Jack & Jill Politics

Sometimes, I come across things that are just so on point and speak to me, I would like to share them.

This is a reply from the blog on The Field:

Michelle, on April 23rd, 2008 at 12:44 pm Said:

It is spectacularly obvious to me that system-level racism/white supremacy is playing a core role in the dynamics of the Democratic nomination process. This is not a surprise, since this nation itself is built on white supremacy (literally and otherwise).

I am not talking about “those people” (white working class people who all other white people like to project the collective racism onto). I am talking about the larger dynamics and groups, including the media and including the Democratic Party.

The Democratic Party, in particular its uncommitted superdelegates and any other party leadership passively or actively allowing this insanity, is supporting and encouraging systemic racism/white supremacy.

The Party allows its Black frontrunner to essentially fend for himself while the campaign of a white “Democrat” (who sometimes acts like a Republican), obviously gliding around on white privilege, continually moves the goalposts of what he has to “prove” to show himself *worthy* of being the nominee. Because in the underlying logics of white supremacy, she is automatically by default worthy in her whiteness, and he is by default suspect and less-than and unworthy, and he has to prove otherwise by insane standards.

And of course Clinton’s campaign and its supporters are supporting and encouraging systemic racism/white supremacy in various ways, including but not limited to when they push the line that white working class voters are more important than Black voters (because even though they don’t say the second part out loud, it is obvious in its implications).

All these efforts to make Senator Obama show that he is not foreign, not dangerous, not angry …. all these efforts to tie him to scary dangerous symbolically shadow figures (in addition to the demonization of Dr. Wright, it’s ooooh Weatherguy scary, “do we really know Obama,” etc)– systemic racism/white supremacy in action. And of course the more obvious stuff that everyone has also heard about. Bill Clinton and Geraldine Ferraro and all that.

The dynamics of the Democratic nomination “struggle” are systemic racism/white supremacy at work. I hold the Democratic Party just as responsible as any other part of it, if not more.

This situation vividly demonstrates the way that racism/white supremacy functions to protect the corruption and sickness in this country from any hint of substantial change.

I don’t say any of this because I want to argue about it — I really seriously do not. I also do not want to argue about the words I use — I choose racism and white supremacy and white privilege very deliberately, because they are the closest words I have to accurately describe what I see right in front of me.

This is what I see, it is clear as day right in front of me. I have seen it over and over and over in this campaign (and in the history and operation of this nation) and it’s just that today, I’m tired in a particular way.

Nothing I am saying here is new or insightful. Truly. I’m just tired.