Humanist

I still have not yet answered this question posed to me by my Norwegian sister friend, “what do you make of Kamala Harris’ chances of defeating Trump?” (Note: I come in peace so I decided to edit out the choice words my sister used to described him by simply using his name.)

As I reflect on the question at hand, it has dawned on me that if Harris and Trump were contesting for the presidency in Uganda and the field was level, Trump would win with an overwhelming majority.

These are some of the reasons I think so. Over 83 percent of Ugandans identify as Christians. With a seeming majority subscribing to the colonizer’s version of Christianity, with rigid ‘moral codes’ – Judeo Christian beliefs, the right wing conservative kind, couched in religious extremism as promoted by right wing nationalist evangelicals.

The kind of Christian beliefs of old that are incompatible with liberal freedoms and human rights, especially on matters gender issues and sexual orientation. And so, when it comes to choosing a president, among those very unique positive qualities that Harris has, would be that which would be held against her in Uganda.

She is a highly educated powerful woman. Oh my! In complete contradiction with the conservative christian right about the role and position of women, coupled with patriarchal cultures of our first nations, many in Uganda, women and men alike, cannot yet process a woman commander in chief, sadly.

She self-identifies as an African American South Indian. Even though the color of her skin is light and closer to “white”, sub-consciously and in keeping with the “one drop of “Negro blood” makes a person black” social construct, many Ugandans likely categorize Harris as racially inferior to Trump, a “white man”, sadly.

The racism card would loose Harris the election in Uganda in two major racist ways:

Reverse racism

Reverse racism prevails in Uganda. Many black-African-Ugandans have internalized an inferiority complex, a legacy of colonialism, that normalizes treating fellow blacks negatively different from the way in which “white people”, bazungu, are given preferential treatment. There is a popular belief in Uganda that bazungu are the superior race.

Specific Asian-on-black-African-on-Asian racism

Apparently, for example, there is a tendency of many employers in Uganda giving replies to job applications with ‘black names’ more than those which sound like ‘Indian names’. And on the other hand, in general, Asians in Uganda tend to assimilate little, if at all, into Uganda cultures; and overall, Asians in Uganda have failed to amicably co-exist with black-Africans.

Jackie Zawedde Muyomba’s opinion piece, “Why racism should be fought by everybody,” published in the New Vision, gives insights into the prevailing status quo in Uganda of Asian-on-black-African-on-Asian racism, which Ugandan voters would likely use against Harris, if they were the ones voting, sadly.

I don’t know the extent conservative christian right extremism holds sway in the United States of America – numerically among eligible voters. If it be the case that they are the majority of the population, as is the case in Uganda; and they similarly hold on to their extremist views to the extent of their counterparts in Uganda; then if Harris beats Trump it will be by a slim margin.

And yes, there is a possibility she fails to beat Trump, sadly.