Racism & Sexism: Unite Against Both!

Hillary Clinton has endured sexism throughout her entire life. She is a woman after all. And Barack Obama has faced racism throughout his entire life. He is visibly not white, after all.

It is true that Hillary is able to embrace her womanhood and proclaim how proud she is to possibly be the first female president. It is also true that she is expected to be both strong but not to “bitchy,” warm and caring but not too “maternal.” The list of all of the stereotypes and expectations would be endless.

Barack is not afforded the opportunity to emphasize his pride in possibly being the first black president in the same way Hillary can embrace her womanhood because the histories and current states of sexism and racism are connected yet unique.

The media and the sexist, racist public unfairly pressure Obama and Clinton to prove they can “transcend” race and gender. As my grandmother would say, they are both “in a pickle.”

That said…

Hillary would have gained an enormous amount of respect from progressives had she forcefully denounced the whisper campaigns about Obama being Muslim, the circulation of photos of him in traditional clothing, the racist e-mail chains, the vandalism and bomb threats at his offices accompanied by racist epithets, the Curious George /Obama t-shirts, the “ordinary” Americans telling his canvassers they would like to see “that n** hang,” and the obsession with and  mischaracterization of Obama’s pastor. But then she may have been seen as playing into the race game.

Obama would have made us proud had he forcefully denounced the people who shout “iron my shirt” at Clinton’s rallies. The sexist t-shirts, the obsession with Clinton’s “cackle,” her outfits, and each moment she shed a tear. But then he may have been seen as supporting a woman who can stand up for herself.

Now, some Clinton supporters are rightfully speaking out (in the media) against the sexism Clinton has faced. Unfortunately some are blaming the Obama campaign without a broader analysis of what is going on. While Obama could have spoken out against sexism more, it is unfair to blame his campaign for the all of the sexism Hillary has faced, just as it is unfair to blame the Clinton campaign for all of the racism Obama has faced.

Today in an interview with the Washington Post Hillary downplayed the racism Obama has faced:

“Later, when asked if she thinks this campaign has been racist, she says she does not. And she circles back to the sexism. ‘The manifestation of some of the sexism that has gone on in this campaign is somehow more respectable, or at least more accepted…'”

Imagine, for a moment, the media storm that would ensue if Obama said the same thing about racism. Clinton today missed an awesome opportunity to speak for the collective liberation of all women and people of color. And Obama has missed those same opportunities when he has been asked about sexism time and time again.

We live in a sexist, racist world that is ruled by a few rich white, male CEOs. It is their wet dream to have us all bickering about who is more prejudiced so that they can continue to conquer us.

So if our candidates won’t or can’t speak out about our collective liberation, we should.  I challenge Clinton supporters and Obama supporters to unite against both racism and sexism (and all forms of oppression for that matter).

We must not divide ourselves with blame games at such a historic moment. Now is the time to be united against the evil forces of the radical, racist, sexist right-wing so we can take back this country.