Lest We Forget: An Open Letter to My Sisters Who Are Brave
I have come home from a long stay in Mexico to find - because of the presidential campaign, and especially because of the Obama/Clinton race for the Democratic nomination - a new country existing alongside the old. On any given day we, collectively, become the Goddess of the Three Directions and can look back into the past, look at ourselves just where we are, and take a glance, as well, into the future. It is a space with which I am familiar.When I was born in 1944 my parents lived on a middle Georgia plantation that was owned by a white distant relative, Miss May Montgomery. (During my childhood it was necessary to address all white girls as “Miss” when they reached the age of twelve.) She would never admit to this relationship, of course, except to mock it. Told by my parents that several of their children would not eat chicken skin she responded that of course they would not. No Montgomerys would.
My parents and older siblings did everything imaginable for Miss May. They planted and raised her cotton and corn, fed and killed and processed her cattle and hogs, painted her house, patched her roof, ran her dairy, and, among countless other duties and responsibilities my father was her chauffeur, taking her anywhere she wanted to go at any hour of the day or night. She lived in a large white house with green shutters and a green, luxuriant lawn: not quite as large as Tara of Gone With the Wind fame, but in the same style.
We lived in a shack without electricity or running water, under a rusty tin roof that let in wind and rain. Miss May went to school as a girl. The school my parents and their neighbors built for us was burned to the ground by local racists who wanted to keep ignorant their competitors in tenant farming. During the Depression, desperate to feed his hardworking family, my father asked for a raise from ten dollars a month to twelve. Miss May responded that she would not pay that amount to a white man and she certainly wouldn’t pay it to a nigger. That before she’d pay a nigger that much money she’d milk the dairy cows herself.
When I look back, this is part of what I see. I see the school bus carrying white children, boys and girls, right past me, and my brothers, as we trudge on foot five miles to school. Later, I see my parents struggling to build a school out of discarded army barracks while white students, girls and boys, enjoy a building made of brick. We had no books; we inherited the cast off books that “Jane” and “Dick” had previously used in the all-white school that we were not, as black children, permitted to enter.
The year I turned fifty, one of my relatives told me she had started reading my books for children in the library in my home town. I had had no idea - so kept from black people it had been - that such a place existed. To this day knowing my presence was not wanted in the public library when I was a child I am highly uncomfortable in libraries and will rarely, unless I am there to help build, repair, refurbish or raise money to keep them open, enter their doors.
When I joined the freedom movement in Mississippi in my early twenties it was to come to the aid of sharecroppers, like my parents, who had been thrown off the land they’d always known, the plantations, because they attempted to exercise their “democratic” right to vote. I wish I could say white women treated me and other black people a lot better than the men did, but I cannot. It seemed to me then and it seems to me now that white women have copied, all too often, the behavior of their fathers and their brothers, and in the South, especially in Mississippi, and before that, when I worked to register voters in Georgia, the broken bottles thrown at my head were gender free.
I made my first white women friends in college; they were women who loved me and were loyal to our friendship, but I understood, as they did, that they were white women and that whiteness mattered. That, for instance, at Sarah Lawrence, where I was speedily inducted into the Board of Trustees practically as soon as I graduated, I made my way to the campus for meetings by train, subway and foot, while the other trustees, women and men, all white, made their way by limo. Because, in our country, with its painful history of unspeakable inequality, this is part of what whiteness means. I loved my school for trying to make me feel I mattered to it, but because of my relative poverty I knew I could not.
I am a supporter of Obama because I believe he is the right person to lead the country at this time. He offers a rare opportunity for the country and the world to start over, and to do better. It is a deep sadness to me that many of my feminist white women friends cannot see him. Cannot see what he carries in his being. Cannot hear the fresh choices toward Movement he offers. That they can believe that millions of Americans -black, white, yellow, red and brown - choose Obama over Clinton only because he is a man, and black, feels tragic to me.
When I have supported white people, men and women, it was because I thought them the best possible people to do whatever the job required. Nothing else would have occurred to me. If Obama were in any sense mediocre, he would be forgotten by now. He is, in fact, a remarkable human being, not perfect but humanly stunning, like King was and like Mandela is. We look at him, as we looked at them, and are glad to be of our species. He is the change America has been trying desperately and for centuries to hide, ignore, kill. The change America must have if we are to convince the rest of the world that we care about people other than our (white) selves.
True to my inner Goddess of the Three Directions however, this does not mean I agree with everything Obama stands for. We differ on important points probably because I am older than he is, I am a woman and person of three colors, (African, Native American, European), I was born and raised in the American South, and when I look at the earth’s people, after sixty-four years of life, there is not one person I wish to see suffer, no matter what they have done to me or to anyone else; though I understand quite well the place of suffering, often, in human growth.
I want a grown-up attitude toward Cuba, for instance, a country and a people I love; I want an end to the embargo that has harmed my friends and their children, children who, when I visit Cuba, trustingly turn their faces up for me to kiss. I agree with a teacher of mine, Howard Zinn, that war is as objectionable as cannibalism and slavery; it is beyond obsolete as a means of improving life. I want an end to the on-going war immediately and I want the soldiers to be encouraged to destroy their weapons and to drive themselves out of Iraq.
I want the Israeli government to be made accountable for its behavior towards the Palestinians, and I want the people of the United States to cease acting like they don’t understand what is going on. All colonization, all occupation, all repression basically looks the same, whoever is doing it. Here our heads cannot remain stuck in the sand; our future depends of our ability to study, to learn, to understand what is in the records and what is before our eyes. But most of all I want someone with the self-confidence to talk to anyone, “enemy” or “friend,” and this Obama has shown he can do. It is difficult to understand how one could vote for a person who is afraid to sit and talk to another human being. When you vote you are making someone a proxy for yourself; they are to speak when, and in places, you cannot. But if they find talking to someone else, who looks just like them, human, impossible, then what good is your vote?
It is hard to relate what it feels like to see Mrs. Clinton (I wish she felt self-assured enough to use her own name) referred to as “a woman” while Barack Obama is always referred to as “a black man.” One would think she is just any woman, colorless, race-less, past-less, but she is not. She carries all the history of white womanhood in America in her person; it would be a miracle if we, and the world, did not react to this fact. How dishonest it is, to attempt to make her innocent of her racial inheritance.
I can easily imagine Obama sitting down and talking, person to person, with any leader, woman, man, child or common person, in the world, with no baggage of past servitude or race supremacy to mar their talks. I cannot see the same scenario with Mrs. Clinton who would drag into Twenty-First Century American leadership the same image of white privilege and distance from the reality of others’ lives that has so marred our country’s contacts with the rest of the world.
