In an attempt to give her "Black folk" credibility they discussed the Birmingham AL. bombing where the legendary 4 little girls were killed. Dr. Rice said that having grown up in that time she "understood" personally" what "evil people" were like. I honestly believe that her experiences in the deep south is directly related to who she is now. She tellingly said that due to the indignities of segregation her family "like others", would simply avoid eating out etc. What was interesting was that unlike many blacks to her left, she never said that her parents were involved in the struggle against Jim Crow. She did say that her parents did the best they could to shield her from the "indignities". In fact her father being a Presbyterian minister and her mother a teacher, means that they were likely a part of the elite in black society that often were the last to engage in protest politics. Based on this non-statement and her social background, I think that Dr. Rice was raised by a family that did not participate in the struggle against Jim Crow. It is possible that her family was like the people that Dr. King Jr. wrote his letter from jail to. They were the type that wanted to be slow or didn't think the direct action was appropriate.
If we run with this hypothesis then Rice is explainable. Having been shielded from "indignities" Rice would be raised in a relatively Eurocentric and conservative household that probably stressed personal achievement through conformity. I have no problem with personal achievement but I do have issues with conformity in regards to a racist society. In the segment they showed that Dr. Rice works out at 5AM to the music of Led Zepplin and other music that most African-Americans, including this one, do not normally listen to. Not that listening to such music is necessary to be "black" but in this case, we are discussing how far Dr. Rice is from average socialized "African-American". For those reading this do not take this for meaning "hood".
Dr. Rice was shown playing the piano (we have something in common). However, consistent with our analysis, her favorites are classical European music. She was reported as taking time with friends to play such music. In that group was not a single black person. Now this is NOT surprising at all nor is the selection of music. I personally do not like much classical European music. While I appreciate it's technicality I generally find it "cold" and unfeeling. For example. I would never ever sit through a classical European rendition of the Nutcracker Suite. However, I have sat through many recordings of Duke Ellington's version of said material (will probably do so today). So the thing to me is, why did Dr. Rice choose, in the face of great African-American composers such as Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, etc. Did she choose classical European music as the way to present herself? Because classical European music is supposed to show class and intelligence. Dr. Rice, the conformist has to show her internalized appreciation of white culture.
Understanding that Dr. Rice is psychologically probably more European than most of the Europeans around her is important. She believes in the things she believes in not because she has "sold out". No! Indeed Dr. Rice is, as the 60 minutes put it, a true believer in the classic European ideology of the rightness of white European culture in it's classical sense and sees the US government as a modern tool to follow it through.
Since Dr. Rice, from Bombing-Ham, knows full well that one cannot bomb a people into submission, why would she be so squarely behind programs to do just that? Ahh, she says that when she hears that certain people are not ready for Democracy, she is reminded of what was said about black people in America. Fair enough but then again, Black people in America, strictly speaking don't run their own show here. All black politics in America are done within the confines of and is confined by the greater body politic. Thus while blacks in America will never be able to set up an independent government of whatever shape inside America, The people of Iraq, Iran, Cuba etc. are fully able to and may in fact choose a form of government that does not fly in the U.S. . It makes sense that Dr. Rice cannot accept that because she sees the rejection of "democracy" in the European form as a rejection of the values she believes in. And being in a position to meddle in that decision making process, just as the Klan had attempted to do in her hometown, she has undertaken the job of doing so (within' the US governmental framework) on an international level. Dr. Rice learned well the lessons of the Klan, Those whom we disagree with we will remove by hook or crook until we get the product we want or something close to it.
But this post isn't about Rice's policies since that material is in clear view for all to see. The main point here is that we can understand why Dr. Rice has gotten where she has gotten. Yes she is intelligent and that intelligence has indeed been a critical tool in her rise to power but there are many many intelligent black people who have not gotten to where Dr. Rice has so we must look elsewhere to understand her current position. What I find most important most is that she is the type of black person that many white people, especially those in positions of power are comfortable with. She is the quintessential "non-threatening" black person. Better put, she is the quintessential non-threatening to whites, but quite willing to be threatening to non-whites type of black that is ideal for high power white society. Dr. Rice is the poster-child of the argument that "They can be like us." That if blacks did their best and let that race stuff go to the side (except for when it makes for a good story), they can be just as successful as "us". Indeed it is putting the Civil Rights movement on it's head. The Civil Rights movement was not supposed to be simply about attaining positions of power or being able to be the same American as whites had imagined it. Rather it was supposed to be about bringing the US into a higher moral ground in line with the ideals espoused in the US Constitution. That Dr. Rice is a success in America speaks not to the success of America overcoming racial issues but rather how low the children of the movement have sunk in the use of their newfound "freedom."
So if we get anything from the 60 minutes piece it is that Dr. Rice is no sell out. No, this one like an increasing number in the post Civil Rights generation has nothing to sell out for because they are true believers.
Technorati Tags: 60 Minutes, Condoleza Rice, critique, Culture
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