George Weaver: I have lived in the south for seventy years. I was in college at the height of the civil rights struggle. Fifty years later, I see this at a rally in Virginia. It appears that racial intolerance is so tightly woven into the fabric of our culture that an occasional unmistakable thread appears to remind us of its presence. This election has brought something ugly to our national discourse. There is a general lack of civility among us … even in our everyday discourse. It is a sad time for our country. (Photo Courtesy George Weaver)
Have any of you seen the PBS Special yet? Just a reminder that it airs again tonight, folks. Grab yourself some popcorn and a Cola and get comfy. Now, it’s not a popcorn kinda sit-down-and-watch movie but I want you to have your snacks so you don’t go to the kitchen and miss anything. Plus, if you go ahead and look for airtime in your local listing, you can see it before Monday’s debate. Or like I said before, visit the site and catch it online.
If I may ask you a question, well, I will. Do you think this year’s presidential election is more black and white than in 2008? I didn’t see it so much four years ago but as one of the fellas pointed out in the special, I, somewhat, believed also that after President Barack Obama’s election that we’d be living in a post-racial America. That at least we were on our way. Now, I feel like we’re on the bus with Rosa Parks and it’s come to a screeching halt. You may or not not agree. You’re certainly entitled. I just wonder why we keep finding ourselves here. If the ugly monster of racism lied dormant and waited for the appropriate time to resurface or have we been unrealistic about where we are.
Here’s another question. How do you see immigrants in the equation of America in relation to race and the political process? Does saying President Barack Obama make it possible for us to one day say President Julian Castro? Are folks afraid of this? When you have a president who looks like you, do you feel more empowered? Well, that’s four questions. As you can see, I’ve got more questions than answers.
If I may, I have a little story to share from some years back and it’s kinda funny but not so much in a sense. I’d found myself in this new neighborhood Then Husband and I bought a home. And let’s be real, folks, ’cause I know unblack folk do this too but being the peeper that I am, I was looking out my window and I did this for a few days, right? All I kept seeing were white folk walking their dog or doing that little sprint walk to exercise and I got to thinking, “Damn, I sure hope we ain’t the only black family here.” ‘Cause I’m telling you folks, down here in the south, white folk will spray paint your shit and hang nooses in your front yard, okay? This is mostly in deep southern areas and while I’m not, hell, seeing only my black self in the neighorhood early on, my radar went up. You feel me? I got to thinking, ” Now, I know damn well I saw some black folk next door when I looked at this house to buy.” I be damn if they hadn’t up and moved!
This is the history we’re reminded of and I look back on it and laugh now. Sorta. I wasn’t thinking along those lines when I moved in my new place. I evolved some kinda way. And I suppose I don’t think along racial lines until I’m reminded that I must. Like, if I’m filling out a job application or like the time my son, Mr Boy, was living in Athens and walking to work and constantly getting stopped for being black.
You know, these are the reality checks. According to one of the commentators, in the special, implying President Obama has been a shrewd manipulator of skirting the issue of race, I don’t think he’d be president if race was at the forefront of his agenda when we look at the social dilemma we’re currently in. For the former majority, whites I mean, race has been a non-issue for the most part, so interestingly enough, we’re discussing race more openly now… (deep sigh). I’ll reserve other thoughts for your comments. If you will, view the video below to add to the topic today, folks. And thank you again for joining the conversation. Also, check out other participants in the Race 2012 Project.
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E X C E L L E N T, brilliant
insight, Tots.
I remember that Oprah episode. Omg, my blood boiled. I remember I called my friend all hot and pissed off…and she said, “Didn’t you know it was a joke?”
Xx
I thought it was a brilliant experiment, among Jane Elliott’s classroom of students and on Oprah’s show, so when I saw the show, I already knew what was going on because I’d seen Elliott doing this with her students. It was especially interesting when the brown-eyed woman stood up and thinking herself to be superior to the blue-eyed folk. Just that quickly, she’d bought into the notion that because of her eye color, she was smarter and better.
Reblogged this on The ObamaCrat.Com™ and commented:
Until America re-educates it’s adults to stop teaching racism to it’s children, this man will multiply. This lost soul was not born into this world with the disease of racism permeating his soul. It was taught to him.
Thanks for reblogging.
