# He's Black. Accept It. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 7, 2008, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-black-accept-it/471708 "2008-11-07T20:16:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sanity\_Challenged](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de053/32.png) [@Sanity\_Challenged](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sanity_Challenged)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-black-accept-it/471708/21 "2008-11-07T21:02:53Z")
Wait. Obama’s…black? Is it too late to change my vote? ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-black-accept-it/471708/22 "2008-11-07T21:03:26Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Even if you look like Johnny Winter and your one black grandparent only had one black grandparent? And what about that grandparent’s grandparents? Shit, by that rationale, we’re all black. You see, that’s kind of what I was thinking. I mean, current theories of human evolution trace our origin to Africa, right? Power, brothers! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-black-accept-it/471708/23 "2008-11-07T21:08:39Z")
If you have money, it doesn’t matter that you’re black. If you can dance or rap, it doesn’t matter that you’re white. And if you’re ugly, nobody gives a shit what color you are - you ugly. Period. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-black-accept-it/471708/24 "2008-11-07T21:10:51Z")
> [@Monstera\_deliciosa](#): > > Sister, you had me before this sentence. It is not necessary to celebrate someone’s blackness by disparaging someone else’s. > > I despise O.J. Simpson, but he is still black. > > I live in a mostly white community, and I’m married to a white man. I’m sure in many ways I do not live up your ideals, but I am still black. Oh! No. I know he is black. That is not what I meant. I meant that Obama is cool black. Not cornball black. I thought of using Bryant Gumble, but I personally think he is less of a cornball and more ‘cool’ black than most people give him credit for. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-black-accept-it/471708/25 "2008-11-07T21:15:20Z")
> [@Hogwash](#): > > Reminds me of that old joke - you know something’s wrong when the world’s best golfer is black and the world’s best rapper is white (Woods and Eminem respectively). Perhaps ‘wrong’ isn’t the best word, but you get me. Perhaps you can bring that joke up to date - the president is black, now we just need someone white who’s successful in a predominantly black field (Eminem is kinda old hat now). Hey, Hey HEY! Eminem was never nowhere near the best rapper! He was great though. I love him. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-black-accept-it/471708/26 "2008-11-07T21:17:58Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > There was a comedian who said something similar about Tiger Woods. Papers reported him as black, then half-black, then quarter-black, etc. The more he won, the whiter he got. Wanda Sykes. The punchline was “as soon as Tiger does something illegal, it will be back to ‘black golfer arrested!’” or words to that effect. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-black-accept-it/471708/27 "2008-11-07T21:18:52Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > Oh! No. I know he is black. That is not what I meant. I meant that Obama is cool black. Not cornball black. I thought of using Bryant Gumble, but I personally think he is less of a cornball and more ‘cool’ black than most people give him credit for. Bryant Gumble would have been a great one to use, though…he hails from Hyde Park, where Obama lives! ---
**Author:** ![wmfellows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c2a13f/32.png) [@wmfellows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wmfellows)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-black-accept-it/471708/28 "2008-11-07T21:26:37Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > Barack not saying he is ‘cablanasion’ or some such, even though he could on a technicality say he is ‘half black’, he doesn’t say it. While having rather a large amount of sympathy for your OP - and in particular the idiocy you are reacting against - there is something on this that does seem problematic. Holding against Tiger Woods that he feels as close to his significant Asian heritage as anything else, that seems rather as wrong-headed as the said “innocent” post wondering why Obama is referred to as Black. If his ethnic identity is driven by things other than American obsessions, well what is wrong with that? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-black-accept-it/471708/29 "2008-11-07T21:27:51Z")
> [@xanthous](#): > > I just watched his first press conference, and he had this to say when asked by a reporter what kind of dog they are getting, “With regard to the puppy, Malia is allergic, so we’ll have to get a hypo-allergenic dog. We would love to adopt, but a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me, so…” > :D:D:D I love this guy. So real. I thought that this was a particularly insensative comment on those of mixed heritage. The _correct_ term is Muttian-American. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-black-accept-it/471708/30 "2008-11-07T21:30:44Z")
> [@wmfellows](#): > > While having rather a large amount of sympathy for your OP - and in particular the idiocy you are reacting against - there is something on this that does seem problematic. Holding against Tiger Woods that he feels as close to his significant Asian heritage as anything else, that seems rather as wrong-headed as the said “innocent” post wondering why Obama is referred to as Black. If his ethnic identity is driven by things other than American obsessions, well what is wrong with that? Duly noted. I admit that it is my own silly issues that bother me about that. Something I need to work on. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-black-accept-it/471708/31 "2008-11-07T21:34:07Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > Duly noted. I admit that it is my own silly issues that bother me about that. Something I need to work on. You’ll get over it. I used to feel the same way about Freddie Mercury. ---
**Author:** ![Some\_FNG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/48db29/32.png) [@Some\_FNG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_FNG)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-black-accept-it/471708/32 "2008-11-07T21:35:15Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > Barack Obama is the first black president. \ No, Barack Obama is the first black _American_ president. There have been other black presidents before him, but they were elected and served in other countries. For example, Joseph Jenkins Roberts was elected the first president of Liberia (my birthplace!) and took office on January 3, 1848. From a Wiki page [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President\_of\_Liberia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_Liberia) \ ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-black-accept-it/471708/33 "2008-11-07T21:39:35Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > Oh! No. I know he is black. That is not what I meant. I meant that Obama is cool black. Not cornball black. ☹ > [@](#): > > Not black because he wasn’t descended from slaves?? This is a new twist on some craziness for real. I just wanted to say that I don’t think the OP of the other thread felt this way. She was just trying to understand where the people who said “he’s not a brotha” were coming from. I have seen blacks from other countries who want to make it clear that they’re not one of \*those \*black people. I largely agree with your point though. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-black-accept-it/471708/34 "2008-11-07T21:42:27Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > I’m not an American, and I have a question: is the “one drop rule” accepted as definitive by Black as well as White Americans in determining identity? Most Americans go by what a person looks like because we don’t carry around papers denoting our racial purity. Racial definitions are not objective and scientific they are determined by cultural consensus. Odesio ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-black-accept-it/471708/35 "2008-11-07T21:43:16Z")
> [@Some\_FNG](#): > > \ > > No, Barack Obama is the first black _American_ president. > > There have been other black presidents before him, but they were elected and served in other countries. For example, Joseph Jenkins Roberts was elected the first president of Liberia (my birthplace!) and took office on January 3, 1848. > From a Wiki page [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President\_of\_Liberia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_Liberia) > \ Dammit. Sorry. I should have said, “Black American President”. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-black-accept-it/471708/36 "2008-11-07T21:43:35Z")
> [@Some\_FNG](#): > > \ > > No, Barack Obama is the first black _American_ president. Way to be pedantic. I think it’s pretty clear from the OP that we’re talking about the United States and not the entire world. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-black-accept-it/471708/37 "2008-11-07T21:44:47Z")
> [@Some\_FNG](#): > > \ > > No, Barack Obama is the first black _American_ president. > > There have been other black presidents before him, but they were elected and served in other countries. For example, Joseph Jenkins Roberts was elected the first president of Liberia (my birthplace!) and took office on January 3, 1848. > From a Wiki page [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President\_of\_Liberia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_Liberia) > \ \ No, he’s the first black President of the United States of America. There have been lots of black American presidents before him. [This guy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Archer), for example. \ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-black-accept-it/471708/38 "2008-11-07T21:49:42Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Most Americans go by what a person looks like because we don’t carry around papers denoting our racial purity. Racial definitions are not objective and scientific they are determined by cultural consensus. > > Odesio Yes, and subjected to endless nitpicking. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-black-accept-it/471708/39 "2008-11-07T21:49:49Z")
I know what Nzinga is saying - I can’t exactly put it into the right words right now but I’ll say something: That “cablanasion” comment really stung a lot of people since so many of us have similar roots (my mom was 1/2 Filipina and 1/2 AA), and to love and honor one side of my family didn’t require denial of the other side. I’ve never been “bothered” by being called AA or Filipina. I consider myself a Black chick - but I was always “ta-ting” to my grandmother and I can fix a mean pansit. I have cousins who look more Asian (SP Islander for the PC crew) than I do - some look a lot like Tiger Woods and my cousin Robert asked if he would still be allowed to be Black (just a joke folks). ---
**Author:** ![Some\_FNG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/48db29/32.png) [@Some\_FNG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_FNG)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-black-accept-it/471708/40 "2008-11-07T21:55:28Z")
**Odesio** , you have a problem with pedantic? If so, you really shouldn’t be here in the pit.:rolleyes: Sorry if it offends your delicate sensibilities, but it is an important distinction (to me) to make. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-black-accept-it/471708.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-black-accept-it/471708.md?page=3)