Social capital blog posts on the new rankings on volunteering from the Corporation for National and Community Service. They find that, not surprisingly, racially homogeneous cities like Ogden, UT and Iowa City, IA, have the highest rates of volunteering while Miami, FL, has the lowest rate of volunteering in the nation at 14.5% (my hometown represents!)
A quick look at the rankings highlights low rates of volunteering in California, Texas, and Florida. Not coincidentally, places with high numbers of Latinos. What do we make of this? Does it mean that Latinos do not volunteer? Can low volunteering rates be explained away by other factors that correlate with high Latino populations? Income? Hours worked?
I think one of the issues is the way this study defines volunteerism. What it doesn't show are more informal ways of community building. Where does helping a neighbor or family member move a dresser or helping put together a family bar-b-que fit into the larger scheme of volunteerinng? From my experieince growing up in the Cuban-American community in Miami, it seems that lots of things that Anglos might do through formal institutions like the Church are done informally through extended family networks. The larger question then become whether those informal activities are "civic" in the same way that formal volunteering seems to be.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Obama's Jockey Syndrome
Adan Serwer has an interesting article posed Monday in the American Prospect on "Obama's Racial Catch-22." He makes the case that instead of emphasizing the juxtaposition of young white women and a black male candidate in the latest McCain attack ad, we should be focused on how the ads prime the "jockey syndrome" New York Times journalism William Rhoden wrote about in his book 40 million dollar slaves. Serwer explains:
He pretty effectively applies this phenomenon to the presidential race where he claims Obama is subject to multiple tests (is he presidential? is he "too presidential"? Is he a light weight? Is he too cerebreal?) Some of these tests are the natural result of his newness on the political scene. But undoubtedly this "newness" would be less of an issue if he wasn't a racial "other."
The "jockey syndrome" analogy doesn't entirely apply. No one is "expelling" Obama from the presidential race. Indeed he won a major party's nomination. And as many conservatives are ready to point out, there may be a percentage of Americans that are bullish on Obama because of what his candidacy might mean for race relations.
But thinking about the campaign in these terms does shed light on a recurring problem in Black-White relations, the idea that Black success must come at the expense of whites. As Serwer explains:
This is a dangerous meme for Obama and it poses siginficant challenges for him, as the article suggests. How do you reinforce the notion that you've earned your position when there are a majority of people who have a "possessive investment" in believing that you haven't earned your place at the table?
Two things might work against him. First, being a bi-racial candidate might buffer him from this framing. Although history would suggest that you don't get to choose your racial designation if you are bi-racial. The other is that the grueling fight with Hillary Clinton allows him to pretty effectively argue that he's earned his way to the table.
Whatever the outcome, this discoure is far from the halcyon days of Spring when we were going to have a long awaited "conversation" about race.
He defines Jockey Syndrome, as what occurs when "the establishment attempts to change the rules when the competition begins to gain ground." It refers specifically to the phenomenon of changing the rules in certain sports to end black American dominance, which began with the expulsion of black jockeys from equestrian sports at the turn of the century. Once white athletic dominance was re-established through changing the rules of the game, declining black prowess was held up as proof of black inferiority.
He pretty effectively applies this phenomenon to the presidential race where he claims Obama is subject to multiple tests (is he presidential? is he "too presidential"? Is he a light weight? Is he too cerebreal?) Some of these tests are the natural result of his newness on the political scene. But undoubtedly this "newness" would be less of an issue if he wasn't a racial "other."
The "jockey syndrome" analogy doesn't entirely apply. No one is "expelling" Obama from the presidential race. Indeed he won a major party's nomination. And as many conservatives are ready to point out, there may be a percentage of Americans that are bullish on Obama because of what his candidacy might mean for race relations.
But thinking about the campaign in these terms does shed light on a recurring problem in Black-White relations, the idea that Black success must come at the expense of whites. As Serwer explains:
By comparing Obama to Paris and Britney, McCain's latest ad implies that the attention given to Obama is undeserved, the result of "natural" assets rather than hard work, much like these "spoiled" athletes who "get paid too much."
This is a dangerous meme for Obama and it poses siginficant challenges for him, as the article suggests. How do you reinforce the notion that you've earned your position when there are a majority of people who have a "possessive investment" in believing that you haven't earned your place at the table?
Two things might work against him. First, being a bi-racial candidate might buffer him from this framing. Although history would suggest that you don't get to choose your racial designation if you are bi-racial. The other is that the grueling fight with Hillary Clinton allows him to pretty effectively argue that he's earned his way to the table.
