[dubman]

so the guy who asked a question is from a movement called uhuru
who "are united in the purpose of raising the consciousness of African people through talk shows, news, music and other culture to facilitate the unification of African people as one people worldwide in the process of liberating Africa."

part of that platform is recognizing that the entire basis of american/european culture is corrupt, built on slaverly, and shouldnt even be entertained with the idea that it's fixable and should be worked with. they're basically talking revolution.

and from what i can gather, it was looking pretty damn good for them, what with Bush being extra blatant about displaying the inextricable corruption and malaise that ran and continues to run (as recently evidenced by the judiciary branch scandal) through ALL the governmental arteries. people that didnt start radical could be swung towards accepting the idea that at least maybe the system is irreparably broken, and the face lift required would be too drastic without doing away with the foundation altogether. which is all fun and exciting.... personally i think their frustration's in the right place but theyre mistaken if they think it's limited to their burden alone.

and then barack comes in and gums it up harder than any white guy could. he's the compromise, the beacon, the hope. he's the guy that can maybe kinda hopefully keep the existing system and make it work at the same time. no one gives up anything, we're just steered in the right direction on the same ship. and the fact that he's black just doubles that parade. they see other people in the movement get excited at the possibility, collegues get infused with excitement and suddenly revolutionary radicalism is once again back to being seen as the petulant ruminations of the fundamentally angry. shit, he's the biggest threat they've seen in a long time.

so the guy up there wasnt really there to ask questions. he expected to be tossed out. to be given the fuel to affirm that obama isnt interested in the same way bush and mccain never will be. a confirmation that just because he's black doesnt mean anything substantiative will happen. an ability to assert that he's their biggest enemy thats working for "they" and against them, and is fooling everyone in the process. in a way, both parties were taken aback by the whole deal, and so obama stuttered through respecting his viewpoint enough to frame an answer, and the guy fumbled through framing his statements and protests as questions.

the big problem i have with all this is that, if you're a politically radical movement, you know you're walking on thin ice, credibility-wise. you're suggesting that the system that people depend on everyday is so flawed that it should be run out of business. okay, thats fine, but you better make damn sure you keep things complete, documented, and honest to yourself and to the ground your movement's on. and editing the video of that event on their home page to make it so that obama did nothing but vacillate against the concerns of a strong-willed fellow radical is not that.