and you can call me a lout—I noticed Ms. Obama's body. I'd only seen head shots and waist-ups before this moment. Um...was it wrong for me to think “Okay...first potential First Lady I've ever seen myself wanting to step to.”? Yes, it probably was, but hey—a historic night is a historic night.
You're a lout and I am too.
Mrs Phoenix says, "Are those kids as little as ours? Stop looking at her back and check out the girls, cute hair...Shouldn't they be further away from him? Just in case?"
And I found myself saying, Yes.
Didn't have to ask 'just in case WHAT?'
We will blow shit up, yes, but too late then. I'm hopeful that he's being carefully watched but this is still America.
Thanks for saying it, though.
I was watching the coverage. Obama was not wearing a vest capable of stopping any full-power rifle round (.308Win and above). Note the characteristic slope of his suit's shoulders. For a Class III vest you have to tailor your suits, and even then it shows as bulk in the shoulders and upper chest. At the most, he might be wearing a SAPI plate carrier.
And even a Class IV vest (which is *extraordinarily* bulky and would make him look like he had gained 50 lbs) won't stop .338 Lapua.
As a Democrat, I'm comfortable with the number and power of guns in this country, and any Presidential candidate should be as well. Unfortunately, Obama's said a lot of things in favor of banning guns entirely...
Even white bloggers are nervous. And native-American bloggers too, for a long time. Personally, I'm not that concerned because Obama's politics have not been the sort of radical politics that threaten our real rulers, the wealthy elites who control our press, our jobs, our destiny. But then, I live in the SF Bay area, where we live in an uneasy detente' with people of dozens of different cultures and where the notion of a black President is no more unusual than the notion of a Hispanic Mayor or a Chinese Sheriff or a Vietnamese city councilor. I suspect that if I still lived back in Redneckville, I might have a different take on things, based on what I was hearing from the ignorant inbred bucktooth foul-mouthed bigots who I left behind.
If they kill him, we've allowed it.
Gawd forbid that you're called a conspiracy theorist.
How many have they gotten away with assassinating? JFK, MLK, RFK...I'm adding Paul Wellstone to the list.
They made a mistake prior to his death by letting Mel Carnahan's wife survive to take his seat.
They didn't repeat that error.
My grandparents were racists, and I haven't seen anything like that since I was a kid, but I know the fear.
However, last night, I didn't feel fear - I felt hope.
I will understand what everybody went through if he gets shot, because to me he represents hope for this country.
Yeah, I was IM-ing with a colleague who worried about this very thing. We were yakking about Iowa and Obama, Edwards and Clinton, and she mentioned a phone call with her mom and grandmom where they both voiced worries.
For a split second, I was stunned. Then, I started worrying as well.
Obama gave a great speech. While I'm rooting for Edwards, my colleague is rooting for Obama, and my partner is rooting for Clinton, we're all delighted with the democratic field, and all find Obama to be an awesome pol. (And I'm particularly happy with just how AWFUL the GOP candidates are).
It was a great night, even with our worries surfacing.
lowermanhattanite: If you're not writing a book, you're effin' up.
Signed
48 year old white Kansan who remembers all the US history
and knows a good writer when
he hears one. You are effen
wild. I will return to read
more. Dude, you have THE VOICE!
LM, thanks as usual. I thought the same thing, and then thought it again every time someone mentioned RFK.
LM,
Great, heartfelt stuff, as usual.
Now I'm going to get myself a beer and listen to E,W & F; probably one of my top 5 alltime! I'll start with Hearts Afire...
I love how the people who disparaged the "righting" [sic] style of the blog post probably did so because they have trouble reeding 2. :P
Thanks. I especially enjoyed the Earth, Wind, and Fire graphic.
Thanks for the view into your world. Barack Obama will win the nomination,and the general election, and America will be much better off for it. He is by far the smartest candidate I have ever seen. I'm glad he has the courage to stand up and make a difference.
Wow, what an incredibly well written piece. It actually never even thought about it, but now I am and I'm worried. We've got to get this man to the top!
That was excellent -- thank you.
As sad as it seems I thought the same thing almost immediately.As one of the posters above,I'm seeing this thru White Eyes and 55 yrs.Yes I remember the list and it is much too long.
All I want to know is are We ever going to not worry???
I watched the replay of the victory speach today. I'm a white guy in my 20s. I'm a deep left liberal who hasn't decided who I will caucus for (I live in WA) but it'll likely be Obama. I'll tell you why.
I really think that Obama is the most bullet proof.
Check it out: Hillary? Dumb woman who got everything through Bill. Smart, but bitchy and dominant. It's still PC to make sexist remarks on TV and in the press.
Edwards? In Coulter's famous words, total fag. 500 dollar haircuts. Not manly. Ambulance chaser. Will lose the male vote by at least 10 points, I bet.
