I do not mean to imply by any means that all Americans who oppose Obama’s candidacy are racists; there are many good, sound, political reasons, I’m sure, to prefer McCain or Clinton. But based on this story in the Washington Post, it appears that many Obama campaign workers on the ground have been coming up against a measure of on-the-ground racism that is truly astonishing in this day and age, and if that’s not worth Pitting, what is?
I like that optimism!
It’s astonishing? Walk around. Pay attention. Listen.
You can use all sorts of words to describe it, but ‘astonishing’ isn’t one of them.
-Joe
Well, I haven’t heard any of that around here, but maybe that’s just because there was no primary campaign to speak of in Florida.
What I particularly hate are the people who claim that Obama can’t win, because of other voters’ racism. The ones who state that there’s no way the American voter will vote for a black man, but that they, themselves, aren’t racist in any way. They’re just pointing it out. And that’s why they’re voting for the other guy.
That’s the kind of racism that really pisses me off.
Why are Obama racists any worse than everyday racists?
Everyday racism might involve matters of social judgment, like keeping the n-words out of your country club or your church. It’s worse when expressed in politics.
I was just coming here to pit some of the sentiments in this article, particularly these (bolding mine):
I wish I could adequately express how hurtful and infuriating these comments are. I know they’re not new, but damn. Is Colin Powell acceptable because he seems more Uncle Tom-ish? Is he a good nigger because he just goes along with the program? Fuck you lady.
Pitting racism?
Wow, that’s some radical stance, man.
I was going to pit crap for stinking, but I think I’m a little scared to go that far.
(In what way is this thread not RO?)
Political relevance. See above.
I’m reminded of a Bloom County strip back in, I think, 1984. Binkley’s Dad is suffering pangs of white guilt because “I think Jesse Jackson is just a little too loopy!” Oliver Wendell Jones’ African-American Dad reassures him, “I myself voted for Al Haig. The first black in the White House will be a conservative.”
Powell is a conservative, insofar as we know anything at all of his politics; at any rate, a Republican. He’s also a respectable figure by virtue of his military career. Going by skin color he’s lighter than Obama, maybe he is a “half-breed” (like practically all African-Americans, actually, the history of American slavery being what it is); but, unlike Obama, he is an “African-American” in the usual sense, that is, a descendant of American slaves, and born and raised in that community.
I guess that’s what makes the difference in this lady’s eyes, anyhow.
I guess it surprises me a bit, because the racism I’ve experienced (not personally. I’m white.) isn’t so much, “I don’t black people because they’re black” but rather, “I don’t like black people because of <list of “reasons” that don’t apply to Obama at all>”.
You remove those reasons, and all you’re left with is “I don’t like black people.”
Maybe I just don’t understand the depth of the ignorance that is the root of the racism. It’s a kind of insanity from my point of view.
I think she’s saying that race is a factor in deciding who whe’d vote for, but it’s not the only factor, and if the candidate were otherwise acceptable to her (like Powell), she’d vote for him, but she won’t vote for Obama because he’s not acceptable to her as a candidate.
Actually, I still find racism surprising. I think many of us have probably had experiences where our own prejudices have come into play one way or another, but I sort of take it for granted that it is a knee-jerk response that anyone with a brain would recognize and dismiss immediately, before it got anywhere near being an action.
“Half-breed”? People still SAY things like that? Honestly, I have huge difficulties imagining anyone I know doing that with a straight face. Of course I know people who have racist opinions, but even the hardest of them knows it’s not cool to verbalize it.
Irrationality, actually.
Every form of racism/bigotry/prejudice is implicitly or explicitly based on the fallacies of composition and division, often going: individual —> composition —> “group nature” —> division —> random individual nature
Sometimes the first bit is skipped and you just go from “group nature” on to random individual nature, via division.
Face it, Obama is going to lose a certain percentage of votes because of race. We haven’t changed that much that fast.
By the way, if Hillary Clinton was to magically win the nomination, you’d find many voters saying (or if not saying, thinking) "I’d accept a woman candidate for President, but not her.
Apart from personal baggage, I still suspect that the first woman or black (or other “minority”) President in this country will be politically conservative because doubtful voters will feel “safer” with that person.
Powell’s parents immigrated to the US from Jamaica, so I don’t think that’s true.
It’s also possible that he will pick up votes becaue of his race, particularly from African Americans who might not vote otherwise.
Well, any US President will be pretty conservative by world standards. However, both Obama and Clinton are on the liberal side of what’s electable in this country – even though both candidates are doing a lot to make sure that voters feel “safe” with them.
I had the same reaction the other day when somebody at this board used the phrase “white race,” although that was done in a non-offensive context. Seriously? “Half-breed?” Not only is it cretinous, it reminds me of that fucking Cher song, and I don’t need that kind of aggravation in my life.
For some reason I’d convinced myself that after months of hearing people concoct phony reasons to dislike Obama (to cover up for the real, prejudiced reasons), hearing the outright racial reasons would be less aggravating. Turns out I was wrong.
His parents were Jamaican immigrants.
I’ll vote for a candidate of any color or gender if I agree with their political philosophy and they aren’t an idiot or an asshole. I’d like to see more blacks in the Republican party. I’m not voting for a liberal Democrat, or a so-called Republican, who wants to abridge my rights and give more power and money to the state.