Yes, children are taught this at a ripe age. I understand there are some places with less diversity, so the norm may be a little different there. This going in both directions for whites and blacks, among other groups as well. I just wonder how prevalent this in places that aren’t as diverse, as in urban populations. Not to excuse it but that popped in my head when I looked at George’s photo again.
That is one intelligent and important documentary. I’m watching it one more time before I comment on it.
I look forward to your insight and wisdom.
I can remember the times when Jesse Jackson had thrown his hat in the ring, only to never make it to the convention because, at that time, America wasn’t ready for a Black president anymore than they were a woman of any color, as noted when Shirley Chisholm dared to step into the arena. So when this dude, Barak Obama, came onto the scene and was racking up support and votes, there were some rumblings here where I live along the lines of fearing for Obama’s life because as far as we knew, America still wasn’t ready for a Black president. Some non-black folks I talked to were really afraid, like Obama winning the presidency literally meant that we had finally overcome (as the song promised back in the day).
What people really saw in 2008 was simply a matter of the white Republican George Bush clone turning out not to be the better man and, personally, I was shocked because I was sure HIllary was going to make history for a while there. We had a choice and Obama was the better choice almost by default because George had screwed us pretty good and no one wanted another four years of that jerk’s policies in the form of McCain.
The race card was out there… but not like it is now and what it seems like is those folks wanting to change the occupant of the White House have very little ammunition to do this… so it’s time to get ugly and start this race and class stuff… and all because it doesn’t seem likely that the Republicans will be able to unseat the incumbent Democratic.
Immigrants. Well, the law says that no immigrant will ever be president – but they can be governors, mayors, even members of Congress so maybe once they legally meet the criteria for these offices, yeah, they could play a bigger role in politics in this country.
I don’t feel empowered because our president is the same color as I am; I was empowered way before I even knew he existed because it’s my responsibility to see to this and not rely on someone else to make that happen – not even a POTUS.
The American people will vote for the person they think can do all that stuff they promise to do, color notwithstanding, class notwithstanding. For the Republicans to bring these issues up, again, says that their chosen one, Mitt Romney, ain’t got what it takes to win the election so they have to resort to the only thing they know how to do – fight dirty.
What all of this should be saying to the American people is the length and extent a candidate will stoop to in order to hold the highest office in the land and lead the most powerful country on the planet. We should see these things… and we should greatly disapprove of this behavior from someone we’re trusting to guide us in the right direction. Remember, Obama won without slinging one drop of mud… while the Republicans were throwing whole quarries in their quest to win the office. We’re seeing more of the same… and we should disapprove of this behavior because it’s unbecoming and, to me, sends the wrong message.
I was sure Hilary was a clear winner as well. Matter of fact, I almost went with her. I don’t think Julian Castro is an immigrant but his mother or grandmother is/was. And I asked the question about empowerment because it seems some whites feel less so with President Obama. From all the of the candidates this year, I cannot define one who’s more about representing the people than President Obama. As Lorna, from Lornasvoice.com mentioned, Romney is about things, not people.
There has been a lot of ugliness in the political arena and while we may say the president has not directly spoken of race (until forced to do so as a result of Rev. Jeremiah’s Wright’s sermon), his not making it an issue becomes an issue for many who don’t want him there. It’s been a slowly brewing pot of what’s been well-hidden, from the poorest to upper classes to the Hill of DC.
I do recall Jesse Jackson running in the 80s bur his appeal was only to the African American community. When he ran, black folk who did not normally vote, whether for religious reasons or otherwise, began casting their vote.
I am so lucky to have lived in the San Francisco area most of my life. Still, my dad was one of the first “Mexican” cops on the SF Police force. His co-workers nicknamed him “Black-Jack” and it wasn’t because of his card playing skills. As a child, I remember wishing I was white. I remember my white mother rubbing me with lemons to “lighten up” my skin. I remember hoping that people thought I was Italian.
By the time I was 17 or 18, I realized that my Mexican heritage was actually something to embrace and be proud of. I never again wished for “whiteness”.
The area I live in today is very diverse. It’s wonderful having Arabs, Jews, Pakistanis, Indians, Africans, Asians, and every flavor of Hispanic in one area. We have marvelous African restaurants, Marxist bookstores, gay pride flags, and such. It’s great.