And yes, I would adore having a woman president of the United States. My choice would be Representative Barbara Lee, who alone voted in Congress five years ago not to make war on Iraq. That to me is leadership, morality, and courage; if she had been white I would have cheered just as hard. But she is not running for the highest office in the land, Mrs. Clinton is. And because Mrs. Clinton is a woman and because she may be very good at what she does, many people, including some younger women in my own family, originally favored her over Obama. I understand this, almost. It is because, in my own nieces’ case, there is little memory, apparently, of the foundational inequities that still plague people of color and poor whites in this country. Why, even though our family has been here longer than most North American families - and only partly due to the fact that we have Native American genes - we very recently, in my lifetime, secured the right to vote, and only after numbers of people suffered and died for it.
When I offered the word “Womanism” many years ago, it was to give us a tool to use, as feminist women of color, in times like these. These are the moments we can see clearly, and must honor devotedly, our singular path as women of color in the United States. We are not white women and this truth has been ground into us for centuries, often in brutal ways. But neither are we inclined to follow a black person, man or woman, unless they demonstrate considerable courage, intelligence, compassion and substance. I am delighted that so many women of color support Barack Obama -and genuinely proud of the many young and old white women and men who do.
Imagine, if he wins the presidency we will have not one but three black women in the White House; one tall, two somewhat shorter; none of them carrying the washing in and out of the back door. The bottom line for most of us is: With whom do we have a better chance of surviving the madness and fear we are presently enduring, and with whom do we wish to set off on a journey of new possibility? In other words, as the Hopi elders would say: Who do we want in the boat with us as we head for the rapids? Who is likely to know how best to share the meager garden produce and water? We are advised by the Hopi elders to celebrate this time, whatever its adversities.
We have come a long way, Sisters, and we are up to the challenges of our time. One of which is to build alliances based not on race, ethnicity, color, nationality, sexual preference or gender, but on Truth. Celebrate our journey. Enjoy the miracle we are witnessing. Do not stress over its outcome. Even if Obama becomes president, our country is in such ruin it may well be beyond his power to lead us toward rehabilitation. If he is elected however, we must, individually and collectively, as citizens of the planet, insist on helping him do the best job that can be done; more, we must insist that he demand this of us. It is a blessing that our mothers taught us not to fear hard work. Know, as the Hopi elders declare: The river has its destination. And remember, as poet June Jordan and Sweet Honey in the Rock never tired of telling us: We are the ones we have been waiting for.
Namaste;
And with all my love,
Alice Walker
Cazul
Northern California
First Day of Spring
–Alice Walker is a Pulitzer Prize winning author.
© TheRoot.com
You want all of those admirable worthwhile great things for the world, and yet you support Barack Obama? It makes me sad, Alice. Barack Obama is not going to get those things for us. He has been bought by the usual forces that keep us from those wonderful dreams you wrote about so eloquently! I dislike Barack Obama - his lack of passion, his “civility” - which inevitably always makes us drift rightward, his pro-war policies - a willingness to murder more human beings in Afghanistan, Pakistan, perhaps Iran, and who knows where else, in the name of a “war on terror”, with no recognition that the U.S. IS a terrorist nation!
Alice, there are two candidates who believe in the same things you do. Your sister, Cynthia McKinney, and our great american, Ralph Nader. I know: not viable, they won’t “Win”, only those who can raise hundreds of millions of dollars can “win”, blah, blah, blah… But these candidates will get us where you say you want us to be. These are the peace candidates, not Obama (nor Clinton or McCain, of course). I urge others to reject Barack Obama and join us who are opting out of this corrupt despicable 2 party system!
Amen!
Amen to what Alice Walker has said, this is.
Already others are casting negativity and cynicism on an editorial which is so on target and eloquently written.
But nobody will change what I know to be true of Barack Obama. Maybe it’s because I’ve listened to him in person, looked him in the eye, and shaken his hand. This man is true and just what Alice describes.
I always liked you Alice Walker from the time I heard you read at Simmons College. I hadn’t read the Color Purple until you read from it, I bought the book and read it cover to cover. But I like your politics even better.
“a willingness to murder more human beings in Afghanistan, Pakistan, perhaps Iran, ”
This is pure conjecture … Obama does not sound remotely as rabid as Hillary McCain. His statement on Pakistan (if you take time to read it) actually is not a call for war but an effort to make our friendly dictator Musharraf more accountable. Unless of course you don’t see anything wrong in arming Pakistan to the teeth and continuing to keep its people under military rule (yeah, despite the recent elections Mush is still President !!).
Thank you Alice Walker. You are one of my favorite writers and poets and an influence in my own writing. Ms. Walker always speaks and writes with wisdom and she does so here as well.
“We are the ones we have been waiting for.”
Truer words were never spoken.
Initially, I was skeptical of Barack Obama ( and I will continue maintaining a vigilant skepticism of all who profess to lead the human race), his responses to blatantly-calculating attacks on him and/or his record have been beyond impressive in their street savvy and moral rectitude. The man has taken the high road to Oz. he deserves a shot at becoming the man-behind-the-curtain. Alice Walker’s writings continue to move me to tears. And her point is as simple as it is profound: Why not talk to the perceived adversary rather then sing to them, “Bomb, bomb, bomb
Bomb,bomb, Iran”?
Thank you Alice Walker, you have always been a beacon of light in this nightmare that America has become.
“And yes, I would adore having a woman president of the United States. My choice would be Representative Barbara Lee, who alone voted in Congress five years ago not to make war on Iraq.”
Damn ! My ‘Barbra Lee For President’ sticker has faded but its nice to see Alice Walker mentioning what a lot of us believe here in Oakland !!
I’m voting for Obama, flaws and cracks and all. He’s not Jesus or Buddha or Mother Theresa or Gandhi, but he’s all I got.
“Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.”
Leonard Cohen
Like JohnR I will remain vigilant. Is Barack Obama likely to be the “savior”? No, but if we remain vigilant and engaged, I am convinced that we may have a chance to turn this country around. And like JohnR, I have been impressed by Sen. Obama’s refusal to get “down and dirty” as has become too prevalent in our political discourse.
Like Ms. Walker, I would like to see a woman as President. However, in Barack Obama I see something that I haven’t seen since Bobby Kennedy — a vision of what could be. I’m smack dab in the middle of Sen. Clinton’s core demographic — an older, white woman. But as the campaign has worn on, I’ve become increasingly convinced that she offers little of what we need in this country.
And I am convinced that what we do NOT need is another 4 years or more of GOP rule. Given that two more Bush administration appointees have resigned in disgrace in the past two business days, I continue to be struck at the irony of the 2000 campaign promise to restore honor to the Oval Office. Instead, GWB has brought the honor of thieves.
In early October, I shared a breakfast table in a hotel in Colorado with a German couple. The conversation turned somehow to current events, and the man said something about “your Bush.” All I could respond was that he wasn’t MY Bush. I’m ashamed of what he has wrought, and ashamed of what my country has accepted as standard practice. We need a thorough housecleaning with some strong disinfectant.
