Thoughts on Barack Obama: a parable about racism and homophobia [View All]

[ruggerson]

So, Presidential candidate Henry Booth really wants to win the State X primary.

He and his advisors have done the math. He needs the good ole boy, white male vote to pull it off.

His opponent, Florence Dowell, has the black vote pretty well wrapped up, and she and Henry are competing for the white Democratic vote, which will swing State X one way or the other.

Henry is a center/liberal kind of guy. He's pretty good on most issues, pro choice, was against the IWR, is a fiscal moderate. But he desperately needs State X to give him momentum for the nomination.

He knows the good ole boy white vote in State X is quietly racist. Old school bigotry. Nothing overt, as that isn't accepted anymore, but privately held views, hardened in stone.

Henry and his advisors decide to hire Chet Strummer to sing at Henry's big fundraising event down in State X. Chet Strummer is a very famous country singer, with a tawdry racist background. Chet was in the Klu Klux Klan when he was a younger man, and publicly, as an entertainer, had fought hard against busing and affirmative action. He comes from a family that had staunchly opposed integration a generation earlier.

Word of Ole Chet's singing at Henry's fundraiser filters down to the black community, where many are enraged. They demand that Henry's campaign remove the racist country singer from the roster.

Henry's campaign refuses. Henry issues a statement which reads:

"I have clearly stated my belief that African Americans are our brothers and sisters and should be provided the respect, dignity, and rights of all other citizens. I have consistently spoken directly to white religious leaders about the need to overcome the racism that persists in some parts our community so that we can confront issues like sickle cell anemia and broaden the reach of equal rights in this country.

I strongly believe that African Americans and the white community must stand together in the fight for equal rights. And so I strongly disagree with Chet Strummer's views and will continue to fight for these rights as President of the United States to ensure that America is a country that spreads tolerance instead of division."

The Henry Booth fundraiser goes off as planned. It is a huge success, and thousands of good ole boys and their wives and sons and daughters turn out for it.

And, surprise, Chet Strummer doesn't just sing at it. He is the Master of Ceremonies from beginning to end. And at the end, he addresses the racism issue, declares he isn't a racist, and then proceeds to launch into a diatribe against affirmative action and talks about the "cultural heritage" of white people and how it is under siege in this country. He touches on every white supremacist code word he can touch. The crowed eats it up and the event is a big hit.

The blacks in State X are furious. They demand an apology from Henry Booth, but never receive one. Henry Booth blithely goes on campaigning, and the event is soon forgotten in the heat of succeeding campaign events.

And Henry Booth's poll numbers pop up nicely. Looks like he might just bag State X after all.

Would you vote for Henry Booth?