For many years, I worked in a city 30 miles away from where I am now. It’s a “white” city and I rode the bus every day to get to my engineering firm job. The bus was always filled with other Hispanics, but they were not going to office jobs. These were the maids, the gardeners, the car wash people traveling with me.
I did car pool for a while with a young black co-worker named Jawan. My husband was serving overseas during the start of the Iraq war. Jawan and I were stopped and harassed by police 5 or 6 times over the year we rode together.
I think racism is. I think older people are afraid of what they don’t understand. I think selfish people want to take care of themselves only. I think ignorant and unhappy people want to blame someone else for the plight in life.
I’ve seen a lot of change in my life. In my grand children’s world, I hope more change will come. It’s very overdue.
It’s refreshing to hear from someone who has experienced the evolution of such change over time. At the end of the day, I think that most of us want the same things for ourselves and those we love – safety, comfort in their own skin, and freedom to come and go as we please. Like you, I think “racism is”.
Lucky you are and it must be a beautiful thing to live in such a diverse community. How enriching that is.
While older folk may fear what they don’t understand, my fear is reverting and you well know that doesn’t benefit folk of color. As SomerEmpress states, it is refreshing to see those changes through the eyes of those who have seen them in a most significant way. I’m waiting.
Totsy, Once again you’ve outdone your self with a stellar, vitally important post. Thank you. I absolutely love your line about Rosa Parks, which I’ve already tweeted. Thank you for sharing the Oprah video. I remember learning about the original blue-eyed/brown-eyed project from the fifties, when it was conducted on children. It’s fascinating to see how they react.
I must credit you and PBS for this. I have to tell you that I am as guilty as any other who has proactively avoided the topic of race, especially here on this blog. For me, this blog was a place to have anonymity; to serve as a meeting place to show commonalities that we all share through humor and everyday life. I, however, am glad to have been chosen for addressing this very important topic. It enabled me to reflect and see my own flaws, that being avoidance and perhaps even apathy.
I remember Ms Elliott’s experiment with the children. It was a courageous step for her to take in that particular time. Fascinating indeed.
I think Oprah makes an interesting comment at the end of the video about what the impact of being treated that way does to the psyche. I am very much aware that people with handicaps become “invisible” (which is different that feared or suspect admittedly) and that when I am using a motorized cart in the grocery store how I hold myself makes a HUGE difference in how people treat me. I wonder how much of “blue eyed people acting like brown eyed people” is a part of what allows people of color – including President Obama – to become successful in todays world.
Folk are not made from the same mold because their eye or skin color is the same. Success doesn’t belong to any group. It’s individual. But I do understand what you’re saying since, like standards of beauty, we also can put a face, mannerisms and other whatnots to what defines success.
First saw the Brown eyes/blue eyes film when I was teaching in New York. It was the time they did the exercise with children to teach about the experience of racism. Good for Oprah for bringiing it back.
In the diverse northeastern town I’m in, it is possible to squint your eyes in a funny way and imagine the world free of racism. From certain angles it works, but you have to keep your head very still.
But that photograph you lead with, Totsy, there’s no denying that people like him exist and are feeling both threatened and empowered. A bad combination.
Interestingly enough, even folk from other countries come over with their own brand of prejudices. It’s no different than when we go to other places and takes ours, I guess. It’s just a toxic way of living and carrying that around everywhere.
Ooh Tots! I love it! George Weaver hit the nail on the head with regards to the “general lack of civility” in the discourse about race. Clearly, the man wearing the shirt in the picture cares little for civility. The sentiment on his shirt captures my interpretation when I hear “let’s take back the White House”. Who’s this “let’s”. Working on my next “race” post now. Some of it will address immigration as well. Having relocated about four times, I still “peep” the neighborhoods to ensure that I’ve got some diversity. I think it’s especially important when you’re raising kids.
George has brought up another point and I have to think a bit more to assess, if you read her comment. That gentleman in the photo is as deliberate and conscious of his doings as George is in her observations.
You’re right Tots, though he’s hardly civil. His deliberateness is inciting, at best. He IS indeed conscious that this sentiment will provoke the worst in those who don’t agree.