But Obama? Bullet proof. If Barack Obama looked black to people, HE WOULDN'T HAVE WON IOWA.
You write very well. As the world stepped unto the Red mans land, and slaughtered millions, we had hope things would get better, they haven't. I hope things go better for you.
I had the same fear as I watched. Thankfully, that fear was overpowered by the hope he inspired in me.
It is best that we not dwell on that fear and trust that he is protected by folks who know what they're doing. After all, think about the sort of people who would want Bush dead, and how many years he's gone untouched. I expect Obama is being protected by the same caliber of people.
I pray that Obama becomes our next president and steers our country away from its current Orwellian course.
My prism is class, but I was humbled by the some friends at work today who weren't politics geeks, but felt this morning as if they were invested in the outcome because they weren't shut out any more.
Bless him if he brings people in to the process who ought to be there.
The space around Obama is the security buffer. If there were crowds too close, it'd be considered too dangerous. The problem with RFK was that a crowd was accompanying him through the kitchen and nobody knew what was going on until he was dead.
Ever since Obama started running for president my mother's been afraid that he'll get shot. And last night... I was watching him and half holding my breath.
Hopefully the Sixties were an anomaly.
But.
I hope the FBI's watching certain web forums. Just in case.
I was 12 an old enough to be excited about JFK when he was elected in 1960. I was 15 when JFK was assassinated and felt like a personal family loss had happened to me . When I was 20 I felt real pain and anger for the taking of MLK and then weeks later only to have RFK taken on my birthday while I was crawling in a rice swamp in nam. I became radicalized, then very disillusioned and dropped out of any real emotional political involvement for decades since. I have then spent a lifetime chasing the yuppie self focused dream with an a-political attitude.
Last night I felt something awaken again with his speech.
I also whispered a prayer for Obama.
Spooky. I felt the same rush of pride and then fear. This was too nice a moment to be true.
The worst case scenario would be something bad to go down before he is elected...and I say elected because I think he has this election in his hands. His support will continue to grow now that Hillary is crumbling.
I'm a republican but it is hard to deny the chills you get when he speaks. I may not agree with his policy but I respect the man's passion.
You saw a true socialist win, surprise surprise... now, how about nominating someone who stands for liberty, like Ron Paul.
What a great post! Well written!
@ deering: well put.
@ r@d@r: I can see the need to engage to that level.
Here are a couple thoughts I had:
I heard the speech on the radio, and I didn't get these ideas. I wonder how I would have reacted if I'd seen the video feed from the speech. I bet it would have crossed my mind. I often wonder how my never seeing events on TV affects my perception of the world.
I'm an idealist and here's what I truly hope: it isn't 1974 or even 1984 any more. Most people in America, even in circles of power, don't want to Keep The Black Man Down. I just don't see the evidence. There are very succesful African-Americans in many walks of life, role models to all. There is widespread-to-universal acceptance of middle class blacks in mainstream suburbs across America--this was not the case 30 years ago. There are practically no hurdles placed before Blacks at any level of the educational system--there are imbalances in the system that make for poor schools in impoverished areas and for especially difficult situations in inner-city neighborhoods, but these are not kept alive by some kind of inherent racism in the system, but rather by the complex legacy of the economic and social policies that shaped their development. I don't think things like the recent reevaluation of the differential treatment of crack vs. powder cocaine could have happened even under Clinton. I so badly want to believe that the last of the hateful generations have mostly passed on and all you now have is generally decent folks who value decent folks, plus a few scumbags here and there. In response to Dem Knock-Out Boys' post-Katrina Kanye West remix, I've always thought, "You know what, I don't think George Bush doesn't care about black people." I'd say they got the right idea, just not the right object: it's poor people George Bush doesn't care about, not black people.
Why would the people Obama works for kill him?
It's not just a "black folk" thing - how butt-white were the Kennedy boys? Although black folk are likely to be better informed when it comes to the historically high price of freedom.
Lots of us were spooked for him. But then, it's only an Iowa caucus. The game isn't really even ON yet. I'll bet once he's the democratic nominee proper there's a lot more heat surrounding Mr. Obama. A LOT more.
Someone earlier commented that 'if they kill him, we won't allow it' but the trouble is, we already have... 'THEY' killed JFK, RFK, MLK, Paul Wellstone and John-John for chrissakes!
Neither the Paul Wellstone or the JFK Jr. plane crashes have been really investigated. If Obama is taken out by our own government, it will be done to look like an accident. All they have to do is point a weapons at a plane that takes out it's electronics. And we all know that candidates travel a lot... If a message is meant to be sent, a la Godfather style, it will be in front of a crowd with a rifle. I'm sorry but after 55 years of watching the powers that be (the real ones, behind the scenes) I'm afraid to get excited and hopeful. After all, if there was a God, both Bush and Cheney would be in hell now. And what kind of Secret Service people would protect THEM???
