My Middle Name is Hussein Too
On the eve of the Democratic presidential primaries in North Carolina and Indiana, right wing elements supporting John McCain, and even some desperate elements opposing Barack Obama from within the Democratic Party, are engaged in some disturbingly racist and religiously bigoted attacks. You’ll know these attacks when you see them, because most of them bear an unmistakable hallmark: The phrase “Barack Hussein Obama”.
Right wing Republicans love to use Barack Obama’s name, Hussein, because they like to imply that he is secretly a Muslim who is just pretending to be Christian. For people who believe in the Constitution of the United States of America, such attacks don’t matter, because the Constitution states that there shall be no religious test for public office. Unfortunately, many American voters don’t know or care about that part of the Constitution, and the Republican attacks are aimed to influence them.
It’s a form of nasty religious bigotry, suggesting that no one but a Christian will ever be allowed to become President of the United States. In this sense, the attempt to use the middle name Hussein as a slur is an insult to all non-Christian Americans, not just Muslims.
The Barack Hussein Obama attack is also crudely racist, given that Barack Obama has the middle name Hussein because his father came from Kenya. The name Hussein is ethnic, being attached only to people who come from areas where Islam has been a strong cultural influence - Africa and Asia from the Middle East to Indonesia.
When Republicans attack Barack Obama because of their middle name, part of the attack is on his ethnicity. Barack Obama is partly of African descent. His father was from Kenya, and that’s why Barack Obama’s middle name is Hussein. It isn’t because Barack Obama was born Muslim (as if any baby has a religion). Barack Obama’s father had long ago stopped being Muslim by the time that his son was born.
Take someone who has Kenyan ancestry, and it’s likely that their middle name will be something like Hussein. What Republicans who attack Barack Obama because of his name are really saying is that no one with any ancestors from a country like Kenya should be allowed to become President of the United States. They’re making a clear racist argument: Only people with no African or Asian ancestry would be allowed to become President.
I am sick of watching Americans engage in this kind of ugly bigotry. That’s why I created this bumper sticker and put it on my car.
If the racists and religious bigots of America are going to attack Barack Obama because his middle name is Hussein, then I’m going to stand with Barack Obama. As far as you can be concerned, my middle name is Hussein too.
If you want to know more about why I made this bumper sticker, you can watch this movie, in which I discuss the matter a little bit further.
That’s awesome. You and I think alike! I have a shirt called My Middle Name Is Hussein (Beautiful). Check it out here… http://barackstar08.com/hussein–please-vote–give-us-your-opinion-on-which-one-to-make.html
All shirt can be seen at http://www.barackstar08.com
Keep up the good work!
That looks like an American Apparel shirt, too, Marco. Is it?
For those who are not stickerific, a button with the same message:
My Middle Name is Hussein Too button
I can be really upset (and am) with Barack Obama for leaving the Fourth Amendment behind in his ambition, but the xenophobia is just too much. For goodness’ sake… if you’re going to oppose Obama, do it for a substantive reason, not because his middle name irritates you!