Your reference to racists is well taken. Just to make my point, I am not "white" and I think that much of the sentimental vote around the world is in part at least because he is black. Two points:
1. One of the great fallacies during the apartheid struggle (we, in the black consciousness movement we somewhat guilty, too) is that the imagined a thing called black solidarity. I got into "trouble" once when I said, at a CC meeting that as socialists we should engage the white working class.. 2. I think Obama's election may well set back whatever black emancipatory process has been underway in the US. It will become easier for the racists to now say: "hey, you (black person) can now become president. what do you mean by structural impediments"
Ismail
Aluta Continua!
________________________________ From: Wojtek S <wsoko52 at gmail.com> To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org Sent: Friday, 9 October, 2009 9:50:26 Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize
[WS:] Who knows? Another possible explanation is that this was an illocutionary act to force a certain kind of diplomacy - not that much different from what Gandhi did.
People who were surprised by this decision tend to think of the Nobel Peace Prize as a sort of candy for good behavior, which strikes me as a bit infantile. If the NPP were just that, it would be even less relevant than a beauty contest. If otoh they did it as an illocutionary act to strenghten certain kind of US displomacy and it works - it would be a remarkable achievement, indeed. Of course we have no way of knowing for sure what the effect of that speech act, if any, would be.
Furthermore, watching the repug wingnuts and racists going upset over it is priceless. That alone justifies the award.
Wojtek
On Fri, Oct 9, 2009 at 9:06 AM, Chuck Loucks <lbo at hvgreens.org> wrote:
> I would say it is a reflection of how much the world hated W. After W.,
> anyone is better; I see this as a major snub to Bush. It is also a nice
> political cover to escalate/continue the war in Afganistan.
>
> Chuck Loucks
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dennis Perrin" <dperrin at comcast.net>
> To: <lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org>
> Sent: Friday, October 09, 2009 7:36 AM
> Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize
>
>
>
> Matthias:
>>
>> When I saw this I legitimately thought it was a joke. Jesus, that's
>>> stupid. Conservatives are going to get a lot of deserved mileage out of
>>> this.
>>>
>>
>> That's nothing. According to our resident Obama booster, the Big O should
>> also win the Kremlin Order Of Victory.
>>
>> All Hail Our Imperial Manager!
>>
>> Dennis
>> ___________________________________
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>>
>
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