Nobama

Last week in class, we saw a documentary made by Alexandra Pelosi. The movie was filmed during the election race in America between Barack Obama and John McCain. Pelosi had chosen to focus on McCain's supporters and their view on Obama. I found it very interesting to see that many of them actually seemed more engaged in preventing Obama from becoming president than McCain to actually become the president. Some of the interviewees began crying when asked about how they thought America would develop if Obama was elected. Not tears of bliss, but bitter, scared thoughts.

Several interviewees drew a connection between Obama and Germany's imperial chancellor during WWII, Adolf Hitler. They compared Obama's and Hitler's charisma and their way of speaking to the crowd. I have to add that another argument for the comparison was the situation America was in during the election and the situation Germany was in during Hitler's party NSDAP's election.
But still, the comparison really blew my mind. How can one compare one of the most racist men in history and an African-American man, solely based on their speaking gifts? I tried to put myself in their situation. The American presidential line-up throughout the history has consisted mostly of middle-aged to old white men. As for the recent history, neither Bill Clinton nor George W. Bush jr. were impressive speakers. And so Obama enters the history, a colored man quite young for his coming goal. For the American conservatives this may have come as a shock.

Some of the Southerners also admit this in the documentary. One of the men interviewed actually states that "America is not ready for a colored man as president. I believe the society is moving too fast. If it were up to me, you shouldn't have the ability to vote." when talking to the female interviewer. First I found this statement very provoking, but after some thought I have to say that at least he has the guts to stand for his opinion. America is a country of liberty and he should be able to believe in whatever he wants to.

As you could see in the documentary, most of McCains "hard voters" lived in the inland of America. I allow myself to generalize a little bit: many of them were typical Christian rednecks. They were very religious and worked hard in the agriculture industry. They called themselves "real Americans" and pointed at the fact that they worked hard to keep the wheels of the country turning. Many of them did not believe Obama cared enough for them.

Now I have only mentioned a few of the comparisons and statements concerning Obama shown in the documentary. Other examples of comparisons were that Obama was the Antichrist and that he was the devil in human form. Some simply pointed at the fact that he is a "nigger" and therefore not able to fill the presidential role. In my opinion, many of these people seemed like they were living in the past. They were simply Christian, farm-working Americans that were not ready for such a dramatically change.

I strongly recommend the documentary. You can find it on Youtube. Here are the links:
Part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5.
Enjoy!