Yes. I had the same fear.
But maybe this time... maybe...
we can finish the work that needed to be finish when all the brave souls were killed in the 1960s.
There are some serious chapters here that have to be closed.
signal fire... you don't really believe that wellstone and john john were murdered? time to take of the tinfoil friend. I get your point but you weaken it with the murky men in gray suits conspiracy crap.
eddie... only one word for you
ick
Dunno about John-John, but Wellstone going down reminded me of when President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's plane went down in Pakistan. It was a perfect political hit by opponents of Zia in the Pakistani Intelligence Services, which have been a law unto themselves for decades. Like Zia's crash, Wellstone's plane going down happened at an awefully convenient time for his political opponents and gave the Republicans a significant win that helped Dear Leader get a significant number of his bad laws passed.
Wellstone and JFK, Jr. were murdered. They were looking like shoe-ins for the 2000 campaign (both of them, and nothing would have stopped that particular Kennedy from winning if he ran for any office...) Do some research and take off your blinders. Whenever anyone says, 'conspiracy theory-tin foil' you know they're willfully ignorant.
Ever notice how no REPUBLICAN planes ever go down mysteriously?
Did anyone else notice the man giving Obama a very evil stair in the first photograph? Pretty much directly over his left shoulder... kinda creepy no?
calling BS on the veracity of this post, reads like complete fiction, dialog is forced.
I do sympathize with the sentiment though
Extremely well written. I have the same fears as a white american, but hope America has shed some of it's evil skin from the past and let this thing run its course, naturally, without violence. I hope this for our childrn's sake.
signal fire... you don't really believe that wellstone and john john were murdered? time to take of the tinfoil friend. I get your point but you weaken it with the murky men in gray suits conspiracy crap.
I agree, littlest gator.
But bear in mind that when people are lied to ALL THE TIME, BY EVERYBODY IN AUTHORITY, they usually lose the ability to discriminate between truths and falsehoods spoken by those in authority.
You cannot easily learn to recognize something that you never, ever see.
We also live in a country that has ALWAYS disparaged intellectual tools. And those are the only tools you can use to calibrate a generic bullshit detector.
What this means is that we can expect to see large quantities of tinfoil hat spewage in what some of us are euphemistic enough to refer to as the "national discourse".
And the closer we get to the Long Night, the more craziness we're going to hear. In normal times, people generally don't think too clearly. Desperate people have an even more seriously diminished capacity for rational thinking.
The greater the stress, the poorer the thinking.
Wow. Thank you for an excellent write up.
I'm white, I support Obama, and I had the exact same thought your friend did.
As I'm watching I think: 'Is he wearing a vest?' 'Oh god, please, let him be wearing a vest.'
I hope they put the best damned secret service agents on the planet on that man, and I pray he makes it to the show. I'm voting for him.
EB
i felt the pride and the hope... this post did an excellent job of illustrating the fear. like you, i am a child of the 60's (i was 6 years old when MLK & RFK were assassinated), so i know the fear that my dear mother felt last night.
i will continue to pray for the continued health and vitality of Barack Obama, because more than Black folk are looking to him as America's Hope for our future!
Great piece, you have an optimistic air, and trust, people trust you and you them, I strongly encourage you keep writing and promoting your ideas and thoughts and feelings and speculations. I do not mean to sound condescending, that is absolutely contrary to what I am trying to say here. I'm sorry I'm not commenting on the content as I should, but your expression of your ideas is wonderful, I wish everyone in all walks of life could express themselves so. Obama is going to achieve progress, America seems to on the right path, the people, the individuals need to be heard and acknowledged for something like trust in one another, and love for thy neighbor as well as the perfect stranger to become apparent in the streets of our cities. Keep writing, your words do make a difference.
LM. yes. to all of it.
wow - now even the "alternative" news sources are spreading fear.
it's always a concern for any public figure. acting like it's a new thing just b/c obama is black cheapens the sentiment and the triumphant moment he had yesterday.
quit spreadin' the fear and join the cheer.
I'm from Minnesota and just a couple of nights ago I was talking to a buddy of mine who ran sound for a couple events in Iowa with Obama. He was backstage with a security guy expressing these same concerns about Obama being so out in the open in the crowds there. The security dude started pointing to secret service sharpshooters positioned all over the place and my friend couldn't believe he hadn't seen one of them until they were pointed out. The guy travels with massive protection.
BTW LowerManhattanite you're a GREAT writer. Much respect! GOBAMA!
