Scribblings of the Metropolitician

"Annyunghaseyo" from Obama

Obama knows his Korean. Off the cuff, when taking the question of a kid who identified himself as Korean, Obama greets him in perfect Korean.

Being highly-educated and open-minded does count for something, eh? HT to here.

"The Enduring Power of Our Ideals"

(HT from the Marmot) ExpatJane! OhMyNews got you!

Source: OhMyNews,com

오바마의 당선 수락연설을 지켜보던 한 참가자가 감격에 겨워 눈물을 흘리고 있다.

"One of the attendees come to watch the acceptance speech is overcome with deep emotion as tears stream down her face."

I, being a pretty private person and a guy who was raised on Arnold Schwarzenegger movies and a good measure of constrained male gender roles, slid into the back of the crowd when I saw the speech playing. I broke down behind the bar, and was a blubbering mess for about a minute, then did the "man" thing and acted all calm and cool, like I had just gotten something in my eye. Umm, both of them. At the same time. Ahem.

And there were video cameras there, too, so I made myself scarce. I'm a man, dammit!

I must say that I didn't want to go to the Dems Abroad thing because I was watching the same MSNBC feed from home (which rocked, by the way!) and I feared getting emotional about something like this, because I knew it had the potential. I'm very liberal, I'm black, I'm an Obama supporter, and the basis of doesn't lie in either of those first two categories; I really feel that Obama stands for a whole lotta different kinds of change.

But I'm also a guy, and a photographer, and I didn't want to be the guy in the picture. Because that's the picture *I* would have been on the lookout for. It felt like I was setting myself up to be the cliched shot if I went, and I knew that the Korean media was converging on the Orange Tree for their "foreigner Obama reaction" shots.

But there's another but: I felt the desire to be with other cheering supporters stronger than the embarrassment I would feel if I got all blubbery. And after the reality started sinking in after Obama won Ohio, President Barack Obama had become a reality. So I made my way down to Haebangchon and caught just the acceptance speech.

I started getting weak at this point:

"In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.

Let's remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.

Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection."

And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too."

Tearing up. Crap. Lip quivering. Dammit. Kryptonite...weakening... me. Must...get to...safety...

The speech was working me not just because it outlined a vision of BEING American that was nothing but a barely-remembered dream during an administration marked by meanspiritedness, divisiveness, and sometimes even hate (look at the embarrassing examples of humanity that surfaced in the McCain and Palin rallies) -- and it was clear that MY people were assuming center stage now.

It was like being liberated -- not with troops and tanks rolling through some city square, but with return to what's truly great about America: being dreamers, a people who lived according to our ideals, who don't believe in unjust wars, vilifying entire races (Obama's an Arab!) or religions (Obama's a Muslim!) and forgetting the principles (umm, 1st and 4th Amendments, anyone?) that define our people.

It's the vision that I laid down in a heartfelt blog post back in 2005, when we were still in the heart of our American darkness: "America, the Theoretically Beautiful, as Written by a True 'Conservative.'"

They weren't just words to me, because I'm a scholar and teacher of American history, because I knew exactly the kind of American I wanted but hadn't seen for most of my adult life, and because Obama -- from his very existence and the possibility of him becoming President of the United States to his policies and the other things I agree with him on -- was like this mystical golden child.

Except that this movie wasn't starring Eddie Murphy. And it wasn't a movie.

It was getting pretty real. And Obama had used one of my favorite Lincoln quotes (also used in X-Men 2, by the way, for those paying attention) to boot. Not here's where I, for some reason, became a blubbering mess and hid behind the bar:

"To those -- to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope."

I don't know where YOU lost composure, if you did, but that was it for me. America IS a country that is defined by nothing other than "the enduring power of our ideals" and I felt the re-connection at that moment with an America that had been marginalized and forgotten, or when brought out and brushed off in unguarded moments, was laughed off or mocked as "naive" or weakness or just "liberal fantasy."

No! Torture is wrong. "Rendition" (i.e. secret arrests and kidnapping) is wrong. The executive branch using the 4th Amendment as toilet tissue is wrong. Vilifying "A-rabs" or attacking a candidate for being a Muslim is wrong (correct answer: "So what if Obama WAS Muslim" -- thank you Colin Powell, for having the brass to point that out to those who didn't get it). Basing patriotism on whom we want to intimidate, silence, or arrest is wrong. Basing that same patriotism on whom we want to bomb is wrong.

