Unspinning Biden — Narratives, Not Epithets

Every time we go through one of these high-profile "racial gaffes", the corporate media ridiculously blathers and clunks its way through the same hollow-suited charade, probingly asking for an up-or-down yea-or-nay one-dimensional vote on whether or not a particular word or phrase is "a slur", presumably to definitively determine, yea-or-nay, whether the person who uttered that word or phrase is "a racist". Once fuzzy mass media judgment has been rendered, the unpleasant matter is thankfully resolved, white folks try to remember not to use certain words around people of color, and the subject of race (not to mention a broadly anti-racist agenda) can return to the back of the national-political-priorities bus until the next blow-up. [ Artwork courtesy of The Unapologetic Mexican ]

Impatient dismissals from Tim Dickinson at Rolling Stone ("hyper-PC hyperventilation ... is what's wrong with American politics") and Bob Felton at BlogCritics ("Biden got it right") are, I think, pretty representative. But here's what escapes the grasp of the sagacious corporate-media deciders-of-racism: most people of color don't necessarily have a problem with any isolated word (well okay, "articulate" is getting a little old, but anyway) that Biden used in his little riff on the shining virtues of Barack Obama (cue tooth-sparkle, ding!). Here's the thing: it's not about epithets, it's about narratives.

The problem with what Biden said lies not in any one of the words that oozed out of him, but in the narratives about African Americans that the whole combination of words invokes.

I have no desire to talk about Joe Biden and his doomed presidential run; but I wouldn't mind taking Biden's words and using them to explore and explode some of the false narratives that dominate the national discourse on race. I wouldn't mind talking about how certain stylized ideas and images — not mere slurs or epithets — rather, entire psychic complexes of associative ideas and images, conspire to inform a normative racist worldview, which perpetuates itself through the repetitive mass-hypnotic invocation and reinforcement of those very ideas and images.

So here's what Biden said: "I mean, you've got the first sort of mainstream African American, who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a story-book, man."

As far as I could tell, here's the subtext he was invoking: Blacks aren't mainstream like you and me, man. I mean, most Blacks have trouble speaking proper English and seem kind of yucky and not very bright, and you just can't trust a lot of those inner city types. But I mean, this Obama guy seems So Safe To White America that he possibly even has a shot at winning, though I doubt it, man.

It's not any one word, but taken as a whole, the overall effect of Biden's words is to indirectly trigger a set of widespread racist narrative frames, to which the speaker in fact appears to be responding in his train of thought. And if you don't believe in the power of narrative suggestion, go talk to the folks on Madison Avenue. This isn't about Biden or DC politics; for me, it's about examining how various facets of racism work and what can be done to undermine those workings.

UPDATE (2007.02.06): Over at The Reaction, Heraclitus remarks:

So it's not a coincidence that when Biden was casting about for something a little less pointed than "Boy, he's a helluvan improvement over Al Sharpton, ain't he?" he came up with something that so many have found less than inspiring. It's not that Biden himself is a bad man or hates blacks, but that he quickly, quite possibly unconsciously, lit upon some fairly racist language that calls forth a very racist narrative or set of background beliefs. And in so doing, he reinforces or further animates that narrative.

And Power and Politics adds:

I think Biden deserves to be primaried, a la Lamont. I've thought this even before Biden's own macaca incident. He has essentially sold himself out to Bank of America, MBNA, and all the other credit card companies who are headquartered in Delaware for the mega tax writeoffs and as one of the chief pushers of the bankruptcy bill. Long a corporate lapdog, he has ceased representing the people of his state. He has been in office for 34 years - time to give some fresh blood a chance!

UPDATE 2 (2007.02.07): The New York Times jumps into the fray, gives it a shot...and misses the mark.

UPDATE 3 (2007.02.07): Here are two more takes on the matter, one from XP:

A major problem with words is their perceived emotional connotations. Connotation in language involves the semantic or deep-structure of words, expressions and texts and is, therefore, strongly related to culture. The fact is, we live in a binary system of opposites which does reflect the archetypal dualism in man’s consciousness.

Here in the United States, we do divide people in the world into the categories of “Clean” and “Dirty” and historically, the use of the word “clean” has come to be synonymous with “whiteness.” In the late 1950s, the word “clean” was used to justify segregation. However, the rules separating dirty from clean are not clear or principled. [...]

The urge to oversimplify dilemmas and find designated scapegoats for complex predicaments underlies the popularity of stereotypes. Approaching adversities from a biased perspective gives simplistic though meaningful answers to inexplicable predicaments. Latinos are often blamed for losses in jobs and the reduction in wages.

