# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/41 "2008-11-06T02:00:07Z")
So far it’s 43 1/2 - 1/2. Does that really mean nothing at all now that we have the 1/2? When Jackie Robinson broke the color line in baseball, it didn’t mean that there was no more racial bias in baseball–it just meant that the baseball community could _start_ healing the wounds. Even when Larry Doby became the first black player in the American League years later, he still faced massive discrimination. The argument that racial oppression is over because we kinda elected a black man (sort of) is absurd on its face. > [@IClaudius](#): > > It took the best political campaign in history and a candidate of tremendous personal charisma and oratory to actually make it to office. Obama is extraordinary in that sense. Don’t forget the single biggest incumbent-party disadvantage in a long, long time. The Senate and House results, not to mention the Obama victories in so-called red states, show us that a _lot_ of people in this country are sick of the GOP and it would have taken an _incredible_ Republican candidate to win. > [@Contrapuntal](#): > > And double anyway, that’s not his real birth certificate. No doubt, you have a cite for this extraordinary claim. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/42 "2008-11-06T02:01:40Z")
> [@astro](#): > > There’s a black POTUS. Don’t people trying to play the racial victim card look kind of silly from ths point forward? Not as silly as people expecting racism to be gone just because Obama won an election that even Kato Kaelin could have won, had he ran as a Democrat. ---
**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, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/43 "2008-11-06T02:04:48Z")
Pssst, **Hostile Dialect** : whoosh. See earlier in **Contrapuntal** ’s post where he hekadittoed\* **Gadarene** ’s “Sigh”. \*My new word. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/44 "2008-11-06T02:04:55Z")
> [@Hostile\_Dialect](#): > > No doubt, you have a cite for this extraordinary claim. Boy, people sure are missing the sarcasm here today. ---
**Author:** ![AdmiralCrunch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@AdmiralCrunch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AdmiralCrunch)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/45 "2008-11-06T02:13:40Z")
> [@Hostile\_Dialect](#): > > So far it’s 43 1/2 - 1/2. Does that really mean nothing at all now that we have the 1/2? Dr. Warren G. Harding was a negro! [(Colbert)](http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/172954/june-09-2008/threatdown---secret-negro-presidents) ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/46 "2008-11-06T07:12:58Z")
> [@5-4-Fighting](#): > > Boy, people sure are missing the sarcasm here today. Sorry, **Contrapuntal**. I didn’t have the best Election Day. ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/47 "2008-11-06T09:41:58Z")
> [@Hostile\_Dialect](#): > > When Jackie Robinson broke the color line in baseball, it didn’t mean that there was no more racial bias in baseball–it just meant that the baseball community could _start_ healing the wounds. Even when Larry Doby became the first black player in the American League years later, he still faced massive discrimination. BY years you mean days, right? ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/48 "2008-11-06T09:54:26Z")
Well, shit. I thought he did it in the 60s. Where the hell did I get that idea? ---
**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, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/49 "2008-11-06T11:14:00Z")
> [@Hostile\_Dialect](#): > > When Jackie Robinson broke the color line in baseball, it didn’t mean that there was no more racial bias in baseball–it just meant that the baseball community could _start_ healing the wounds. Even when Larry Doby became the first black player in the American League years later, he still faced massive discrimination. The argument that racial oppression is over because we kinda elected a black man (sort of) is absurd on its face. But yet, today the most loved athlete for the last 20 years is a black man and Tiger Woods has literally changed the face of golf in the last ten. Not to mention the fact that the most popular television personality is a black woman. Also, the biggest movie star in the world is a black man. And now the President of the US is a black man. Widespread racism has all but disappeared in this country and while there’s still a ways to go, ignoring all of that progress is idiotic. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/50 "2008-11-06T11:17:43Z")
Yes, there has been great progress. Overt mainstream racism is largely dead in this country. But racism is not a monolithic entity; there are other ways in which racial prejudice continues to be a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/51 "2008-11-06T11:30:30Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Widespread racism has all but disappeared in this country and while there’s still a ways to go, ignoring all of that progress is idiotic. Has someone actually been ignoring all of that progress, or are you just blowing smoke up my ass? ---
**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, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/52 "2008-11-06T11:43:30Z")
> [@Hostile\_Dialect](#): > > Has someone actually been ignoring all of that progress, or are you just blowing smoke up my ass? A few recent threads around here seemed to boil down to “It’s nice that y’all are about to elect a black man President, but this country is still as racist as it’s always been.” ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/53 "2008-11-06T14:59:35Z")
> [@Hostile\_Dialect](#): > > Sorry, **Contrapuntal**. I didn’t have the best Election Day. No worries. ---
**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, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/54 "2008-11-06T17:33:03Z")
So if the 64 million people who voted for Obama aren’t racist, does that mean the 56 million who voted for McCain are?No. It does not. The selection of a president is not in itself proof of the presence or absence of racism on a personal or individual level.Some of [these people](http://www.esquire.com/the-side/feature/racists-support-obama-061308) endorsed Obama. I guess they’re not racist. In all seriousness, it’s absurd to suggest that U.S. race relations haven’t evolved considerably, from slavery through reconstruction through the civil rights struggles of the 1950s and '60s to the election of the first black president, but it’s equally absurd to claim racism isn’t still relevant. ---
**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 6, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/55 "2008-11-06T17:37:58Z")
When people say this to me, I’m going to say, as earnestly as I can, without a hint of sarcasm, “Yes. Yes, I suppose, now that I think about it, racism is cured.” I am going to try to say that as convincingly as I can, because I know that it is not really what the person wants to believe. They want to believe that Obama in office is not any true indicator of less racism in America. So I’m gonna try hard to sound like every black in America is satisfied that all racism is abolished forever more. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/56 "2008-11-06T18:08:52Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > No worries. OK, I am a little worried that no cites were required for my other claims. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/57 "2008-11-06T18:50:17Z")
> [@HubZilla](#): > > And, of course, he’s right that Hawaii wasn’t a state in 1961. Um… Not to nitpick, but did I miss the memo in which it was stated that 1959 happened _after_ 1961? ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/58 "2008-11-06T23:07:39Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Um… > > Not to nitpick, but did I miss the memo in which it was stated that 1959 happened _after_ 1961? You need to read the rest of the paragraph. “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.” I was being ironic. He replied with irony. ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/59 "2008-11-06T23:13:58Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Um… > > Not to nitpick, but did I miss the memo in which it was stated that 1959 happened _after_ 1961? Irrelevant. Since the US illegally overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy, all actions afterward by the US is also illegal. Including statehood. Therefore, Obama wasn’t _really_ born in the USA, see? No, I haven’t tried that defense to evade my income taxes. Okay, seriously: Hawaii became a state in 1959 and everyone was automatically grandfathered in as a US citizen. If you were born in Hawaii in 1955, you could still become president. And the US didn’t overthrow the monarchy, it was an internal revolution by Hawaiian citizens. Hawaii was an independent republic for 6 years before US annexation. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329/60 "2008-11-06T23:43:49Z")
I just want to say I’ve ignored this thread as too silly to bother with. A 52% vote for a black man doesn’t mean there’s no oppression of other blacks in this country, especially the parts that voted overwhelmingly against that man. Reality doesn’t work that way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-obama-is-potus-arent-black-claims-of-being-oppressed-kind-of-hollow/471329.md?page=4)