If airing the healthcare debate on CSPAN is an example of the way in which a President Obama would govern, I’m ready to take a chance.
I am a Barbara Lee advocate and supporter ever since her incredible vote against the immense tidal flow. She stood up when it was the only honorable thing to do. How I wish she could be the leader of the free world.
I live and work in the East Bay for over eight years now and wish I had made the move decades ago. The worst decision I ever made was to stop in ‘92 south of Tampa and not continue to the land of Barbara Lee and Howard Zinn. How thankful I am to be here Now.
After reading Ms. Walker’s submission and recalling the events over the past months, I thought, so often when we allow our passions to go over the top, rationality escapes us. I too am a southern born and bred black woman. I recall the instances described in Ms. Walker’s letter and then some. I’ve described them in my novel, OUTSIDE CHILD. I have to admit, I have weighed a lot of circumstances to vote for white politicians, knowing that none shared my experiences or my concerns. Few even understood them or were willing to acknowledge them. I did the same with Obama and Clinton. But feel that for two reasons, Obama is the breath of fresh air this country, including women and blacks, needs in order to re-group and re-energize. The first is the sheer genius of the man. He is smart, which allows him the space to be calm, to listen, to think and to plan. No tears, shaking fingers or passing the buck. Isn’t this a threshold of leadership? The other is his willingness to allow us, the people, to be a part of the process. No one speaks of his grass-roots campaign and how he has engaged our greatest natural resource, our young people. It’s a story that rarely gets mentioned, but to me it is the story. Imagine a president who is beholding to voters, including our young voters, instead of big-name businessess. We need these young voices and perspectives as well as the voices of age and wisdom. Obama has given them a reason to speak out, to collaborate. Ms. Walker is correct. Obama will not be able to give us back our country without our help. But it is refreshing and dare I say, hopeful, to hear a candidate express that and then give us the opportunity to prove that we are willing to follow his lead.
I, too, am a product of feminism. I want to see a woman presdent. I hope that she’s out there right now, working for Obama, preparing for her time. Right now, it is his. And I believe that if we think rationally about the good of us all, and not just our desire to see a woman do it, or our thrill to have a black man win, we will make the best choice.
Thanks, Ms. Walker, for airing your wisdom. Nothing like a dose of truth to secure that all important mind/heart connection.
Alice Wilson-Fried
Alice, I cannot thank you enough for this piece and hope for peace. Daily I do my best to not fall into despair. What I rely on the most is my belief that love is hard wired in us and that hatred has to be taught. Second, I daily read from your book, “We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For.”
Thanks, Rich. My sentiments exactly! Alice Walker is now the newest member of the Obama Kool-Aid Klub. She lists many noble objectives - ones Obama will never support - then goes and supports Obama anyway!
And don’t get me wrong; encouraging the vote for Obama an the least harmful of the dismal options left in the remaining primaries, or the general election, is perfectly fine. But we should be lamenting this fact not praising a man who will only slow or suspend the US’s descent.
As far as race, being black would normally predispose me to voting for any candidate. But I will never forget that it was the black members of the Allegheny County Council that destroyed our hard fought living wage campaign. Unfortunately, racial progress means that some black poeple have become full-fledged members of the rich-oligharchy and no longer represnet working class interests.
Well written. I enjoyed reading this.
I am not sure who the answer is…but I have dismissed two of them as being anything but contributors to the problem…Hillary and McCain.
Watching Obama thoughtfully….and with consideration. I love Nadar…but…we know that will stall.
Rich,
You are so right. How I wish Obama was what the people want and need him to be. Sadly, I don’t think he is. He’s first allegiance is to the corporate world which financed his political life. The best candidate for president at this time is CYNTHIA MCKINNEY. She was kicked out by the corporate white ‘democratic’ party for being a TRUE DEMOCRAT. Our candidates are all chosen by corporate fascists — and that is why they shun McKinney — because she’d be the best president this country has ever seen because she’d be for THE PEOPLE.
Ms. Wilson-Fried,
Hardly a single thing you attribute to Obama is true. Obama is beholden to the rich, Wall Street, the Israel Lobby and the proponents of US imperialism.
A well-written article, but I certainly wonder what bill
in Congress it was that Baraba Lee was the only one to vote
no against the war on Iraq. I really have a hard time with
anyone who twists or manufactures facts. I too feel Obama
is still a corporate tool and plan to vote for someone other
than Democrat.
From the U. S. Congress Votes Database (Washington Post):
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/107/house/2/votes/455/
107th Congress / House / 2nd session / Vote 455
* Question: On Passage
* Bill: H J RES 114
* Vote description: To Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq
* Vote type: Yea-and-Nay
* Result: Passed, 296-133, with 3 not voting.
* Date/time: October 10, 2002, 3:05 p.m.
* Republican majority opinion: Yes
* Democrat majority opinion: No
From this website listing congressional actions prior to the
Iraw invasion in 2003, I see no related votes mentioned where
there was a “single” nay-sayer instead of mulitple nays.
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Congressional_actions
_on_the_Iraq_War_prior_to_the_2003_U.S._invasion#Authorization
_for_Use_of_Military_Force_Against_Iraq_.28AUMF.29:_Final_vote
Note (assuming this edit works to reduce the line length of the
above link), you will have to paste the three lines of the link
together to get to the site. As a single link after posting, it
caused my browser to create a “massively” horizontal window that
had to be horizontally scrolled to read the article. I hate
when that happens.
Rich Griffin —
I would much prefer to be voting for Cynthia McKinney or
Ralph Nader; undoubtedly, we all would. We need IRV voting in order to be able to do that. Or, we could swing the monies being given directly from citizens to
HRC and Obama to McKinney and Nader. It would take a great awakening to have that happen. But it could happen.
HRC is not someone I would vote for simply because she
is part of the DLC; the corporate-sponsored wing of the Democratic Party which exists to move the party to the right — and that would include her vote giving Bush the freedom to invade Iraq and in refunding the war. HRC is part of DLC leadership. We also have 40-45 “blue dogs” who meet with Bush and the GOP to discuss agenda, strategy and their votes. Both are strong forces within
the Democratic Party moving it away from its liberal/progressive ideals. As an example, keep in mind that when JFK ran for the presidency, he ran on a Democratic Platform which called for nationalizing the nation’s oil — !
Barack Obama is someone who is very difficult not to like and not to feel hopeful for and with. I will probably vote for Barack Obama. My main problem with Barack Obama is that he is a Democrat which suggests to me that he has risen in a party which has been corrupted by corporate influence. And, perhaps, naively, I am trusting that he will end this war and warmongering.
I am concerned about both reactions to these candidates –anti-female and anti-African American. And I think that we have to understand that should the Democratic party win again that we will not see the quite ride that this Bush/Cheney administration has enjoyed, but a renewal of the extreme attacks that we saw on the Clinton administration and the Carter administration.