Continued uses of code words like “articulate,” “mainstream,” and “nice looking” are only manifested substitutions for the “oh you are not like them” messages. Repeating misethnic slurs only perpetuates institutionalized discrimination, which is only meant to detract from a person’s humanity, dignity, self-respect, standing, and potential. After a while, epithets become the norm and a frame of reference not only to individuals but also to the person’s entire cultural group. Biden’s the message implied that he saw black people in America as different from the “norm” - unfamiliar and not quite equal.

This is from Jack and Jill Politics:

Democrats must prove to minorities that they are different from the Republicans. They have to distance themselves from guys like Biden if they hope to retain and build the strong minority turnout that tips the red-blue balance in their favor.

Without leading Democrats like say, Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid, coming out and condemning Biden's repeated comments, it sends a message to African-Americans, Indian-Americans -- all Americans -- that Joe Biden's viewpoint is as valued and protected by the Democrats as that of Trent Lott and George Allen by the Republicans. Unless Democrats want Biden to continue his Macaca moments and drive away voters, unless they don't want to be the party of the future instead of the party longing for the past, Biden must be punished in a public way for me to see that the Democratic party is interested in keeping my loyalty for the long term.

Comments

[nezua limón xolografik-jonez]

bingo. right to the core of the matta. i have nothing more to add except your tendency to dust off the kiltered frame, to clarify current discussions, is always helpful.

[Sylvia]

Yes. Thank you. I'm a little annoyed at people psychoanalyzing the racial politics of calling black people "clean," as if we default to being dirty as a racial collective position and it hurts our hearts to know one black person bathes more than the others to receive attention. This explanation encapsulates the significance of that entire statement -- in these matters, it's piddling to isolate one component and beat it with a shoe. You have to tackle the whole animal.

Anyway, again, thank you.

[nezua limón xolografik-jonez]

Y...Mexican@s are also slurred with the "dirty" image, as well. I always hated "Spic and Span" boxes for a billion unspeakable reasons.

Kai's distillation of the issue is also why Jesse Jackson using the Richard Michaels incident to leap up on a Bill Cosby type crusade against one word was so disappointing.

[Kai]

Nezua, Sylvia, thanks.

You know, one thing that strikes me on further reflection is that Biden wasn't really talking about Barack Obama; instead, he was comparing a flattened idea and image of Barack Obama to a set of white narratives about African Americans. In other words, if you listen closely, he's not describing the substantive attributes of an individual human being, he's lining up the subject against a grid of racist perceptions, almost going down a checklist, saying what fits and what doesn't fit: This frame doesn't fit, that frame doesn't fit, hey this guy is Not Like The Others! What a compliment!

It's also interesting to connect Biden's comments to the context of the "ghetto parties" that have been popping up all over the place. Because it seems to me that Biden and the dumb-ass kids in blackface are actually referencing and invoking the same set of racist narratives, albeit in different ways: Biden is invoking them by saying that Obama is Not Like The Others, while the college dorks are grotesquely exaggerating, fetishizing, and ridiculing those same narrative frames from which Obama has been granted immunity.

Finally, here's the kicker: Now that the white mass media have deemed Obama Safe To White America, they have begun projecting that racial designation onto the Black community as the reason that Obama has not yet garnered overwhelming popular support. If Black folks aren't scurrying onto the Obama bandwagon, it must be because he's Not Black Enough. It's not because he's a product of a shady DLC political machine; it's not because of his positions on "free trade" or the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; it's not because of the mealy-mouthed mush contained in his book "Audacity of Hope". No, the only reason Black folks have for not getting behind Brother Barack is that he's Not Black Enough.

Of course, this is the same mass media that still calls Bill Clinton "the first black president", so...

[nezua limón xolografik-jonez]

What an insight about the checklist. You're dead on with that.

[Sylvia]

You're right, Kai.

And then it all ties back to this need to pinpoint X trait and Y behavior to legitimize what racial identity politics means and how it can be manipulated. And then they take the same X and Y to tear down those politics when it leads to self-awareness movements.

And the "black community" has to explain why Obama won't be our Neo any time soon.

[Blackamazon]

And I love you too.

So much love in the world to give it pleases me

[Kai]

Oh, and ebogjonson is back. He notes that his traffic logs indicate that his blackface chart continues to be his most popular link, adding, "The advice that white people are advised not to fuck around with the blackface seems to be the sort of gift that just keeps on giving."

