Does this really change everything?
I firmly believe that this whole election/inauguration has focused too much on the race of our President. Maybe I can’t really relate or identify with Obama and the plight of Blacks in this country. Granted, as a Chinese American, my ancestors never faced slavery at the hands of “the white man” but that doesn’t mean we didn’t face oppression and discrimination as well.
Regardless, I feel like too many people are emphasizing the “blackness” of our new President, and failing to mention much else. I don’t see President Obama as a black President. I see him as an American President. I feel that in some ways the continual emphasis on President Obama’s “blackness” is a subtle, but persistent continuation of racism in this country. The dictionary defines racism as “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race [emphasis mine]“. The attention to race in this matter may not belie a belief of “inherent superiority”, but I do believe it calls attention to the italicized portion above.
I do not see race as the primary characteristic of our President. As a political figure, I see his ideologies and philisophical leanings as vastly more significant than his race. But CNN has an interesting article about the effect of having a Black family in office for the first time. It points out that “the Obamas are offering America a new way to look at the black family,” and continues to explain “the new first couple offers America an example of a black, passionate, marital relationship.” I think that’s an excellent point. The Obamas seem to have a wonderful and passionate marriage, and the article points out that this hasn’t been portrayed in America since “The Cosby Show” (one of my all-time favorites).
Now that’s a point to which I can assent.