Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Brother, Please

I can't explain the recent uptick in race related topics here, but just bear with me...I'm sure this theme will run its course soon enough.

But since I'm still in the groove, I need to highlight this idiocy from Jesse Jackson.

After a speaking arrangement at the historically black Benedict College in South Carolina on Tuesday, Jesse Jackson commented that Barack Obama was "acting white" in his response to the (under reported) case of the so-called "Jena Six", a group of black high school students in Jena, Louisiana who are charged with aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy for beating a white classmate in the wake of several racially charged incidents at the school.

Per the usual, we have to define what "acting white" means in a situation like this. Is Obama "acting white" because he's not down there arm in arm with Al Sharpton? Is he "acting white" because he's not spending every waking minute talking about this situation?

Look, the situation in Jena sounds terrible for a variety of reasons and it's sad to think that we've got high schools in this country were the black and white students barely acknowledge each other, much less socialize. Still, though, I'm not really sure what it is Jesse wants here. Obama is running for president and if he wades too deeply into this, he's going to be accused of being a race pimp or lord knows what else. Obama is already walking a fine line, so he can't afford to alienate white suburban voters by becoming Jesse, part II. For better or for worse, Obama does need to comment on this, but he can't be consumed by it.

And as to Mr. Jackson, I'll let another black blogger, the estimable Oliver Willis, take it away with his post on the subject.

No comments: