I have been thinking about this a lot lately. The reason it has been on my mind so much is because of the many times I have heard white people being called racists, especially during this heated election season, for the most innocuous comments.
There are probably some people who will have a problem with what I'm going to say here (including the "rehab monster" who left a comment on my last post), but since everyone has the right to my opinion, I am going to post it anyway.
When I was in high school, I had quite a few black friends. I was a "band nerd", and most of my friends were in band, as well. I'd have to say that I had just as many black friends as white ones. Sharonda, Mona, Ron, Ayisha, Denise, Wally--I had more fun with them than I have ever had in my life since. Color wasn't even something we thought about. We were always together doing band activities (go ahead, call me a nerd again) and those were some of the best times of my life.
After high school, I lost touch with most of my school friends.
Cut to 2003. I moved to the city I live in now. I got a job at a local hospital, and the floor I worked on had a diverse crew. Diverse, but the majority of the employees on this particular floor were black. After being there for about 3-4 months, I was having a party at my house. I invited everyone at work. I was talking to the secretary, who happened to be black, about the party. When I asked if she knew if any of the girls were coming, she told me that they probably would not, because they didn't think there would be any black people there. Never mind that if a few of them came, HELLO, there would be black people there! That didn't seem to matter.
None of them showed up.
I can't recall how the subject came up, but a few months later, this same secretary told me that the black girls who worked with me did not like me. It wasn't a real surprise, as they made it excruciatingly obvious. But now she told me that they thought I was a racist. I asked what in the world I could have possibly done or said to make them feel that way. Her answer? "They found out you are a Republican." Yes, that is exactly what the secretary told me. I had never discussed politics or mentioned race. But someone had overheard me say that I was registered Republican, and I was immediately branded a racist. It was obvious to me how important race was on that unit, and now I knew for sure that I did not fit in.
My black co-workers, when pointing me out to a visitor on our unit, would yell down the hall, "THE WHITE GIRL!" Yet, I am have been told, more than once, that if I point out the fact that someone is black, even just to mention it in passing conversation, I am a racist.
So, here I was, the minority, and I was being accused of being a racist because of my party affiliation. The black people were refusing to come to my party, not really because there wouldn't be any black people there, but because "the white girl" was having the party. And, while it's ok to refer to me as such (which, incidentally, didn't bother me in the least), I had better not get caught doing the same thing if the tables were turned.
So, what is going on in this country? In 1985, I could be friends with black people, and we never stopped to consider the color of each other's skin. In 2004, I am a racist because I am Republican, and the black people I work with every day don't want to come to my house.
Who were the racists? Who was making race an issue? It wasn't me.
So, now I will get to the main point of this blog post:
I am so sick of hearing about people being called racists for choosing not to vote for Barack Obama. I have never voted for a Democrat, and I'm certainly not going to start now. But if there had been a black, conservative Republican candidate as an option in the primaries, and if his policies were in line with my beliefs, I would not have hesitated to vote for him.
On the other hand, I think it's pretty clear that Obama is a racist. Too bad the liberal media didn't pound on him for his religious beliefs the way they did Mitt Romney for his. I have already mentioned Obama's former church. It's the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. On their website, they proclaim to be "unashamedly black". I can just imagine what would happen if any church bragged on their website about being "unashamedly white". And HERE is the value system of the church. As I suggested before, every time you read the word "black" there, replace it with "white". What would have happened if John McCain had attended a church with that value system? Jesse and Al would have gone on a tirade, and McCain would not be the Republican nominee for the presidency, to say the least. Yet Obama attended this church for 20 years, and only left under election year pressure. Even Oprah, who I am not a fan of, left the same church years ago because of Jeremiah Wright's sermons. The sermons that Obama claimed he had never heard.
To further support my argument, here are some quotes, straight from the horse's mouth. You have probably heard all of them, but it really drives the point home when you take them all together. These comments make it obvious that Obama has an incredible amount of contempt for white people, and that his loyalty lies not with the American people, but with one race.
"That's just how white folks will do you."--Barack Obama
"....After all, there were thousands of so-called campus radicals, most of them white and tenured and happily tolerant. No, it remained necessary to prove which side you were on, to show your loyalty to the black masses, to strike out and name names."--Barack Obama
"It is this world, a world where cruise ships throw away more food in a day than most residents of Port-au-Prince see in a year, where white folks' greed runs a world in need, apartheid in one hemisphere, apathy in another hemisphere...That's the world! On which hope sits!"--Barack Obama (Edited to make Malcolm happy: This is actually a quote from Jeremiah Wright. As if that matters. Obama included it in his book, and Obama all but idolized Wright. Birds of a feather, and all that...)
"I don't believe it's possible to transcend race in this country. Race is a factor in this society. The legacy of Jim Crow and slavery has not gone away."--Barack Obama
"The point I was making was not that Grandmother harbors any racial animosity. She doesn't. But she is a typical white person."--Barack Obama
What white person, much less white presidential candidate, could get away with saying anything like that about black people?
So why the double standard? In a country where we are told that we must be "color blind", why is race constantly being brought up in this election? Why are whites considered racist if they choose not to vote for Barack Obama? Why do I hear black people saying they are voting for Obama because "it's about time we put a black man in the White House"? And why does Obama get a pass on some of his comments, not to mention his association with the hateful, despicable Jeremiah Wright and his racist church?
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Because for more than 20 years people like Sharpton have been able to bamboozle "their own people" into believing that they are always victims in order to CAPITALIZE (how ironic) on their misery...a misery that did not exist before they psychologically created it. MONEY GREED AND POWER.
I've had similar experiences to you btw. I never thought about who my friend were based on the color of their skin, last names etc...but I have had similar experiences as you write about with race as an adult. It's very very sad. Did you see the info I posted about the University of Delaware's racist indoctrination policy?
I too have been called the dreaded "R" word. For merely having a McCain bumper sticker on my truck, & also for posting in my blog that I was for McCain. Whats going to happen IF
Obama wins? Is the caucasian race (Who ARE the minority) going to be called names during his entire term?
Every time I hear the "R" word, or the bias problem it's not coming from the mouths of the fair skinned race. But rather from the African Americans. Is that still the PC way of saying it?)
Keep up these postings, maybe just maybe it will make people wake up & think for themselves once again.
And every liberal continuing to point out that Obama is a black man is only 1/2 black, forgetting that he is 1/2 white too! I don't care if he's purple or orange, I'm still not voting for him. Not because he's black/white but because he's an idiot!
To call someone a racist simply because they are a Republican (or any other political affiliation) makes no sense. Although I can't excuse the feelings of your Black co-workers, I will attempt to explain them. Many Black people feel that Republican politicians are insensitive to the needs of not only Blacks, but other minorities, and women as well. Like it or not, the perception is there.
As for your Black co-workers shunning your party, it may have been a case of them not wanting history to repeat itself. In my lifetime, there may have been events where I was the only Black (or one of the few) and as a result had to deal with the odd look or stupid remark. Your co-workers may have had similar experiences as me. Again, I'm not excusing your co-worker's behavior... but I am attempting to explain it. Having said that, all of my experiences in situations like this haven't been bad. As a result, I wouldn't not go to an event simply because of the racial make-up. However, my past experiences would cause me to be on my guard.
As for the double standard, it goes both ways. If you'd like me to explain why I feel the double standard works against Blacks, I will be happy to do so.
It would be silly for anyone to say that a White person is a racist just because they aren't voting for Obama. However, we know that there are Whites who won't vote for him because of his race. On the other hand, there are Blacks who are voting for him for that same reason and that's not good either. Although I'm voting for Obama, it has nothing to do with his skin color. If a Black such as Armstrong Williams or James T. Harris running for Prez, no way would I pull the lever in their favor.
Malcolm, I thank you for being respectful in your response. However, knowing my co-workers and the way I was personally treated by them, I believe that the reason they avoided my party had a lot more to do with the fact that they just dislike white people than being afraid of how they would be treated at the party. Neither I, nor any other white person I worked with, had ever been rude or condescending to them in any way. In fact, the only people who ever even brought up race were the black people.
I notice that you did not address the comments I pointed out that show Obama is a racist. Surely you can understand why Obama's comments about white people make some of us nervous. I think you would feel the same if the tables were turned. I can't think of any justification for the comments he made, and it's very frightening to imagine our country being led by someone with such hatred. Hatred a la Jeremiah Wright. That's raw hatred right there, and don't tell me Obama doesn't feel the same. He went to that church for 20 years and called that man his mentor.
Let me ask you 2 questions. BE HONEST!