This was not the America I had come to know through my experience with the good people I grew up with in Ohio, or through my own studies of US history in college, or through even deeper research in my graduate work.

The US invented democracy -- sorry, Canadian guy in the bar who was yelling and gesticulating that it was the French. That's what grade school textbooks say, or old World Book encyclopedias, but a closer look at history proves otherwise. The American Revolution started in 1775 in terms of the shooting war, and was essentially an incident that snowballed. But the ideological momentum behind that, which resulted in a Declaration of Independence in 1776, was of a real political and SOCIAL revolution. The ancien regime was no more; people stopped taking off their hats and bowing to "their betters"; black slaves echoed the cry of "freedom from slavery to England" and really began dreaming of a reality of equality -- and as the moral rectitude of the Quakers grew into a real abolitionist movement in the 1830's, and into a near firestorm by the 1850's, before John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry in 1859 became a harbinger for the Civil War -- the ideals from that founding document of a true, class-and-status-demolishing democracy were in full play.

The French had been enamored of Benjamin Franklin when he came to France to enlist the support of that country in the American revolutionary struggle, and it was his everyman demeanor, even his beaverskin hat, that became all the rage with French high society. Things American became quite popular, and the jettisoning of social classes was thought of as quaintly refreshing all across Europe. When the French Revolution had come and gone and former royalty were being similarly jettisoned from society, along with many of their heads, one direct inspiration was the Americans having fought long and hard to do so from 1775. By the time 1789 came along, the American Constitution had been inked and signed for 2 years -- and the relatively egalitarian previous Articles of Confederation and various state constitutions were already working within the rubric of real, working democracy.

And the march of revolutions didn't end there: the Haitian revolution succeeded under Toussaint L'Overture , which took the French's main base away from them, which is why they lost the ability to effectively manage their trade in the middle of America in 1797, and which is why they sold the "Lousiana Purchase" to the US for a pauper's price in 1801 (land claims transferred in 1803). Even the Russian Revolution in 1917 and Ho Cho Min's consitution (and pretty much every "democratic" constitution in the modern era) owes a huge debt to the original democratic constitution of the US. And ours got done without heads being chopped off.

Cynics point out the contradiction of slavery, or that women weren't included in the language of that founding document, or that Indians were removed and murdered, etc.

Well, yeah. America's hands have always had the stink of blood and moral turpitude on them. Who is arguing that? But as much as any other aspect of our original sins, also written into America's DNA is the fact that the idea of inherent, essential equality was created by that document, by the "revolutionary republicanism" of the moment that produced it, and the overall culture of egalitarianism that resulted from it -- which led to people demanding the rights that they felt were promised ALL human beings, guaranteed by the "inalienable rights" of the Creator (no, this doesn't mean they were Christians, but it was just a way of saying that no other human could deprive you of them), to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

The Civil War ain't called "the last battle of the American Revolution" by many historians for nothing.

And the march of our ideals goes on, even as African-American rights were denied after Reconstruction collapsed in 1877, but women gained the right to vote, blacks eventually gained the ability to go to the same schools as whites, and now, gays are asking for the same rights as straight folk.

Our ideals will never be matched by reality. But the bitterness, cynicism, divisiveness, and hatred that has characterized our country killed the desire to even fucking TRY. To remember what America stands for -- and it's not Guantanamo Bay and other secret prisons and torture chambers around the world, defending the option to torture people, being an international bully, or eroding the sacred rights of our own citizens to criticize the government, speak "truth to power", and be free from unconstitutional monitoring, search-and-seizure, or arrest.

Aren't those guarantees what we fought against English to secure? Aren't the liberties we bragged about during the Cold War the rationale we used when pointing out how unfree the Soviet Union or China were, with secret police, prisons, torture, and government bullying or control of the press? And then we had Abu Graib -- Saddam Hussein's former chamber of horrors -- as well as the CIA having been revealed to be using "rendition" to whisk off people to waterboard and worse in former KGB gulags across Eastern Europe?

What certain people didn't get was that those complaints weren't about being PARTISAN. It was a about fighting a battle for against things that are UN-AMERICAN. And I don't care WHICH side of the fence you stand on -- secret prisons, arrest without due process, and torture are UN-AMERICAN. As are vilifying people who POINT THAT OUT.

