Before He Was President, Mistaken for a Waiter: a 2003 Obama Meeting

[kpete]

Before He Was President, Mistaken for a Waiter: a 2003 Obama Meeting
November 7, 2008, 12:34 PM


2003 garden party at the Manhattan home of media luminaries Tina Brown, now editor of the Daily Beast, and Harold Evans. The gathering just a little more than 10 years ago was to celebrate Sidney Blumenthal's book The Clinton Wars.

...Standing by myself I noticed, on the periphery of the party, a man looking as awkward and out-of-place as I felt. I approached him and introduced myself. He was an Illinois state senator who was running for the U.S. Senate. He was African American, one of a few black people in attendance.

We spoke at length about his campaign. He was charismatic in a quiet, solemn way. I told him I wanted to pitch a profile of him to a national magazine. (The magazine later rejected my proposal.)

The following year I watched as he gave the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, and then won his Senate seat that fall. On Tuesday, Barack Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States...

"What I will always remember...is as I was leaving that party ... I was approached by another guest, an established author. He asked about the man I had been talking to. Sheepishly he told me he didn't know that Obama was a guest at the party, and had asked him to fetch him a drink. In less than six years, Obama has gone from being mistaken for a waiter among the New York media elite, to the president-elect. What a country."



http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/11/07/before-he-was-president-mistaken-for-a-waiter-a-2003-obama-meeting/

[safeinOhio]

1. About every other day a customer

will ask if I'm the owner.

I'm the white maintenance man.

For fun, some days I say, "why yes I am".

[IrishAyes]

12. You should take a page from Richard Pryor's book

He said that when white neighbors in Beverly Hills persisted in mistaking him for the gardener, and one guy even asked how much he charged his present employer, Richard said essentially, "Oh, no - I don't charge Massa nothin' - sometimes he let me sleep with the wife."

[SharonAnn]

32. When I flew on business in the 60's and 70's I was often mistaken for the flight attendant.

As a manager of an LA office, a visitor using our conference room came running out and ordered me to "call him a cab". LOL! He thought I was the secretary (whom he should not have made that demand of anyway). We allowed his firm to use our conference room because it was near the airport and convenient for a meeting they had. Needless to say, I didn't ever make it available to him again.

As owner of a small tech company, I was mistaken for the receptionist/"office girl".

As a professional woman on a business trip, meeting my colleagues in a bar and being the first one there, I was asked to leave because "unescorted women are not permitted here".

Lots of stories like this as one of the first women doing business in a "Mad Men" type of world.

It happens. Peoples think Hispanics run Mexican Restaurants, Chinese run laundries and Chinese restaurants, etc.

We have a long way to go but we've actually made progress. At least I was allowed to pursue my career, using my talents, though I had to put up with a lot during those years. Still, the alternative would've been "no progress".

[chicago guy]

2. Door Man

Chicago, My wife and I attended a reception for a state rep at a expensive downtown high rise. As we walked up a short well dressed Black man ran up and opened the door and proceeded to open the other doors and called the elevator. I smiled at him thanked him and much to wife's surprise he got on the elevator with a group of us. We exited he followed and opened the door to the place we were heading. My wife is a just a worried at that point. I turned to him and said thanks Jesse, nice to see, you talk to you later. Jesse White Secretary of State of Illinois, down to earth and just a great guy to around.

[PatSeg]

3. He probably can't count how many times

such things have happened to him. Like so many black men, he probably gets frustrated hearing white men defining HIS experiences and when he tries to talk about it, he is race baiting. In the long run, he will go down in history and all those pathetic little people will be forgotten, but nonetheless, he looks so tired right now.

[Whisp]

6. yes, the pathetic little minds will be forgotten and Obama will live forever in history.

Can you imagine the weight that man carries every day, and still looks kind and human and approachable?

He is a gift to us all - someone I never imagined would be handed to us like this to help us. And yet he gets such griefing, such hate but still he holds his head high and pushes on for the fight.

How can anyone not love, or at the very least appreciate this man?

I found this old poem by Rudyard Kipling that seems to suit well for the President:


If—
By Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

[PatSeg]

7. That is perfect

I may not agree with everything he does, but I appreciate what he has to deal with to achieve his goals, or just to do his job. I am amazed at his patience and composure and I have to believe that a lot of that comes from Michelle. It is not a journey one can make alone.

When he spoke yesterday I saw the pain in his face - "Do not make me deny my experiences. They are real."

[IrishAyes]

13. One of the best.

[Smarmie Doofus]

4. A friend of mine moved into an otherwise all-white ( I guess)....

... fairly upscale coop apt bldg in NYC. At least a year later she was still telling fellow residents who came upon her in the laundry room (folding her son's socks, or whatever) that no.... she didn't have any extra time on her schedule to fit them in.

Lucky for everyone she's got a good sense of humor.