1. If a white man made statements like those Obama made about whites, but made them about blacks instead, would you want him as your president?
2. What do you think would happen if John McCain had attended a church with the same value system as Obama’s church, but with the word “white” inserted instead of “black”?
I wish I had a dollar for every time I have heard a black person ask, "What have the Republicans done for us?" That's the problem with this country. So many people think the government is supposed to DO for them. But, to answer that question, Martin Luther King was a Republican. So was Lincoln. I think the two of them did an awful lot for black people. When does it end?
I don’t know of any double standard that works against blacks. But I do know what does work against them: The victim mentality that is preached to them constantly by Democrats and the media. Read this article. It illustrates that point quite well, and also answers the question “What have Republicans done for black people?” http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=16500
Thank you for your response Productive Slacker. I started to respond to your comments about Obama being a racist, but declined because I figured we would just go 'round and 'round and wind up "agreeing to disagree". However, I have no problem addressing them.
If the quotes you included by Obama were made by a White Presidential candidate about Blacks, I would be concerned. However, I would also do some research to find out the source of the quotes and the context in which they were made. For example, there is more to one of the quotes than just the one line you included (“That’s just how white folks will do you"). As you may know, it's taken from the book "Dreams From My Father". If you read the entire passage, I think you will see that the one line you posted is taken entirely out of context. Then again, maybe you won't.
If McCain attended the white equivalent of the Rev. Wright's church, he would get raked over the coals. However, he'd still get support and might even get elected. Obama has gone on record in his denouncement of the Rev. Wright’s views. However, I don’t think there is anything he can do to convince you and others that he isn’t a racist. As I said, we will have to "agree to disagree".
I have a question for you now if you don't mind. I won't bother asking you to be honest. :-)
Regarding John McCain's use of the term "gooks" (which many Asians feel is the equivalent of the "N" word) back in 2000, are you going to be as hard on him as you are on Obama?
As for double standards towards Blacks, look at the way the media portrayed the O.J. Simpson and Robert Blake murder cases. While there was tons of outcry (that continues to this day) when O.J. was acquitted, there was hardly any when Blake was found innocent. I think a bigger fuss was made over the O.J. murder case because it was a Black man accused of killing two White people. Had the victims been Black, it wouldn't have received nearly the same amount of coverage.
Although I appreciate you including the link, you didn't have to bother because I realize that some Republicans have done good things for Black people.
By the way, do you ever read/comment on Democratic blogs? If not, you should consider it. I think it's healthy when opposing sides can respectfully debate the issues. Reading the thoughts of those whose views are in lockstep with our own gets boring in my opinion.
I thought of some more questions I wanted to ask. Did all of the Obama quotes that you cited come from "Dreams From My Father"? If so, did you read the book? If not, where did you get them?
Also, if Obama is a racist, why is it that millions of Whites are supporting him? Finally, why aren't right wing pundits such as Sean Hannity citing these quotes over and over to drive home the point that they believe Obama is a racist?
You are right. I have read the passages, and I do not see how anything was taken out of context. Furthermore, if you heard that I said this: “That’s just how black folks will do you.” Or this: “He was a typical black person.”…Can you think of any way that could possibly be ok? How can it be taken out of context? Sounds different to you when you insert the word “black”, doesn’t it?
McCain would get VERY LITTLE support if he was tied to a racist church, and you know it! He wouldn’t stand a chance, and wouldn’t have even been a contender in the primaries!
Of course Obama tries to pretend he’s not in agreement with Wright’s views! He’s running for president! How long did it take him to leave the church? Even Oprah left it years ago, due to Wright’s sermons! You don’t attend a church for 20 years, become close to the pastor, have him baptize your children and call him your mentor, if you think his racist views are abhorrent! And you, Malcolm, would never vote for a white man with a racist past like that!
No, I will not be as hard on McCain for his “gooks” comment. I’m not saying it’s something he should be proud of, but it’s nowhere near what Obama has said over and over again. I don’t think you’ll find a squeaky clean politician. People will dig up dirt on anyone running for president. But that doesn’t even come close to the Obama comments, along with his association with Jeremiah Wright for 20 years! Throw in his terrorist buddies, and you have a loathsome individual.
Here’s a good example of the double standard: Someone hung an effigy of Sarah Palin. She was politely asked to take it down. Someone hung an Obama effigy. Arrested! You can Google it.
