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THINKING FOR OURSELVES The Issue Evaded By Shea Howell Michigan Citizen, Nov. 19-25, 2006 The results of the midterm election brought sighs of relief. After six long years of abuse, the country is beginning to move forward again. Like many people, I hadn’t wanted to hope too much for a Democratic victory. All too often, if there was any way to lose an election, the Democrats have found it. But as the returns rolled in, it became clear that voters had finally shaken the one-party rule of the rightwing Republicans from both the House and the Senate. Our own state of Michigan soundly defeated one of the most extreme rightwing funders, returning Governor Granholm to office. And Virginia voters tipped the balance in the Senate, electing Democrat Jim Webb over incumbent George Allen. Allen is the fellow who surfaced on YouTube making a racist comment to a young opposition campaign aide. However, long before this video moment, Allen was known for favoring a Confederate flag in his living room and keeping a noose on his desk. So we have much to celebrate about this election and we should not apologize for savoring the moment. The contradictions will come about all too soon. There is a bitter-sweet aspect to our Michigan election. By a vote of 58% to 42%, Proposition 2, the “Civil Rights” Initiative, effectively eliminating affirmative action in university admissions and public employment practices, passed, even though the campaign against the proposition was backed by both candidates for governor and a host of religious, labor and educational organizations. Early polling had indicated a close contest. But in the quiet of the voting booth 58% of Michigan voters consciously chose to vote against affirmative action. Of all of the election results, it is most important for us to try to understand the significance of this vote. It is not enough to say simply that most white suburbanites outside of Detroit are racist. Nor can we say voters were confused. The campaign against the proposition was well-organized, well-run and energetic. Rather this vote goes to the heart of two interlocking concerns—race and the economy. The campaign against Proposition 2 focused on the fate of women, arguing that by protecting affirmative action voters were ensuring continued benefits to those who have most benefited from these policies in the past. While a truthful argument, it had the effect of evading the real issue embedded in affirmative action—race. Those who voted for Proposition 2 were not thinking about women. Rather they voted on a much deeper image in their minds, that of a black man taking a white man’s job. If probed even more deeply, the image becomes that of an unqualified black man taking a white man’s job. This image began to emerge in the early 1960’s with the passage of civil rights legislation, and the country has evaded talking about it in any serious way ever since. Race remains the issue evaded at every opportunity. As a result, distortions and emotions from the most intense opposition to civil rights not only remain embedded in the minds of many but have deepened over the past 40 years of increasing concerns about declining jobs. Understanding very well the depths and scope of these fears, the rightwing backers of Prop 2 played on them to invoke racial scapegoating. The passage of Prop 2 is a reminder to all of us that the extreme rightwing will not disappear with this election. They are not going away. If we are to sustain a movement toward justice, we can no longer evade the critical conversations about race, about work and about the kind of country we want to become. Email Shea Boggs Center |