No, Oprah, America isn't racist
Published November 25, 2013
by Mark Joseph, USA Today, November 24, 2013.
Shortly before receiving the medal of freedom from President Obama, Oprah Winfrey gave an interview to the BBC in which she seemed to chalk up much of the opposition to the president to racism: "I think there's a level of disrespect for the office that occurs ... because he's African American," she said.
Her claim reminded me of the times when, as a child of the '70s, my father would ask an odd question about my friends, "What is he?"
"Huh?" I'd ask.
"You know, what is he — Italian? German? Lebanese? What is he?" my father replied.
Colorblind eyes
I had no idea what my friends' ethnic origins were. It was only when I traveled with my father to the north side of Chicago where he grew up, and he pointed out which ethnic groups had lived in various parts of town, that I understood.
To be sure, I was well aware of racism. I had read Black Like Me as a third-grader. But the idea of discriminating on the basis of race simply made no sense to my young mind.
Oprah's pronouncement produced another "huh?" moment for me, considering the fact that it was millions of Americans that gave their colorblind eyes to her show for aquarter-century, famous enough to be interviewed by the BBC.
As communism wound down in the Soviet Union, President Reagan was asked whether he still considered it an evil empire. "You are talking about another time, another era," he replied.
Oprah is still living in that other time and era in which people separated themselves from one another primarily on the basis of race — a real time to be sure — but one that is, for the most part, not our reality today. That's especially so at the highest levels of politics and entertainment.
Tea Party racism
Because it is more often than not Tea Party types who are accused of racial hostility toward Obama, I have a parlor game I play with my white conservative friends that tells me everything I need to know about the state of race relations in America.
"If your daughter were thinking of marrying a man like Clarence Thomas or one likeChris Matthews, which would you choose?" I ask.
The answer is quick and unanimous: They'd choose to spend their holidays with a son-in-law who looks nothing like them but shares their values rather than one who merely shares their skin color.
Oprah might want us to believe Obama faces extraordinary opposition that can largely be explained by his race, but she conveniently forgets that in the past 100 years, six presidents were shot at, one killed, another impeached and two driven from office. All were loathed by millions. Some more than others.
Our first black president is actually accorded more respect than some past presidents have received. At the height of his health care reform failure, Obama has the lowest popularity of his presidency, yet the past eight (white) presidents in a row were allless popular at their own low points.
The success of the civil rights movement and the widespread acceptance of interracial marriage has fundamentally changed America's racial equation.
Some day soon, when we all look like actor and TV host Mario Lopez, it will simply be impossible to find people of a different skin color, let alone hate on the basis of it.
Mark Joseph is an author and producer. His next book is Rock Gets Religion: The Battle for the Soul of the Devil's Music.
November 25, 2013 at 10:29 am
TP Wohlford says:
Yawn. Another "One of my friends is a TEA person and says something innocent and immediately jump to the fact that he's a racist 'cause he doesn't believe in all of the liberal answers that have failed for 30 years."
It amazes me that the party of slavery, of slave owners, of forced relocation, of Jim Crow, of the KKK, of the Red Shirts, and eugenics, want to go down this racial rant road. But they always do, expecting the other side to roll over and cower in fear.
Mr. Joseph -- Get over your "My side is colorblind and your side is the Confederacy" garbage, because your side is playing race/gender cards all day long!
First, let's face it -- if Obama ain't black, we're talking "President Hillary" here, and Obama is still doing part-time faculty work. And if Hillary ain't female, she would be a Senate staffer somewhere. Then, when their crummy ideas and hamfisted style doesn't win support, you cry that it's due to "racism."
Second, this President inflamed racial tensions more in the past year than the sum total of your imagined evil conservatives have in 50 years. How? His side told outright lies to inflame the Treyvon thing in order to carry Florida. Lies that were NOT borne out in court, if not disproved outright in court. Lies that have left blacks outraged and afraid, and a white population that fears black crime -- joined by a good number of black people -- screaming that their concerns don't matter, and are somehow considered evil. The Treyon mess has left this country one nasty crime away from a revival of lynching -- and not just in the south, and this time, those with the rope will not all be of one race. The incident has left this country racist -- and probably more so than any time since the 1960's.
November 25, 2013 at 11:45 am
Thayer Jordan says:
I think anyone who gets over a million dollars a year, should not get the Medal Of Freedom, regardless of race. What about all the volunteers that work tirelessly all year round, or the poor people who work at places like Wal-mart?
Thayer
November 25, 2013 at 1:26 pm
Vicky Hutter says:
I was shocked when I heard Oprah's statement about racism being behind President Obama's unpopularity since I agree with this commentary that President Obama has been afforded much more latitude by the media and politicians than white presidents usually get because of the fear of being called "racist". Since starting his run for office, any opposition to him has been called racist and I am sure his supporters would love to believe that racism rather than his policies, beliefs and actions are why people are responding negatively rather than prejudice against his mixed race. Since taking office this president has not been interested in what the majority of people want in this country---he seems to have an agenda he has been pursuing for years re: changing the "imperialistic" U.S. and redistributing wealth to minority groups and organized labor.
Oprah has forgotten who her audience was for decades and who made her a billionaire. Since she has been defending him and stating racism is why his policies are being resisted her own popularity and credibility have been going down big-time.
Seems to me that people who defend a president because of his race and regardless of what his actions are doing to the country are the racists, not the ones opposing the "transformation" of our country away from democracy and the U.S. Constitution. But then I'm forgetting that a lot of his supporters claim that whites cannot claim that they are victims of racism--just perpetrators of same--and conservative blacks are called "Uncle Toms".
Contrary to what the current president has stated and his supporters seem to believe, the U.S. Constitution is neither obsolete nor in need of major overhaul and will survive intact regardless of what the current politicians attempt to do in the name of being "progressive".
