[Yanick responds from Africa to a post by Yoku on ethnic conflict in Africa.]
Benin is a model of pluralism in Africa. Supporting this idea are recent interviews I conducted in various parts of Benin. The data show the Beninese having no problem with interethnic marriage. This marriage is a welcome “brassage,” because adding a “different flavor” to the existing mix. The pierced jar, a national symbol of unity is no longer pierced. It is holding water. Its holes are filled by citizen participation.
>Why is Benin so far from the African ethnic conflict normative? Or, is this normative another construction of African reality? (photo: mercywatch).
On tribalism and racism. These “isms” originate from different sources: one cultural, the other perceived-biological. Chances of deconstructing the cultural seem greater than influencing perceptions of the biological. Though in many ways (not every way) their outcomes appear similar, I dare say tribal (or ethnic) ethnocentrism is different from that which leads to racism. Along the same line, I see a difference between stereotypes of Africans originating from African neighbors and stereotypes of Africans in the West. Yes, in America the same stereotypes might be “racist and crass,” but because directed at a racial outgroup. While in Ghana (staying with the same example) the stereotypes also target an outgroup, it is an ethnic outgroup which, outside of that country, is transformed into a national ingroup.
The Beninese I interviewed express deep discontent at the treatment of “Africans” in France, this without ethnic distinctions. The attack comes from outside of the African continent, so differences with the attacker appear greater. 
Fon, Yoruba, Dendi, Bariba, Mina, or other, Africans unite with their African brothers and sisters. Internationalization of the problem sheds light on the relative meanings of stereotypes, ingroups and outgroups. (Photo: Djéhami, Queen of Allada)
Finally, it is time to minimize focus on the role of colonizers in ethnic conflict and maximize research on the contributions of ethnic groups in their own problems. While it is important to recognize the intersections of history and biography and be guided by memory, the more responsibility placed on the colonizer for contemporary problems, the more gains for this colonizer in terms of power and superiority. Using Benin as model of democracy in sub-Saharan Africa, how can Africans in Africa and the Diaspora contribute to a peaceful resolution of ethnic conflicts wherever they exist, seems to me a much more positive and respectful approach which assumes Africans capable of mistakes, of thinking, and of conducting their own affairs.
~ Yanick St. Jean
Fulbright Fellow
Benin, Africa
Clinton’s Main Strength: Not Working Class Whites
At the Gallup website, Frank Newport does a provocative gender/racial analysis, titled “Obama Faces Uphill Climb vs. McCain Among White Voters. He shows that white women, not white working class voters, are the key to Clinton’s greater polling success versus McCain:
Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic nominee, will likely enter the general election with more of a handicap among white voters than would have been the case if Hillary Clinton had been the nominee, based mainly on Clinton’s stronger performance among white women.
He offers this chart from a recent survey:
A new Gallup Poll analysis of Daily tracking data collected between May 1 and May 17 shows that Clinton’s edge among white voters is not, as some have hypothesized, based on Obama’s problems among blue-collar white men, but reflects more the fact of Clinton’s strength among white women.
In this recent survey both do equally poorly versus McCain among white men:
In general, Obama and Clinton perform exactly the same among non-Hispanic white men when pitted against presumptive Republican nominee John McCain. Both Obama and Clinton lose to McCain among this group by 21-point margins, 36% to 57%.
He then provides the key implications for Obama, who is the likely Democratic candidate versus McCain in November:
The bigger issue appears to be Obama’s problems among white women, when compared to how Clinton would perform among this group. Obama loses to McCain by nine points among white women, while Clinton wins by three points. Clinton does better than Obama among both blue-collar and white-collar white women. All in all, although both Democrats are to a degree handicapped against McCain among white voters, Clinton would perform better than Obama in a general-election matchup among non-Hispanic whites.
In spite of all Clinton’s difficulties, she is still the stronger candidate versus McCain in numerous opinion polls. This suggests the power of anti-Obama feelings, some of it likely the white racial frame again, among significant segments of white voters. It also suggests the very strong desire of many (white) women to see a woman win the presidency. Also, Newsweek just released another poll showing serious problems for Senator Obama (versus McCain) among white voters–yet more evidence for racist issues in this election.
Does Senator Obama have any chance to win versus McCain if white women voters in the Democratic Party remain angry, as many are, over the openly sexist treatment of Senator Clinton by the mass media and some of Senator Obama’s supporters? The lack of honest and extensive public discussions of both US racism and sexism is one of the saddest realities of this electoral season.