tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263577133333272085.post833938000794697313..comments2024-03-28T11:04:16.315+00:00Comments on Boffy's Blog: Obama and Political ChangeBoffyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08157650969929097569noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263577133333272085.post-73798626930391210362008-11-03T12:18:00.000+00:002008-11-03T12:18:00.000+00:00Why do you say that it is a "stigma" for Obama to ...Why do you say that it is a "stigma" for Obama to have to explain away being a Muslim? What do you mean by that? Firstly, Why should anyone have to "explain away" being a Mulsim more than explaining away being a Christian, a Jew, a Zoroastran? As A Marxist I have no truck with relgion of any kind, but I am certainly not going to demand that anyone, including a politician "explain away" their religion. I might, as in the case of Sarah Palin, point out that if the nature of those beliefs means that their political consequences are disastrous, then that should be taken into consideration. As a Marxist I will challenge the fundamental ideas and principles of religion, and that inevitably means challenging those that hold those beliefs, but that seems to me completely different from singling out Obama and demanding ana snwer to the question "why are you a Muslim", as opposed to saying to George Bush, or Tony Blair, "Why are you a Christian?"<BR/><BR/>I have made that point first, before making the more obvious point that in any case Obama is not a Mulsim he's a Christian, for the simple reason that I wanted to emphasise the point that it does not matter whether he is a Muslim or a Christian.<BR/><BR/>As far as the two women wearing head scarves, I don't want to defend Obama in this, but I would say that perhaps not too much should be made about it. The whole of modern bouregois politics is about presentation not content. Vast amounts of money and time are spent deciding on the best tie or dress for a candidate to wear let alone framing set pieces. There are lots of other people probably who would have been prevented from being in that frame if it upset the message, and given the attacks that McCain's Campaign and the Right have launched against Obama in respect of him being associated with terrorists etc. its understandable that they weren't going to give hostages to fortune.<BR/><BR/>That is a consequence of the nature of bouregois politics of it being all about winning votes, not changing ideas. Obama is a bouregois politician, and so you can't attack him for acting in any way different from the way any other bourgois politician would act.<BR/><BR/>A socialist would act differently. A socialist would have drawn attenton to the fact of that support, and used the occasion to attack racist ideas whether or not it meant losing votes.Boffyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08157650969929097569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6263577133333272085.post-61278279879566723812008-11-03T11:27:00.000+00:002008-11-03T11:27:00.000+00:00Obama campaign claims to be about political change...Obama campaign claims to be about political change. That is until they are presented with the stigma of having to explain away Obama being a Muslim again. Two Muslim woman, Hebba Aref, 25, and her friend, Shimaa Abdelfadeel, were denied visible seats behind Barack Obama’s stage at Joe Louis Arena on Monday because they wore head scarves. So much for that Obama message of unity. Just another example of talk is cheap and one’s actions speak louder than words.<BR/>---------------------------------------------<BR/><BR/>kesha<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.drivenwide.com" REL="nofollow">Internet Marketing</A>johnsmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00537036706099169057noreply@blogger.com