Here’s some more double standard for you: Duke rape case. There was no evidence against those guys, but they were railroaded because the girl was black. Sharpton and Jackson demanded that someone be charged immediately! Last I heard, those poor Lacrosse players were still waiting for their apologies from those 2 racist media-whoring agitators.
Have you heard about this case? http://www.wbir.com/news/regional/story.aspx?storyid=41276
I didn’t think so. The couple was white, and the killers were black. Wow, that would have been all over the news had it been the other way around. It would have been a hate crime! (By the way, that’s a disgusting, ridiculous term. I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that if you murder someone, you hate them. Why should someone get harsher punishment for murdering someone of another race? Is a black person’s life worth more than mine? Does it really matter WHY someone killed another human being?)
The OJ case was completely different than the Blake case. First of all, OJ was more famed, celebrated and loved than Robert Blake. I had never even heard of Blake before that case. The media pounded the OJ case because, well, it was more interesting (by the media standards). Let’s face it. OJ carved up two people, almost severed his ex-wife’s head and left a trail of blood that led to his doorstep. There was a low speed freeway chase. There was Kato Kaelin and the knocking on the wall. A plane ride and mysterious cuts on the accused murderer’s fingers. Blood drops in a Bronco and a black glove. You know the media loves shock value. That case had plenty of it. It got more coverage, and therefore more people were concerned about the outcome.
And no one cared about OJ’s color. OJ ran with a white crowd. He left his black wife and married a white one. He was friendly with the cops. He was a sports hero. Everyone loved him, even us “typical white people”. No one can say that he was treated any differently because of his race. Color didn’t become an issue until the race card was played in the trial, and a man got away with two brutal murders because of it. Race would never have come up had OJ’s defense team not brought it up. They used race to help a guilty man walk, and you’re darn right, people were outraged.
Yes, I do read “the other side”. Our local paper is extremely liberal. I watch the liberal news media, too. I read liberal blogs sometimes, and I have visited Democratic Underground, although that’s a little more than I can take for very long.
I believe most of the quotes came from that book, and no, I have not read it. I looked the quotes up in several places to confirm what they actually said. Again, I don’t see how most of that can be taken out of context.
As for why some white people are voting for Obama. That’s a very good question. I have asked myself that over and over. As I mentioned in one of my posts, I think a lot of them are just very angry at Bush and the Republican party. They are voting AGAINST the GOP. A friend of mine told me today that she hadn’t heard about any of Obama’s quotes. The liberal media isn’t covering it. And Hannity, Glenn Beck, etc have covered it. They are just too busy trying to cover all of Obama’s terrorist friends to worry about it now, I guess. That’s slightly more frightening.
Thanks for letting me know that you did some research. However, reading a passage isn’t the same as actually reading the book from which it came. I am currently reading “Dreams From My Father”. Since you’d probably shave your head bald before you’d buy “Dreams From My Father”, I do urge you to at least consider seeing if it’s available at your local library. If you read the book, you might gain a better understanding of Obama.
For example, the line “That’s just how black folks will do you” is in reference to what some of the other black kids that he hung around with as a teen might have said. Even if he did say it as a teen, are you really going to hold that against him now after over 25 years? Also, the quote about Port-au-Prince/white folks' greed that you attributed to Obama wasn’t even said by him. It’s actually a quote by Rev. Wright!
In case you haven’t seen it, I have included a link to a page that contains Obama quotes taken from “Dreams From My Father” and “Audacity of Hope”. These quotes were part of an email forward attempting to paint Obama as a racist. The information on the page points out how these quotes were taken out of context or in some cases even reworded. With the exception of the “to show your loyalty to the black masses” quote, these are all different from the ones you included in this post. I’m hoping that you can put your feelings for Obama aside and see the underhandedness of these tactics by some of the people who are anti-Obama.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/ownwords.asp
In regards to his “typical white person” comments , Obama later explained, "What I meant really was that some of the fears of street crime and some of the stereotypes that go along with that are responses that I think many people feel." He added, "Good people - people who are not in any way racist - are still subject to some of these images and stereotypes and it is very hard to escape from them." Productive Slacker, are you still going to take Obama out to the proverbial woodshed for the quote even after hearing his explanation? You aren’t going to be as hard on McCain for his use of an Asian slur, how about cutting Obama some slack?
As for the quote about transcending race/the legacy of Jim Crow and slavery (which came from an interview with Essence magazine earlier this year), I don’t see anything racist about it. If someone wants to term the quote cynical, I can see that… but calling it racist is a reach.
Back to McCain. There are plenty of stories out there about him besides the quote in which he said "I hated the gooks. I will hate them as long as I live." If one were to believe all the negative things that have been written about McCain, they would come away believing that he is a racist, a homophobe, and a misogynist. Maybe it’s true… but maybe it isn’t. However, we do know that McCain courted and accepted the Rev. John Hagee’s endorsement in the current Presidential election. As you may know, Hagee is notorious for his comments regarding Catholicism, homosexuality, and Hurricane Katrina among other topics. I realize that McCain wasn’t a member of McCain’s church. However, wouldn’t you say that the fact that he courted Hagee’s endorsement is questionable at the very least?
As for the amount of support that McCain would get if he was tied to a racist church, I don’t know that he would only receive just a little support. I realize that being elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives isn’t the same as winning the U.S. Presidency, but former KKK leader David Duke was successful in politics despite his racist ties. Although it’s extremely doubtful that McCain would make it out of the primaries if he had ties to a racist church, if he did I wouldn’t be surprised. I quit being surprised about the way things roll in this country after the Rodney King case.
You cited some instances of how the double standard works against whites in this country. Please note that I never said that this form of double standard doesn’t exist. Having said that, I don’t see how you can say that there isn’t a double standard that works against Blacks in the U.S. Here are a few examples:
1. In June 2008, ESPN.com columnist Jemele Hill (a black female) was suspended after she compared rooting for the Boston Celtics to Adolf Hitler. Earlier this month, ESPN commentator Lou Holtz made a comment that compared Univ. of Mich. Coach Rich Rodriguez to Adolph Hitler. Lou, a white male, didn’t receive a suspension.
2. Actor Isaiah Washington was fired from “Grey’s Anatomy” after using a gay slur on the set of the series. I’ll bet if it was one of the white performers on the show who had used the slur, they wouldn’t have gotten canned.
3. Are you familiar with the term MWWS? In case you aren’t, it means Missing White Woman Syndrome and refers to the theory that there is more coverage of a missing person case involving a white woman than that of male or non-white individuals. The national media were all over cases involving such white females as Polly Klaas, Natalee Holloway, Laci Peterson, and Chandra Levy. I could go on, but I think you get the idea. Besides Julian King, how many cases involving missing black people can you name that received national media coverage? Had Julian not been the nephew of former American Idol contestant and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson, most of us wouldn’t even know his name. So tell me, why is it that a missing person usually has to be young, white, female, and fit the American standard of beauty in order for the national media to give a damn?
4. Halfway through his first season as Notre Dame football coach in 2005, Charlie Weis received a new 10 year deal worth a reported $30-$40 million. At the time he received the deal, Notre Dame was 5-2. His black predecessor (Ty Willingham) didn’t receive such an offer during his first year with Notre Dame even though he started the season with an 8-0 record.
Do you still believe that there isn’t a double standard that works against Blacks in this country? If you still don’t think there is you’re kidding yourself. Do you believe that there ever was a double standard that worked against Blacks in this country? If your answer is “no”, just Google “Emmett Till” and “The Scottsboro Boys” just to name two instances of racial injustice in this country.
You say that the media pounded the O.J. case because it was more interesting (by media standards) than the Robert Blake case. What made it “more interesting” is that it involved a famous black person on trial for killing two white people. I’m still convinced that had the victims been black, that trial wouldn’t have received the same amount of coverage. Furthermore, if it wasn’t for the racial angle, we wouldn’t have seen video footage of upset whites or cheering blacks after O.J. was found not guilty in the murder trial.
The Robert Blake case had plenty to make the media lick its proverbial lips. First, you have a famous actor accused of murder. By the way, I’m astonished that you never heard of Robert Blake until his murder case. Not only was Blake a noted child star (he was a member of The Little Rascals and appeared in such films as “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre“ with Humphrey Bogart), he also had a successful acting career as an adult. In addition to appearing in films such as “In Cold Blood”, he also starred in the hit TV show “Baretta” (for which he won an Emmy). Second, the murder victim had quite a colorful life. She married her first cousin at the age of 21 and had two kids with him, she ran a con game with her teenage daughter, and she was obsessed with celebrities (falsely claiming to have borne a child by singer Jerry Lee Lewis). Finally, when she married Blake, it was her 10th time down the aisle.