I didn’t think Obama’s election was going to lead to a post-racial society, because even during 2008 many of the accusations against him were infused with racism. For example, is certainly not a bad thing to be a Muslim, but that was a way of targeting his race. It was incredibly meaningful that a black man got sent to the White House, but individual accomplishments unfortunately don’t outweigh the centuries-long society-wide racism that persists.
Yes, this is very clear now. To myself and those who thought the same. I did think it was inevitable that he’d become president long before the election. Of course, there was baggage to come along with that and perhaps my memory is a little short but the Birthers, Tea Partyers and later, talk of voter suppression laws became hot topics, so yes, there is a definite persistence.
Hi Totsymae,
Stand up and take a bow, this is a powerful post. The Oprah video was a knockout punch. My God, I miss that woman
. I never caught that episode of the show but it was revelatory and brilliant.
As you and Oprah, illustrated so beautifully Race is an ever present part of American life. It is inescapable for Black and Brown people, although some of us pretend otherwise. I would certainly say that today racism and race are far more prevalent than it was four years ago. The election of Brack Obama seems to have underscored and exacerbated the hypocrisy and duality of America, birthplace of Democracy built upon the backs and blood of slaves.
The changing face of our demography and a new generation, unfettered by past racial ideals, made the election of a Black man possible and others will undoubtedly follow him in time. Blacks continue to suffer from institutionalized racism, increased incarceration rates, double digit unemployment, racial profiling and myriad, negative stereotypes, all of which are silent symptoms of inequity and racial animus it should not be suprising that Obama’s ascension has revealed the polarization that has always been here. It’s just another symptom, one which confronts everyone honest enough to see it and too big to ignore. It’s almost like he awakened a sleeping dragon which breaks the hearts of many people which we hoped was dying, no doubt his as well.
I also think it’s true that the old guard is afraid of the changing face of America’s racial makeup and it is their fear which has given rise to the hatred we see flourishing today. Only time will change that.
And yes, I do feel empowered by his mere presence in the White House because it’s a sign of inevitability. That change gives me hope because enough people have changed to make what MLK envisioned possible. This is just the first, flawed iteration of it. We need to talk about it and we need to confront it, it’s all part of the change that will allow us to evolve as a nation.
I would say I don’t know how the POTUS withstands all that he has but I do. And you’ve confirmed what that yes, those attitudes and behaviors we’ve thought was dissipating are indeed alive and well. It’s a sad fact.
“I, somewhat, believed also that after President Barack Obama’s election that we’d be living in a post-racial America. That at least we were on our way.”
I thought so, too. When Obama won, I went next-door to my neighbor’s house and we opened a bottle of champagne to celebrate. I’ve been so disappointed in the years since. From the most basic lack of civility that George Weaver mentioned in his quote to the “single most important” goal of many Republican politicians… getting Obama out of office, I feel like things are much worse than I thought. I have to keep hoping, though, that things are going to get better, especially thanks to documentaries and discussions like this one.
Well Shary, I suppose you and friend’s gotta stick the cork back in the bottle, unfortunately. Let’s hope it can be removed in both our lifetimes.
And thank you for your commentary. Monica and PBS are brilliant.
I remember the Oprah show and reading about the original experiment, both profound. Yet we still haven’t really moved forward have we. The young mans comment is what hits me though, it is especially telling and reminds me we still face an uphill battle. In my most recent post I infuriated my brother, his comment to me was “I could only read 1/3, the Right doesn’t think that way”. My only response, ‘Really, should I get you the quotes.”
We are not in a post-racial America. If anything we have literally stopped, put the bus in reverse and are looking for someplace to park back in another neighborhood. Your statement about Rosa Parks didn’t go far enough, we are not just halted.
Excellent job my friend, most excellent job.
Yes, we are going backward. It’s been in a slow and steady motion and now, in fifth gear. I’m stumped for words at all the stunts that have been pulled. It’s no wonder folk check out of the voting process and say to hell with it. I won’t but it’s disheartening.
I’ve been thinking about this for a couple of days now. As much as we recoil from the tee shirt man’s statement, I think that viewing the problem through his lens is misleading. While his lizard brain thinks in black and white to the exclusion of reason, his statement is indicative of a much more complex sociopolitical phenomenon. I believe the social manifestations of racism are the result of tribalism. Racism as a label is too narrow. When we use that label, we end up talking in the same circles that the conversation has led us for all of my fifty years of considering the problem. While we remember slavery, Reconstruction, the Civil Rights struggle and the ongoing social, economic, educational barriers that People of Color face, we get bogged down in those realities at the expense of considering the complex, evolving nature of racism (tribalism).