I also share a concern with many others about the honesty of our computer voting since the 2000 election. However, the computers began to come in during the mid-1960’s and it is likely that the steals began then.
At that time, two journalists — Jim & Ken Collier — were looking to do a story on the elections in Florida and
decided that one of them should run for office. Watching their vote tallies on Election night, they saw their totals rise and then, after a “computer breakdwon,” fall back again. Thus began their investigation of computer voting.
Their book was immediately suppressed upon hitting the bookstores but can be scanned or read at the website which their family keeps going to try to inform the public of how far back these computer steals go.
See: “Votescam - The Stealing of America”
http://www.constitution.org/vote/votescam__.htm
The Bush/Cheney regime also recalls the Watergate Era and recreates fears of Nixon’s “Huston Plan” which was something of a “Operation Northwoods” directed at cancelling the 1972 elections. It was named for a Nixon aide.
I don’t want to get too far off topic because this is a good article (without the campaign push for Obama) but this article reminds me of the recent demand for apology for slavery. Slavery existed so long ago that no one is left that experienced it from either side. An apology is therefore moot and quite honestly rediculous.
The Jim Crow era in the 60’s and the rampant discrimination against blacks IS what many people remember. If we’re serious about an apology, it should be for that. It should come from the living to the living. Those that drove the buses past the black students, made blacks eat on picnic tables in back of restaraunts, operated “white only” businesses, etc. should be the ones apologizing. Apologies are in order for the way trials were handled, especially regarding Emmitt Till and Medgar Evers.
Slavery was much worse than Jim Crow, but I fail to understand why it is more important to receive an apology for it. Who could possibly apologize to who? I think we need to live more in the now.
You have been a long time hero of mine and it hurts deeply to have to disagree with you, Alice. It seems you have come to your decision from a place of great pain, a pain that I as a European could never fully know. I respect you for your soul-deep analysis of why you support Obama. Yet, I am troubled that you seem to have forgotten the source of most pain in this world:patriarchy. Has Obama ever said or done anything about the terrible consequences of 6000 years of misogyny, its unspeakable toll not only the lives of women and girls, but to all of humanity and to our Mother Earth? I have listened to him, watched him on TV, yet I feel nothing clear and true coming from the man that shows he cares about me as an older woman still trying to transcend a world order imposed by men of all races who hate women of all races. Hillary(and who cares what surname she uses) is called every disgusting name imaginable by men on the internet, yet she stays strong and bold, she gives me hope of escape from this prison built by the unholy trinity of rape, genocide and war. For me, Hillary represents a chance to finally walk proudly and joyfully back to the garden of the Divine Feminine.
peoplefirst,
It was the authorizaton for the _Afghanistan_ invasion that Barbara Lee cast the lone dissenting vote. So this is an error on Alice Walker’s part.
Recall the bumper sticker and button: “Barbara Lee speaks for me”
Cynthia McKinney would be my first choice too, but her time is not yet come. McCain is demented and we have had too much of the Billary ticket already, Bill should have done the ethical thing and resigned, then maybe we wouldn’t be in such a mess today. Obama is presenting himself as our best hope because that is in fact what he is. Good point, about Hillary being a woman but Obama being a black man. Equity would imply that Hillary be consistently referenced as a white woman. Why does that sound so odd ?
War is not just ‘as objectionable as cannibalism and slavery’ — it IS cannibalism and slavery.
Thank you Alice - I’ve read many of your Books - even wrote the “Color Purple Blues for a college class on Feminist Literature.
You are a Beacon of Light in the Darkness that has been the real history of the US.
Namaste
U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 107th Congress - 2nd Session
as compiled through Senate LIS by the Senate Bill Clerk under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate
Vote Summary
Question: On the Joint Resolution (H.J.Res. 114 )
Vote Number: 237 Vote Date: October 11, 2002, 12:50 AM
Required For Majority: 1/2 Vote Result: Joint Resolution Passed
Measure Number: H.J.Res. 114
Measure Title: A joint resolution to authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against Iraq.
Vote Counts: YEAs 77
NAYs: —23
Akaka (D-HI)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Byrd (D-WV)
Chafee (R-RI)
Conrad (D-ND)
Corzine (D-NJ)
Dayton (D-MN)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Graham (D-FL)
Inouye (D-HI)
Jeffords (I-VT)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Reed (D-RI)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Wellstone (D-MN)
Wyden (D-OR)
Sorry I don’t have the count for the HOUSE.
USAn - thanks. Sorry, never saw that bumper sticker.
What? I am surprised to hear Walker make excuses for Obama?! Bring out the big guns to try and make it all seem real?!
“As far as race, being black would normally predispose me to voting for any candidate. ”
Funny …. this is exactly how i felt about Hillary before Obama hit the trail !! So my statment would have read:
As far as gender, being a woman would normally predispose me to voting for any candidate. Then came Hillary !!!
Barbra Lee’s vote against the universally acclaimed lynching of the Afghan people (oct/nov 2001)is the only act of conscience these last 8 years by any member of any House or Senate. She bucked the ‘common’ logic of ‘lets bomb them to pieces’ and recognized the act of bombing Afghanistan for what it was - retaliation for 9/11 against innocent people ( Osama and his f@#$buddies bush-and-dick are still at large).
First I would like to repeat a comment that refers to the American left:
“If the American left had to form a firing squad, it would be in the form of a circle facing in!”
I have been reading much of this mentality in response toAlice Walker’s excellent article.
To peoplefirst’s comments vis a vis Barbaara Lee’s solo vote, it wasn’t the vote in 2003, but the vote in 2001 that is referred to. Please visit:
http://www.alternet.org/911oneyearlater/11546/
“Will Barbara Lee’s Risky Gamble Pay Off?
By Earl Ofari Hutchinson, AlterNet. Posted September 19, 2001.
California Congresswoman Barbara Lee, a black Democrat, cast the lone vote against giving President Bush carte blanche to unleash war against terrorists.”
I attended a number of rallies that Congresswoman Lee attended, un-announced since there were several serious death threats against her at that time so she had to keep her schedule and whereabouts secret.
Back to my first point, do those who so strongly oppose Obama really want to have two or three more justices appointed to the Supreme Court in the ilk of Roberts or Alito? Or Scalia or Thomas? Our country will already be reeling for the next 30 or so years from the bush dynasty’s appointments! Please come back into the real world. I recognize the same injustices that you do and fight many of the same battles you do, but to abandon the battle for electing the person who is most able to work for social and economic and environmental justice, who also is viable, for a toss away vote makes no sense to me. Among the nefarious reasons we have had Bush for the past 7+ years are the votes cast for Nader and other non-viable candidates. Surely no-one believes that there would have been no difference between a President Gore and a President Bush!??!
Rhea–how can you possibly get that Hillary would be for peace? Is there any record of her ever being agaisnt bombing anyone?