[1StrongBlackMan]

5. I must admit ...

a certain satisfaction in seeing the look in many a person's face (especially new employees) when they realize, that all those people that they paid all that attention to, while rudely ignoring me ... well ... they report to me ... And, so does their boss' boss.

[IrishAyes]

14. Karma kicks, doesn't she? Like a mule!

[Rebellious Republican]

17. Great story, that's a hoot! Just wanted to share this one with you.

I have a friend very high up on the ladder in my profession. He is my Boss's boss. As a matter of fact he is in charge of some thirty plus facilities in our district, one of 5 total in the system. Each facility has anywhere from five to 20 regular employees. Hundreds of volunteers and college interns. Many of these facilities have very powerful and influential community support organizations. He is about four people removed from the highest person on the totem pole. I have known this man for about 20 years, we met in the Navy Reserves. He was at the same level as me in our civilian jobs, but we worked at two different facilities in different districts. We quickly bonded because we shared the same employer in our civilian jobs and as fate would have it the same CB Battalion. Small world huh, my friend went on to climb the ladder over the years. I climbed that same ladder to a point and stopped at the point that the job required me to be politically involved. I did not have the desire to cross over that line and am comfortable in my current position. Plus I am not the type that can bite my tongue when that is needed. My friend is a very quite unassuming down to earth person, yet he is also very astute, intelligent articulate and an engaging person. By any standard a very remarkable individual. Sometimes we end up at the same event or meeting, he always takes the time to come and chat with me. He likes to catch up on things, reminisce about old times and to share a laugh or two. I think he also respects my opinion about what is going on in the ranks as it were. Because in his position when he asks how are things going at the Field level, he gets the standard don't rock the boat or make waves answers. He knows that I do not pull punches and give him the straight answers. Now it is very obvious that we have a special bond to the uninformed observer, we have had people that know me and walk up and join in the conversation between the two of us. Not knowing who he was I would always introduce him by his first name only, he prefers it that way. After a time he would have to go back to do the politicking with the VIPs. Whom ever had joined us in these casual conversations would always ask which facility he worked at and what his job was after he left. When I tell them who he is and what his job is, the look on their face is always priceless. Here they were speaking their honest opinion about things going on, thinking he was just another coworker. Yes he is a man of color and commands the respect of many below him and possibly the disdain of at least few at or above is level. I am proud to have served my country and continue to serve my community with him.

[EC]

8. I wonder if Obama

"fetched" him a drink? He's polite enough to have done it.

[hfojvt]

9. cool story bro

[geek tragedy]

10. What about this sounds implausible to you? nt

[hfojvt]

15. what goes around comes around

this story, is an anecdote.

Well, we tend to readily believe anecdotes that CONFIRM the way we see the world. When an anecdote suggests a different view of the world, we cast aspersions at the author. In neither case do we have any proof either way.

Just pointing that out.

[BumRushDaShow]

18. White people's stories are "reality"

Black people's stories are "anecdotes" and not reality.

Yup, this country has a long long way to go. Can't undo hundreds of years in just a few.

[gollygee]

20. +1

That's what it looks like.

[hfojvt]

21. this country has a long way to go

before it can start listening instead of trying to inject racism into everything.

P.S. I did not know the race of the author. There was no by-line in the snip.

P.P.S. Nor did I make a general statement about "white people's stories". My statement is mostly about my own stories, since I fancy myself a story teller and am willing to share my own experiences and perspectives. Yet they are likely to be met with a skeptical "cool story, bro". Well, yes, I do tend to think my own stories ARE reality, or at least a little piece of reality, since I was there when they happened.

[Gormy Cuss]

23. There's no to "inject racism into everything." Racism is evident in enough already.

One can chose to consider whether racism is part of the story or blithely ignore it in favor of other explanations but the racism and bigotry will still be there.

[hfojvt]

28. well that is what I expected a racist to say

There. I just injected racism into this discussion by accusing you of racism. Just like somebody did to me upthread.

I made a statement about how people tend to believe anecdotes that fit their world view and are skeptical about the veracity of anecdotes that contradict their world view.

A fairly general statemnt.

And somebody then implied that I was saying something racist, that I was only doubting the anecdotes of black people.

One can find racism in almost any statement, if one is willing to look for it and interpret almost anything as being motivated by racism.

I remember fairly early in the primary, when some parts of the media were jumping on Joe Biden for the supposedly racist thing he said, and, to his credit, it was Obama himself who put the kibosh on that attack by coming to Biden's defense. Of course, he did not trouble himself to defend the Clintons and their surrogates (like Ferraro) when they were being attacked as racists (Bill Clinton used the phrase "fairy tale&quot

[Gormy Cuss]

36. I understand and yet

failing to consider racism is rather foolish in our society.

[uppityperson]

25. You must've missed that the OP was about Pres Obama.

"Before He Was President, Mistaken for a Waiter: a 2003 Obama Meeting"

Yup, I can see just how that could've happened. Or do you mean you don't know Obama's race?

[hfojvt]

29. and Obama is the one telling this anecdote?