If you think that the only reason the O.J. murder trial got more press was because of his fame, take a look at the Michael Vick case. For those who didn’t follow sports, they probably never heard of Vick until he was charged with dog fighting/gambling activities. I’ll bet you that everyone in America knows him now.
The bottom line is that there is a racial divide in this country. However, discussions like this can help us to at least see from where the other person is coming. Even though we disagree on a lot of points, I appreciate that you have been respectful in your responses.
Ok, quickly here, as I don’t have time to continue to go back and forth with this.
Obama has proven himself a racist by his own statements and actions. So, one quote was from Wright. Wright was Obama’s “mentor and guide”. Obama sat in that congregation for 20 years. (By the way, I don’t see how his “explanation” of the “typical white person” comment excuses it.) Obama doesn’t think the Civil Rights movement did enough. His wife wrote her thesis on racial divide, and has only been proud of her country since her husband was a presidential candidate. Are you starting to see a pattern? I am. There are endless references, by both Mr. and Mrs. Obama, that refer to race and show that their loyalties are with the black race, not the American people.
Would I be able to explain it away if I had said “he’s just a typical black person”? Would you vote for me if I called a Klansman my mentor?
I didn’t think so.
Again, I don’t think McCain is perfect. Good luck finding a politician with a halo over his/her head (although I think Palin is close :) ). McCain apologized to anyone he might have offended when he used the term “gooks”. Are you going to take him to the proverbial woodshed, yet excuse Obama’s countless statements about race and his palling around with numerous questionable people?
If you think the fascination with the OJ case was due to his color, I can’t convince you otherwise. I can just assure you that color had nothing to do with it for me or anyone I know---Not until the defense played the race card to help a guilty man get away with murder.
Race is only a roadblock in life to those who want to make it so. Too bad you didn’t read the article I linked to. It shows that it’s the Democrats’ policies that attempt to trap people in a life of poverty and victimhood. Republicans know that anyone can succeed if they are willing to work for it.
Remember, whites don’t have their own scholarships, television stations, magazines, etc., etc., etc. We can’t do things like that. If we tried, we’d be labeled racists.
I didn’t address all of your points, but as I said, I don't have a ton of time and I don’t want to keep going around and around about it. It’s time to move on from this topic, as it’s time for liberals to move on from slavery and Jim Crow. Conservatives moved on a long time ago.
(FYI: Look up a guy named Zo, who posts videos on MySpace. I think they are on YouTube, as well. He calls the series, “Black and White on the Grey Matters” and I think he uses the nickname “Twenty Pound Sledge”. He talks about race, and he’s really got a good head on his shoulders. Oh, and he’s black, by the way.)
If I were John McCain, regardless of political correctness, I would probably use the term "gooks" repeatedly....if I'd suffered for years at the hands of "gooks" in the POW camp as he had. For cryin' out loud, he can't lift his arms over his shoulders! Now that was years ago, it did not happen to me personally so I don't use that term & don't have the same feelings toward Asians that McCain has. I feel the same about African Americans today that are searching for some type of restitution from the govt for their ancestors being slaves. It was years ago, it didn't happen to them so get over it. And by the way, Macolm, maybe you could address this for me....why is African American the pc term to refer to black people living in America? My ancestoral heritage is German but I don't feel any need to be referred to as German American. I work w/ a man fr/ Ghana, who is now a citizen of the U.S. Him, I can understand being referred to as African American. He is! But blacks born in America who have never stepped foot on African soil demand to be called African American is absurd to me. That shows that blacks want, maybe need, to be distinguished in some particular way, to continue to keep that separation alive, evolving into reverse racisim. And another question, why does Obama & most mixed people, proclaim their blackness? This election has been all about the possibility (hopefully not but I'm losing hope fast tonight) of "the first black president". Obama is not ALL black, he's 1/2 white too, in fact, raised by the white side of his family so why doesn't he proclaim his whiteness? I know you cannot answer for Obama specifically but I have noticed that is the norm for most mixed people.