I liked Barbara Lee and Cynthia McKinney too but will probably vote for Obama. It’s true that he has supported the corporate dictatorship and the military machine; that his health “plan” is a sop to the parasitic insurance industry like everyone else’s; that he he still supports “clean coal” and ethanol at a time when we desperately need more intelligent action to slow global climate change. But.
Barbara Lee isn’t running, McKinney can’t possibly be elected, and McCain and Clinton are very real threats. We can’t endure another 4 years of Republican rule, which we would get under either of them. The hope is that Obama is NOT strictly telling the truth. That he plans to be more progressive than he’s letting on. If he seriously took on the corporate media and the war machine now, his candidacy would plummet no matter how eloquent he was, because the media has the power to let the air out of anyone’s tires. If that somehow didn’t work, his life would be in danger. Still true after he takes office, but he would then be in a better position to fight back. Is this pure wishful thinking? Might be. But so many voices I respect have endorsed Obama. If anyone is smart enough and cool enough under pressure to play this game and pull it off, it’s him.
Beautiful Alice. Thanks
Yes, this essay moved me to TEARS. I love Alice Walker.
BUT - the war on the indigneous peoples in the US and Canada and every where else continues.
Can anyone here even imagine a native candidate running for President?
Someone who knows the American history for centuries, whose ancestors refused to be slaves, who served in the military, who believes implicitly in the rule of LAW and can talk to anyone on the planet and would command the highest respect world wide .. these people EXIST. They work in America’s best interests day after day, and don’t take out time to build WAR CHESTS to win elections.
Someone who will build a future for AMERICANS seven generations into the future ..
Someone who wants to rid of all the chemicals which are in our very bodies as as we read this and the ones we are forced to inhale.
Could someone like this exist? Yes, they do. Would Obama picked her or him to be a running mate?
and you ALL know the answer to the last question.
Give me a break, get real.
Hey! Go vote for Obama, he is less likely to pull the nuke lever and perhaps he MIGHT install some much needed red phones (with Iran for example). But to expect him or his backers to identify with those who have pulled themselves up by their bootstraps coming from reservations - (Obama did not) - forgeddabout it. He is a PUPPET. A very likable puppet, a well educated puppet, and an “electable” puppet maybe.
But would I trust him? Not on my life. I watch the police state apparatus unfold daily and know the klusterfucK to come as I have been paying strict attention.
We ARE the ones we have been waiting for.. it is US, and let known of us be coopted. We are going to have to fight for every last scrap that is left when this financial tsunami is over. Caused by hubris and military keynesianISM and greed.
To me it is all about VALUES - and Cynthia MacKinney’s and Ralph Nadar’s VALUES are closer to mine than Obama’s. By a Looooooooooong shot.
I chose life, over death by genocide in an ongoing US struggle with the world .. I don’t need a happy smiling face up on a boob tube, telling twaddle just after I am tased when visiting my brother in a jail cell.
I detest Zbiegnew Bzrenski and what he has DONE. Do people really think that US foreign policy as it exists and a big fat party in the WH is still the “ticket”? It is to laugh if you do.
“She (Clinton) carries all the history of white womanhood in America in her person; it would be a miracle if we, and the world, did not react to this fact. How dishonest it is, to attempt to make her innocent of her racial inheritance.”
Was that statement really necessary? It sounded like an indictment of all of us white women, irrespective of our station in life, and I found it hurtful. “Obama carries all the history of misogyny” would be the reciprocal statement, and that’s not true, eh?
Rhea Said: “Hillary represents a chance to finally walk proudly and joyfully back to the garden of the Divine Feminine.”
That’s hardly true… Hillary may be a genetic female but that’s where it ends. In fact, Hillary support many things that one would find surprising that a woman would support… such as WAR, MURDER, CORPORATE PILLAGING, RACISM… etc.
mwildfire-
When has Obama put his political career on the line for peace? I understand that when he was asked if he were in the Senate and had a chance to vote on the war, would he have voted for it, he answered `I’m not sure.’ If Obama is the nominee, I will vote for him and if he loses to McCain, I am sure Hillary will somehow be blamed. That’s how it works in patriarchy, no matter what we women do we will be condemned. If we stand and fight we are ruthless bitches, if we gracefully walk away we are weak little nancies. The president is the Commander in Chief. I suppose you would harshly critice Hillary for daring to fulfill that role if she were indeed President. BTW, I would love nothing more than to have the chance some day to vote for someone like a Cynthia McKinney or a Sheila Jackson Lee!
Billary is just horrid.
She couldnt even run a campaign without alienating women voters with her racist and pro Republican comments(”McCain and I would be a more experienced commander in chief than Obama”).
One has to be blind to reality to vote for her.
Just because she a woman doesnt make her worth voting for.
Elizabeth Bathory was a woman and leader too.
Mrs Clinton just feels she is entitled to the job because she is arrogant.
“That’s how it works in patriarchy, no matter what we women do we will be condemned. ”
True. I agree. However this statement resonates very strongly in oppressive countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan or Sudan and a host of others but coming from a White woman in the US it somehow does not ring true. White women here in our country are waaaaaaaaay more privileged than people of color of either sex and are right up there next to their patriarchal spouses in the social pecking order.
ALICE — Thank you for inspiring words of purpose and BEING, which engender my tears of promised joy
We pause upon this threshold of our common dreams, to declare an unprecedented coming of spiritual awakening melding upon purposeful change to revere life and instill new hope for ALL.
The glorious rapids of change await my paddle.
Namaste
… … … … … Mahatma Gandhi … & … ML King … … Inspiration … … … … …
« We must be the change we wish to see in the world »
« There is a sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for man’s greed »
« We adopt the means of nonviolence because our end is a community at peace with itself » — MLK
Thank you, Alice, I enjoyed your article. I am a white woman, the same age as Hillary. A70’s feminist; I served on one of the first women’s rights organizations in my county.
In this race for the Presidential nomination, I was delighted that a woman became a strong candidate, not an “affirmative action” candidate like Geraldine Ferraro, for the nomination. However, my delight turned to dismay when Senator Clinton began using Rove-type tactics in her campaign. I have written to her three times, imploring her to take the high ground, to be a person of integrity even in a battle. I have written to her that if she, and her handlers, continue this style of campaign, and she wins the nomination, she will have so alienated the youth, independents, and republicans that Senator Obama has inspired to vote, that she will lose the election.
I made the decision to support Senator Obama after a certain speech in which I was reminded of John and Robert Kennedy. IMHO, he speaks to the American voters like we have the intelligence to grasp complex issues; when he disagrees with Senator Clinton, he disagrees with what she said rather than attacking her as a person; he supports the issues that are important to me; he is not an insider with lots of strings to past political and business deals; he is courageous, he is taking a huge personal risk of harm to himself by running.
