Colored by Fear?

Bill De Blasio and his family celebrating on election night.

Even though I no longer live in New York City, my sorely missed home of 15 years, I still pay very close attention to the local political issues impacting the Five Boroughs because by virtue of New York being the media capital of the world, its politics end up influencing the national and global political scene.

For my money nothing beats the political coverage on The Brian Lehrer Show (heard daily from 10am to noon on WNYC.org) and his coverage of the recent Mayoral, Public Advocate and Comptroller elections was simply outstanding. In the months and weeks building up to the New York Mayoral election all the candidates were given ample time on Brian's show to state their case, field questions and pitch themselves to potential voters; so I was eager to hear listener opinions and comments the day after former Public Advocate Bill De Blasio was elected in a landslide to become the city's first Democratic mayor since David Dinkins.

One thing that really struck me from the calls I heard (and from many reader comments I've read on the New York Times Website as well) is the very real sense of fear and apprehension some New Yorkers have about the direction of the city under a progressive Democrat like De Blasio. He ran a strong campaign centered on a consistent theme of bridging the divide between rich and poor in New York, asking people earning a million or more per year to pay a little more in taxes to help fund adequate Pre K educational programs for all children in the city and eliminating the NYPD's policy of stop and frisk. A majority of voters in New York endorsed that change of direction; but some New Yorkers are frightened by it.

The unfortunate irony of the historic election of President Obama in 2008 is that it sparked a troubling increase in the racial polarization of the nation that helped create a climate where it quietly became acceptable for some Americans to express open hostility and even contempt towards people of color, immigrants and members of religious minorities. Look at the Birthers still desperately clutching onto their delusional beliefs about the President's nationality and religion. Consider the anger, intolerance and coded language of the Tea Party - or worse, the GOP's nationwide efforts to use the majorities in state legislatures around the nation to enact laws to proactively suppress the rights of citizens to exercise the most basic Constitutional freedom - the right to vote.

In the same way some Americans were made uncomfortable by the image of a non-white President and his family occupying the White House, there are New Yorkers made uncomfortable by Bill De Blasio, his African-American wife and his two inter-racial children occupying Gracie Mansion. I heard one caller on the Brian Lehrer show the day after the election who identified himself as a white male Democrat who had voted for the Republican candidate Joe Lhota because he was concerned with what would "happen" to the city if De Blasio was elected mayor.

I'm partially paraphrasing here but he stunned me and many listeners when he suggested that De Blasio's policies would be tilted in favor of "the coloreds." That's literally the word he used, "coloreds". It's not that the guy was a racist or anything, but using that word made him come off as so out of touch with the cultural zeitgeist, or as I prefer, the culturegeist, that he seemed like he was living in the 1950's. In fact a white male caller from New York came on the air after him and expressed complete shock that the guy had used the word "coloreds" to describe a huge percentage of the population of New York. Only guy I know who wonders why he can't use the word "colored" to describe black people is perpetual cultural dinosaur  Glenn Beck.

Now if you happen to be white and are reading this, please understand that using the word "colored" is not like calling someone a nigger; not even close. But the use of the word "colored" is more associated by many black people including myself with the 1930's, 40's or 50's when segregation in many parts of the US was state-sanctioned and legal. Black and white photos of signs reading "Colored waiting room" or "Colored water fountain" are stark reminders of a much darker period in this nation's history when people of African descent were considered less than equal; even less than human by some.

So if for instance you hear someone say, "I knew a colored fella once..." black people within earshot of that are going to turn around and look at that person with a really puzzled expression. They may not SAY anything but believe me, they're going to be thinking, "WTF did he just say???" And if I need to remind you not to call a black person a Negro then you should just take a class or something because seriously I can't help you....

Now I'm kinda kidding about that, but I'm not. That guy I mentioned on the Brian Lehrer show who used the word "coloreds"? He also expressed the concern that by eliminating the NYPD's Stop and Frisk policy, the city was going to descend into some kind of crime-ridden hell. And I have definitely read those same concerns voiced by a lot of semi-anonymous readers in the comment sections of the New York Times - that by not permitting the NYPD to routinely violate the Constitutional rights of thousands of innocent African-Americans and Latino men, the city is going to erupt into chaos. Which is of course, absurd.

I for one happen to think Bill De Blasio and his family (pictured above) represent the wonderfully diverse nature of New York; and symbolize the kind of progressive society most New Yorkers want to live in and project to the world. But there are those who will be threatened by that, or even worse - but that's okay, their perceptions are just colored by fear instead of open to the possibilities of what real progressive change could bring to the city; and to the world. Bill De Blasio is the future, not the past and like many other ex-New Yorkers I endorse his vision for the city, let's see what unfolds.