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I am also one of those negroes who wonders, is he using a vest?

Lower Manhattanite takes the mantle of Steve Gilliard and posts an incredible essay on Obama's Iowa win :

“Hello?”, I ask.

“You watching this?”, my friend “D” asked quietly.

“Yeah.”

“You think he's wearin' a vest?

A long beat from me. “Well...I'm sure he's got Secret Service protection.”

“Is he wearin' a vest to protect himself against those motherfuckers?“

“Well, if he didn't before tonight, he will be by tomorrow”, I replied.

“This is fucking insane.” he added. “He won Iowa. Iowa? Do you know how that's gonna shake certain people up?”

“D” was speaking the gut-wrenching unspoken truth—almost in a whisper. I don't know why.

“Can we just enjoy this for tonight? Just soak it in for a min-”

“I can't enjoy this shit!”, he said cutting me off. “I'm scanning the crowd for grenade-tossers and shit. You saw the Bhutto video. I can't get that shit outta my mind. There's a lotta nuts in this country, and a lotta guns, and—”

“I know, I know! Just...lemme delude myself for a few minutes and watch this thing and think positive thoughts, okay?”

“Okay.”, he said. “But you know he's gonna wake up tomorrow and say 'Ho-leeeee shit...”

Go read the whole damn thing at Pride and Palpitations.

I read that post just as it came out and it took me a day to digest. I couldn't understand why until I read that one passage again and I realized, that a lot of Black people in this country are afraid to support Obama because he is too good to be lost to the violence of a racist hater.

This is the first man in almost a generation that actually has the markings of a "black leader"; yet, contrary to what Michael Fauntroy claims, I do believe Obama is indeed the first black man to be not just considered presidential material by people on both parties.

So it saddens me to see that it's not that people like me are skeptical about the senator from Illinois. It's just that we do wonder ... is he using a vest, is he being truly protected?

http://culturekitchen.com/liza/blog/i_am_also_one_of_those_negroes_who_wonders_is_he_u
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About author

Liza Sabater is the founding blogger and publisher of culturekitchen and Daily Gotham. She also a new media producer and social technologist with 10 years experience. You can reach her at blogdiva [at] culturekitchen.com or follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/blogdiva

liza's picture
Submitted by liza on 7 January 2008 - 4:40am.
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Nichelle's picture

I too have been hesitant to

Submitted by Nichelle (not verified) on 7 January 2008 - 1:14pm.

I too have been hesitant to support Obama. This post articulated my secret fears. I do fear that he may be assassinated, or that a crazy skeleton will jump out of the closet and kill his candidacy. I grew up in the South, live here in New York, and I know how some people in this country even today hate or just can't stomach Black people regardless of how smart, nice or dare I say "articulate" they are. So it's either precocious or naive to believe that this country that I love is actually ready for Obama. Regardless of the outcome of the election, we are lucky to be witnessing history. Sometimes the journey is way more important than the destination.

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mole333's picture

Heroes take the risk

Submitted by mole333 on 7 January 2008 - 2:24pm.

Obama isn't dumb. He knows the risk. So did Martin Luther King, jr. So did Bhutto. So did a whole slew of others who decided the only way to move forward is to take the risk.

After reading the stupid "blacks will riot if Obama doesn't get the nomination" smear, I was imaginging the counter scenario...what if Obama WINS? Will all those O'Reilly inspired thugs with guns decide it's time for the Confederacy to rise again? Are there places that won't accept an uppity black?

Truth is I DON'T believe that the gun-toting thugs hopped up on Fox News will decide scession and civil war are the answer to an Obama presidency. But it is MORE likely than the blacks rioting crap the right has been latching onto.

And there is NO QUESTION that there are some out there plotting an assassination attempt should Obama get elected. It's the risk Obama takes for leading people forward.

But before that expect the other attacks, the Corker-like racial attacks that have been all too effective in the past as they flitted around America's subconscious without being directly challenged as racist. That is the first nasty obstical to be overcome. Let's worry about the Fox-stoned thugs with guns later, if he wins.

Actually, I think Hillary runs a similar risk, but not quite the same magnitude.

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