How do you feel?
Many people, mostly Koreans, have asked me about the U.S. presidential election. Although I do enjoy discussing politics--usually more in person than on this blog--as a rule I never tell people who I vote for. I mailed my absentee ballot and I followed the election closely through online news. I'm relieved that it's over.
Last week I read a column in The Economist that said a vote for either candidate would be a gamble. I agree with this. I had concerns about both candidates, and now I feel optimism and caution at the same time. I think the financial crisis was a good test for both of the candidates.
I vote because I can. Years ago my mother reminded me that we (black people) didn't always have that right. For me it's more of a civic responsibility than really expecting the candidate to change everything.
The race issue has come up several times. I like how this election has forced people to talk more about race.
A column by Albert R. Hunt for Bloomberg News says: "With Obama's presidency, racism and racial inequities won't disappear. Today, blacks earn less than two-thirds the income of whites; the black jobless rate was 11 percent last month, almost double that of whites, and 7 in 10 black babies are born to a single mother. Under the best-case scenario, that will improve only on the margins over the next four years. Nonetheless, the election of a black man facilitates discussions of these issues for people of all races."
I've been amazed at how closely Koreans in Seoul have followed this election as far back as the Clinton-Obama battle for the Democratic nomination. Even more amazing is how many people have favored Obama. Earlier this year several people were asking me: "Do you like Hillary or Obama?" (No one called her "Clinton.") After Obama won the nomination, the question became "What do you think of Obama?" As if John McCain was not a serious option. I had a very surreal experience two months ago when I was chatting in Korean with a taxi driver. He asked me who I was planning to vote for. After politely telling him it was a secret, he went on to tell me how much he hoped Obama would win the election.
And It wasn't until I got out of the taxi that it hit me: I'm in South Korea. I just had a conversation in Korean with a taxi driver who spoke no English. And he shared with me how much he wanted Barack Obama, a black man, to win the election. It was freaky.
The election has received so much media coverage here that the day Obama won I felt as if I was home. Several Koreans, including a couple of total strangers, have congratulated me on his election. I've gotten a few well-meaning (albeit laughably ignorant) comments. A kind Korean professor at my university said to me: "Now you can become a governor." A couple of students have asked me if I was from Africa and seemed a little surprised when I told them I was born in America.
I think all of this is significant if only for the reason that stereotypes of black people have captivated Korea. The election of a black man has made a strong impression on some of my Korean peers. I don't have an insecure need to prove my blackness to people here. But Obama's election has definitely freed up several people to discuss race issues much more comfortably. Race has been kind of a taboo subject for me over the last few years (at least since my more radical high school and college days) and even now I don't want everything to be about race. However, in some conversations I don't even have to bring it up; the other person will do it for me. Yesterday I met my good friends Sang-Yoon and Bong-Seong for lunch and the race issue came up although it wasn't what I planned to talk about. We ended up talking about the 1992 riots in Los Angeles, but it wasn't strange or uncomfortable.
In a strange sort of way race is sometimes a prominent topic of discussion here because of Koreans' own experiences with racism outside of Korea and oppression by other nations, as well as their own ethnic consciousness.
In a recent New York Times column, Maureen Dowd humorously explored the new phenomenon of whites asking blacks: "How do you feel?" To that end, I've become a kind of spokesperson. It's a little strange and I don't feel vindicated, but it's kind of fun.
Last week I read a column in The Economist that said a vote for either candidate would be a gamble. I agree with this. I had concerns about both candidates, and now I feel optimism and caution at the same time. I think the financial crisis was a good test for both of the candidates.
I vote because I can. Years ago my mother reminded me that we (black people) didn't always have that right. For me it's more of a civic responsibility than really expecting the candidate to change everything.
The race issue has come up several times. I like how this election has forced people to talk more about race.
A column by Albert R. Hunt for Bloomberg News says: "With Obama's presidency, racism and racial inequities won't disappear. Today, blacks earn less than two-thirds the income of whites; the black jobless rate was 11 percent last month, almost double that of whites, and 7 in 10 black babies are born to a single mother. Under the best-case scenario, that will improve only on the margins over the next four years. Nonetheless, the election of a black man facilitates discussions of these issues for people of all races."
I've been amazed at how closely Koreans in Seoul have followed this election as far back as the Clinton-Obama battle for the Democratic nomination. Even more amazing is how many people have favored Obama. Earlier this year several people were asking me: "Do you like Hillary or Obama?" (No one called her "Clinton.") After Obama won the nomination, the question became "What do you think of Obama?" As if John McCain was not a serious option. I had a very surreal experience two months ago when I was chatting in Korean with a taxi driver. He asked me who I was planning to vote for. After politely telling him it was a secret, he went on to tell me how much he hoped Obama would win the election.
And It wasn't until I got out of the taxi that it hit me: I'm in South Korea. I just had a conversation in Korean with a taxi driver who spoke no English. And he shared with me how much he wanted Barack Obama, a black man, to win the election. It was freaky.
The election has received so much media coverage here that the day Obama won I felt as if I was home. Several Koreans, including a couple of total strangers, have congratulated me on his election. I've gotten a few well-meaning (albeit laughably ignorant) comments. A kind Korean professor at my university said to me: "Now you can become a governor." A couple of students have asked me if I was from Africa and seemed a little surprised when I told them I was born in America.
I think all of this is significant if only for the reason that stereotypes of black people have captivated Korea. The election of a black man has made a strong impression on some of my Korean peers. I don't have an insecure need to prove my blackness to people here. But Obama's election has definitely freed up several people to discuss race issues much more comfortably. Race has been kind of a taboo subject for me over the last few years (at least since my more radical high school and college days) and even now I don't want everything to be about race. However, in some conversations I don't even have to bring it up; the other person will do it for me. Yesterday I met my good friends Sang-Yoon and Bong-Seong for lunch and the race issue came up although it wasn't what I planned to talk about. We ended up talking about the 1992 riots in Los Angeles, but it wasn't strange or uncomfortable.
In a strange sort of way race is sometimes a prominent topic of discussion here because of Koreans' own experiences with racism outside of Korea and oppression by other nations, as well as their own ethnic consciousness.
In a recent New York Times column, Maureen Dowd humorously explored the new phenomenon of whites asking blacks: "How do you feel?" To that end, I've become a kind of spokesperson. It's a little strange and I don't feel vindicated, but it's kind of fun.
posted by Marc Hogi at
11:01 PM
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