The fact that so many people have this fear, independent of "alternative" news sources, should not be news. It's just that so many progressive voices have been silenced by assassins bullets or died in mysterious "accidents" over the past 40 years, while I can only think of one white conservative who was targetted by an assassin over that time -- George Wallace of Alabama, who survived.
As for Wellstone, if you think his plane had simple mechanical problem, you probably think Zia-ul-Haq died of mechanical problems. Everybody in Pakistan knows that the General was assassinated by the intelligence services, which were upset by his plans to eliminate their independence from the military. Unless you really believe that a C-130 will be brought down by vague "mechanical problems" (BWAHAHAH! In Vietnam, some Hercs got shot up so bad they looked like friggin' cheese graters, and *still* flew!). But you go on believing the official white-wash. You probably believe that George W. Bush is a small government compassionate conservative, too. After all, he says he is, and we must believe everything government tells us, right?
gorgeous, simply gorgeous. hope! think positively.
As a young white jazz musician in the 60's I got an up-close and personal look at the racial oppression
of the era. By the time they shot RFK, it was hard to believe that any charismatic liberal could stay alive in this country regardless of race.
Perhaps that experience influences the reaction of us older folks to the events of today.
In the 60's, all the basic tenets of American society and culture were being questioned. The groups were anti-racist, but also anti-military, anti-capitalist, anti-mysogyny, pro sex, pro drug, in short, terrifying to the establishment. All this was in the context of the Cold War and the "Communist threat", bringing national security and patriotism into the mix.
Perhaps Obama will not be seen as the kind of threat Malcolm and Martin were to the status quo Now is, after all, a different time.
I hope...
Very nice written. Pleasure reading it.
I'm amazed no one mentioned Eddie Murphy's bit about Jesse Jackson's election:
"My fellow (*duck*) Americans (*bob*), I am pleased (*weave*) to be elect(*duck*)ed..."
Both Obama and Edwards want to start back up the national conversation on just what the fuck is going on. Both want to do it in different ways, and both have their pros and cons. But irregardless of how progressive they are, just starting the conversation back up is progressive enough, IMO.
reagan was shot at too... so it was not just progressives who were targets.
Great piece there mate; well written and compelling.
I'm English and white - and my wife is black - and our son is mixed race - and I would be proud if he chose to identify himself as black when he's older, like Barack does.
And - speaking as someone looking at the US from outside and seeing the huge mess made by the white politicians... - I think that the best thing that could possibly happen to your country would be for a black bloke to get elected president.
I'll be following the rest of the election with profound interest; keep up the good work on this blog.
oh and ford was shot at too. they just weren't successful
Others have noted: Ford was shot at twice. Reagan was almost killed. I was 15 when RFK and MLK were killed, weeks apart. Oddly, because of a sick scientific bent and the need for absolute proof, I do not believe in conspiracies or UFOs.
But in 1975 I stopped watching TV and never resumed. I worked in the film and television trade from the age of 12 {1964}and I know all to well that much of what is on TV is crap and a lot of the rest is all too frighteningly real, but too cooled down by the medium for our own good.
I can't ever watch the evening news, it is far too real for me. I would never sleep.
I left the country in 1979, still can't find a good reason to return.
Like LM, the idea of Obama being killed is right up front for me and has been my concern for quite a while now. 1968 is very hard to forget.
Obama is not in any way radical enough for my taste, but compared to where the US is at now, anyone even remotely like him would be a vast and yes, radical step forward. It does make one feel good on a certain level to see what is happening.
But there is that dread that history has taught us.
Thank you for yet another great post LM.
And of course, what I would give to know just what Gilliard would be saying right about now. Alas.
They wouldn't have popped him in the first round. They might not have thought it likely that he would actually win it. And then there's the final nomination. I don't see any serious threat arising before he's nominated for the Democrats. After that... when it starts to look as if he might really have to move the family to Washington... these are people who think nothing about ordering people tortured on a rumor and dumping them in prison for years without charge, build prison camps and employ mercenaries to guard the streets in New Orleans.
Very well trained mercenaries.
With the best weapons money can buy.
With a religious agenda.
And the outstanding M-107 Barrett at their disposal.
It doesn't matter what you're wearing when you're hit with a .50 Cal round.
The newscasters will go ape-shit, the streets will erupt in violence [which will trigger the president's power to declare martial law] and the 'investigation' into who did this will be as effective as that one to find out who killed JFK.
Imagine the books, the movies, the songs this will trigger. It will provide a much-needed boost for the economy.
A black president succeeding the most fascist regime the US has ever had... it will all end in tears.
My preference is for Kucinich. Because he's got the experience to chew a really big chunk out of the ass of the lobbyists. Obama has the charisma and the gutzpah and by golly, he does have that spark of hope that the US needs, he would be a real inspiration. But for right now, for this election? After the present administration? This country needs Kucinich. Badly.