[Nezua Limón Xolagrafik-Jonez]

and i quote:

"UnaMex:

I really am sort of a dolt with things computeristical, so I didn't put a comment on Kai's website. You can tell him for me that there's another tidbit he left--smart black men (and other non-whites) scare the runny shite out of the white power brokers. I have engaged in argument with numerous people over the years about those dumb black athletes. Now--book learnin' aside--how stupid can you be and remember an NFL playbook or the various tactical maneuvers involved in all of the profressional level sports. Rhodes scholars most of these men would never be--and their penchant for talking 'gangsta' (when many of them are perfectly capable of speaking standard Amerenglish), unfortunately, plays into the racial stereotyping that others use to define them. Dumb--not on your life. Joe Biden, OTOH, well-educated, VERY ARTICULATE, experienced in the political arena--him I don't want to help find me if I'm lost in the woods.
democommie™™™™®© | 02.03.07 - 11:02 am | #"

just passing it on.

[Nezua Limón Xolagrafik-Jonez]

oh damn i meant to add, from here: http://www.haloscan.com/comments/patriotboy/8979570848279740282/#403975

[Kai]

Nezua, haha, well thank you! Not that you have any duty to pass on messages that people drop on you, but thanks, it's appreciated! :-D

[Eli]

No mention of Biden's creepy bragging (on two separate occasions, IIRC) about Delaware being a former slave state, like that was supposed to give him some kind of street cred, or his disparaging 7-11 comments about Hindus?

Not a racially sensitive guy, that Mr. Biden...

(Wow - Typepad actually *pings* the URL in your comment info to make sure it's valid. Which kinda sucks right now 'cuz the multi-medium.net server's down...)

[Professor Zero]

Great analysis and thread. Eliciting a whole narrative, oh yes.

[Donna]

Shorter Biden: Obama is a credit to his race!

[drydock]

Nice breakdown on Biden. I can only hope that his comment does maximum damage to his credibility, particularly as one of the democrats leading war-mongers.

And also the orgins of "Clinton as first black president" from wiki:
(Toni) Morrison caused a stir when she called Bill Clinton "the first Black President;" saying "Clinton displays almost every trope of blackness: single-parent household, born poor, working-class, saxophone-playing, McDonald's-and-junk-food-loving boy from Arkansas."

[Kai]

drydock, yeah I remember when Toni Morrison said that. But the way I see it, it was a chuckleworthy one-liner, not the definitive racial statement of the decade. The mass media can't get enough of it, talking heads repeat the line endlessly, as though the line contains some brilliant insight. I guess it's a line that kind of puts white folks at ease: the idea of honorary blackness.

[Sylvia]

Thanks, drydock, for sharing that little bit of info; now that I look at the entire quote, it reminds me of something Toni Morrison would say.

Of course the attention it spawned from whitefolk kinda blew the sentiment out of proportion. But Kai, I'm not sure if the MSM tosses around the line as a compliment to the former president... To put it in terms of what you say here, I think it may be yet another subtle narrative about how we view race and another subtle dig at Clinton himself. Not Morrison's original statement, but the spin the media's cultivated around the president's image. They often group the context around the other nickname they gave him during his not-so-great political period: "Slick Willy." You know? It may be fairly obvious, but I think it puts into perspective why media outlets were so quick to embrace the phrase.

(If you don't know, that's cool. :-p)

[Kai]

Sylvia, yes, exactly. The talking heads tend to bring up the "first black president" idea alongside "Slick Willy" and the Lewinsky scandal. I think you're right, these things kind of coalesce into a single narrative which reinforces certain stereotypes. The "first black president" quote also subtly feeds into the narrative that Black folks vote as a single unit, and that their vote is determined by race and nothing else.

[XP]

Kai you are spot on and echoes what I wrote, more like, I echo what you wrote since you did write up yours first. Those coded words like "articulate," "mainstream," and "nice looking" is what continues to get passed down generation to generations. It is not just for African Americans, but all people of color. Biden's remarks about Obama being the first "mainstream" African American implies that those before him, Shirley Chisholm, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Carol Moseley Braun & Rev. Al Sharpton were uppity and did not know their place in society, so they did not count.

In fact, you don't even have to go talk to people on Madison Ave, just go down any college and you will find white folks mocking the appearance and behavior of African Americans and Latino who live in the "ghetto" and "barrio" by throwing some type of "ghetto themed party."

The question is, when will this madness stop.

[Kai]

XP, I dug your post on this subject, you nailed it using a slightly different rhetoric but the same fundamental principles of narrative connotation.

Meanwhile, the New York Times fails miserably to hit the nail on the head...