The Malia Generation

[bigtree]

The next generation ... a re-elected Barack Obama with his daughter Malia. photo: Getty Images


WHEN she stepped onto that stage in Chicago on election night, my breath caught. She was tall to the point of stretching, effortlessly poised and graceful beyond reproach. The metaphor is often overused but she was gazelle-like.

I'm speaking, of course, about 14-year-old first daughter Malia Obama, the teenager who has inherited not only the physical gifts of her parents but also the expectations that come with them.

''Sasha and Malia, before our very eyes, you're growing up to be two strong, smart, beautiful young women, just like your mom,'' the US President, Barack Obama, said in his victory speech.

Like the teen gymnast Gabrielle Douglas before her, Malia on Tuesday seemed to truly enter the national stage representing a new generation of young women - and black women - who seem unburdened by the stereotypes that have weighed down their predecessors. It wasn't long ago that Michelle Obama, whose national approval rating is about 66 per cent, had to bat down worn out labels such as militant, unpatriotic and, of course, angry. But Malia (and her sister Sasha) seem somewhat exempt from that when it comes to their national perception.

. . . from a recent article in The New Yorker titled ''The Malia Generation'' :

''Mitt Romney had tried to win the election, in part, by making people a little ashamed of how they'd felt back in 2008 - that their hopes had gone bad … And yet some things hadn't faded, it turned out. Obama won and will still be the President when Malia is old enough to vote for his successor,'' wrote Amy Davidson, a senior editor at the magazine.


read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/first-daughters-reflect-changes-in-american-dream-20121110-294sx.html

[morningglory]

1. I want to read the book she writes when she grows up a little. nt

[lalalu]

2. They aren't truly exempt.

Just as their father , mother, and Gabriele Douglas weren't exempt. Some very mean and nasty things were said about Douglas and published. Right now Obama's daughters are being highly protected by their parents, the secret service, and most people trying not to cross a line.

That does not mean they are exempt from some mean and nasty lingering stereotypes. I hope their parents do not teach them they are exempt or "special black people". Black people with those types of perceptions grow up to be Clarence Thomas, Herman Cain, or Stacey Dash.

[bigtree]

4. I didn't read that as some privilege

. . . but, rather, a shift in attitudes and understandings about the diversity in character and personalities that have always existed among members of one race or the other.

And, of course, their 'exemption' from criticism and slurs is ephemeral; but there is hope in the evolving understanding and perception of America as a whole toward our emerging, burgeoning, multi-cultural generation.

[lalalu]

7. Hope is not the same as exemption.

You must have missed all the hatefulness and racism of this election. Do you somehow think that only applies to some black people and not others? His daughters are not "exempt" from such views. There is hope that things are changing but there is still a long way to go.
Gabrielle Douglas BTW endured some very hateful things.

[bigtree]

9. who's denying that?

. . . you've made an issue here out of a misread of what was written. There is an undeniable shift in attitudes and perceptions in America which is being ushered in by this new generation -- just like it was in my children's; just like we progressed in my childhood, from our challenging past. That's what I think the author was conveying; not some notion that idiots somewhere or the other were going to eventually stop saying hurtful things.

And, there HAS been 'unburdening' of these generations from these stereotypes which have been used to limit opportunity and access in government, business, education, access to health care . . . None of that progress is contingent on the possibility that hurtful things might be said.

I wouldn't underestimate, at all, the importance and the impact of just the characteristic aspects of this historic presidency in influencing and changing the attitudes of a new generation; if not all of the more substantive ones that we can agree on.

[lalalu]

12. Things are slowly changing but there is still a lot of lingering racism.

It is still being handed down to some young people. It is dangerous and foolish to ever tell a black child they are "exempt" . It goes beyond just saying hurtful things.

At some point Malia will be out of the white house and on her own. I can guarantee you that even with the slow changes her parents will have with her the same special conversation all black parents have with their children. If you want your black child in America to survive you better have it.Things have not changed that much.

[bigtree]

13. I don't see where anyone said they were exempt from racism

You make a good point, but, the author makes a more general point about the national perception of the daughters not reflecting any of the more controversial and stereotypical characterizations their mother has experienced and endured while in the WH. I'm sure they're well aware that they're in a bubble which doesn't reflect the world they'll face as adults -- like most children.

I would tell these two -- as I've told my own children -- to refuse to perceive the world through the bigoted and racist attitudes and expressions they encounter. To broaden their own positive attitudes and expressions to influence the world around them. We are not limited by how others perceive us; only by their actions (and our own) are we affected or influenced in any significant or meaningful way.

[lalalu]

15. Good points

I agree

[madokie]

3. We are blessed

To have this man and his family as our anchor in this storm we're in. We're here not by chance either, it was and is well orchestrated by those who tried every way possible to steal this election so they could continue the path that st ronnie the raygun and his rabid followers started us on 32 years ago.

[bigtree]

8. it was almost incredible to watch

. . . as Romney so blithely and cravenly followed the republican campaign's overt and regressive appeal to the racists and bigots which form the most cohesive bloc of voters they have (fundies). This was an 'all in, or nothing' effort by the republicans who viewed comity or restraint as a fatal weakness - despite all of the evidence right in front of them that their bull was dooming Romney's candidacy and branding their party. They STILL think they held back more of the race and dog whistle stuff and THAT"S what sunk Romney's battleship. Their disconnect is as evident as the inanity of the divisive politics they rely on these days.

They actually succeeded in enhancing all of Barack Obama's excellent character. That's the battle they waged -- a personal campaign against his character -- and they lost it.

[cali]

5. I don't want to read about them or hear about them.

I love how their parents are keeping them protected from all the shit that comes with being in a fishbowl. My deepest wish for both Sasha and Malia is that they can spend the next four years as they spent the last four- being able to live and grow without all of us peering in. They're such lovely girls and they so deserve their privacy and the opportunity to have private lives.

[bigtree]

6. but, you will

[cali]

10. I know, but I'm sure you grasp what I'm saying and I'm sure you wish them the same.

[bigtree]

11. can you tell me the balance you think the president wants to achieve in their exposure

. . . that would be what I wish for them.

[cali]

14. What? Why just the President? This has just as much to do

with what their mom wants- and both parents have been very clear about this- repeatedly.

[bigtree]

16. sure, Mom, too

and, the President and the First lady have 'clearly' worked to balance their exposure in ways which protect their privacy. I don't think they've precluded talking about them, though.