Whoever wins, I most certainly hope that nothing happens to Obama. But then again, the country's history doesn't exactly inspire much confidence. That's realism, not cynicism.
WOW!, great post.
I am Indian, so the security aspect didn't cross my mind. My first thought was "If Barack indeed wins, for the first time in human history, this fucking world will be ruled by a non-white".
The other dimension you missed is the fact that Barack's dad was Muslim and he has a muslim middle name. So, he has threat from anti-black and anti-Muslim nutters.
the littlest gator,
I brought it up about Wellstone. Yes, I believe he was assassinated. It may have been just to get his co-pilot Michael Guess. Getting Norm Coleman elected was a gift.
Guess had gone out of his way to tell people that he played a big role in getting Moussaoui arrested
http://books.google.com/books?
id...fsEmU#PPA139,M1
Badtux,
Thank you for your contribution to this topic.
the littlest gator,
Yes. Reagan was shot by the son of a Bush family friend. Imagine that.
Signal,
They may have gotten John Tower for his participation in the Iran/Contra investigation.
Exactly, exactly, EXACTLY how I felt -- and feel. I also thought of the Bobby Kennedy comparison right away. Your writing is excellent and the EWF reference was brilliant.
I didn't watch it happen live, but I heard the news of the Iowa win as I fell asleep. The next morning my very first thought, before my eyes were even open, were of Michelle Obama. I know how palpable my fear is for Barack now...I pray she has the strength needed to allay her own.
Great post.
As a middle-age, middle-class (or lower) white guy from NE (why do we have to classify ourselves this way?), I can share your concerns. I was raised in the sixties and felt the same way alot of people did when JFK, RFK, and MLK were killed: We got robbed.
But you know what?
FUCK fear.
I'm done with fear. If something happens, it happens and fear is not gonna change it. I'd much rather feel hope.
And BTW, would somebody please smack Tim Matthews and tell him to stop referring to Iowa as a Third World victory for Obama? It's offensive and stoopid on so many levels.
(If this comment double-posts, mea culpa)
Great post.
As a middle-age, middle-class (or lower) white guy from NE (why do we have to classify ourselves this way?), I can share your concerns. I was raised in the sixties and felt the same way alot of people did when JFK, RFK, and MLK were killed: We got robbed.
But you know what?
FUCK fear.
I'm done with fear. If something happens, it happens and fear is not gonna change it. I'd much rather feel hope.
And BTW, would somebody please smack Tim Matthews and tell him to stop referring to Iowa as a Third World victory for Obama? It's offensive and stoopid on so many levels.
Exceptional and exceptionally powerful piece, LM.
Thank you, LM, for the stark reminder that our collective past is more than just print on a yellowed page.
You know I'm not afeared of Barack getting shot.
As a young Black woman who knows her history all t well...I'm a little surprised by my not worriness...
Maybe it's because I've played things to safe in my 27 years...but I feel like playing it safe is for the mediocre.
Those who are truly great have to take chances...BIG chances...even ones that may cost them their lives...
Bhutto is a good example of that. So is Obama
Brown Sugar
My husband forwarded me this post this morning, after I had expressed precisely the same sentiments during Obama's speech. It feels strange to me to qualify myself as a middle class, college educated Latina, but there you have it. I think that you very eloquently gave voice to the conditioned fear many of us felt, regardless of race or age. The top news story on Fox news this morning was all about how Obama's economic policy will destroy capitalism. We may be feeling watchful, but the great, vague, omnipotent THEY are also afraid. Yes, Obama is shaking things up, but isn't that what we are pulling for? We might be feeling trepidation, but I for one am also feeling hope and excitement and passion about the presidential race. I haven't felt that in a long time. So I am with those of you who are stamping down their fear and stepping up to say, "Possibility is what we want!" Thank you for showing my husband that I wasn't irrational or pessimistic. Some of this country is messed up, but thanks to all of you who showed me that I am not alone in my hope. Clearly a great portion of the country isn't as swayed by the Clinton media machine as I thought and they stand with us and as one person posted...let's stand.
very well written LM. You've been frontpaged at reddit, btw:
http://politics.reddit.com/info/...64kls/comments/
As a white man in NH (just waiting for next Tuesday!) I saw Obama's win with great joy ... but not with the fear that you felt. I never got that, and I guess I needed to hear it from you. Thanks for an insight that white america needs -- d
Maybe it's because I've played things to[o] safe in my 27 years...but I feel like playing it safe is for the mediocre.
Those who are truly great have to take chances...BIG chances...even ones that may cost them their lives...
Bhutto is a good example of that. So is Obama
That's what I'm talking about.
Thank you for expressing the fear I've had in the pit of my stomach for a year now so well. Brilliant and heartfelt.
