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 Published
September 3rd, 2010
Within the American psyche there has always being a divide between the
ordinary people; and the influential, the selected few,
leaders or the cream of the crop. The divide historically
revolves around economic, political and legal activities.
Armed with money, position or power the privileged has
always been able to scale through societal problems. Since
the birth of America, at least from the British parenthood
200 years ago, if there is one thing that bridges the gap
between the psyche or minds of the ordinary and privileged
Americans, Whites and Black included, it is what could be
called the presence of an ‘all out white American Male’.
In America and from time in memory and to this day there is
the American mentality that automatically ties the
psychology of handsomeness, toughness, smartness,
successfulness, competitiveness and industriousness to being
a White male—from a boy and then to a man.
It is a reality that to be a White male in America, and not
be successful, leaves that person in a state of scornfulness
generally by many Americans, including Whites, Blacks, and
others.
It is a fact that since the 1960s the air of multiethnic and
cultural globalism has successfully penetrated into the
atmosphere of the White man supremacy in America which has
resulted in some degree of opportunity for non-Whites on the
basis of the recent laws of inclusion, diversity and
fairness.
For a racialist society like the United States of America
the new multicultural outlook is a positive reference away
from what once was an American White Kingdom (AWK) with
Blacks and non-Whites as possessions and amazing servers.
Nonetheless, both in rhetoric and in attitudes Americans
believe that when the white man is quite visible and on top
at all levels of private and public influences and power
that means leadership in all aspects of their lives.
The American psyche is imbued with the spirit and psychology
that the white male is by definition a special brand.
Throughout his developmental and maturing periods his
grandparents, parents, movies, Television shows, and
art/literature/history/science books feed him with messages
of being special and worthy, as such, he is bound and
entitled to success and power.
He is told to win by any way possible, he is asked to play
by the rules for the most part, he is told the more winnings
and achievements that he gets bring in more reward,
attention and recognition. He is told that it is only
natural that he be respectful of himself, he is told to be
careful at all times, he is told to show respect to those
who work had to achieve on their own but he must always try
and remain on top of all others, and that the world is his
to lose if he “f” up.
Barack Obama in an outstanding way, through struggle, trial
and error, through risk taking, quiet optimism, through
playing the game to get ahead and devoting himself to
amazing strong education, has demonstrated strong work
history, built powerful cycle of men and women around him
and founded a fine family. Blessed with boyish looks,
tallness, slimness, bravery, focus, adventuresome, talent,
pleasantness, courtliness, dynamic expressions, he became
Harvard-educated, a lawyer, a middle-class man, and now at
the apex of American power.
He is everything that America wishes and wants to see and
notice in a person on top of public and private influence.
But he is Black.
That is, he is a man of color, African-American, or a
non-Caucasian as defined by the American psyche and culture.
His monumental achievements compared to the combined works
of presidents from Franklin D. Roosevelt to George W. Bush
remain quite a record. Good-faith Liberal and Conservative
political and economic researchers/pollsters have agreed
that his achievements within his short span in office are
worthy.
We see for the first time strong legal protections for
credit card holders and mortgage borrowers.
There is for the first time an overhaul and expansion in
student loans and guaranteed insurance for persons with
pre-existing medical and mental illnesses. He has saved the
American auto manufacturers and industries from
disappearance. Job growth is slowly increasing compare to
the last three years and has expanded more aids to small
business.
He has championed the free-enterprise system and reduced
squandering in the government. In the area of foreign policy
as it relates to the Iraq war which the majority of
Americans hate, he has not only completed the war but he is
bringing the soldiers back home.
His measured success in education as evidenced in his
bringing in competition for federal grants, adopting higher
standards among teachers and demanding for more
accountability among schools remain obvious to everyone. Yet
he gives no reason for the current ethnic majority in
America to celebrate his accomplishments.
In a society where one can be “too black” in order to
frighten the white psyche or not “black enough” in order to
irritate the African American psyche to both blacks and
whites Obama is caught between their respective doubts—a
consequence of the American manifest racialism.
As a black man who attended Ivy League school he is blamed
for being an intellectual but no other White President like
George W. Bush—who attended Ivy League schools were ever
blamed for embracing intellectual outlets like the Harvard
University.
It has been asked that if America is still ingrained with
the complex of racialism and anti-blackness, then how did
Obama managed to win 43 percent (as against John McCain’s 55
percent White votes) of the White vote.
There is no easy answer to this question. However, a theory
could be built that the Euro-American or Western psychology
as we know it has historically and generally ignored the
spiritual and transpersonal dimension of humans.
But that does not mean that the realization of the mystical
part of the American human does not happen from time to
time.
So could it be that on that super Tuesday of November 4th,
2008 of presidential election within the mainstream politics
of that day, many or some in the American majority and
minority ethnic persons (certainly there were those whites
and blacks who all along irrespective of rational or mystic
influence freely looked for that day to cast their
presidential vote for a black or female American) were on
the part of apparent conversion, transcendence and
spirituality as they cast their votes?
As both whites and blacks as well as others possibly thought
of the deepest racial wounds in America and with their
spirit and minds apparently being guided by the
extraordinary experience of that day—Barack Hussein
Obama—won the irrevocable cast of vote at that second, at
that minute and at that hour.
At the time of this writing there are many Americans
especially those that self describe themselves as Angry
White Men and Women who are openly speaking and showcasing
images of violence.
They appear to be losing their minds over the Obama effect
during that election day and agitated by the current Obama
phenomenon which is marked with a new order of things that
are ‘insourcing’ or gripping the whole of
America—inclusiveness, diversity and equity.
The question that remains is that if Obama was a white man
will he suitably capitalize on that American psyche,
admiration and sentiments that equates historical
excellence, power, achievement, success and gentlemanliness
to a white male, the answer is a resounding yes!
Now, it time for all of Americans—Blacks, Asians, Latinos,
Whites and others to understand that it is the personal
qualities and not the racial outlook of an individual that
will define the 21st century America. As of today, that is
what the young Black, Hispanic, Asian and White male or
female across all colleges and universities are hearing from
Barack Hussein Obama, the 44th President of the United State
of America.
John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D, DABPS, FACFE is a practicing
Forensic/Clinical Psychologist and the Interim Associate
Dean of Academic Affairs-Behavioral Science, North Campus,
Broward College, Coconut Creek, Florida. joshodi@broward.edu.
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