Saturday, May 31, 2008

Visions Of An African-American Woman For President



Asabagna raises a strong point, that I for one dropped the ball on, though I meant to return to it, especially after hearing her speak on the talkshow of an Afrospear member this Spring. Asabagna, an Afrospear member who writes for the Afrospear blog, redirects our focus in a current Afrospear blog article, by speaking of the disenchantment with the Democratic and Republican systems expressed by a number of commentators who will likely still end up voting for an establishment candidate.

Asabagna explains:

"They cannot vote for McCain because he has become too close to Bush lately and seems to have adopted a number of his policies. They cannot vote for Hillary because, although she is a woman, she represents the presumed privilege and entitlement of the ”old guard”… plus she has been playing on the fear associated with the “race” issue, in her effort to secure the Democratic presidential nomination.
While Obama, although he is more style than substance, more rhetoric than depth, and has unashamedly made the political choice to keep his association with the Black community at arms length and has bent over backwards to project ”white” American values, he is however seen as a “fresh” face… a change that America needs!"


Brothah Asabagna also quotes Green Party Candidate, Cynthia Mckinney's statement, which illustrates his most crucial point regarding the kind of candidates that intend to truly fight for the people:

“For far too long Black America has been at the mercy of political pimps and usurpers, particularly of the Democratic Party. It is now the year 2008, and we in Black America, in conjunction with our Brown, Red, Yellow, and White sisters and brothers have a genuine and serious choice in order to build a true people’s movement for real systemic change through the “Power to the People” campaign….”

Why has Cynthia received so little attention, despite the fact that she has the potential to be a harbinger for systemic change rather than the alternatives for what could be a twist on more of the same? Aside from not being placed in front of us around the clock via mainstream media, there are other interesting points offered in this Afrospear article, which I consider to be a piece for serious consideration. For certain it is time for diversity and systemic change to enter the White house, but who is the most effective candidate to bring it?

2 comments:

Vee (Scratch) said...

I definitely intend to vote for an independent but I will say this about Obama.

Some folks really take some of his actions and inactions too personally. He's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. If he doesn't appear here he's ignoring the needs and cries of the African American community. I'm definitely not Mr. Americana but when you're running for any office of service, your constituents happen to be the Chinese, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Italian and African American community.
Projecting "white" American values? That's kind of vague. While he does have a low voting record, I think saying that he has more rhetoric than depth and style than substance simply ignores his abilities to campaign and the many public statements he has made concerning US policies.

While I do not intend to vote for either Repulican or Democratic parties, I pay attention to the nominees from both major parties.

PurpleZoe said...

Peace Vee ^_^

Sorry for the delay in response.

I'm more of an independent as well. Either Cynthia or Obama are getting my vote. I'm more impressed with Cynthia to be honest, but Obama could do right by the country.
He does seem to 'play it safe' but I'm not naive about why he does. He's in a very precarious position. How he will lead remains to be seen. I do applaud the fact that he's making history and inspiring youth of color to avoid limiting their horizons. For that reason alone I lend support to his campaign.

In the end though... Politicians are politicians. We'll see what Obama is truly about once he's in office.