OK, and here's another worry from a 55 year old white Jewish guy: http://www.dailykos.com/story/20...6395/199/
431011
All this means is that WE ARE ALL OBAMA'S BODYGUARDS.
You go to see him in person? You should be listening to him and looking at everyone and everywhere around you.
Some guy sidles up next to you whispering to himself and clutching a bag? You bump him, poke him, stare at him.
NOT to say every white guy is an automatic suspect. The powers-that-be would be ecstatic to have it in the headlines that a black man killed Obama.
WE ARE OBAMA'S SECURITY NOW. If anything happens to him, it will have to be away from the people, because we will capture/tear apart anybody who does anything remotely sinister in his direction. WE ARE TIRED OF TRAGEDY.
The people who killed those other great figures? They were the true terrorists, causing terror in the hearts and minds of people who hope for a better world. I hope they burn in Hell.
Got directed to this blog from another site, and have to say this was a fantastic post! I'm a Welshman, from the UK, but studying US politics at university so have been following the election very closely - even stayed up very very late the other night to see the results of the Iowa caucus, and really enjoyed Obama's victory speech. Not once did the thought of attack cross my mind, but as soon as I read this post, I was surprised I hadn't watched it from this perspective, especially in light of what happened to Bhutto last week. It always seems to be the most inspiring, progressive people who are shot down in this world - I can't imagine how devastated people must have been in 1968 losing both MLK and RFK. I really hope Obama has a successful and safe campaign.
Wow. As a white chick, I thought this story was going to be mostly about the pride. How cool, I thought, to feel the pride. But then the palpations part probably did more to explain the effects of racism in America than any piece I've read. I mean, there's the family thing, I relate, love the Ralph Johnson pose, the "sleep Nazi", yep, I relate, and then: WHOA why so scared? why are these guy's friends and his mom scared? Sure, the chance is always there, but most of us white folks don't have that in our psyches.
What a terrible thing, and we have to change our world big time. Man, I don't want your kids, Obama's kids to have that.
Thanks, man for this excellent piece.
GOBAMA!
I am a gay white male who has strong progressive leanings (RFK and MLK inform a LOT of my political views), and I try to make a point of not just knowing what's going on now, but of knowing what happened in the past and understanding how it affects what is going on now.
My Vietnamese boyfriend and I have had a number of conversations on this subject. He doesn't seem to have any understanding of what it means to look back at all of your heroes and note that damned near every one of them was assassinated (Gandhi, JFK, RFK, MLK, etc.).
I look back on the people who inspired me, even though I'm not old enough to have experienced them directly, and I can't imagine what it must feel like for those who actually did - people like Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) who marched with MLK at Selma and who's campaign web site I recently designed. They must surely be thinking, "God damn it! Every time we start to make a difference, someone rips the rug out from under us!" You really start to get a sense of the collective rage that must have been felt and that led to the riots following MLK's assassination.
When you combine that with the myriad other injustices that plague our country's minorities, you can hardly expect there not to be a tremendous amount of bitter resentment, and it shouldn't surprise anyone that it infects our inner cities as it does. How many times can a people be demoralized, disrespected, beaten down, and shot at before a significant number of them become permanently embittered?
It has become so entrenched in our national culture that people have chosen to not even try anymore. When Obama gave his '04 convention speech, I was watching it at a restaurant in Norfolk, VA, sharing a table with Chap Petersen (good-old-boy candidate for Lt. Gov.) and a well-known local black female politician. I turned to her and said "I guarantee you he will be the first black president." I mean, how could you not, with a speech like that - I was practically moved to tears. No one had given a speech like that since RFK in 1966 in South Africa or MLK the week before he was shot.
Her response, however, shocked and saddened me. She said, "I hope he doesn't run." I asked why and she said, "They're going to kill him too."
I worry about that, sure, but I also think we might be seeing something unique here. For the first time in my life, we've got a black candidate who is completely and totally transcending racial boundries. He may well be the only black man in America who can do that, both because of his ethnic background and upbringing in Hawaii and Indonesia, and because of his experience as a gifted community organizer.
Everyone who hears him at least respects him. He's completely non-confrontational, and even the most cynical people hear him and say, "He could make a difference; he could be the one."
Even Rush Limbaugh sang his praises in '04. He blew away his white Democratic primary opponents all over the state of Illinois, even in the solidly conservative downstate counties. He's the first black candidate ever to win the collar counties around Chicago in a primary.
He's not saying, "Let's rise up and take our spot at the table," it seems to me, he's saying "Let's all work together and build a bigger table." I think that might have something to do with why he is being successful where others weren't. He very much embodies the hope that we are better than our past, that we can rise above the fear and reactionary attitudes of our ancestors.
Maybe I'm talking out of my ass here, but he just feels DIFFERENT on so many levels. I really think that could save him.
