I am somewhat of a news junkie and it makes my blood boil when I hear progressive pundits and Democratic Congressman say, “we need to stop emphasizing identity politics and work on the kitchen table issues.” I am a black man in his sixties typing on a laptop, that literally sits on my kitchen table. When I am done, I will be working on my next month’s budget to pay rent, gas and food.
People of color, including Latinos, LGBTQ and Muslims all sit at some sort of table or on the bed or floor and plot their lives.
The constant self-mutilation of the Democratic Party, by the people I am most like politically, is bewildering. There is also an underlying racial component that disturbs me. I listened to a caller on the Thom Hartmann show (4/26/17) address his [Hartmann] guest Democratic Congressmen Mark Pocan of the 2nd District in Wisconsin. Paraphrasing the question, the caller asked, why do “we” concentrate on special interest groups instead of the guy who, “gets his hands dirty?” At one point, the caller heard in his own head the implication of what the question intimated and quickly used the qualifier, “don’t get me wrong…”
I have no doubt the caller is a hard-working guy who considers himself, honest and fair-minded, he just wants economic equity. My fear is, this never-ending theme that non-whites are sitting at home with their clean hands begging for a handout is being accepted as truth.
My brother worked as a laborer until he retired with Multiple Sclerosis. My uncle worked for over thirty years as an airline mechanic for a major carrier, my sister served in the military for 16 years. My oldest son served 10 years in the military and now works in Florida. My youngest son is the father of six, he and his wife will be welcoming their oldest child home in a week from her first year of college. I was raised by my great-uncle who was a WWII Navy veteran and worked as a civilian Navy employee and received a plaque for 35 years of continuous service without missing a day. I am proud of my family and they are all dirty-handed Black men and women. None of them are looking for special awards or praise for doing what was right. I, like my family and countless others like them, just want the chattering class to acknowledge our kitchen tables are filled with the same conversations about money, kids, college, house payments and vacations. When this subject is broached in debate, I wish I would hear just once with emphasis “wait a minute, hard-work is not exclusive to white America.”
The next time you see a black or Hispanic construction worker standing next to his white co-worker, their hands are dirty too. The next time you see a black, brown or white woman or man driving the bus your children ride home in, they all have callouses. The next person to die in war for his or her country may be white, black or brown, because everything is equal...right? When Barack Obama entered the office of the President on January 20, 2009 his youthful appearance slowly faded just like all the white presidents before him. Why? Because he worked just as long, just as hard and with just as much love and passion for his country.
The next time you get into that watercooler discussion with you progressive friends about how Democrats concentrate too much on identity politics; What do you really mean?
‘Vote in 18 and Change’