I am puzzled by the Obama critics who say he is beholden to somebody; as I understand, his campaign is funded in large part by more than a million small donors (less than $100). I researched which candidates had received $$ from lobbyists, and of ALL candidates, democrat and republican, Senator Clinton led the pack with more than $800,000 (this was a few weeks ago). Senator Obama was 6th or 7th on the list with $80,000, 10% of Senator Clinton’s.
And what is this that he did not pull himself up by his bootstraps? He did not come from a wealthy family.
Ladybroadoak, with all respect, I am mystified about your statement, “But would I trust him? Not on my life. I watch the police state apparatus unfold daily and know the klusterfucK to come as I have been paying strict attention.” Yes, there is a police state apparatus unfolding, thanks to GWB and our Congress who has rolled over for every assault on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. My hope is that no-one declares martial law before we get to have an election!
I doubt I’m the only radical, or woman, who’ll hesitate to address this piece — unlike the one by Hayden et al. — as it deserves.
But leaving Obama out of it, for the moment, two passages here seem unworthy, really waay less than excellent:
1. “I wish I could say white women treated me and other black people a lot better than the men did, but I cannot. It seemed to me then and it seems to me now that white women have copied, all too often, the behavior of their fathers and their brothers, and in the South, especially in Mississippi, and before that, when I worked to register voters in Georgia, the broken bottles thrown at my head were gender free.”
2. “It is hard to relate what it feels like to see Mrs. Clinton (I wish she felt self-assured enough to use her own name) referred to as “a woman” while Barack Obama is always referred to as “a black man.” One would think she is just any woman, colorless, race-less, past-less, but she is not. She carries all the history of white womanhood in America in her person; it would be a miracle if we, and the world, did not react to this fact. How dishonest it is, to attempt to make her innocent of her racial inheritance.”
The argument, overall, seems to be that “sisters” — to whom the piece is addressed — shouldn’t favor Clinton just BECAUSE she’s a woman. Many will, of course — that’s the weakness of identity politics.
I won’t vote for Clinton OR Obama. Because of their POLITICS — and because there’s been no issue they wouldn’t ignore, no mobster they wouldn’t court, no politician to whom they wouldn’t pander, to get enough pride of place and enough money to outspend John Edwards 10-to-1.
Obama, to me, is a cuter, cleverer, more charismatic John Kerry — and the Democrats’ double “diversity” ploy a way for the Democratic “leadership”, with a big assist from the media, to avoid the election of John Edwards.
I believe we should press, however we can, for the Democrats to nominate John Edwards. He looks like he’s part Indian, if that helps.
Failing THAT, for those who intend to vote at all, there’s McKinney or Nader.
Thank you Alice as we join in solidarity for Obama. I am a white grandmother, age 65, and I have never been so proud and so deeply moved as I am by this election.
And I want to sound the call for a new kind of citizenship in our country and world that needs every one of us - to be whole, to be alert to where we’re needed, to reach out to our brothers and sisters with whom we share heaven and earth.
Alice is pure gold. She was arrested outside the Whitehouse w/Amy Goodman, Media Benjamin, Cindy Sheehan, etc. I’d call that a gold mine.Alice sees in Obama what i see (as Oprah has stated) a very wise man. Like many, I love Nader and Kucinich to death; intelligent, caring, devoted, and PRINCIPLED. So principled that they have no chance to be president; the roles they have played, and continue to play are indispensible to progressive gains and the progressive movement. Obama has strong principles, and differently, yet similarly to MLK, is blessed with great verbal skills and physical voice.
As I have posted previously, his space is very limited by the nature of political discourse in the MSM. But, like Peter, Paul, and Mary, he lays it between the lines. He will talk with our “enemies” as well as our “friends”. Clinton calls that “naive”, maintaining the groundwork for further demonization. She tries to keep up w/Rambo McCain, who would bomb Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, Sadrists, Chavez, Cuba, Bolivia, Ecuador, & God only knows what else.
As Oprah says, Obama is wise; and, as Randi says he’s smarter than she is–a rare admission. What a contrast to our current President. The world holds its breath.
Thank you Alice Walker.
You are a prophet. I feel blessed to read your honest words. Thank you.
alice walker, you rock! the color purple is still my very favorite book, and i was in my early 20s when i read it. i saw barack obama speak the day after the democratic convention in 2004 when a friend called to tell me i had to see him–without then knowing his name or who he was it immediately hit me that he would be our next president. i don’t care what color or sex he is, his words and ideas resonate deeply within me. to witness a politican with his heart, beliefs, big ideas, integrity and courage fills me with hope and awe. the fact that he is a bi-racial person is a huge bonus but not the biggest story. we need healing around the nasty, insidious, misunderstood-by-most-white-folks racism in our country, and he has set us on the path. he is a healer, and he vibrates at a higher frequency than any other politican (and many people!) i am a 47-year-old white woman from texas, and i feel very blessed to have 70-year-old parents, 3 brothers and my 22-year-old daughter all be overwhelmingly and excitedly for mr. obama.
Thanks Alice Walker. But i can’t help to thing that AFTER the elections, you are going to be disappointed, again…
We are still a white male dominated racist nation. Question is can a black man win? can a woman win? Mr. Obama seems to have captured the imagination of many if he can get out the vote with out tripping up to bad we may stand a chance, if we keep pressure on him maybe we can get McKinney, Nader or Edwards on the ticket or cabinet. One man cannot pull us out of the abyss it will take a team effort.
TheLorax: Who should apologize for slavery? Good question.
Some Buddhists believe the Dalai Lama is an incarnation of the Buddha. Christians believe that, by remembering the Last Supper and breaking and sharing bread and wine, they are united to, and part of, the living body of Jesus. The Hebrew scriptures speak of the curse of a sin being passed on for generations.
It’s a good point that no one remembers slavery, but living memory is not tied exclusively to those who still live and still have first-hand experience.
My ancestors came to the US from Germany, but I still find in myself traces of racism, suspicion, fear of the other, attitudes that might lead me to treat people of color as less-than. So I volunteer. The more white folks we can gather who are willing to apologize for slavery, the better, because traces of it live on in our culture, and are exchanged like a virus.
It was a great thing to hear Richard Clarke apologize for the failures of the government on 9-11. He didn’t have full authority to apologize as Bush and Cheney should have, but hoards of people in the government should have, in the face of the Bush-Cheney refusal. It still works, even if those who bear any shread of responsibility apologize.
And by the way, I like your name.
Alice Walker writes, “I want a grown-up attitude toward Cuba . . . .” She writes, “I want the Israeli government to be made accountable for its behavior towards the Palestinians . . . .”
Corporate ties notwithstanding, if Senator Obama’s presidency can realize the kind of foreign policy that Ms Walker’s desires encompass, I shall indeed be happy enough to recognize in his election a move toward making this country one upon which God might well bestow His blessing.
