The Demonization of Barack Obama Part III: The McCain Campaign

Of a John McCain town hall meeting held October 10th, the Wallstreet Journal reports the following:

"At the town hall meeting, one audience member said that he and his wife are expecting a child next year. 'Frankly, we're scared. We're scared of an Obama presidency,' the questioner said.

"Sen. McCain replied that of course he hopes that Sen. Obama isn't elected but added: 'I have to tell you he is a decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared (of) as president of the United States.' The crowd replied with a chorus of boos.

"And when another questioner said he couldn't trust him because "he's an Arab," Sen. McCain took the microphone from her and said, "No, ma'am: no ma'am. He's a decent family man, citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues, and that's what this campaign's all about. He's not."

So if John McCain was speaking the truth, and honestly believes Barack Obama is a decent citizen and that "you do not have to be scared (of him) as president of the United States," why is he running a campaign that says just the opposite?

Here's the transcript of one robocall reportedly sponsored by the McCain campaign and the Republican National Committee:

"Hello. I'm calling for John McCain and the RNC because you need to know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, whose organization bombed the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, a judge's home and killed Americans. And Democrats will enact an extreme leftist agenda if they take control of Washington. Barack Obama and his Democratic allies lack the judgment to lead our country."

(For a little background, in 1995 Bill Ayers hosted a gathering in his home where Alice Palmer announced Barack Obama as her preferred successor for her seat in the Illinois senate. Obama and Ayers also served for a time on the same board of directors for an organization pushing for school reform in Chicago.)

A mailer -- also reportedly sponsored by the McCain campaign and RNC -- reads "America must look evil in the eye and never flinch." The image accompanying this statement is an extreme close-up of eyes that look a lot like Barack Obama's. In fact, they may very well be.

Add to that Sarah Palin's accusation that Obama is "palling around with terrorists" and it's clear.

Despite John McCain's personal statement that there is no reason to fear an Obama presidency, as noted above, the McCain campaign and the Republican Party seem to be making every effort to paint Obama as un-American and "scary" as possible.

So what happens if and when Obama is elected?

John McCain may very well do his best to encourage his supporters to respect our new president. Problem is, the damage has already been done. There are people out there in America who believe Barack Obama supports terrorists or perhaps that he could be a terrorist himself.

To anyone who fears Obama's ties to terrorism, please consider this.

In response to the focus on his ties to Bill Ayers, Obama said this at a Democratic primary debate in Philadelphis:

"This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood, who's a professor of English in Chicago who I know and who I have not received some official endorsement from. He's not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis. And the notion that somehow as a consequence of me knowing somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was eight years old, somehow reflects on me and my values doesn't make much sense."

And even the lead federal prosecutor on the Weather Underground case involving Bill Ayers has said this:

"I am amazed and outraged that Senator Barack Obama is being linked to William Ayers’ terrorist activities 40 years ago when Mr. Obama was, as he has noted, just a child."

What worries me is that the very type of behavior the McCain campaign has been trying to link to Obama -- terrorism -- could be (God forbid) the instigator for terrorist activity on the part of "scared" Americans against our new President of the United States.

RELATED POSTS:

The Demonization of Barack Obama Part II: Around the Dinner Table

The Demonization of Barack Obama Part I: In the Office

Independent Woman's Take on the First Presidential Debate: Obama vs. McCain

The Demonization of Barack Obama Part II: Around the Dinner Table

A couple of weeks ago, I broke down in tears after a politically-charged dinner with my mom, dad and brother. I was emotionally exhausted from their endless attacks on Barack Obama – for being a socialist, for being a baby killer and for being a liar and a crook "just like every other politician in Washington."

It was three against one, not just this time but every time the subject of the 2008 presidential election comes up – far too many instances for me to count in recent weeks and months.

Mine is a family of fighters, and I don’t mean the kind that inspire you by their commitment to achieving some goal – unless of course that goal is being argumentative. Everything with them is a debate, and they expect it to be the same way with me. But I don’t want it to be, as we’ll never ever agree and talking about politics always divides us.

Certainly, I do my best at defending Obama, but truth be told, they’re better at debating than I am, and that’s just fine with me. I wish they would just leave me out of it. They call it “healthy” debating, but there’s nothing healthy about the knot that swells in my gut every time my opinions are met with shrieks of dismay that I cannot see “the truth.”

My tears apparently stunned them, as my dad apologized, my brother consoled me and my mother promised to never bring up politics again.

Flash forward two weeks to the next family dinner. And I quote …

“Barack Obama hates white people.”