The OJ case was ridiculous & made so by the media (just like the liberal biased media in this election season ;) ). The bronco freeway chase started it & Johnny Cochran just put fuel on the fire. Not to mention that Judge Lance Ito wanted his own tv show & had auditioned several times (just like the judge in south Florida on the Anna Nicole child custody/ paternity hearing~oh, a white people's trial) AND Ito's wife was Fuhrman's supervisor & hated Fuhrman. Add in Kato Kaelin, a sorry CSI team & OJ not taking his NSAIDS during the trial so that his hands would swell & the glove wouldn't fit & "if it don't fit, you must aquit", what a 3-ring circus!!!
And yes, I believe reverse racism is alive every day when I read an article about the NAACP, the United Negro College Fund, Miss Black America, JET magazine, BET, etc. If you change out "Colored" in NAACP to "Caucasian", the association wouldn't get too far. But it's acceptable because it's for blacks, again continuing to define the separation. That definition not coming from the whites, but obviously from the blacks. ????? Continue to call for equality but continue to define separation. In many cases you can have your cake & eat it too but sometimes you can't.
Productive Slacker: You may be on to something when you say it's time to move on because we are never going to see eye-to-eye on race matters in this country. Remember, I orig. declined to even get into it because I knew we'd wind up going 'round and 'round... but you asked, so I answered.
I do find it interesting that you assume I didn't read the article about all the good the Repubs have done for Blacks over the years. I even stated that Repubs are not all evil. However, regardless of whether one believes it's true or not, I don't think it can be argued that most Blacks feel the Republican Party has moved away from them. If the Republicans want to do away with this perception, the ball is in their court.
Another thing I find interesting is that this post still has the Rev. Wright quote attributed to Obama.
Marcikl: African-American isn't the PC term for addressing Blacks in America. There are some who prefer one over the other, while there are some (like me) who have no preference.
In regards to your comments about such things as JET and Miss Black America, the thing that many people such as yourself fail to realize is that the motives behind the launching of these Black-oriented entities wasn't separation. They were started because we weren't being properly represented by the MSM. As you may know, there are several news/entertainment/educational entities geared toward a specific niche (Miss Latina US, The Jackie Chan Scholarship, Redbook, The Logo Channel, etc.). Do you have problems with those or just the ones that are geared towards Blacks?
Me and one of my blogging buddies have been talking about starting a blog that deals with race relations in America. Because of time constraints, we've put this idea on the back burner. However, it's looking like a blog on race issues is in order.
Malcolm~I stand corrected about the pc terminology & I apologize if I offended in any way. The African American term still makes no sense to me, but whatever. To each their own.
As far as my other comments, I personally have no problem with any of them. I just see that it does fall under the reverse racism category because if we (whites) decided to start our own scholarship fund or organizing an association for the advancement of whites, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, & Jeremiah Wright would be all over it....and I can imagine the press on that one. I would be the racist. I believe all of those associations/organizations are represented the exact way they want to be, that their race is superior (aka~racist). Not just the black ones, but all of them. Is it going to be okay in the future for us to have the same type organizations when whites are the minority in this country? I think not.
MarciKL: You sound as if there aren't any scholarships geared towards whites in this country. Trust me, there are plenty. If you visit the following link, you will get sampling of some that exist:
http://www.multiculturaladvantage.com/opportunity/scholarships/diversity/ehtnic-white-scholarships.asp
Personally, I don't have a problem with scholarships that are given out based on ethnicity, gender, age, disability, etc. Having said that, I do have to laugh when people get outraged over scholarships geared towards non-white ethnic groups and act as if there aren't scholarships that benefit whites only.
As for whether or not whites have a need to start an NAAWP when they are no longer the majority in this country, you never can tell. Once the majority shifts, it could very well be a situation similar to Apartheid-era South Africa (Whites in the minority, but still in control).
I've enjoyed our friendly debate and have no problem continuing it, but we should call it a stalemate for now. I say that because I don't want to continue our cyber jousting on Productive Slacker's blog. It appears that you don't have a blog at the moment and my blog (which mainly deals with pop culture) isn't the proper forum either. In my previous comment, I alluded to a proposed blog dealing with race issues. It looks like this blog will become a reality sometime in 2009. Once it launches, I will be more than happy to let you know so that you can join in on the discussion.
Was thinking the same thing. May have to agree to disagree forever on this point. Let me know about your blog if you get it going.
I am really feeling the love. ;)
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