Race: Black People's Racism Towards Obama by Kyle Phoenix

Black people, African American or Latinos, are en-cultured to racism.  Are taught that it is natural to have that projected at them.  But the problem with taking on the vision of the Oppressor is that one learns oppression and becomes a neo-Oppressor.  Frantz Fanon, writer of Wretched of The Earth, defined this horizontal violence as...The larger picture of horizontal violence is systemic oppression. It is not a mental state that can be isolated from vertical oppression which is a top-to-bottom use of state power to colonize people.........People under such a condition develop a duality of purpose in doing things – an ironic kind of resignation to the reality not within their control contraposed to a mounting inner protest at one’s oppressive situation. Because of this contradictions that happen in the conscious and unconscious mind of the oppressed, it results in the oppressed’s having within his psyche the oppressor himself. Strangely, he too becomes an oppressor if he doesn't realize what a victim he has become under an oppressive system. The only difference in this particular situation that separates the oppressed from the oppressor is that the oppressed who hasn't realized his pathetic condition oppresses only his peers and reveres his oppressor..."  

Where am I going with this?

The criticism of Cornell West and Tavis Smiley publicly criticizing President Obama.  We can only say this is wrong if we accept the following precept: Black people must shuffle and fall into line and not question or criticize each other publicly.  Black people have so little political and actualized financial power because we still act out slavery, or more pointed the Oppressor's decree of how slaves should act and think, which is why we aren't a majority of voters in any form of government, not a viable financial power in real estate, finance or banking nor an intellectual oppositional force to the hegemony of America. We were freed, and some us took that as the right to run around on the American lawn and shop.  We have created a false psychic allegiance to Black people, simply because they're Black, whether they're right or wrong---it makes us two things: predictable and controllable.  The sum of predictability and controllability is that we then become dismissible.

I bought and read The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto by Cornel West and Tavis Smiley and I've taught in poverty based systems for over a decade now, predominantly to Black and Latino students/adults. I agree with their criticism of multiple presidential reigns, including Obama's and at the same time I see that Obama is stifled by his position. Obama can't assist 15% of the national population--Black folk---because of how that looks to the other 85%.  He is also tied by helping those is poverty, which are all races, in total ,40 to 60 million people, still around 15% of the population. The reason why the Rich and Middle Class are so often mentioned and catered to is because they are the steering wheel and the engine of America---and that includes those who vote and more importantly, financially contribute to the real estate, banking and financial/political institutions of America.

The West/Smiley criticism and argument is that "kicking the ball" down the road of dealing with people in poverty with education, healthcare, social services has created a historic underclass.  I, personally expect that some of my students will never get out of poverty because all of the services they need---health, psychological, educational will not be available to them because they're poor and come from poverty.  Poverty creates it's own psychological of dependency and entitlement but not advancement.   

However Black people don't understand, you don't get to be President with your community organizer spirit and agenda intact. You have to bargain, barter, agree and capitulate to get to that level because there are too many forces that you must align to and align with to become President. In fact in order to even in the concept of an election become President, Blacks and Latinos comprise only a third of his voting base. And we're not even a level of financial contribution that requires $2 billion to operate, plus all of the sundry senate and congressional positions.

All of the conspiracy theories that Black people hold do a complete avoidance of Obama as if there is a heavenly bubble around him as a human being and he's been able to go into such a mired political system and possess completely unassailable power and influence.  Pointedly, he's not a feared President.  Lyndon Baines Johnson LBJ was feared, the last feared President.....which is how Civil Rights got passed because he could, would and did threaten people for social change.

Black people are experiencing a reverse racism, something akin to the halo around the Honorable Elijah Mohammed and Hitler, when we don't criticize even each other simply because they are similar to us in a racial way.  There were hundreds of Muslims who knew what Malcolm X was talking about when he criticized Mohammed as well as thousands of Germans with Hitler.  The past, whether it be religious or fascism based should teach us, perhaps the most maligned, that we must be the most critically thinking in America, even of each other and pointedly about Obama. Because if we don't we'll be controlled and manipulated by another smiling, handsome Black face and because we won't have learned how to question and criticize, we'll be severely harmed.

Perhaps one day we'll be free human beings not designated to be Black people who are expected to maintain the psychic status quo of slavery.

Thank you,
Kyle Phoenix
Email: kylephoenixshow@aol.com
Website: http://kylephoenixsite.com/
Blog: http://kylephoenixshow.blogspot.com/2012
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