Peace Be Unto Those Who Follow Right Guidance.

Yesterday, Barack Obama gve his first press conference as President-elect.

Here is how the event was reported in The Times (November 8 2008):

Best in show, with a pedigree all his own

It must be the first time in recorded history that the leader of the Free World has proudly described himself as a “mutt”. At his first press conference as President-elect, Barack Obama sought to project the gravitas that his post requires.

Making his first market-sensitive comments on the economy, the soaring orator read carefully from notes — even keeping his place with his finger like a child. But his amiable good humour eventually won out when a local Chicago reporter asked about his plans for a White House puppy for his daughters, Sasha and Malia.

“This is a major issue,” he said. “It has generated more interest on our website than just about anything. We have two criteria that have to be reconciled. One is that Malia is allergic, so it has to be hypoallergenic. There are a number of breeds that are hypoallergenic. On the other hand, our preference would be to get a shelter dog. But obviously a lot of shelter dogs are mutts — like me [emphasis added].”

From an Islamic counter-racist perspective, there are a number of points to note, both about the way this event was reported in The Times, and the term that Obama used to describe himself.

Firstly, under (contemporary) conditions of Racism (White Supremacy), non-white people are regarded as "minors" [=minorities] and/or "children". On this basis, we might ask whether "like a child" is merely being used as an inncocent - that is, "child-like" (sic) - descriptive phrase, or whether it functions as a coded [=codified] message to Racists (White Supremacists) that "Obama is a boy"?

Secondly, under (contemporary) conditions of Racism (White Supremacy), non-white people are regarded as forms of entertainment for white people. Is this what is being hinted at in referring to Obama's "amiable good humour"?

Finally, there is Obama's self-description as a "mutt".

According to the entry on Wiktionary, a mutt is "a mongrel dog; a dog of mixed breed or uncertain origin." Interestingly, the term can also be used to describe an inferior type of dog.

The entry on the WiseGeek website offers the following definition:

Mutt is one of the many terms for a mixed-breed dog. It derives from the word muttonhead, suggesting stupidity. The term may be used in a derogatory fashion, or in an affectionate way ... Many [people] find they prefer a mutt to a breed dog, since it does offer some surprises in appearance, and it lacks the difficulties of certain inbred species.

Clearly, in using the term "mutt", Obama was pointing to himself as a "mixed-race" person.

However, from a counter-racist perspective, the term is loaded with all sorts of implications as the following counter-racist interpretation of the WiseGeek entry on "mutt" attempts to demonstrate:

A "mixed-race" person - a "mutt" - is an inferior person; he or she is not among the smartest people in the world [=Racists (White Supremacists)], yet capable of being viewed with some measure of affection - in the way that a master/man/woman might show affection to a slave/child. He or she is certainly preferred (by white people) to (pure) breeds, that is, to more "obviously" black people. This is because "mixed-race" people can be used to suprise - and thereby confuse - (non-white) people on account of their own confused and divided loyalties (to white people and non-white people). "Mixed-race" people are easier to manage/control than more "obviously" black people - the "field negro" masses.

Was Obama self-depracating before White Supremacy (Racism)? Was he signalling his recognition of his "Yard Negro" [=buffer] status? If so, for whose benefit?

Only time will tell.

Peace