Mary Norwood is a white candidate for mayor of Atlanta, a city that elected the last white mayor in 1970, almost forty years ago. The one thing the election is not short on is pretense. We field negros are supposed to be pretending that race has nothing to do with any of this. With anything, in fact. Barack Obama is president of a white majority Amurka. Norwood can be mayor a Black majority ATL. See? No difference.
The New York Times reports today that Atlanta may see its first white mayor in more than a generation in Mary Norwood. The article is accompanied by many empty-headed slogans, from Black mouths of course, about it meaning nothing for a politician’s race to be Black. This is a slick move that distracts from the point of their article which is discussing a white mayor. Not meaning as much, or anything at all as some would say, that a mayor be Black is a very different thing than having a white mayor. Inductive reasoning perhaps is not required to become a Times writer. Or maybe the ability to manipulate faulty induction to build an upside down argument IS a prerequisite.
Mary Norwood comes from Buckhead the whitest and richest white neighborhood in Atlanta. The political pundits who get their salaries paid by the advertising dollars flowing out of Buckhead won’t talk about her background much. And if you go looking for details and background info over at her Wiki page you’ll be left wanting. These are coincidences.
Anyone familiar with US politics beyond the superficial coding understands the role played by race and that there is a communication grid that operates just beneath the surface of all political talk. As a good auto mechanic would say, Norwood’s recent ad is hitting on all cylinders. As racist as this country and city are it is not your father’s racism and Norwood’s team understands it can’t win the mayor’s office yelling nigger. The operative phrases are crime, accountability and public safety. That’s nigger, 2009 style.
- Crime is out of control = Black field negros are out of control. Of course with the implication that she will, finally, do some controlling.
- City Hall is run poorly = Black politicians are corrupt. Duh. Of course they are. And who do they work for? The white men that graduated Emory with Norwood.
- Everyone should be able to feel safe = White folks and house negros, it’s okay for you to come back into the city. Things are in good hands. Again. Kathryn Johnston types fiend for yourselves.
To be sure, all of the major candidates for mayor of Atlanta are business lackeys. And I don’t advocate for any of them but I do understand the particular threat posed by Mary Norwood, 1) she will give new confidence to white racism and white supremacy and 2) the increased difficulty field negros will have in protecting our civil liberties under a white mayor that does point 1.
Even Atlanta’s white progressives (whatever that means to them) are showing their true colors. The very first time a white mayor is viable in four decades, they are getting behind that campaign. Which doesn’t do much besides illustrate clearly to others what we already knew. When it comes down to it a white that calls himself liberal isn’t much different than a white that calls himself conservative. When it really comes down to it. He or she might not call me a nigger even behind closed doors but she’ll vote with the people who do.
If things keep moving in the direction we’re told they’re moving in (Norwood is supposedly the frontrunner) Black ATL will get to understand this truism up close and personal. And whites will get to turn the ATL back into Atlanta.
With the pending retirement of US Supreme Court Associate Justice David Souter, a predictable media mini-circus (swine flu is the current circus) is opening up over it. Names are floated alongsides particular interests or so-called identity groups that would benefit or ‘like to see’ a certain candidate nominated. Care seems to be being taken to ensure it reads like every other very typical political script. A Latina is by definition progressive and will ’satisfy’ Latin people, feminists and racial progressives generally. Specifically, Sonia Sotomayor is the Latina being suggested as a likely Obama nominee. I will assume that since her name is appearing in major media that the Obama administration has suggested she is a frontrunner (it might be true or they might be trying to appear progressive according to the script).
