“The Other:” Barack Obama and the Fight for American Identity
A scant nineteen months into office, Barack Obama has become the lightning rod for the unfolding fight for American identity—a fight that will last far into the twenty-first century as the country becomes minority white and dramatically more pluralistic.
That some twenty percent of the population (a significant increase since January 2009) think the President is a Muslim is but one indicator of the breadth of this fight and the success of those waging it. Religion, race, birth status, and the “legitimacy of citizenship” are at the very heart of the recent surge in attacks on Obama, and are at the core of the battle not only on immigration, but also on the “status” of all peoples of color. Making the President “The Other”—the One unlike the “us” of the dominant white Christian population—makes it so much easier to make “The Other” of all peoples of color and of all those of differing religious beliefs. Welcome to 1840 America. Read more
CounterPunch Gives Platform to White Nationalism
I’ve argued publicly that the issue of immigration would someday reconfigure political movements in the United States. It is already becoming apparent that segments of the political left in cynicism and desperation are stumbling onto the twisted road of white nationalism. What remains to be seen is if they have the political will to find their way home again.
Sadly one of the greatest political newsletters and websites of our time CounterPunch seems to be caught in this web and unwilling to save itself or its reputation. Counterpunch, a bi-weekly newsletter with a web edition, is rightfully part of the historic tradition of muckraking journalism that takes to task both the Republican and Democratic parties.
While I celebrate CounterPunch for uncovering hypocrisy that exists in society and offering solutions that would rather be ignored by mainstream media, it is time for CounterPunch co-editors Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair to do some self-reflection and ask themselves why they choose to give voice to a supporter of white nationalism. Read more
Categories
Authors
- Amy Mehta
- Amy Spicer
- Ana Turck
- Axel Fuentes
- Carlos Rich
- Charlotte Williams
- Chris Bober
- Cloee Cooper
- Eric Ward
- Garat Ibrahim
- George Garza
- Glenn Hutchinson
- Guest Blogger
- Imagine 2050 Editors
- James E. Johnson
- Jessica Acee
- Jill Garvey
- Joan Flanagan
- Katie Bezrouch
- Ken Brown
- MJ Olahafa
- Noah Chandler
- Rebecca Poswolsky
- Rev. David L. Ostendorf
- Sarah Viets
- Stephen Piggott
- Amy Mehta