Whatever the outcome, this discoure is far from the halcyon days of Spring when we were going to have a long awaited "conversation" about race.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
The Invisible NYPD Race Problem
I often find it difficult to convey to my students why data matters. "They're just numbers" is a common refrain. Racismreview has a good post on the elimination of racial data from reports on NYPD police shootings after 1997. Pre-1997 the NYPD did keep these records. The New York Times speculates that the move to stop collecting this data by race was done during the Amadou Diallo controversy. The key passage from the post:
I frankly have never understood arguments in support of colorblind policies. Societies can recognize race and racism as distinct realities of social life without descending into tribalism. There are times in my life where I want to be color blind and times when I want to be color (read - group) conscious. What would art or music or literature be without color consciousness. The Invisible Man would become the Just as Visible or Invisible as the Next Guy?
if you bury knowledge about racism and racist practices (such as the NYPD’s abysmal record), then you effectively subvert efforts to combat racism.
I frankly have never understood arguments in support of colorblind policies. Societies can recognize race and racism as distinct realities of social life without descending into tribalism. There are times in my life where I want to be color blind and times when I want to be color (read - group) conscious. What would art or music or literature be without color consciousness. The Invisible Man would become the Just as Visible or Invisible as the Next Guy?
Monday, August 4, 2008
Fussy-bama
Ok, the first sharp, sustained attack against Obama by the McCain campaign is coming into focus and I'm starting to think that it might be effective. This latest ad mocks the "Obama as a the messiah" theme. I originally thought that this criticism had no legs. The public thinks all politicians are arrogant and that first ad with images of Brittany Spears and Paris Hilton was not effective. But if you see that ad as setting the table for what's to come, it looks much more intriguing.
This "Obama as Messiah/celebrity" opens the door for a whole host of other criticisms. Take the shift in rhetoric towards calling Obama "fussy" as an example. This line of attack is deviously brilliant. It links him to a "culture of celebrity" that most voters find troubling and a preening petulance that celebrities on reality shows seem to exhibit. It is also a perfect word that can conjure up all sorts of homophobia without directly attacking him on those grounds. Now Obama is Oscar Wilde! This I find morally offensive, but of course I'm not the target market for this ad.
The Republicans are using the snarky tone of the Daily Show and Colbert Report against the Democrats. I find this fascinating. You can argue that satire and sarcasm have been instrumental in the re-emergence of the Democrats in the past few years. The ability to effectively poke fun at the president and the Right wing media apparatus through satire has provided the Democrats the window they now hope to pass through into the White House.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. The stereotype is that "Red America" doesn't do satire (just listen to when the audience applauds at the Daily Show). If I were Obama, I might try to respond by taking the McCain team to task for trivializing the serious issues facing the country and world. But the McCain people are setting up a framing where such chiding can be seen as "elitist" and of course "whiny" and any other terms you can use that reinforces the idea of Obama as an effete (read: possible gay), elitist with a "God" complex. At least they're not calling him a "Muslim Manchurian Canddiate."
Think it won't work? McCain has closed a nine point gap to one point in the Gallup tracking poll and has taken the lead in the Rasmussen tracking poll. Some might think this is too early to be concerned, but campaigns are won and lost in the August framing wars. I'll be curious to see how the Obama campaign hits back in the coming weeks.
This "Obama as Messiah/celebrity" opens the door for a whole host of other criticisms. Take the shift in rhetoric towards calling Obama "fussy" as an example. This line of attack is deviously brilliant. It links him to a "culture of celebrity" that most voters find troubling and a preening petulance that celebrities on reality shows seem to exhibit. It is also a perfect word that can conjure up all sorts of homophobia without directly attacking him on those grounds. Now Obama is Oscar Wilde! This I find morally offensive, but of course I'm not the target market for this ad.
The Republicans are using the snarky tone of the Daily Show and Colbert Report against the Democrats. I find this fascinating. You can argue that satire and sarcasm have been instrumental in the re-emergence of the Democrats in the past few years. The ability to effectively poke fun at the president and the Right wing media apparatus through satire has provided the Democrats the window they now hope to pass through into the White House.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. The stereotype is that "Red America" doesn't do satire (just listen to when the audience applauds at the Daily Show). If I were Obama, I might try to respond by taking the McCain team to task for trivializing the serious issues facing the country and world. But the McCain people are setting up a framing where such chiding can be seen as "elitist" and of course "whiny" and any other terms you can use that reinforces the idea of Obama as an effete (read: possible gay), elitist with a "God" complex. At least they're not calling him a "Muslim Manchurian Canddiate."