My family is convinced of it based on:

1) Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s controversial sermons

2) Michelle Obama’s thesis entitled "Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community"

3) A rumored video tape of Michelle Obama using the word “whitey” (which has never come to light and is probably a hoax, a belief shared by conservatives and liberals alike)

I like to think of myself as a relatively smart person, but every time I leave one of those family dinners, I feel like an idiot. More than once I’ve wondered, how did I end up this way – a liberal surrounded by conservatives, and not just in my immediate family, but in all the extended family that calls Texas home.

Surely in all these years some of my family’s right-wing (sometimes racist) propaganda would have rubbed off on me.

But that’s simply not the case … and that is my case for Barack Obama.

Regardless of what anyone associated with Barack Obama may say – be it family members, friends, colleagues, associates or casual acquaintances – their words are not his any more than my family’s words are mine.

Now my family likes to argue the point that you can choose your church, you can choose your wife, but you cannot choose your family. Well, you CAN choose your employer and I choose to work in a place where one of my colleagues has made dangerous, disturbing comments about Barack Obama. So if I were to run for office one day, and she was on tape as saying these things, should I be found guilty by association?

Coming soon, The Demonization of Barack Obama Part III: The McCain Campaign.

RELATED POSTS:

The Demonization of Barack Obama Part I: In the Office

Independent Woman's Take On First Presidential Debate: Obama vs. McCain

The Demonization of Barack Obama Part I: In the Office

"I hate Barack Obama."

Not exactly the kind of declaration you want to hear broadcast through the building when you start a new job. But four months into it -- about a month before the 2008 presidential election -- that's pretty representative of the kind of hate speech I've been witness to in the building of my new employer.

The acoustics in the reception area are remarkable. Say something down there, and you should expect it to be heard by all, especially those of us upstairs. That's why it dumbfounds me why one of my co-workers, who works in the reception area, so brazenly voices her opinions on a regular basis.

Sadly, the quote referenced above is not even the worst of it.

"If Barack Obama wins, I hope he's assassinated."

Granted, I didn't hear her say this myself, but I have it on good authority from a fellow co-worker downstairs, who I'll call "Gary" -- someone who shares in my dismay that this type of behavior is okay, as that last quote was expressed to a member of high-level management.

In fact, Gary has it worse than I do, as he's downstairs amongst a group of people who make it a habit of expressing their fear if Barack Obama is elected president, presumably for being an "un-American socialist baby killer."

It hasn't been easy keeping silent about how offensive I find this work environment to be. And something that happened last week made it impossible.

The owner of the company sent me, as well as other people in the office, a 10-minute video recapping Barack Obama's involvement in extremist black liberation and baby killing (i.e., abortion), with the bulk of the message providing "proof" that Barack Obama may not be a citizen of the United States.

I responded with this -- "Propaganda. Go Barack! (i.e., I'm a proud supporter)."

To this, my employer said she simply wanted my opinion, as she knew I was an Obama supporter (though I'm not sure how).

To this I said something like, "If it could be proven that Barack Obama is not a citizen of the United States, the Republican party would most certainly be capitalizing on that, as they've done just about anything and everything they can to paint him as un-American as possible."

I went on to share with my boss the quotes referenced above, simply stating how inappropriate and offensive I find them to be.

No, I didn't get fired (though if this employer of mine ever read this blog, I'm not so sure). In fact, my boss apologized and wanted to know who said these offensive remarks (though I declined to reveal them), saying simply that it was my opinion as a friend that she was interested in, but promised to keep it strictly professional and never send me anything like that again.

Before starting this job, I freelanced for years, but I've worked in other office environments, big and small, never experiencing anything like it.

But I can't help but wonder.

Is spreading hate speech and propaganda at work unique to this job and these people, or is it simply unique to this election?

Now on to The Demonization of Barack Obama Part II: Around the Dinner Table.

Independent Woman's Take On First Presidential Debate: Obama vs. McCain

Though I'm a registered Independent, I'm liberal-leaning and it would normally take a real quack-job on the Democratic presidential ticket for me to vote for a Republican. That said, I've lived in Arizona the past 8 years where I've developed a certain level of respect for our Senator John McCain for his his "maverick" straight-talking style. So I suppose it should come as no suprise to me that he's a stubborn man, as it's not easy sticking to your guns in Washington. But can't you be stubborn without being disrepsectful?

Not once during the first presidential debate on September 26 did I see John McCain try to make eye contact with Barack Obama. At one point McCain noted that Obama is the most liberal of all the Senators and that it's hard for him to reach that far to the left when it comes to agreeing on the issues. But how hard is it to turn his body three inches to the left to look his opponent in the eye?

