Dissent and Racism

Recently I overheard a conversation where one person described President Obama as the worst president ever. When I recounted this to an acquaintance, he asked me if the person was a white male over 50 years old. When I acknowledged that this was the case, he made the statement that many older white males had a lot of trouble with the fact that we have an African American president. That analysis troubled me on several levels.

First, it bothered me because it seemed to be accurate in the particular case. Barack Obama has not been president long enough to be the worst president in history any more than he has been president long enough to earn the Nobel Peace Prize. On top of that, he has moved slowly and cautiously, much to the disappointment of his liberal partisans. As a result,the description of the president as being the worst in history clearly ignored reality and was likely the result of irrational prejudice.

Second, the analysis concerned me because I am a white male who is very close to 50 years old. I don't agree with the president on many levels, but it doesn't bother me that he is African American. Whether you agree with him or not, Barack Obama is a remarkable individual and his election was a watershed moment for the country. I hate to think that I would be lumped in with bigots just because of my age and gender. I also prefer to believe that we have moved past the point of widespread racial prejudice in this country (although that is easy for me to say, since I am not on the receiving end of racism).

Finally, the assessment bothered me because it follows a trend of equating dissent from the president's policies with racism. During the tea party madness this summer, commentators were quick to point out isolated incidents of racially tinged attacks on the president and his policies as evidence that the opposition was racist. It is no surprise that racists would turn out at anti-Obama rallies. By definition, racists will object to an African-American president. But that doesn't mean that dissent is racist. While it is convenient to tag those who disagree with the president as racist and therefore ignore their criticisms, that is simply lazy thinking.

The reality is that racism exists, but not everyone is racist. People can disagree with the president for reasons that have nothing to do with the color of his skin. As a result, you have to look carefully at the content of critism before ascribing motivations to it. Criticism which attacks or mocks the person is more dangerous than criticism aimed at an idea or a policy. In the example I gave at the beginning of this post, the claim that President Obama was the worst president in history could have been rhetorical shorthand for rejection of his policies. However, the manner in which it was expressed leaves much room for doubt.