Now You Want to Talk

Presidential campaign season is an exciting time for Americans to really grapple with their political views or lack thereof. The media and candidates work hand in hand to keep our t.v. screens and periodicals filled with debates and commentary, promises of govermental overhauls and commentary, mudslinging and commentary...and surprise, surprise commentary about commentary. This is a time for a lot of talking and minimal "doing." While much of the campaign reality show is fairly predictable, this year there's a new twist, not in the media coverage...but on the ground.

One morning near the beginning of primary season, I hopped on the elevator with one of my neighbors. I saw him regularly and we had fallen into a head nod routine. (Translation: Hello in New York) Sadly, I did not know his name and I doubted he knew mine. Our relationship was sufficiently pleasant, but in no way developed. Anyway, on this particular morning as we assumed our positions in the elevator, he turned to me and said "have you been following the presidential campaigns?" Suddenly, my heart dropped. I knew where he was going. After all these mornings the first thing a white man says to a black woman "have you been following the presidential campaigns?" He couldn't start off with, "how are you?" or "how about this weather?" or "I can tell you didn't iron those pants this morning."

This was his door in to the secret society of blackness. I knew he wanted to bring up Obama and I was determined not to let him. I told him that I hadn't been following the campaign coverage closely because I hated all the mudslinging and non-issues that peppered the process. I prayed he would see I was not willing to engage him, but alas he did not stop. "Can I make a suggestion? Check out Barack!" he said. "Lord have mercy" I thought. I wondered if the elevator could move any faster. I gave my nameless neighbor another head nod and a "will do" while I waited for the doors to open. I could see out of the corner of my eye that he was smiling like he just stopped a 10 year old from smoking. He was so proud that he had a talking point with black people for at least the next few months...maybe even longer depending on the outcome of the election.

I left the elevator really wondering about the state of race relations. Perhaps I was overprocessing this moment. Maybe all these years of systematic oppression had tangled my senses. As the weeks progressed, I encountered more Barack sharing white people. On the subway, at the dry cleaner, and even at the local diner. As if it were a part of some coordinated effort, each Barack talk took place in the exact same manner. I pinched myself to be sure this wasn't some kind of crazy dream. Why did everyone want to ask me about Obama when there were so many other potential non-black voters in their midst? Why did everyone have the same look like "I'm white and I'm voting for Barack and that makes me cool"?

These random acts of Barack talk have inspired me to start my own campaign. My goal is to improve cross cultural communication. I have not thought of any catchy names for this venture, but the premise is to keep it simple. If you really want to make a connection with me, there are plenty of other universal topics for us to explore. Start with "hello" not "you voting for Obama?" I'm excited that there is a base of multicultural support for Barack Obama. I just hope people don't feel some artificial connection to black folks just because they are supporting a black candidate. We all need to be aware that relationships are build on mutual understanding, not talking points.

With that said...GO BARACK!!!