A Canadian’s Ode to Obama

This past Saturday on the subway in Seoul, Korea, I was attacked with a racial epithet by a random Korean man. He blamed me, as a white man, for many Western influences he saw as negatively affecting Korea.

And the Korean girl that I walked arm-in-arm with? He called her a slut and a whore.

My American friend was very sympathetic of this ugly encounter – he suggested the following metaphor: I was like a black man, and my Korean “assailant” had not only used the “n word” to my face but had gone so far as to explain why I was an “n word”, and why any female that walked with me was to be considered a whore.

I do not lay claim to this metaphor, nor am I sure whether it is analogous to the situation. I am sure of only one thing:

Pretty hateful stuff.

Immediately following this startling event, my mind told me two cynical things:

Humanity has progressed less than you thought.

The state of race-relations on Earth is dismal

But now on to the real story…

This run-in occurred on November 1st, 2008.

Three days before November 4th, 2008.

At approximately 11 PM Eastern Time (1 PM the next day in Korea) I sat down at my computer and read that Barack Obama had been elected President of the United States.

Suddenly my problems in Korea seemed so small and insignificant! A country with a history of hate and racism for African-Americans had managed to elect a Black President in my lifetme … a surreal achievement.

My two cynical thoughts have been replaced with two optimistic ones (and a third for good measure):

Humanity has progressed further than I thought

The state of race-relations on Earth is better than ever before

If America can elect a black man, anything is possible

Does the realm of possibility include a transformation of the man that harangued me on the subway? Might he think “Wow, America elected a black President, they must now be a very tolerant nation. Perhaps I should be more tolerant”.

If you think this is a ridiculous and naive sentiment, please re-read Optimistic Thought #3.

Obama 2008.

Celebrating in Seoul, Korea.