More than 95% of all black voters chose Obama.
To assert that the only people who have a problem with IR dating are non- supporters of Obama, you have to assume that 95% of the black voting population is fine with IR dating. And I don’t think this assumption is a given.
What error do you detect in this simple inference? 
OK, I guess I missed where there was an inference that all Obama supporters were okey doke with interracial relationships. I thought the question posed was will Obama’s presidency change the views, in this country, on interracial relationships.
I don’t think “all” of any race is OK with interracial dating/marriage. I don’t think White people have a monopoly on racism.
I think it would be fair to say that WHITE people who oppose interracial marriage, et al, probably didn’t vote for Obama anyway.
And, now, I have NO idea what problem I had with that simple inference! I have a headache!
Yes, indeed they do. Missouri is bad compared to a state like California, but Missouri is certainly not the worse state regarding racial mixing. And St. Louis city is somewhat backward, but still is better than the surrounding towns that are only 10-30 miles away from the city. Driving off into back country roads, especially at night, can make a black person feel very wary. Stopping for gas, or a soda, or to ask directions after making a wrong turn, can be seriously scary for a black person.
I also don’t think he will change the hardcore views. But I think there may be a lot of the less hardcore types who will make an adjustment towards less prejudice. There are people all along the spectrum, and Obama’s presidency will undoubtedly cause some of them rethink their wrongheaded assumptions about race.
I also think there are a lot white men in this area who would like to date black women (I don’t have a cite, just a vibe I get ;)), except it takes quite a bit of courage to do such a thing in Missouri. Even if they’re open to mixed-race dating I don’t think there are many who are up to the task.
As Chronos mentioned I also would have liked it if Obama’s parents were both still alive. His campaign and also his presidency would have an entirely different vibe if both his parents had been part of it. I also wish O’s grandparents were still alive and involved in his life. But as it is I’m very delighted that his extended family is so delightfully “colorful.”
To the others who’ve mentioned interracial couples on TV, I don’t watch much TV these days, but last time I checked the racial coupling on TV was mostly white man/black woman. A friend and I once discussed how TV is the exact opposite of what we see around us (i.e. mostly black man/white woman). I don’t know these shows and TV characters you’re mentioning, so I don’t know if that has changed lately?
I think you bring up another interesting point. I agree that there are a lot of blacks opposed to interracial couples, and they reject any black offspring who has one white parent. Definitely not all blacks feel that mixed-race kids are “so cute.” I see whites who reject mixed-race kids, but other blacks perceive mixed-race kids as being especially embraced by whites while those same whites continue to reject the darker blacks. That is a stark reminder of the times when the mixed-race offspring of the slave master got the cushy jobs while the darker blacks were rejected and relegated to harsh field work. So there is a lot of burning resentment, and wounds still run very deep.
And there are also some blacks who are very opposed to all things African. They consider Obama’s African father and the entire Kenyan side of his family is an embarrassment. They are mostly responding to the brainwashing done by the media/movies through the last couple of centuries where Africans were depicted as backward savages. That type of brainwashing is still pretty deep in the minds of some blacks. I know one black Democratic person who did NOT vote for Obama and her decision had nothing to do with a belief that he lacked skills to be a good president.
Another comment re Obama’s “darker” wife: I was always more accepted by darker blacks whenever I was accompanied by another darker black. The darker black companion seemed to give me more credibility with other more wary blacks. Having a dark friend in my corner, someone who I also cherished in return, that seemed to convince them that I could accept them too, or that I was indeed “black enough.” I expect that some blacks also perceive Obama as being more legit just because he is able to love and cherish a dark black woman. If his wife were white, or light-skinned, I’m sure there would have been more skepticism in the black community.
I also like how this thread triggers all the interracial dating ads. But so far I’m still only seeing white man/black woman in the ad pics. Anybody else noticing a trend?
Perhaps because back in the Evil Old Days white men might have black mistresses, which was a tolerated pairing (even if not well accepted) whereas a black man + white women might well be followed by a lynching. White man/black woman might be seen as less threatening to the racist elements, which might well affect advertising and entertainment.
I don’t know what it says about me, but what strikes me when I see pictures of Barack and Michelle is not that she’s darker than him but that she is TALL. And she’s not afraid to wear heels, either. I think during the inauguration in her heels she might have actually been a bit taller than the President, which might also be a first.
White woman/black man showing for me.
Maybe just maybe you should take this one at face value as a compliment.
I’ve heard the comment a few thousand times. And yes it can get old but I believe most people are well meaning about it. And at least in the case of my three daughters “they are so cute.”
How can you say that with the examples of Oprah Winfrey and Condi Rice? And Mrs Obama has (had?) a rather high powered job.
Nah, he’s black as far as most people are concerned. Maybe if he himself were in an obviously mixed race marriage.
Still exceptions to the rule. (Although exceptions, as Cecil asserts, don’t prove the rule.)
[bolding mine]
When I consider who dominates the media, who makes most of the decisions, who indulges most of their own ideas and preferences, I often wonder if I’m just seeing the fantasies of a bunch of white guys. If black men dominated and controlled more of what we see and hear in the media I really think we’d see a lot more of black men/white women couples. Most of the black men I know do NOT like the idea of a black woman with a white guy. It just cuts painfully to the core of a black man’s anger about racial prejudice because so much of the mistreatment of black men came/comes directly from white men. So a black woman with a white man causes a certain type of pain for a black man that no other group shares or understands. If black men were in charge of the media I’m sure we wouldn’t see so many white man/black women couplings in media.
Also, what would black and white women be expressing if they were in charge? I have no idea. I’ve known a few black women who want nothing at all to do with a white man, but there are also quite a few who would go for it in a heartbeat if they didn’t have to endure such a harsh backlash from society.
I think it depends on what’s behind the compliment. Are they cute only because they’re mixed? Are they like little mixed-race novelties to admire? And are other darker kids being rejected and ignored while the mixed ones are held up as something special? There are in fact A LOT of cute black kids that white people don’t admire and fawn over. And I’m very light-skinned but even I’m sick of seeing all the mixed-race kids dominating the ads these days because white people have decided they represent what is cute. My family/friends are all shades of black, most of whom are very dark. Many black parents have very dark and very light children all in one set of siblings. We all notice when yet another mixed-race kid is singled out by whites as being the “so cute” one. I personally think that encouraging a mixed-race couple to have kids “because they’d be so cute” is offensive if the comment is based on race.
The bottom line for me is I don’t think mixed families should get any special treatment; I just think they should be just as acceptable as any other families.
So that means you are still being treated differently because you are interracial. And I’m gathering you are white, even though you didn’t say so (white is the default setting?)