The society of fifty or a hundred years ago was comprised of a far simpler mix of people and problems. Catholicism was feared and persecuted based on a pervasive and very real fear of the danger of America falling under Papal control. Intolerance and hatred of Blacks was based on the South’s having lost the single engine of economic bounty: slave labor. Those were simpler times.
Humans are tribal for all of the reasons that sociologists and anthropologists tell us. We think we understand tribalism when we look at the more easily defined religious and cultural tribalism of the Middle East, but we fail to understand it when we look at our own society. We are organized into tribes according to a plethora of characteristics, not the least of which are race and ethnicity. We have labels for our tribes: Anglo, Black, White, Latino, Asian, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, etc. We label people with money who come to our country as “ex-patriots” while we label average folk who immigrate as “immigrants”. Birth, money, education, color, religion, culture … manner of speech, dress, behavior, hairstyle, and on and on, determine where we “put” the people whom we meet in the neatly labeled boxes in our minds. Instinctively we gravitate toward people who look, sound and think like we look, sound and think.
We need to think beyond the old concept of Black and White when we consider tribalism in the twenty-first century. In today’s world, it really is more complicated than that. The established order is being threatened by a complex, incomprehensible and mysterious blending of culture, race, ethnicity, and the particularly frightening concept of non-Christian religion. In the minds of the masses, the “Anglo-Saxon Tradition”, with its entitlement to power and position, is being rapidly subverted. Thus, the concept of Barack Obama as a militant black Muslim intent upon destroying America becomes not only possible, but certain, in the collective consciousness of a significant segment of the population. Remember the Time Magazine cover of a “militant” Barack and Michelle? How could that image have been conceived or understood in terms other than its perceived threat to the historical supremacy of the “Anglo-Saxon Tradition” of government by and for people of East European descent?
When Chris Matthews talked to the crowd outside the VP debate, a white woman told him that she was voting for Obama because of “Obamacare”. Her husband had lost his job. They and their five children were without health insurance for the first time in their lives. Another white woman was chanting “Communist!”. When Matthews moved down the line to find the source of the chant, she identified herself and said that Obama is a communist. She could not define the term, but she said she knew what it meant and suggested that Matthews “study it out” if he didn’t know. She agreed that Obama was born in America, but, as she said, “He was born in America, but he is not like us”. Both women appeared to be of solid middle class status. Tribalism rejects the “Other”.
We are addressing only the manifestations of racial tension here without considering its relative significance in the evolving national consciousness. I believe we have to move beyond the parameters of the traditional discussion if we are to understand the far more complex reality of tribalism.
I was wondering where you were.
And you’re right. The issue has many elements to it now than in previous years and admittedly, I’ve had challenges in composing posts here to reflect all of the complexities that need addressing. Though, I never would’ve gone in the direction of tribalism. Again, you’ve left words for us all to ponder. I’m a little baffled about the woman’s comments that Obama was born in America but not like us. Is it because his father was African or his rearing? What does that mean, exactly?
Good post. Thanks for sharing this. “God created race, the human race. Human beins created racism”.
Itsn’t it interesting that people followed along because someone else dictated who was superior and who was not?
Everytime we talk about race and racism, I think about that one show on Oprah…that one young man’s experience of being black. He couldn’t even continue the project because it was so awful.
Thanks.
You’ve stated it quite clearly. I was kinda trippin’ on the brown-eyed woman who professed to be better. Quite adamant she was about that.
I have to commend the young man for that experiment.
My point in the previous comment is that racism is becoming the vehicle for intolerance of religious and political ideology as well. The shape of racism is changing rapidly. This woman’s statement is purely racist only in providing a framework for deeper fears. President Obama is the easily identified symbol of what Whites fear is a dark slide into a socialistic economic system (Communism) and a judicial system governed by Islamic religious law … Sharia Law.