To be honest, I'd already made my decision on who I was going to vote before I watched this debate. What it did do, though, is reinforce my decision, as Barack Obama came across as the sharp, even-tempered, generous man that he is -- quite a contrast to the the defensive, irrational, rude man to his right.

Obama has been criticized for agreeing with McCain too much of the time during the debate, as in "John's right." In fact, the McCain campaign is highlighting that fact in one of its new television ads. But isn't Obama's ability to respect those on the other side of the aisle what this country needs right now ... and always, for that matter.

From their words to their body language, John McCain came across as closed off, stuck in his own tunnel vision, whereas Barack Obama came across as willing and able to open himself up to other people's ideas. And even if he doesn't agree, and is stubborn in sticking to his own guns, I don't believe Barack Obama has it anywhere in his character to be as disrespectful to his colleagues in Washington as McCain so blatantly chooses to be.

Now I'll leave it to Time Magazine political analyst Mark Halperin to further analyze each candidates style during the debate, plus the substance of their message and how well they did on offense and defense -- an analysis that gives Barack Obama an A- and John McCain a B-. And though this is my favorite of all the responses to the debate, I would personally give Obama an A and John McCain a big fat D.

Corrupt Police Robbed My Cousin in Mexico City

My cousin recently went down to Mexico to serve as an interpreter for a group of people doing some volunteer work there. He'd initially planned on riding the bus, but probably thanks to my family's warnings that it would be too dangerous, he and a friend decided to drive instead. Turns out the bus would probably have been the safer of the two options.

On their way through Mexico City, my cousin was stopped by the police who informed him of a new law -- those with out-of-state licenses cannot drive there the first Saturday of the month. He'd broken the law, and he'd have to pay -- $380. Not in court, but right there on the spot.

My cousin and his friend didn't have enough cash on them to cover the "fine." But if they didn't find a way to do so, the police would simply take the vehicle instead. With little choice, they had to go to an ATM to pay off these Mexican police (i.e., thieves).

In doing some research, I now know that once tourists are in the clutches of corrupt Mexican officials, they're lucky not be arrested on false charges, tortured or even murdered down there. I'm relieved to report that my cousin is home safe now, but only after driving 24 hours straight, no doubt to spend as little time as possible "touring" that f'd up place.

The N-Word: Jesse Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg & My White American Family

As I've written in this blog before, I grew up in a family for whom the n-word flies off their tongues as easily as the f-word does from mine (and that's pretty easy). I've always cringed when I hear it used by them -- a white family with deep Southern roots -- but I don't even blink twice when I hear it used by a black person, whether it's in my presence, on TV or in a song.

After this whole Jesse Jackson debacle -- saying the n-word into a live mic during his slam of Barack Obama for "talking down to n******" -- Whoopi Goldberg from "The View" helped me understand why I do see a difference between me using that word, and her.

I don't recall Whoopi's exact words, but as she was explaining to her co-host Elizabeth Hasselbeck -- who doesn't believe anyone should use that word -- Whoopi said it's black people's way of taking the word back. White people historically used this word to denigrate black people, so they've turned it around into a term of endearment for one another.

So it's not Jesse Jackson's use of the n-word that offends me. It's his insistence that it was wrong of him to do so. Even he admits it's a term commonly used in private, and yet he characterizes that use as "unfortunate." I suspect that's more of Jesse Jackson being a "politically correct" politician than an expression of what he truly believes.

Of course, it's not just in the private homes of black people where the n-word is commonly used. As I said, it's been used in my family's home -- of my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, you name it -- for as long as I can remember. Just yesterday I was as my parents' house playing Scrabble with them after my birthday dinner party. We were talking about this story and my mother said something like, "I can almost spell it, but I'm one letter short."

Joking or not, I was shocked, and told her no, she could not spell that word. My mother is one of the few people in my family who I've never heard say it. In fact, she usually openly objects when my father says it. I guess it just goes to show that people put on fronts. Who knows what they're really thinking inside. Case in point -- Jesse Jackson's attack on Barack Obama. In public he commends him; in private he criticizes him. What are we to believe?

I believe we live in a time when it's not safe -- politically or otherwise -- to reveal our true selves to one another. Because our true selves are still devisive. In fact, it's this divisiveness that is the reason Elizabeth Hasselbeck thinks no one should use the n-word as, in fact, Jesse Jackson has been quoted as saying. But is it possible to completely banish a word from our language?

