For most English teachers, like me, plagiarism is tantamount to kidnapping, which is the latinate root that it comes from. Did Barack Obama plagiarize Massachusetts's Governor Deval Patrick's campaign speech?
See for yourself...
YES!
Is it "not that big a deal"? At least that is what Barack is claiming. After all Patrick and Obama are good friends. After all, what's a few lines lifted from your friend's speech without attribution.
It's a HUGE deal. Not just for anal English teachers like me but for all Americans. It's not just about kidnapping other people's words, but it's about being perfect and humble and not believing your own press, or the cult of personality that is building around your campaign. What Black people know is if you want to win in the dominant culture, you have to play an almost flawless game. It's not the pursuit but the attainment of perfection. It's being twice as good. The rules are different. Sad, but true.
This could be a very big deal in the weeks and months to come, especially as we get closer to the Democratic Convention finish line.
Ultimately, it's about character. Damon Bruce is a sports talk radio host here in the Bay Area. He has a saying at the end of his show that is apropos to this campaign season, which is "sports don't teach character, it reveals it." So, does politics.
