# Now that Obama is POTUS aren't black claims of being oppressed kind of hollow? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 5, 2008, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329 "2008-11-05T19:41:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/21 "2008-11-05T20:24:32Z")
> [@Algher](#): > > There will be a lot of people saying, “quit your bitching - a black man was elected President -what is your problem?” My buddies and I joked that’s why Jesse Jackson was tearing up. He’s now out of a job. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/22 "2008-11-05T20:26:56Z")
When you’re living in the Anacostia neighborhood of DC and you’re classmates are getting shot outside of their school, you have every right to feel oppressed. What I don’t think is appreciated overmuch is the fact that lots of white people are similarly oppressed - if they’re living in steel towns like where I grew up, or dying farming communities, or coal towns. They don’t feel any better when white people get elected president - it never changes their lives much. I didn’t agree with much in Obama’s Wright speech, but he nailed this fact to the wall. ---
**Author:** ![Dumbguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dumbguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dumbguy)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/23 "2008-11-05T20:27:05Z")
Astro, please explain the income gap. There are only two options as far as I can tell. One of them is racism. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/24 "2008-11-05T20:27:52Z")
> [@HubZilla](#): > > My buddies and I joked that’s why Jesse Jackson was tearing up. He’s now out of a job. 😛 Nah, he was crying because he just realized [whose hand holds the nut cutter now](http://aliasbruce.typepad.com/alias_bruce/2008/07/jesse-jackson-goes-nuts.html). ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/25 "2008-11-05T20:28:17Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > Times a hundred. > > Except that : > > Hawaii was not a state. > > Anyway, Obama was born in Kenya. > > And double anyway, that’s not his real birth certificate. Now, if only they had discovered these things 20 months ago when he announced his candidacy. Would’ve saved us a lot of trouble. 😉 And, of course, he’s right that Hawaii wasn’t a state in 1961. The Hawaiian monarchy was illegally overthrown in 1893, making all decisions after that moot. Too bad they didn’t accept that when it came time to pay my income taxes. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/26 "2008-11-05T20:36:20Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > When you’re living in the Anacostia neighborhood of DC and you’re classmates are getting shot outside of their school, you have every right to feel oppressed. Oppressed? By whom? Neglected maybe, but lots of Americans are neglected. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/27 "2008-11-05T20:41:36Z")
Since Benazir Bhutto became the leader of Pakistan, does that mean women have full equality in that country? ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/28 "2008-11-05T20:53:19Z")
Yes, astro, just like Irish have not been considered low class drunks since Kennedy and Italian-americans would have never been called ‘guidos’ again if Giuliani had won. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/29 "2008-11-05T20:57:41Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > Yes, astro, just like Irish have not been considered low class drunks since Kennedy and Italian-americans would have never been called ‘guidos’ again if Giuliani had won. Outside of The Sopranos, who still uses “guidos” as a racial slur? ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/30 "2008-11-05T20:59:38Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Outside of The Sopranos, who still uses “guidos” as a racial slur? The internet. Really. Big time. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/31 "2008-11-05T21:04:25Z")
Can I go around saying the Black Man is holding me down? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/32 "2008-11-05T21:05:01Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > The internet. Really. Big time. The internet told me I could get my kidneys stolen in Las Vegas if I weren’t careful. The internet also told me the US would never elect a black president because we’re all racists and we’d riot. The internet is such an interesting reflection of reality. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/33 "2008-11-05T22:50:20Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > The internet is such an interesting reflection of reality. When it comes to what people are **saying** , yes it is, because it’s people who are talking on the Internet. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/34 "2008-11-06T00:32:00Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > When it comes to what people are **saying** , yes it is, because it’s people who are talking on the Internet. Do you how white people always want to believe it’s OK to call black guys “nigga” because “That’s what they call each other!” It’s really like that with Italians and ethnic slurs. I mean Jesus, we still use Guido as a first name. This is why most of us shook our heads in disbelief when that Italian-American group criticized The Sopranos for making all Italians look like mobsters. We love that people think that! ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/35 "2008-11-06T01:12:42Z")
> [@Cliffy](#): > > According to some chart I found on the Internet, there were approximately 611,000 black children born in America in 1961. Exactly one (1) of them has become president. > > –Cliffy Of all the white children born in America in 1961, exactly zero (0) have become President. Racism at work? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/36 "2008-11-06T01:14:36Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > The internet. Really. Big time. You think so? I’ve never seen it. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/37 "2008-11-06T01:19:57Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Of all the white children born in America in 1961, exactly zero (0) have become President. Racism at work? I think you missed **Cliffy** ’s point. He wasn’t saying that the small number of President-elects from the pool of black children born in 1961 is a sign of anti-black racism. He was just pointing out that being elected President—which by definition is an extremely demographically rare event that only happens to a statistically insignificant minuscule fraction of any racial group—is not much use as an indicator of how prevalent anti-black racism is in daily life. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/38 "2008-11-06T01:24:16Z")
Women have become heads of government in Sri Lanka, India, Israel, Argentina, Central African Republic, United Kingdom, Bolivia, Portugal, Dominica, Norway, Philippines, Pakistan, Haiti, Lithuania, Nicaragua, France, Canada, Turkey, Rwanda, Burundi, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, Ecuador, Guyana, New Zealand, Panama, Indonesia, Senegal, São Tomé and Príncipe, Peru, Finland, Mozambique, Republic of Macedonia, Ukraine, Germany, Chile, South Korea, and Moldavia. Obviously, sexism no longer exists in any of those places. [Source](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_elected_or_appointed_female_heads_of_government) ETA: I first remember hearing people use “Guido” as an ethnic slur\* on a business trip in New Jersey (pre-Sopranos). It took me a while to figure out what they were talking about. \*I’m not even sure it was meant as a slur, since they didn’t say anything negative about the “Guidos.” ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/39 "2008-11-06T01:28:08Z")
> [@Cat\_Fight](#): > > They’ve been hollow since all the slaves were freed. What more do these people _want_? Another idiotic statement. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/40 "2008-11-06T01:49:00Z")
I’m pretty sure that was ironic. As to the OP, how adorable is _that_? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329.md?page=3)