Alice Iam a white womon around your age but totally agree with you. Hillary supporters do not understand the true depths of how Racism has been implicated within the whole process of even being able to run for President. Racism still exits and Hillary is a white womon of Priveledge. I am not voting for neither race nor gender but for Obama who reminds me of Dr. King and who seems to be able to bring our country together. We need a Unified Nation now to deal with the mess Bush has created within the world. It will take a very good wise diplomat with the experience of grassroots work like his has. The rest of the world will see a white womon who is just like all of the other politicians.I feel that Obama speaks to me a poor single mother who raised her kids in poverty and in the projects. I understand when he speaks he calls to us all esp the Poor. I think he is a sincere man and will be a great leader. Hillary says oh he says good words. Well not too long ago I heard a speech and that man said “I have a Dream!” I dont forget. Namaste, Roslyn~Rainjana
PF-Flyer writes:
“Some Buddhists believe the Dalai Lama is an incarnation of the Buddha.”
—–
Funny this should come up. The recent embrace of Obama by uber-rads and celebrity “progressives” — MoveOn offering to protect Pelosi in return for her helpfulness, etc. — got me thinking, just the other day, that this anointing of Obama has more in common with the selection of the Dalai Lama (”The search for the reincarnated mindstream typically requires a number of years. The reincarnation is then installed and trained by the other Lamas”, etc.) than with democratic political practice.
If non-devotees read around about the selection of the Dalai Lama, sanghas and savikas and all that, they’ll be reminded that the Buddha was among those who don’t hold with the ordination of women. :^)
(I’m not suggesting a vote for Clinton (whose adorable-but-jive spousal associate, having imposed welfare “reform” AND the Estate Benefits Recovery Act in a fit of “post-partisanship”, got credit for “balancing the budget”) OR for Obama, the superior specimen with the fluffy record who talks out both sides of his mouth on, among other things, the apparently-endless occupation of Iraq and imperial militarism in general.)
Nominating John Edwards, the guy with the guts — who was out-spent 10-to-1 by Hillobama, and alternately ignored and ridiculed by the liberal media — is the best thing the Democrats can do if they actually want to win the election. Which maybe they DON’T.)
Obama’s defense of Clinton staying in the race was classy. He showed a great deal of grace, and at the same time he took away the MSM’s latest pitch. (If Hillary stays in the race the democrats are ruined). The only swing votes from either Obama or Clinton to McCain will be those of a Republican apologists. Dems aren’t going to vote McCain regardless of who becomes the nominee.
I do hope that dems are happy with whoever becomes there nominee. As far as policy, there’s little difference between the two. Nader/Gonzalez or McKinney are the only ones who even offer people the opportunity to vote in their interest. It seems that people (even intelligent ones) are willing to vote for the MSM’s version of an alternative to a third Bush term.
Obama’s latest response to the economic collapse is to bring back some regulation. That’s a far cry from what needs to be done. You can see the trepidation on his face when he suggested regulation. It took 10 or 15 minutes for him to even mention his proposal for the crisis in his speech. His supporters will call it “eloquent” speaking. I call it hedging.
I wouldn’t dare try to change anyone’s mind about Obama. I like him. But those who delude themselves into believing that he’ll be able to change the country’s course remind me of Auden’s “The Age of Anxiety.”
“We would rather be ruined than changed
We would rather die in our dread
Than climb the cross of the moment
And let our illusions die.”
Namaste—once again your beautiful post moved me, nearly as much as Alice Walker’s. It is sad that so many refuse to allow themselves to believe in change unless the one who promises it fits their unyielding and exacting standards. As if any of us can look into any candidate’s heart and know for certain that they will do what they can to deliver on their promises, or if they will be permitted to even if they wished to.
To dream is to embrace the HOPE and UNITY message that Obama offers, while at the same time recognizing that we are not passive recipients of the “goods” that may or may not follow—we are to be co-creators of that fundamental shift. Obama has never claimed he can or will do it for us. He is trying to inspire us to do it for ourselves and he will not stand in our way. In fact he will do what he can to make sure it has a chance to take place.
When will humankind learn that we have to seize our own inner power to create the world that everyone will want to live in? We seem to prefer our self-imposed powerlessness, our collective sense of victimization and then we are free to complain about the bastards who have all the power, or the politicians who betray our trust. Dear goddess! I hope human beings grow up before it is too late!
I am a 63 yr old white woman with two bi-racial daughters. I would love nothing more than to see a black person or a woman be President. But, I will not chose to vote for someone just because of race or gender.
I have long been a fan and supporter of Dennis Kucinich. He represented everything I would have liked to have seen in a President. EVERYTHING. I think he would have done as much or more for women and minorities as any woman or any black person would have done. He was against the war in Iraq from the beginning. He was against big business and in taking campaign contributions from them. He was all for free health care for all Americans.
The media, and the powers that be would not allow him to debate with the others. They wouldn’t give him the time of day. He couldn’t be bought and paid for like the others. On the night of the debate in Las Vegas, when MSNBC wouldn’t allow him in the debate against Clinton, Obama and Edwards I knew that was the end for him. And it made me sick. And what made me even sicker was the fact that none of the other candidates even tried to stick up for him and demand that he be included in the debate. None of them even bothered to mention the unfairness of it afterwards. It was as if it never even happened. They brushed him off just like he didn’t even exist.
Obama would have undoubtedly been my next choice had Dennis been at least allowed a chance with the others, and failed. Even Dennis gave Obama his support when he finally gave it up. I can’t be that forgiving. I was going to not vote at all, which would have been the first time in my entire life of not voting in a Presidential election. I have now decided to give my vote to Ralph Nader, even though everyone says that is a vote wasted. Well, it’s not wasted. I refuse to let the media determine who I will vote for. It’s a sad shame that Obama and the others allowed the media to do this. But, “bought and paid for” means that you gotta do what ya gotta do, I guess. And I gotta do what I gotta do, too.
Always a pleasure to hear from brilliant and compassionate Alice Walker. Remember, though, Barbara Demming and countless other white women who have marched for freedom and sacrificed all. Somehow I think that white women rarily get recognition and frequently get bashed.
It is so very disheartening to read:
One would think she is just any woman, colorless, race-less, past-less, but she is not. She carries all the history of white womanhood in America in her person; it would be a miracle if we, and the world, did not react to this fact. How dishonest it is, to attempt to make her innocent of her racial inheritance.”
From one who many will believe.
How long will the blame for slavery be perpetuated on those who were not there and how long will credit not be given to people of all colors who have worked against racism?
Mr. Obama cannot win the presidency because he is half black. But to the racist minds of the white folks in South Carolina and other southern white communities, he is a “dangerous” black man. He is also a trained and committed corporatist.
Hilary is a corporatist liar. Remember she is a former board member of Wal Mart. She comes from white northern priviledge.
Mr. McCain, the next president in my opinion, though I hate the idea that any of these shills being in power.