As Obama spoke his words, I knew the nightmare was over. Is over. The end credits for the former way of doing things are rolling.

And to those who are still backbiting and jabbing at Obama's win -- it's over. McCain lost. He conceded, and he did so gracefully. It was a fair fight, and the people have overwhelming spoken -- it was a fair fight but not a close one. Now it's time to get on board, roll our sleeves up, and fix this country. Because for the Republicans had their chance, and they had it for 8 years. The people wanted a change, and it's DONE.

That's why I cried. Both Obama's existence as president and the words he spoke are behind that. In a way, it was like the tanks and troops of liberating army symbolizing that a dark time has ended, that a new day had come, and that this was a true revolution in thinking about what it MEANS to be American. So, yeah, I blubbered like a baby there before I got myself together.

And it wasn't a cliche, even though it might feel like one to a jaded photographer, a cynic from the other side, or somebody who's "just not a hugger." We weren't crying for just "our side" or blue states, or for bleeding heart liberals alone. It was for our idea of country, of a country that doesn't HAVE to talk about sides, that doesn't HAVE to talk about the colors of state, just like suddenly, for an American president, the color of one's skin doesn't matter, either. Or the fact that one's first name is "Obama" or the middle name "Hussein." That's the kind of country I've always wanted -- and now, we have a chance to get it.

So cynics can point out that things are going to be tough for Obama, that he has had a lot of expectations placed upon him, that he might not deliver.

Duh? Yeah, we know. But the point of "hope" is that you believe, anyway. That's the point. Like "faith" entails a belief in a God one cannot see, or that "trust" requires belief in someone who could very well betray you. That's HOW IT WORKS.

So, like all Americans, it's time to hope Obama walks the walk as good as he talked the talk. Don't we ALL hope for that? Here's hoping that the next 4 years will be better than the previous ones, and that Obama's indisputable ability to inspire can enable and define the kind of effective leadership that this country sorely needs.

God bless President Barack Obama and God bless the United States of America!

Woooot!

"Today Is a New World"

I can't really parse this in writing yet, because the last 3 days of Obamacizing has left me very behind in work. But I had to share the words of Mayor Cory Booker, who points out that now, "America is not about left or right, but backward of forward." Yeah! More after I get caught up a bit.

The Best Campaign Ad Ever

For me, at any rate. Thanks, ExpatJane. I'm pretty much just biting your post, although writing my own connection with it. You da bomb.

For those of you who don't know the campaign, here's the original. If memory serves, this was originally just a joke amongst a bunch of friends that one of them filmed and the idea got pitched for a real commercial. Then it became the stuff of legend.

And the new version. Of course it's just coinicidence, but the main character is noticeably more gaunt than years ago. I'm sure it's just cooincidence, but it just adds something extra to the idea that all hasn't been going well, and you see them packing up their apartment.

The new America is such a stark contrast with the old one, which a lot of us remember along with this commercial, when we were a lot more innocent, self-assured, and things just felt better. That direct comparison really hits home as we revisit each character; but when we get to the punchline and the TV shot, this time it's revealed what is being watched -- and it's the only moment things are looking up. Another significant departure from the original is that instead of distracted and casual detachment (which was the cool part of the friendship we were being exposed to), the main character's face actually lights up at the moment of the reveal -- and we see that Obama is what's up.

Very effective, and strangely touching. Especially coming from several black men, whether or not the viewer IS black; the race of the members is never explicitly referenced, but their entire mode of interaction is, obviously, unmistakably black. That's why it works -- and not just for black people. It makes a certain type of desirable black malehood instantly accessible. You see stylized versions of black malehood commodified and consumed all the time -- from rap stylings to entire modes of behavior -- but this version is much more mundane, normalized, and endearing. And I think that's why this commercial became so popular in the first place. And for me, I liked the popularization of this particular black "mode" because it showed black people being black, but being completely NORMAL. You didn't see much of that even back in 2000. And we've come a long way since then to Obama.

That being said, revisiting these same guys and seeing them being normal, black, but now experiencing the same pain that we're going through really works at one level. On another more subtle one, perhaps felt by black folks more directly because these are issues that impact folks more disproportionately, from economic crunches to having the Army be an attractive financial option to Hurricane Katrina -- all of which were portrayed in the vid, once again, the video works on levels and deeper levels.

