On Jan 6, 2008 4:31 PM, berber carpet bomb <berber.carpet.bomb at gmail.com> wrote:
> but that is *precisely* what te supporters want to think -- that is
> blackness, and it rubbing off on them, will prove them more understanding of
> the people you are talking about -- the oppressed.. and it is precisely
> *when* proponents of identity politics know that, exactly as you do, there
> is no guarantee that they tend to be obama prponents. Thus, there need bs no
> contradiction between being an advocate of identity politics -- which is
> probably not what you think it is for them -- and being an opponent of
> obama.
>
> Example: Dwayne, kevin andre elliot at http://slanttruth.com, sylvia at
> http://problymchilde.wordpress.com, bfp at http://www.brownfemipower.com
>
> i guess what really irritates, joanna, is that you have all kinds of
> attitudes about identity politics, but you have never once shown yourself
> actually familiar with their writing or that you keep up with their
> discussions these days. not these bloggers, but the people who were involved
> in the building of an identity politics movement in the first place: what
> they wrote then, 10 years ago, today. you don't have to read the bloggers,
> oh no. But you could go to the nearest bookstore.
>
> I just got Gloria Anzaldua's 'this bridge we call home' the updated
> version 'this bridge we call our back' with white women and men, among many
> other groups, and made some other very different arguments from the ones you
> typically attribute to id politis proponents like anzaldua.
>
> in other words, you act as if you came up with the critique that has led
> to developments like this book edited by Anzaldua. And yet, *they* came up
> with it way before you ever made a post to this list. They were writing
> about it in the 80s for pete's sake. and not one word of attribution is
> given them when you claim your criticisms. if you were familiar with the
> terrain, you wouldn't dare write like that.
>
> it's insulting to all those, especially women of color, who have been
> working on stuff that you would approve of, long before you bothered to make
> the arguments here.
>
>
> On Jan 6, 2008 3:58 PM, Joanna < 123hop at comcast.net> wrote:
>
> > Dwayne Monroe wrote:
> > > Listen, I get the point about straddling worlds and assuming different
> > > masks and all that. The thing is, I no longer believe the black mask
> > > (no pun intended, DC comics fans) is as authentic as many suppose. I
> > > mean, one of my cousins is convinced that the way to be 'authentic' is
> > > via emulation of Tupac, with a little cholo tossed in. We all agree
> > > he's a jackass. But how is his presentation any less constructed and
> > > conditional than the ones we celebrate and write poems about?
> > >
> > Exactly. I think those who feel themselves very clever by diagnosing
> > "white righteousness" as the driving force behind Obama's campaign are
> > missing the point.
> >
> > That point being that it looks like a lot of this country is really sick
> > and tired of identity politics. I certainly am.
> >
> > Is Obama black? Well, fifty years ago, he would not have been able to
> > ride in the front of a bus. So, yeah, sure. Otherwise, I'm not sure what
> > this question is asking.
> >
> > I most certainly care whether he has any sympathy or understanding of
> > minorities, the working class, and the oppressed, but I don't think his
> > "blackness" is any guarantee of that -- any more so than Condolezza's or
> > Clarence Thomas's, etc.
> >
> > What interests me deeply is this new public attitude that race
> > doesn't/shouldn't matter. And we're not talking bubble land (bay area or
> >
> > NYC); we're talking Iowa. That's as a good a first step as I've seen in
> > a while.
> >
> > Joanna
> > ___________________________________
> > http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
> >
>
>