Think it won't work? McCain has closed a nine point gap to one point in the Gallup tracking poll and has taken the lead in the Rasmussen tracking poll. Some might think this is too early to be concerned, but campaigns are won and lost in the August framing wars. I'll be curious to see how the Obama campaign hits back in the coming weeks.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Drop the "Dollar Bill" Thing
Obama's latest flap about McCain's intention to remind voters that he does not look like all the other presidents on the dollar bill is something he's repeated a few times to audiences. A few weeks back I posted about Obama having to worry about having a grievance frame attached to him. Apparently the "dollar bill" thing is being framed in terms of grievance. Rassmussen found that 53% of voters thought that Obama's dollar bill comment was racist. Obama has done a heroic job traversing the racial minefield in the campaign thus far, but he has to be wary of the road ahead. Especially as quotes from his book begin to appear out of context in 527 ads or as Jeremiah Wright makes his re-emergence onto the public stage.
As an ardent Obama supporter, I find it depressing that he seems to be tying himself up in knots rhetorically over issues of race. Having just read Dreams From my Father, I marvel at the depth and sophistication with which he reflects on his own identity and race in America more generally. Of course I'm a latte liberal whose supposed to be gushing over the book. How predictable!!!
As an ardent Obama supporter, I find it depressing that he seems to be tying himself up in knots rhetorically over issues of race. Having just read Dreams From my Father, I marvel at the depth and sophistication with which he reflects on his own identity and race in America more generally. Of course I'm a latte liberal whose supposed to be gushing over the book. How predictable!!!
Back from Decorah
Fun filled day and night driving through Minnesota and Iowa and getting to explore Decorah, Iowa, and Luther College. I gave a presentation on “Diversity in the Cloud” and received some great feedback from a crowd of about 80 faculty and staff from the 28 colleges and universities affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Here are the slides that accompanied the talk for those interested.
I won't go too much into the talk other than to say that it presented utopian and dystopian views of how the web changes inter-group relations. I was struck by how many faculty are grappling with the larger question of whether the web is friend of foe or both. One interesting assignment that came up during the Q and A was from a Religion professor at an ELCA college who requires his students to unplug from the web for 48 hours. He reports that students are frustrated by the assignment initially but are ultimately grateful for the chance to reconnect with their inner selves. It's an interesting assignment worth doing myself, let alone assigning it to students.
I won't go too much into the talk other than to say that it presented utopian and dystopian views of how the web changes inter-group relations. I was struck by how many faculty are grappling with the larger question of whether the web is friend of foe or both. One interesting assignment that came up during the Q and A was from a Religion professor at an ELCA college who requires his students to unplug from the web for 48 hours. He reports that students are frustrated by the assignment initially but are ultimately grateful for the chance to reconnect with their inner selves. It's an interesting assignment worth doing myself, let alone assigning it to students.
Denver Airport Blogging
Greetings from Denver International Airport. I've spent the last two hours reading the first 100 pages of Barack Obama's Dreams From my Father. As a political scientist (and junkie), I was reading the book picturing the bio pic they will run during the Democratic Convention. I'm obviously not the first person this has occurred to, but this is one heck of a life story to have to contend with. The McCain people are going to have quite a time putting him in the traditional democratic boxes that worked so well against Al Gore and John Kerry. This current democratic candidate has spend a lifetime moving in and out of boxes. This is why he can speak to conservatives and progressives alike and seem so compelling. He's had a lot of practice.
This is also why the attacks heretofore have been so muddled and strange. The “Obama is a celebrity theme” is not only a strange attack, but one that I think the Republicans might look back on in regret. It reinforces the idea of Obama as extraordinary, almost mythic. The arc of his story is going to make for an interesting convention Thursday (The grasping Kansas grandfather, boxing with his Indonesian stepfather, a Christmas rebuke from his absent Kenyan grandfater, etc.). Why the Republicans want to reinforce this is beyond me.
Update: I'm starting to think the mocking celebrity approach might be having an effect. Perhaps it is a riff on the Daily Show style of skewering politicians that has become normalized. The gap is closing in the campaign, so maybe these attacks aren't so muddled after all.
This is also why the attacks heretofore have been so muddled and strange. The “Obama is a celebrity theme” is not only a strange attack, but one that I think the Republicans might look back on in regret. It reinforces the idea of Obama as extraordinary, almost mythic. The arc of his story is going to make for an interesting convention Thursday (The grasping Kansas grandfather, boxing with his Indonesian stepfather, a Christmas rebuke from his absent Kenyan grandfater, etc.). Why the Republicans want to reinforce this is beyond me.
Update: I'm starting to think the mocking celebrity approach might be having an effect. Perhaps it is a riff on the Daily Show style of skewering politicians that has become normalized. The gap is closing in the campaign, so maybe these attacks aren't so muddled after all.
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