I still pray to whatever gods there might be that he's got the best security team in the history of presidential politics, though. 
I don't want to churn things up (although this may be inevitable), but allow me to attempt to assuage your fears somewhat (albeit in a manner which is possibly upsetting in its own right). As the child of one of the gun-toting rednecks alluded to throughout the comments, I would simply like to say that they aren't out to get Barack Obama because he isn't perceived as "black", or to have a black agenda (or even particularly strong black sympathies). The other examples that you cited had a far stronger Black Power/enfranchisement message than Obama.
I should make full-disclosure and admit that I am an Edwards girl, but I think that, of the three Democratic front runners, Obama is offering the least to African Americans (apart from the obvious race-barrier smashing precedent that he is setting). He seems to be going out of his way to align himself with what are usually talked about as "white" issues and surrounding himself with "white" or other not-really-Black supporters (and again, I apologize if I'm saying THINGS WHICH SHOULD NOT BE SAID but Ophra Winfrey and Bill Cosby are not the same in the eyes of white America to Malcom X or even Jesse Jackson).
I hope that this post doesn't come off as disrespectful and racist as I fear it may. Although I got a shameful score on the "implicit racism" quiz that everyone was talking about a few months ago, I honestly, truly, in my heart wish for a day when Obama's skin color- or anyone else's- has nothing to do with it.
-K
I'm here because of following MeteorBlades' link on Daily Kos' front page. Thank you for posting this. The fear is real. It's been real all along.
Perhaps there is also a generation divide about that, too, however. I was born after Martin, Malcolm, Medger, Bobby, Jack and four little girls were murdered. But I remember Reagan and the fright of the two Pope John Pauls. Reagan was a curiosity to me. I remember the questions about John Paul I's death. John Paul II's attempted assasination shortly after made me feel like the world was coming to an end.
Younger American people have the Twin Towers. That's bad enough.
I don't think the fears of someone attempting to do something stupid against the Obama family (I hope they're looking out for both sets of his grandparents, by the way, particularly if he gets the nomination let alone wins election) should be downplayed. There are crazy people everywhere. John Hinckley tried to kill Reagan because he was obsessed with Jodie Foster! John Wilkes Boothe himself would have found that crazy and unthinkable. But there it is.
Having said all this, I *will* trust the secret service to do their job, as they did today apparently, when Bill O'Reillly got rowdy and they had to step in when O'Reilly grabbed Marvin Nicholson's arm after screaming in his face, then tried to push Nicholson away in order to get to Obama. Obama only really has to worry about getting delegates, and then getting nominated, then getting elected. Everything else will work out. Thank you, again.
Great piece, esp. the wife bit. Got a go-to-bed, go-to-sleep, too. I'm a little worried that he was reading his words off the telepromter which implies all sorts of shit. A victory speech not OTC? Some of it was the stump stuff which maybe he was just referencing but that body turn before the head turn gives it away. He's not as good OTC because he wants to answer with significance and unpatronizingly, which sometimes requires a bunch of umms and ahhs.I like the guy but do worry about the loonies in the Klan.
I thought I was the only one afraid. I remember Bobby, and I remember Jack, and I pray God that the Secret Service remembers too. Obama is vested now with the hopes of millions, and he stands in stark opposition to the self-perpetuating crime scene that is this administration.
I was 11 when RFK was assasinated (I know, he was only a candidate, that should be "murdered", but "assasinated" is more accurate, really), and I clearly recall sitting on the living room floor, watching the tv news coverage and turning to my father, saying, "Why does anyone want to run for President, or anything else, if the good ones are just gonna get themselves shot doing it?"
And my father, who was remarkably honest, as well as smart, answered, "Well, part of it is because nobody REALLY believees they're going to die. But the other part is that some things are important enough to die for. Some people just figure it's worth the risk. I think Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luthor King (he wasn't a big Malcom X fan, I'm afraid) figured it was worth the risk. That's something their families can be proud of."
I hope with Barack, it's the latter explanation. And I hope we can all be proud of that.
It's interesting how many folks say that this post or others like it are a wake up to the potential of harm coming to a black man in a position of power in this country. There is a large and unthinking group of people in this country who are not going to "get used" to this idea or "come around" to a more open minded perspective. The sight of Obama being cheered to the rafters by a predominantly white audience is sign of the decline of this country into anarchy to people who view America as an already very compromised white homeland.
Obama is not unaware of this. His wife is scared to the core of her being for the safety of her man. But he has made this decision and he placed himself in this position regardless. He is offering himself up not as a target but as an opportunity for this country to show that it's made some progress. There's a possibility that it has. He has made it this far. But he is still a target. And that makes his eloquence and determination all the more impressive. At great risk to himself he is trying to deliver a message. I'm more of an Edwards guy myself. I don't want to put Obama on a pedestal. But I respect what he's doing and as he moves forward, he should have every bit of protection that is necessary to ensure his safety.