I'm not sure who wrote the article, but I am pretty sure it was NOT Obama.

[uppityperson]

24. Uh Huh.

[CakeGrrl]

31. "What goes around comes around"?

How does that apply here?

You think State Senator Obama brought the profiling on himself, or had it coming?

Not sure what you're getting at.

My brother was stopped and frisked for being a black man driving a Mercedes who fit a profile. He did nothing wrong.

Do you think I'm making that up?

[hfojvt]

33. it means that the phrase "cool story, bro"

is going around DU and therefore it comes around to this thread (thanks to me). Perhaps the people who object to seeing it here will object to it in other places (but I am not gonna hold my breath).

I was stopped, handcuffed and had my car searched all for the very, very serious crime of not wearing a seatbelt. (apparently that was Iowa's version of the Welcome Wagon) Yet, if I was to tell this story as an example of the crap that white people sometimes have to take from the police, almost inevitably someone here would respond with "cool story bro" and that person would probably get hit with replies of "+1" or "+ 1,000" instead of being challenged with "what about that story seems implausible to you?"

Or I might respond to this thread with a story about how just the other day somebody approached me as if I worked for the store instead of just being a person shopping there (although I did apply to work at the store).

But a story, even from somebody who is SUPPOSED to be a member of this community would likely be scoffed at. It's okay here to call another DUer a liar by saying "cool story, bro" but by gosh if you say that about a member of the M$M you better watch out.

[cali]

34. let me point something out to you: It's almost wholly irrelevant whether it's true or not

it, or something closely akin, happens commonly. I personally see no need to doubt it, but whether you do or not, it sure as hell could have happened.

[hfojvt]

35. how do you know it happens commonly?

And what defines commonly? Considering that the vast majority of black, and white, people are not going to ever be invited to such a soiree, how many average people are experiencing something like this? What is "closely akin"?

One reason for my reply, is that I was thinking of relating stories about how things "closely akin" to that have happened to me, the whitest of the white boys, throughout my life. But I could just feel that any story I told would likely be met with a "cool story, bro" from at least one DUer who would then get several pats on the back from the confederacy (of my detractors). So I decided instead to strike first - in self defense.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

38. clearly, you just like to argue or hear the sound of your keyboard clicking

because this entire subthread where you try to minimize an anecdote about people's stereotypes re: black people is dumb.

[hfojvt]

40. I tend to be a stickler for details

thus, I might point out that

1. I like to argue
and
2. I like to hear the sound of my keyboard clicking

are not the only possibilities. There is a fairly obvious 3rd one.

3. Maybe I am just dumb.

White people, however, like myself and Cali, do NOT know how "common" incidents like this are. How does she, or you, or I, know that unpleasant incidents in Obama's life are all that much different from those in my life. Was he, for example, handcuffed by the side of the road while police searched his car because he was driving without a seatbelt? (hey, cool story bro). Has he been confronted many times for "shopping with a backpack"? Has he been told "you are not welcome at our church services"? Perhaps if we both shared our stories, we would find we are not that different.

Further, if you look at the details of this anecdote, another thing is pretty obvious. Obama was not thought to be a waiter JUST because he was black. He was also - not acting like a guest. He was standing off by himself. Not mingling. Not with a drink in his hand. It even says so in the anecdote.

But, because we have been taught a certain world view and have a firm unshakeable belief in it, we will use such an anecdote to uncritically reinforce what we already believe.

1) this is an example of racist stereotyping
2) these incidents are common

Any other interpretation is just argumentive - or dumb.

But I happen to have a different world view, and see no reason to uncritically accept yours. Certainly not based on one self-serving anecdote.

[IrishAyes]

16. Nothing about it sounds implausible to ME

because I'VE SEEN THAT TYPE OF THING OVER AND OVER ALL MY ADULT LIFE!

What an oddly appropriate username you chose.

[KittyWampus]

11. that is usually a comment reserved when one is incredulous. Do you doubt this happened?

[Arugula Latte]

19. You don't believe this story but you believe that a carpenter born from a deity-raped virgin

rose from the dead and will come back to Earth to save believers any day now ... Okaaaaay...

[WinkyDink]

27. Jesus wasn't ever a carpenter, not even in any fable. Joseph was the carpenter.

[msanthrope]

30. Mark 6:3 nt

[Scurrilous]

22. Yep.

What a country!

[Taitertots]

26. Less than one hour ago, someone mistook me for a K-mart employee n/t

[woolldog]

37. Sorry.

Seriously I mistook someone for a store employee the other day. She seemed mortified when I asked her if she worked in the store, like working retail is so awful. Don't see what the big deal is?

I'm never mistaken for an employee because I don't dress well enough, ie hardly ever wear khakis and a collared shirt

[dipsydoodle]

39. I wouldn't base who was who anywhere on the colour of their skin

and don't personally know anyone else who would either.

Do such thoughtless acts remain an American trait ?