Why Hillary’s Obama attack is racist fear-mongering
February 26, 2008 by drsubrotoroy
CNN reports: Clinton’s campaign manager Maggie Williams responded to the photo controversy with a Monday morning statement that insisted the New York senator’s team “will not be distracted,” but did not directly address the substance of the allegation. ‘Enough. If Barack Obama’s campaign wants to suggest that a photo of him wearing traditional Somali clothing is divisive, they should be ashamed. Hillary Clinton has worn the traditional clothing of countries she has visited and had those photos published widely,” said Williams.”
If Hillary Clinton or President Bush wear non-European attire in some country they are visiting, people will say, at most, isn’t that a cute diplomatic gesture, here are these European-Americans wearing non-European clothes for a little while.
But if an”African-American” like Senator Obama is seen wearing non-European clothes, and especially the clothes of a Somali Muslim on a visit to that country, the response of the racist subconscious is different: “there now you have him wearing his real outfit, what he really likes to wear at home if only he had the chance, he is only pretending to be a “European-American” like everyone else.”
Having fought racism in the federal courts of the USA for some 18 years now, I can empathise with the outrage the Obama camp is feeling about the insinuation from Hillary.
Subroto Roy
I have to agree with the statement about Obama’s photo in non traditional European dress. The implication is entirely different. Clinton knows this and while she may want to toot her horn about wearing different clothing from other cultures~it has the same effect as Bo Derek wearing cornrows and beads.