Not having been on a television interview show before, I was getting more and more nervous as Mrs. RSI and I were driving to Lexington.
But then I remembered that I couldn't possibly do worse than the interview show on politics I did just before the New Hampshire primary in 1992. Talk about blowing it. I blocked on Bill Clinton's name and then made a joke about how I had forgotten his name because he had no chance to win after the Gennifer Flowers fiasco.
Of course, it's not like my skills as a prognosticator have gotten any better.
Like everybody else, I had Hillary Clinton winning the Democratic nomination and the battle with Barack Obama as helping the eventual winner shape up for the general election. To the contrary, it looks like Hillary might concede tomorrow and that the nomination fight has at least temporarily created more bitterness within the Democratic Party than it has between Dems and Republicans.
Moving on.
I had prepared for the show by reading in Obama's two books--Dreams of My Father and The Audacity of Hope. Dreams of My Father is an excellent book about Obama's developing identity as an African-American and I would recommend it to anyone. I can't say the same about Audacity of Hope though. It's basically the Obama version of political boilerplate. If you want to find out what Obama's campaigning on, read Audacity of Hope or Obama's web site. If you want trenchant analysis of American politics and society from an African-American perspective, pick up a book by bell hooks or Patricia Williams.
But my preparation strategy was completely wrong. Most of the material the host of "Kentucky Tonight," Bill Goodman, wanted to discuss had been gathered in the last couple of days. In hindsight, that was no surprise. Given that we were discussing current affairs, it was natural that Goodman wanted to be really up to date. Ironically enough though, I wasn't as prepared as I would have been otherwise because I was so busy doing the wrong kind of preparing.
Still, I had a really good time with the show. I very much enjoyed the other panelists. Bill Goodman manuevered the discussion with genial skill. I'd met Saundra Ardrey of Western Kentucky University several times and knew already that she's a great person. Actually, Prof. Ardrey and I fenced around pretty well about the general election in the sitting room before the show. A view of the pervasiveness of white racism makes her a lot less optimistic about Obama's chances in the fall than I am and we both moved in and out of the rationales for our positions.
I also liked State Sen. Robert Stivers who got appropriately angry about Appalachian stereotyping and State Sen. Gerald Neal who seemed to be both very decent and very smart.
I think I did all right as well and was somewhat reassured that my 13 year old daughter thought I did ok as well. She's a tough critic.
Thinking back on the show, I believe nerves might have caught up to my by the end. As I remember, I was having a little more trouble holding my concentration on the last couple rounds of questions.
Next time I'll do better.
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2 comments:
The only major disagreement I had during the show was when Sen. Neal blatantly said it’s not racist for 90% of African-Americans to vote for Obama but it is for white voters to vote for Hillary Clinton. This is absurd and the double standard that has been created in our society for African Americans that make it unequal, not equal like many have fought for.
I agree with Sen. Neal. There just isn't a pervasive racism in the black community that's equivalent to the racism among whites.
Putting the matter briefly, white racism involves the attitudes and actions associated with segregation and slavery. It's about oppressing, exploiting, and demeaning black people. It's an ugly, brutal thing and white people are rightfully ashamed and embarrassed by it.
Black people haven't supported Barack Obama just because he's black. Hillary Clinton started out ahead among African-Americans because African-American thought initially that she would both be a better president and would understand them and their issues.
However, Obama eventually proved himself to black people just as he proved himself to many whites. To the contrary, Hillary and surrogrates like Bill Clinton and Geraldine Ferraro proved that they did not "get it" with African-Americans. So, African-Americans withdrew their support. Prof. Ardrey withdrew her support for Clinton after the South Carolina primary.
In addition, I want to argue that blacks wouldn't have been "racist" even if they had moved immediately to Obama. Generally speaking, African-Americans view support for African-Americans in terms of resisting the domination and racism of whites. As Sandra Ardrey stated, her life as an African-American is "framed by racism" and that is something she shares with other African-Americans and does not share with white people like me. I don't think it's racist at all for African-Americans to feel a special bond with other African-Americans who share the difficult experience of living in a pervasively racist environment.
One way to test this is to consider a "what if" question. For instance, what if you're white, what's your attitude toward white racism. I'm white and I'm both disgusted by it personally and very disappointed that I see it in so many of my white relatives, students, and people I casually meet.
But what if I were black. If I were black, I'm sure I'd feel the same bond with other black people that you're complaining about. I'm also sure that I'd be unbearably angry and depressed about the manifestations of white racism in my life. Actually, a good example of how debilitating racism is for black people is Patricia Williams' The Alchemy of Race and Rights.
I hear a lot of white people say that blacks are just as racist as whites. To be honest though, I think the whole idea is nonsense.
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