Web sites chronicle what is believed by social conservatives to be a concerted effort by Islamists in this country to introduce Islamic law into the family court system. They cite many cases in which consideration has been given to Islamic law when that law did not conflict with constitutional law. What appears to rational people to be a simple accommodation of cultural differences is seen by a huge swath of our citizens as an insidious subversion of our judicial system. Muslim lawyers are organizing and demanding a bar association of their own, thereby legitimizing Islamic law. The events of the Arab Spring have been widely televised. Those who subscribe to the Muslim conspiracy theories have only been inflamed by the accounts. Enter Barack Obama who is immediately painted as a secret Muslim (born of a Kenyan Muslim and schooled at a Madrasa) who, by association with the likes of Bill Ayers (a self-described Communist revolutionary) can easily be believed to be the vehicle by which America is transformed into a socialist/communist country ruled by Islamic (as they say, Sharia) law. Add Black president to Muslim religious ideology to a Keynesian economic model and you get “Communism” in this woman’s mind. Thus, “He is not like us.”
Obama’s statement to Joe The Plumber ripped into the psyche of the conservative base with its unfortunate inclusion of the word, “redistribution”. We know that by its very nature capitalism IS a redistributionist system (with the natural tendency for wealth to be distributed upwards under a supply side economic model-George Bush/Mitt Romney). A careless Google search for “redistributionist” takes you to http://tinyurl.com/92xtxkp where you can find a list of recommendations for what President Obama should do in his next term. All of the recommendations are consistent with a Keynesian (demand side) economic model. The problem is that this model is anathema to the social and political ideology and dogma of conservatives, and it is the Democratic party model.
Christian conservatives readily interpret every action of our President as proof of his plan to “destroy America”. Thus, the clarion call to “Take Back America” (code for take back from the liberal socialists and the Muslim president). Barack Obama’s race has been trumped by his perceived status as a Muslim and a Communist. A discussion of race and the 2012 election must address the phenomenon of race as it has morphed under the Obama presidency into its current form.
I see. And it’s interesting because we’ve long had a very complex relationship with the Muslim community. I can’t say their fears are unfounded. I mean, look how Native Americans have been pushed aside. These fears are another one of those inevitabilities, I reckon. I have to be honest though. I don’t want Islamic governance trickling into law either. Having just come back from the middle east, oh no!
The only time my parents made any negative comments about other people (when I was growing up) was to say, “They’re just trash.” Trash came in every color, age, and shape (even our own). I had no idea my parents had any “racist” leanings until the last decade.
My Dad didn’t like Obama, but it’s usual for him to lean republican. I found out how he felt about people “of color” about six months before he died (this year). My x-sister-n-law has a live in boyfriend and my father was so annoyed that his grandson has to live with “that” man and his new “half-breed brother.”
My mother died before Obama came into the picture, but I’m sure she would have voted for him (she just wouldn’t have told my Uncle — a very vocal racist, she said). She might not have approved of my nephew’s home life (her x-daughter-n-law would be the trash in her mind). She would have been totally taken in by Obama and his charming family. I can almost hear her on the phone telling me “how elegant” Mrs. Obama looked at that event, etc.
I was so shocked to learn they even had any such feelings at all.
And so disappointed.
I am so very glad they kept those opinions to themselves while I was growing up or I would have missed out on the best babysitter we ever had and some wonderful friends.
I voted for Obama and he hasn’t let me down. I knew he have to struggle with everything he promised because he was now surrounded by so many “good ole boys,” and all of his goals would be a mighty battle among them. I’m voting for him again.
That other fella? Hell, no! He can barely stand up straight what with that filthy shoe in his mouth all the time!
Well, we’re kind of a product of our times. Some of us move along with the change and some of us don’t. Thank you for sharing. We’re all better off for our admissions.
[...] …at Totsy Mae's blog post "Unarmed, Yet Still Dangerous:" [...]
I got so taken by the comments, I forgot what I was going to say!
I didn’t think things would change because Obama became POTUS, attitudes about race don’t change that quickly. It’s embedded so deeply, it’ll take generations to release.
Yes, it does take time and I think a good deal of us thought we were on an incline, not a decline.
“The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.” ~ Abraham Lincoln
This POTUS has the breadth of mind and experience to lead us out of the mire, but the country refuses to be led. Bogged down in racism, anti-intellectualism, narrow-minded meanness. And yes, it is worse than it was four years ago. The racists are advertising their racism.
And the advertisements, literally, are becoming more pervasive as we get closer to the election.