Drudge Report<\/a> released on February 25, he might be mistaken by the crowds at Sigd for a Kessim \u2013 an Ethiopian Jewish rabbi.<\/p>\nTraditionally in East Africa, men of all confessional backgrounds have been fond of wrapping lots and lots of white cloth around their heads and bodies. For one, it\u2019s really hot there, especially in the summer months. Beyond that, in these cultures and others around the world, flowing white clothing symbolizes dignity, modesty, and humility. So, Ethiopian Jewish rabbis, Orthodox Christian priests in Eritrea and nomadic Muslims in Darfur all wear white cloth on their heads and bodies.<\/p>\n
That is why the release of the photograph of Barack Obama in a white head-wrap and dress marks another non-issue episode in the political silly season we call the 2008 Presidential campaign (no, I\u2019m not plagiarising Obama\u2019s words \u2013 \u201csilly season\u201d is a well-known cliche). At best, whoever passed the photo onto Drudge sought to embarass Obama with an awkward (to American eyeballs) \u201chey-I-wore-something-like-that-for-Halloween-once\u201d costume to diminish his stature. At worst, the photo\u2019s release was intended as a form of political psy-ops: to stoke latent reservoirs of xenophobia and racism by producing an image that casts the candidate as foreign or alien and somehow makes his less-inspiring opposition more electable. <\/p>\n
If the intent of the photograph\u2019s release was to appeal to the baser instincts of voters, it has failed given Obama\u2019s thickening teflon and burgeoning popularity. Unfortunately, we will see many more attempts ahead to frame the candidate of hope in terms that speak to middle America\u2019s deepest racial, religious, and cultural fears. It doesn\u2019t seem to matter that Obama\u2019s honorific garb in the photograph is common to Christians, Jews, and Muslims in East Africa. That the dress and culture of African Jews and Christians seems to also be fair game for mockery. That we could fill albums and albums with pictures of presidents and first ladies wearing clothing given to them on their travels that may appear strange or silly to us. <\/p>\n
Yet holding these pictures up as objects of ridicule reinforces American arrogance and ignorance at a time when we should be inculcating humility and a respect for human dignity. Perhaps we should all, as Americans, embrace East African garb \u2013 it may provide us with the sorely-needed humility, modesty, and dignity we need desperately to heal us as a nation.<\/p>\n
Partial to both fried okra and tofu, Mas\u2019ood Cajee has enjoyed living in red and blue states alike. He can be reached at mcajee@yahoo.com.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With a simple photo in traditional African garb, an uneasy instinct has emerged to frame Barack Obama in ways that speak to middle America’s deepest racial, religious, and cultural fears.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":525,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary","category-masood-cajee"],"yoast_head":"\n
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