The problem is not the people on this sight, but the “us” collectively.
If I am a traitor to my gender, perhaps it is high time.
I support Obama, but with certain misgivings. I think he has the ability to
listen to people like me, and people not so much like me. This is the basis of my support for him.
Hillary has a “plan”, and it is the “plan” of the corporate interests which
are as tyrannical as any government ever imagined. I expect little listening
from her.
I think my sister, Ms. Walker, has called this one right.
Yes, I agree that we (especially us Europeans) have a big big psychological problem and that is a deep and festering guilt over two horrendous facts: slavery and genocide of the indigenous peoples who thrived for thousands of years on this beautiful continent.
Guilt makes people do awful things. We need to heal this guilt and it seems to me that we can do that only through forgiveness and understanding. I think Obama began this process with the remarkable speech he gave two weeks ago. I believe he has a good heart, even though he’s trained in a world of corporatism. I say this as a Hillary supporter who is saddened and weary from all the vitriol between our two camps. We, all of us, are in this troubled world together. Let’s find common ground to stand on while we mend the mindless damage done by Bush and company and break our addiction to carbon-based energy. I am grateful for this forum.
One woman wrote:
–”Hillary(and who cares what surname she uses) is called every disgusting name imaginable by men on the internet, yet she stays strong and bold, she gives me hope of escape from this prison built by the unholy trinity of rape, genocide and war. For me, Hillary represents a chance to finally walk proudly and joyfully back to the garden of the Divine Feminine.”– PURE FALLACY
Sen. H. Clinton voted for war, then could not bring herself to apologize for not reading the information available at the time (and still is). Is that someone who resides in the garden of divine feminism? And what are we to make of her vote in support of the bombing of Lebanon? No, that garden is a mirage.
Around where I live, we women of color were courted by such pretty words, then when one of us was running for a higher office, the women who sounded much like the one quoted above, kept quite, closed their purses, and turned their backs.
I thank Alice Walker for her gentle reminder of what it is to be a womanist. I too, settled on Obama only after extensive research. He does, as has been said often, “appeal to my better angels.” Among the many reasons to support this fine young man is that he leads as a servant, and not as a king.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Obama say he would bomb Pakistan?
Rhea–
“I say this as a Hillary supporter who is saddened and weary from all the vitriol between our two camps.”
Rhea–
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Obama say he would bomb Pakistan?”
This is precisely the kind of obfuscation and intentional misinterpretation that resulted in the current vitriol between the so called camps. Maybe you should read up on what exactly Obama said. Look it up. Hillary on the other hand would continue our occupation of Iraq endlessly (she voted for it) and also bomb Iran, which believe me is 10 times worse than our mess in Iraq.
Is Ms. Walker counting Barack as one of the women? Who are they?
Does this fit in somehow with Walker’s “inner Goddess of the Three Directions?”
Endorsements of Obama are getting stranger and stranger.
I wish Alice Walker could be our next President.
I don’t know about Obama. I worry if he is truly progressive enough. I read that he is pro-Nuclear, pro- War, owned by the Corporations- and even Alice Walker says he does not like Cuba.
But I voted for him at my town caucus. I just don’t know if I could stand having NOT voted for the first Black President of the United States of America. I don’t want to tell my someday grandchildren that I did NOT vote for this.
Maybe what really matters is not what Obama is..but what-
WE are. Maybe he is just the dream of Martin Luther King-maybe he is just the dream of Alice Walker -and the dream for all of us. But maybe WE can dream him into being the kind of leader WE THE PEOPLE-so badly need him to be.
ASK NOT WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN DO FOR YOU….
Imagine.
He is, in fact, a remarkable human being, not perfect but humanly stunning, like King was and like Mandela.
—–
RawStory yesterday headlined this article — republished yesterday in the Guardian comment section as “Obama is the change that America has tried to hide” — as “Obama is our Mandela”.
SOMEbody should say SOMEthing about this.
Look, folks: with the exception of his stunning birthday suit, there is NOTHING about Obama’s public political performance to suggest that he’s ANYthing like Mandela, who spent most of his adult life in prison for having turned the African National Congress to armed struggle — or like King, who was assassinated for supporting garbage men before he reached Obama’s age.
Obama was raised by white people, cosseted at every turn by corporate largesse, and according to all accounts — sisterhood is not powerful — got his start in Chicago politics by double-crossing his female mentor, Alice Palmer.
Obama may be the second coming of SOMEthing, but it ain’t King or Mandela — neither of whom enjoyed, during his active political life, the fawning support of corporate media against, among others, a woman candidate and, more importantly, populist candidate John Edwards — or uncritical celebration by Democratic Party apparatchiks and left celebrities.
The Democrats can nominate John Edwards. Pray that they do: at least two other guys from Obama’s “post-partisan” political litter, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Governor Anibal Acevedo Vila of Puerto Rico, have flamed out spectacularly in office.
Alice Walker’s letter is amazingly written. This article combines current happenings, like the election with Alice’s unique history. Her style combines her great experience and nostalgic tone with her brave and bold opinions.
Her newest book “We Are The Ones We’ve Been Waiting For” is terrific. The title is derived from a June Jordan poem and has been quoted by Barack Obama in numerous speeches. Alice is truly an artist, an activist, a shero!!
The next time Alice is coming to Atlanta is for Mother’s Day for Peace sponsored by Atlanta WAND on May 6th, 2008 at Spelman College, where she graduated.
I am reading this book with my Mom and then I got her tickets and we will see Alice Walker make the keynote address. This is truly going to be a wonderful event and memory for my mom and myself.
If anyone is interested tickets and information are available at www.atlantawand.org .
Atlanta WAND writes:
“Alice Walker’s letter is amazingly written.”
—–
Of course it is.
“How dishonest it is, to attempt to make [Clinton] innocent of her racial inheritance.”
Clinton worked for the Panthers, for crying out loud. And if she’s not “innocent” of her “racial inheritance”, why should Obama be “made innocent” of HIS class and gender privilege?
PLEASE note that I am not a supporter of EITHER of the “diversity” twins, but of John Edwards. If the Democrats don’t nominate Edwards, I’m among those hoping for a McKinney/Nader or Nader/McKinney ticket.
I love you, Alice Walker. Thank you for this wonderful piece!
Republicans will back Hillary
like they backed Ned Lamont in his
run against Lie berman. They helped put
Lieberman back in office. Just like
they helped billary win Texas
The only one who thinks mc cain is
really running for pres is mc cain,
his wife and maybe the ghost of
hideous henry hyde. Look at his
vp that will be the next repig
prez should they destroy Obama
It is interesting how they are already
blaming the collapse of the economy
on Obamas socialist policies like
reinvesting in usa or providing health
care or education was the
reason the economy is in the toilet .
see “Obama Visits Billionaires Row”:
http://www.zombietime.com/obama_visits_billionaires_row/