Comments on: Obama’s Lost Half Brother Lives in a Shanty Town in Kenya

By: Tahmena Bokhari

Tahmena Bokhari — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:52:09 +0000

No I do not contradict myself. The dynamic of opportunities in the US vs ’other’ countries is an issue within the realm of international politics and international economical structures. This has nothing to do with an individual working hard or not. You can work hard, but if there are not opportunities available to you, and further if there isn’t a national or international economic structure to support opportunities for you, then it does not matter whether you work hard or not. There is an assumption that because one is not successful in the American definition, then one is lazy or not a hard worker…which is what I am arguing against here. For example, Blacks in the US do not enjoy the same ‘privileges’ as white US citizens. This is not because they work any less, but due to institutionalized racism, issues of historical oppression, on-going issues of poverty and marginalization and so on. Thus, we need to realize how our social locations have actually helped us get to where we are….moreso than our inidividual efforts of ‘working hard’.
My last point was really that beyond North America, we as North Americans need to realize that we have various kinds of privileges around the world and globally. This is not privilege that we have earned and it is not because we are some how any better than others around the world. Ask youself, why certain countries are poor and others are not? Is it that the people in the poor countries are just stupid? Is it that they just did not care to better themselves? Is it that North America and Europe are just somehow inherently superior? The answer to all of these questions is NO! The story is much bigger than just you and I as individuals and I encourage readers to think more critically about our widely-held assumptions.
Thank you.

By: C Stanley

C Stanley — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:11:41 +0000

Tahemi, you contradict yourself. The points you make at the end of your comment prove the point that opportunities are much better in the US than in many other places in the world like Kenya. And as for your initial statement that the American dream isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, with struggling single mothers as the example- in those cases, the blame lies squarely with the fathers who aren’t supporting their children, not with our system.

By: Tahmena Bokhari

Tahmena Bokhari — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:57:13 +0000

I am not sure that this story proves the saying of ‘hard work pays off’. I myself have always argued against this motto that America sells as its claim to fame around the world. I know many single moms for example, who work three labour-intensive jobs who work much harder than some of my government administrative colleagues, but they are not paid according to ‘hard work’. And then these moms come home to not sleep, but take care of their kids and work at home for no money. Thus, I think there is more to the story than the mere issue of working hard.
In the case of the Obama brothers, we are not clear on the family history (nor should we need to know) that led to the two half-brothers having very different upbringings and lives. I know from my own relatives overseas, that opportunities in many places around the world are quite different than the opportunities US citizens or first-world country nationality holders have. Furthermore, the definition of ‘hard work’ is culturally-dependent and based on your community, ethnicity or country of origin, your priorities around work or the ‘work/life/community balance’ (a concept just now taking off in America) could be very different. For example, you may prioritize your relationship with your family, even a half-sibling, if your values and norms socially trained you that the good of the family is more important than the success of one person. I am not in anyway criticizing Obama’s relationship….it is what it is and we are not clear on the family dynamics. However, I do not think that we have enough information to make a conclusion that Obama’s half-brother in Kenya feels or perceives himself as a ‘loser’. Is that term even used in Kenya and in the way that is used in North America? Perhaps his opportunities were different. Perhaps he works harder than many of us who sit at a desk all day in an airconditioned and secure building. Perhaps he did not have role models. Perhaps his life goals and values were different than our norms dictate here in North America. Perhaps he may be poor, but may be very happy and content with the life he has…which again we still do not know much about.