I’m as liberal as you can get. I believe in equality, human rights, peace on earth and all that good stuff. I’ve been absolutely against racism and often tried to expose it in iranian.com. [see one of the early examples in the controversy over the marriage of an Iranian to an African-American.]
But something funny has happened since Obama got elected. I look at African-Americans (and other blacks) differently. When I speak to them, I see their whole face, not just their eyes. I don’t have to convince myself that there’s nothing to fear or doubt. I don’t feel like I am speaking to an “other”. I don’t see them as victims. I feel better about blacks and it it’s not a good feeling, in the sense that now I’m wondering if I was a racist and never wanted to admit it?
I don’t know if I was in fact a racist before Obama’s election or if I still am. I think if I read what I have written a few times, I will feel embarrassed. But at the same time I know Obama has made me a better person.
