The subtle symbolism in the chat of John Edwards (race)

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I just added this to another thread, but I thought it was important enough to give it its own thread. It was a response to someone who said that Edwards might be as nuanced as other candidates, but it's good because his simple language is more accessible than others. I disagree with that analysis. I find that, in his simple stories, are VERY complicated themes that are very interesting. As I said in the other thread:

There are nuances in Edwards's speeches ... and they're MORE powerful.

Think about that question at the AZ debate about race. All the other white candidates tried to tell us how they were good on race because they knew black people at various points in their lives -- that they worked or fought alongside black people. Basically they said that their path crossed the path of a black man once and and that's how they could empathize with the plight of racial minorities in America. Kerry talked about Vietnam. I think Dean talked about being a FL ranch hand while on summer vacation. Lieberman talked about marching for civil rights. I think Gep, whose district is 99.5% white (or something like that) said something about working with unions.

Well, Edwards, who grew up in a racially diverse community (there are pictures of him playing high school basketball and football with teammates who are white and black) told a story about how when he was growing up, his town had no Latinos. 35 years later, the town is over half Latino. He said that those people are going to that town today for the same reason his father moved there years ago -- for better economic opportunities for their families. He said that he is fighting for people to have the same opportunities that his father fought for for him.

This is a simple story, but it is powerful. Unlike the other candidates, Edwards didn't tell a story about how his path crossed the path of a person who was a racial minority, and that that somehow created empathy. Although Edwards definitely has lived and gone to school side-by-side with African Americans, Edwards told a story about NOT crossing the path -- he said he didn't know any of these new Latino immigrants growing up. He was saying they never walked that spatial-temporal path. But what he was saying is that you don't need to do this to understand the common hopes and dreams of people of all races and national origins. He said that we all walk that path at the same time.

It was a brilliant story, way more subtle than what the other candidates say. And it's way more powerful.

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1. kizzack

[chimpymustgo]

2. JRE's brilliance is so subtle a lot of people miss it.

He's not a shouter. But if you just listen. Just listen. He has figured the important stuff out.