Sure, words have fallen out of use naturally ever since people learned to use them, but to create an environment in which they're forbidden -- sounds like a violation of freedom of speech to me. Of course, the same could be said of the fact that white people should not use the n-word. I guess the whole point is, that it is a choice. It's not against the law to use any single word in this country, and I hope it never will be. But knowing how much pain is associated with the n-word at the hands of white people, why would any compassionate white person want to keep that pain alive?

Related post:

A White Woman's Response To Barack Obama's "Speech On Race and Politics"

Glossing Over Reality: Body Image & the Pursuit of the Perfect Lie

A month ago I took a full-time writing job. One of our clients is a treatment facility for people dealing with eating disorders. Needing to get inside the head of someone with anorexia, I spent a lot of time on a pro-anorexia website. No, it's not a place where they encourage anorexia; in fact, just the opposite. They understand they have a disease and do not want others to have it. It's simply a place where they can go to talk about dealing with it.

What struck me most about this website is that the vast majority of an anorexic's every day is consumed by their eating disorder. If they're not fighting the urge to eat, then they're calculating the calories they've eaten, or figuring out how much exercise they need to do in order to burn those calories off. They dread meals with others. They feel like a failure when they break a fast. And they actually see eating as a disgusting act, in themselves as well as others.

There are a couple of underlying issues here. When you feel like there's nothing in your life you can control, there's always an exception -- your own body. Then there's the pursuit of perfection, or at least what our society tells us is the ideal. And on the runway and in fashion magazines, that ideal is thin. Most of the people in the forum of this pro-anorexia website are young girls, and their avatars are super-skinny celebrities, from Nicole Richie to the Olsen twins.

Some of the girls in this forum post pictures of themselves, and few "look" anorexic. Most of their bodies are healthy thin, but they feel fat because their bones aren't sticking out.

Though I've never had an eating disorder, I found myself relating to these girls more than I cared to admit. I understand how obsession with body image could take over your life.

I was always one of those girls who could eat anything I wanted without gaining weight. In my late twenties, I was sitting poolside with a friend. "You know," she warned in her privileged 40-year-old wisdom, "you won't be perfect forever." Though having a lean body is in no way synonymous with perfection, in context of what she meant, this "friend" of mine was right.

One day in my early thirties, I looked in the mirror and saw something that still horrifies me to this day -- cellulite. Not only on my ass, but on my thighs and, God forbid, on my upper arms! Though my weight hadn't fluctuated more than five or ten pounds since college, cellulite is fat so that's how I felt, and I freaked out. Though I love food too much to go on a diet, I did cut out some of the fattier foods on my menu, like the vegan cream cheese I'd been spreading on everything from chips to toast to pizza. I also started working out -- yes, I'd let it go. For weeks I religiously used my Pilates machine, certain I could slay the beast.

Every day after getting out of the shower, I looked for progress. And every day I was disappointed, with a new involuntary mantra that went something like this: "I can't believe this is my body."

I know I'm not the only one who relishes in those tabloid exposes of celebrities with cellulite. Not because misery loves company (though it most certainly does), but because it's a sobering reminder that the "perfect" body we think we're aspiring to in those glossy magazines is nothing but a perfect lie.

That said, and as far gone as I felt, I never gave up on "getting my body back." Now hundreds of stationary miles on my mini-tramp later, the mirror is finally registering noticeable results. Still, I have this sinking suspicion that I'm fighting a losing battle. If and when my cellulite is gone, what new imperfection will I have time to notice next?

Listening Between the Lines: What's Really on the Minds of Chinese Youth?

When the earthquake struck in China this month, NPR's Robert Siegel was already in Chengdu on assignment. Among his stories was an interview with eight Chinese men and women whose ages range from 19 to 31 years old. The idea was for Siegel to pick the brains of the generation who grew up in China's age of reform.

Monopolozing most of the interview was the pressure this generation feels to make money so they can live the Chinese dream. Owning a home is the number one priority in China, where 80 percent of people own homes in the city and 100 percent in rural areas. (Here in America, only about 30 percent of us own a home.) And this dream does not come without a big price -- 3 out of 10 Chinese pay more than half of their incomes on their mortgage.

Yet, owning a home is no longer enough. In their parents' day, most people didn't own cars of their own. Today cars are apparently a must-have -- presumably for both practical and materialistic reasons -- and it's not easy.

So the grass is always greener on the other side of the cubicle wall, meaning job-hopping for higher salaries is a constant.