It frightens me to have this topic be so out in the open as I don't want the baddies to be getting ideas. But those ideas are there already. And talking about this right up front may be the jarring and uncomfortable alert needed to broaden awareness.
This country continues to drag along beside it a heavy and very unresolved burden. Obama can help America let go of that burden if it is willing to let go or he can be the extra bit of weight that helps America decide it doesn't have the strength or imagination to go forward. 2008 is going to be a very interesting year.
Hello, Barth. That *is* a different, but valid, concern. Pulling up your thread, concerning Obama, you write:
"A friend of mine, a wise woman not easily stampeded into her opinions, very quietly told me yesterday that she thought the nomination of Sen Obama was the only hope They—the Republican party--- had."
And I think, that's what was said about Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton was supposed to be so antagonistic and polarizing a person that if she had the nomination, Republicans would rise up and steamroll over the Democrats. What it seems many didn't count on or even contemplate possible, was how many people within the Democratic party would feel the exact same way. So now what? how to twist the 'feel goodism' of Obama and his crossover appeal with Independents and Republicans into a grand Rovian plot?
By pretending that having OBAMA be the candidate of choice was the best plan all along. And that's why I can't buy it. Hillary was supposed to win Iowa. The first hour, it looked like Edwards was going to win Iowa.
No, it's only after the final choices have been tallied that all of a sudden, OBAMA was the plan all along. Again, I can't buy it -- and it obviously doesn't explain why Republicans would be willing to abandon their own caucuses, paving the way for Huckabee, in order to play Machavellian games with the Democrats with someone conventional wisdom said didn't have a prayer anyway because people poll differently than they act.
It's too important to both parties. I think what's really happening is disaffection with the Republican party. When you asked your female friend exactly why they thought Obama was now the Republicans best chance, what exactly did she say? The Republican field is filled with RINOs; I'd be discouraged, too. Ensuring 'their black guy' is nominated so that 'our white guy' wins in a landslide of 'white power' doesn't help when 'our white guy' isn't representing 'our interests' in the first place. It's counterproductive. It's not chess, it's playing the numbers with a system bought during late-night cable.
It's revisionism. It's trying to make one's self feel better about the method one is employing to hedge bet... because, after all, what does it say that OBAMA is that hedged bet?
I believe (I hope) that your friend should be more honest with you. If she is being honest about her intentions, she needs to stop worrying about what Democrats are doing and start worrying about her own party and making sure the person who best represents the Republican party's platforms has the nomination. A RINO is no better than a Democrat, in that game; the illusion of power is worse than no power at all, when you're not going to get anything you really wanted. But that's just my opinion.
Thank you again, Barth, for pledging to write diaries at Daily Kos as well as responses here and there.
Blogtopus wrote, "NOT to say every white guy is an automatic suspect. The powers-that-be would be ecstatic to have it in the headlines that a black man killed Obama."
That's an entirely different set of anxieties, that Obama will be Malcolmed and not Martined.
That's the other 'dare not speak it' fear. You know how back in the day, and the news was on but a perpetrator hadn't been described, and Mama or Grandmama or Auntie would pray outloud that someone who'd done something particularly foolish 'wasn't black'? (I think latinos also know what I'm talking about; I can honestly say I don't know if whites or asians do, because whites particularly don't have to worry about one person's actions reflecting negatively upon the entire group.)
It's bad enough to have a horrible crime go down; it's worse to have the perpetrator belong to your group.
It's exponentially worse if the victim was, too, in a case like this. Sounds irrational, but there it is.
This post reads like a short story written thirty years later. Lovely writing.
I don't Obama would have been shot in Iowa - imagine how that could devastate the nation... But I did have that thought after one of the editorialists in the NYTimes said he had the cadence of MLK but the cool of Kennedy...
Could be I was unclear. I am certain my friend, basically a Democrat, will vote for Sen Obama if he is the nominee; certainly I will. Neither of us will late the racism that unfortunately marks our country affect our vote.
Your point about Sen Clinton and the Rove-ites is a good one. (I don't accept that she was ever a favorite in Iowa nationally, yes, but not Iowa).
Sen Obama's election as president would say so much about our country---so much to erase what Abu Gharib and Guantanamo and all of that has come to mean. I grew up with the smug assurance that whatever they said about us overseas, they knew we had a good thing going over here; now, I am not so sure.
But my question remains whether what I am hoping about my country is true. Hoping and wishing it to be so won't make it so, and if you wander around this country you can have reason to question just how much we have turned the corner in order to elect him. Indeed, if you just wander around DKos, you mig