I READ somewhere that, in a small Italian village, people cried for joy when they heard the news that an African American became President of the US. It may be true because 20th century generations around the world grew up with the understanding that African-Americans are mistreated in the total establishment of the United States.

Billions of people around the world knew it was a long yearned for justification to have a Black American become the President. There was overwhelming emotions among the people in India when a woman born from a migrant from India became the US Vice-President and rivers of emotions flowed when the son of Indian citizens became the Prime Minister of the UK.

But how have these dialectical changes in both the politics of the US and the UK impacted upon the policies of these powerful, (some would say imperialist) countries? After his first term, the aura of Obama declined.

His second term was miserable. He barely won and became the first sitting President to have the largest defeat in both Houses of Congress during his second term. Yet, Obama had the temerity to say after the defeat of Hilary Clinton by Trump that, if he had run, he would have won.

The long tradition of non-White people gravitating to left wing parties in the Western world has gone with the arrival of the 21st century. I grew up in a world whereby if you met any East Indian or African from London, they would be critical of the British establishment.

It was taken for granted that an African American would frown on US politicians. Those days are gone. Some of the most reactionary politicians in the ruling parties of the Western world are non-White folks.

But more importantly, as Asians, Hispanics and Africans in developed, capitalist countries move from lower classes to the petite bourgeoisie or become wealthy, they become ardent support of the establishment. They see themselves as having arrived and they feel that such a spot is best maintained if they openly endorse the status quo.

If you check the amount of African American Hollywood stars that support Israel, the numbers are shocking. It was natural in the 1960s and 1970s for most African Americans to denounce Israel for genocidal occurrences.

Beyonce’s latest album features her on a horseback with cowboy hat, wearing clothes made out of the American flag and holding an American flag in her hand. In the 1960s and 1970s, you would never find an African American pop star highlighting the American flag like that.

In the UK, there is a pronounced number of African and Indian ministers in the Conservative Party government of the UK and none, not one of them is moderately right-wing. All of them hold extreme right-wing position with all of them in favour of curtailing non-White immigration to the UK. In the US, an African American woman is Vice-President under a president who has gone overboard in supporting Israel and she has not voiced a dissenting opinion. Barack Obama is part of the Biden campaign team.

Two factors explain why non-White politicians and the non-White petite bourgeoisie have become so right-wing in their world outlook in the Western world. One is the acceptance syndrome. If you are going to make it, then you have to show behaviour that is sympathetic to the prevailing values endorse by the White establishment to be accepted.

This is the story of Obama in the US, Suella Braveman in the UK and Dilan Yesilgoz Zergerius in Holland – just three examples of hundreds in the Western world. They would not have reached to the top of their respective party, if they did not manifest, open espousal of the values of the white establishment.

The second factor is social movement. As Asians, Hispanics and Africans in the US become rich or famous, what happens at the psychological level is that they feel that they are part of the great society. They do not see themselves as belonging to an ethnic minority. At the psychological level, they see themselves as a natural American so they think of their country as this great part of the world that they are a part of.

African American celebrities like Beyonce, Kanye West, Ice-Cube, Chris Rock, do not see themselves as African but as Americans that belong to the establishment. Overall, they support American policy in the world.

You may be disappointed when you read that African American celebrities have openly sided with Israel. But if you talk to them they would tell you that their country is a close friend of Israel and they support what their country do. Within this framework, it would be best for non-White working people in the West to vote for issues rather than colour.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.