Obama's balancing act: recognizing while transcending identity politics

I've been thinking a bit about how difficult, and how important, what Obama is trying to accomplish really is. And what makes every step in his campaign so difficult, particularly in his attempt to unify Democrats: he's rejecting a long tradition, and a deep fissure within, the democratic party: myopic identity politics where one sub-group of the democratic party considers its own interests at the expense of the others.

Obama has, in every controversy, insisted on the same platform: disavow no side, try to empathize with all sides, and recognize both valid complaints and real failures on all sides. I really think this is why he has incited some profound hatred from some otherwise level-headed democrats. His position requires that anyone putting forward issues and policies on behalf of their own identity recognize the legitimate claims of others, rather than place their own issues first and deny the relevance of any others.

I think this may, in some cases, be why he gets a seemingly unreasonable level of hatred from SOME feminists and gay activists, because he's trying to acknowledge broader shared concerns and equally recognize all parties rather than place some of them on the top of the pile. This takes a degree of admittedly excessive charity and humility that can be understandably difficult for members of victimized groups to muster.

It surely wasn't easy for him to acknowledge that some economically disadvantaged white members of the underclass have valid complaints and not-entirely irrational reasons for their concerns about immigration or affirmative action--to suggest that lingering racism might not be based merely in hatred, but in suffering and disadvantage. It surely would have been safer not to delve into that, and it's much to the credit of the American African-American community that they accepted his charitable interpretation of white resentment, despite the clear imbalance between any wrongs against the two communities.

I think this is something Hillary supporters need to recognize: while race has sometimes become an issue in his campaign, and surely some people support him solely because he is black, he has actively tried to make his ethnic identity a symbol for overcoming myopic identity politics, rather than trying to use it to exploit identity politics. Sure, this is a pragmatic move to some degree, but it's absolutely consistent with his platform of unity, so it's not only pragmatic.

I think this is something that his campaign should truly be proud of--and something the Hillary campaign and its supporters have done less well. Whether it's calling Obama supporters sexist, or vilifying his position on GLBT issues, or appealing to white resentment and playing the rural religious conservative--this exploits identity politics to create disunity, and I think its self-destructive for the party overall.

"It surely wasn't easy for him to acknowledge that some economically disadvantaged white members of the underclass have valid complaints and not-entirely irrational reasons for their concerns about immigration or affirmative action"

Um, he was lying. Black folks can't tell white folks the truth - his career would be over.

In a backhanded way, however, you might be right - it might very well be difficult for Obama to lie - I don't know him well enough to make that call, though.


EDIT: Included the full quote I was referencing.

You think it's easy for poor white people to go to college or compete with people who are willing to get paid below minimum wage? It's not. And if you come from the "wrong family" in a small town, you're going to experience something like "driving while 'bad seed'", all the time. Lots of people have legitimate complaints about the unfair economy in this country, race isn't the only barrier.

thank you for it.

We need insightful people like you here. People who KNOW how to write.

:hi:

It's not just feminists and gay rights activists and Clinton supporters. While I think you're right that Obama has worked to transcend identity politics, his supporters have not. What is this threat/claim/whatever you want to call it that African Americans will stay home if Obama doesn't get the nomination, but identity politics writ large--and ugly?

So, lets not be blind to the flaws on our side while calling out the flaws on the other. There are identity politics being played by the Obama supporters too.

That said, I don't really believe that blacks (if Clinton wins the nom) or white women (if Obama wins the nom) will really stay home. They might be less enthusiastic, and less willing to work, which will do its own kind of harm, but neither of those groups want to see McCain win, either.

because of scare tactics that a black man can't win. I'd stay home if the supers give her the election and I'm not black. If she wins it fairly, (which she can't), then that's fine. That's the only claim about African Americans that I've heard.