When asked what changes they'd like to see in China's future, I was especially struck by two responses about the environment. One woman hoped it wouldn't rain during the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing because of what she'd heard recently about the climate being "abnormal." Another noted China's role as an "international factory" and hoped for reform of its "environmental abuse."

Most memorable for me, though, was what Robert Siegel pointed out as being quite absent from their conversation -- any hope for democracy. Apparently they have no confidence in what the "masses" would vote for. Maybe their concern comes from the fact that only 3.6 percent of Chinese have college degrees (compared to 29 percent with college degrees here in America). But do you really need a college degree to make smart decisions? Especially when it comes to voting for changes to things that directly affect your life, like health care or the environment.

Also absent from the conversation, though not noted by Siegel, was any hope that China will change its censorship policies. The government not only blocks certain websites from Chinese availability, but also has an Internet Police Task Force 30,000-strong policing the Internet for comments critical of the government, most of which are subsequently erased.

Maybe the only way to understand what these eight Chinese men and women want for China is to read between the lines -- for what wasn't said. If they're not allowed to express criticism of the government on the Internet, it's doubtful they can safely do so on the radio. Their names were shared; their identities made public. As interesting as I found this piece to be, in hindsight I'm skeptical. In an interview entitled "Chengdu Youths Discuss Life in China," how much of what they really want and think was self-censored out?

Click this link to listen to Robert Siegel's interview in Chengdu.

Related post ...

Criticism of Olympic Proportions: Censorship in China

Senator Ted Kennedy Rushed To Hospital with Stroke Symptoms

This morning around 8 or 9 a.m., Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy was airlifted from the Kennedy Compound in Hyannisport, Massachusetts to Cape Cod Hospital with stroke symptoms. Sources say he spent a couple of hours in the emergency room before being transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Ted Kennedy, the younger brother of President John F. Kennedy, is 76 years old and has been in office since 1962. He is the second most senior member of the Senate and has been elected to seven full terms. He is considered one of the most influential members of the Democratic party.

UPDATE 5/17:

It wasn't a stroke suffered by Kennedy, but a seizure -- two in fact. One at his home, and another while in transport from Cape Cod Hospital to Massachusetts General.

UPDATE 5/20:

Doctors say Senator Kennedy's seizures were caused by a malignant brain tumor -- specifically malignant glioma, which is usually treated with chemotherapy and radiation.

Arizona Serial Killer Ran My Water & Ice Store

A few weeks ago, I went to my local water & ice store to fill up my water jugs. When I went to pay with a debit card, they said the rules had changed and I had to spend a minimum of $5 to be able to use it. I'd already filled up on water and had no cash, so I asked, "What are you going to do? Pour my water out?" And that's exactly what this kid working the counter did.

I told my friend, Kel, what happened and, convinced the owner would be pissed considering what good customers we were, she went up to Lindsay Water & Ice (at Lindsay and University in the Safeway strip mall) the next day to complain.

It had been some time since we'd seen the owners of the store, and since then the ownership had apparently changed. At first the guy seemed friendly, explaining that he was the new owner, and promoting his new business. Then Kel told him what had happened to me the day before. Apparently, he could not have cared less about dumping perfectly wonderful water down the drain, good customers or not. However, he did ask for her address to which he might be able to send some sort of compensation. She declined, and he got agitated as the conversation progressed.

"I'm gonna tell everyone about this," she told him, "and tarnish your name in this community."

Flash forward to today. Police have released the identity of the man they just took into custody on suspicion of being the serial strangler that's monopolized local news of late.

Here's an excerpt of the serial strangler rapist story from AZCentral.com:

"The man Mesa police arrested Wednesday on suspicion of sexually assaulting four women and killing two others in Mesa and Phoenix has a 7-year-old son and recently opened a water and ice business." (Apparently the store just changed ownership in March.)

That man is Trent Christopher Benson, the same man who Kel had a confrontation with in our water & ice store!

His first known (alleged) murder was back in 2004 -- 21-year-old Alisa Marie Beck. The second (alledged) murder was three years later -- 44-year-old Karen Jane Campbell. Both women had been raped and strangled.

Obviously, Kel is disturbed by her brush with a serial killer. Yet she is just one of countless people who have come into contact with this man every day since his first (alleged) murder four years ago -- a nice-looking, clean cut man whose photo makes him look like he could be the friendliest, most trustworthy guy in the world.

Turns out he didn't need us to "tarnish his name in the community," though. Benson has most certainly taken care of that himself. Thank God Kel didn't give him her address. Maybe his claim of mailing compensation was legit, but how much is really legit about a serial killer?