Earlier today I wrote a post about the presumptive nomination of Barack Obama as the Democratic Presidential candidate. I have now taken that post down because, after discussion with the other mutineers, I came to the conclusion that it crossed the line and was too openly partisan.
We have, despite the scoffing of a few readers, endeavored mightily to be a non-partisan blog, one which is open and welcoming to brownz of all political stripes and affiliations. That is very important to me, and is something we all want to maintain.
In the post I took down there were two broad points I was trying to make, and I do want to explain what they were and defend my general intent in making them:
- I wanted to talk about the way in which my political behavior was constrained by the racialization of the campaign and the attitude of voters in the region where I live. Because of my experiences with racism in the midwest, I have not felt comfortable using my own name or canvassing door to door, and so have made the tactical decision to limit my political behavior, lest it backfire.
- I wanted to talk about how one candidate had used racially excusionary rhetoric while the other candidate had used racially inclusive rhetoric.
Both of these are very relevant to a South-Asian American blog. I had waited until the primary was over to raise them to avoid the appearance of partisanship, but in retrospect, I don’t think I succeeded.