Smart, smart video, guys, and great job.

On the "Love in Asia" Show

AncientGoose, you are awesome. Thanks for putting this on YouTube.

This is from the KBS1 show "Love in Asia," which is a strange name for a show, but it's about...love in Asia, so I guess it's apropos. They did a pretty great job of making my life sound much more interesting than I myself find it (hehe), and I couldn't have gotten better PR if I had paid for it. And editing-wise, wow -- you wouldn't even know that it took like 5-6 takes per interview to answer really simple questions. I just talk too much, like an academic.

Since YouTube won't let you squeeze more then 10 minutes on at a time, here it is in 2 parts:

*BRRR* I shudder at seeing myself on TV. I look like a deer in headlights when I talk into a camera. Well, more like a moose in headlights. Hehe.

Umm, I'll Be On KBS1 Tonight

OK -- So, this is one of the things keeping us busy these days, besides Seoul Fashion Week. I'm going to be on the KBS1 show "Love in Asia" tonight (Tuesday, October 21 at 7:25). The KBS producers saw the Hangyoreh Shinmun story and decided to do one on me -- and since my parents also happened to be in town, it was a perfect chance.

Apparently, you'll get to see me and a few other folks working on a special project that's been taking a lot of my time these days (still classified, by the way), as well as shots of my messy apartment, my mom chiding me for inviting KBS1 over to such a cluttered pad, shots of me shooting people in the streets, and even me in the classroom with my high school girls.

The producers assure me that I didn't come out as nearly as awkward as I actually was. Sometimes, when shooting, the camera guy would ask me some simple question, and it'd take me 4-5 attempts to answer it. I would say, "I told you I was awkward on camera." He chuckled and nodded in agreement.

Hehe. Anyway, I wonder how it'll come out. I'm NOT going to watch it myself -- so you all tell me how it all goes. I shudder at the thought of watching myself on TV (I don't own one, either), and I sincerely apologize for inflicting myself upon you, in your living rooms.

But my photography and projects gotta get some attention somehow, right? So, heeeeere we go. Tonight, at 7:25! And leave a comment to tell me how it went, alright?

Soooo Right!

Here Are the People McCain Is So Proud Of

Given the chance to disavow himself from the recent YouTube nightmares for his campaign -- and it would have been easy to do, simply requiring a "Don't paint our entire campaign with the actions of a very few people" or something like that -- McCain instead played his "angry old man" card and started getting all weirdly patriotic.

So instead of simply disavowing himself of these types of folks, he just blindly defended them without even addressing the question of what he thought of the specific actions of those who were the focus of the question in the first place.

No matter what anyone says to equivocate this away, you don't see people at Obama rallies spewing garbage that is simply mean and spiteful at best, and hateful racism and inward-looking ignorance at worst.

"Kill" the other candidate? An Obama supporter being called "nigger" on top of "terrorist" for holding up a campaign sign? I held my tongue a bit when I said to friends (but not on the blog) that the tenor of the Republican national convention reminded me of a campaign rally -- a bunch of angry white people yelling and screaming, with no people of color in sight. It's funny that people think that's "going too far" when in fact, I haven't seen more angry white folks with nary a black person in sight since...umm...a Klan rally.

Sorry to say, I wouldn't feel safe holding up an Obama campaign sign anywhere near some of these McCain (and especially Palin) rallies. I think that says a lot about the other side here.

And just to make clear -- I'm not saying voting for McCain means one is racist. But the ones who are racist seem to be voting for McCain, and seem to be emboldened to make their voices louder. Because McCain certainly ain't disavowing them in any spoken events.

A True "Korean American"

Crossposted from The Hub of Sparkle:

This has been going around the Korean American internet. I just got it in my box this morning.

More than just the support for Obama himself, I was moved with how, in the US, it's possible for anyone to not only become a citizen on mere paper, but to truly feel oneself a part of the political process, even across the barriers of language, race, or national origin.

To me, that lady is America, and is a sign of all the good parts of what that means.

Betty White

A bit old school, a bit stiff, but to hear Betty White deliver these zingers in her affected innocent style is hilarious. The Sarah Palin crack is priceless.

And "I'll tell you what though. If Barack Obama needs more experience -- I could give it to him." Love Betty White! Makes me miss the Golden Girls!