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My take on Race...
I've read many of the comments regarding race in the general election, on various Political websites, and what saddens me the most is the content and how people all over this country feel toward African-Americans.
This swell of racial intolerance continues to fester and doesn’t serve anyone’s best interst.
The media has perpetuated these false perceptions about race for far to long. The deep-seeded resentment that has surfaced over this campaign makes me wonder, how far have we come?
We've seen religion, guilt by association, "white working-class," blue-collar and a variety of words and topics be used to DIVIDE.
On September 11, terrorist killed over 3,000 innocent AMERICANS. They didn't only kill Whites, or Asians, or Blacks, or Hispanics but Americans! Somehow we rallied and UNITED as Americans.
An even sadder fact is that we have men and women of all races fighting and dying as Americans in two wars, and they are not fighting for one single race.
Damn it! We owe them much more than our petty racial indifferences. If I'm in a battle does it really matter what skin color the person who’s got my back has? NO!
I believe that the Rev. Wright issue gave many who weren’t going to vote for Obama anyway an excuse to justify their apprehension of voting or simply trying to get to know who he is. I believe truly he is a unique leader, that is evident doesn’t come around to often.
People will say it’s his inexperience, yet Bill Clinton had little experience, a governor of a small state and was a Washington outsider. They’ll say they don’t agree with his issues but seemingly don’t bother to realize he and Hillary are similar in position. They don’t know a lot about him, well he’s written two books.
Supposedly, with the integration of the Armed Services and Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball, these events were by all accounts going to turn America on its ear. 60 plus years later we have become a greater nation in spite of our prejudices; unfortunately we still have more work to do.
Talking about race in this country should not only be Obama’s cross to bear. In a demonstration of leadership both Clinton and McCain should also speak to this ill, which obviously affects the resolve our nation.
The Main Stream Media also needs to play a greater role in educating and uniting rather than be a source of divisiveness, looking to score sound bites of intolerance.
Anyone who can justify using racism, sexism, feminism, ageism, and any other “ism” as a valid point of reasoning, only reinforces and demonstrates a lack of education, and simply humanity.
Comments (4)
Thank you for telling us that all of the differences we perceive don't count, and I'm not referring to race.
Being Attorney General is certainly useful experience. Being governor is closer to the Presidential job description than Senator - it's the point man, the focus of criticism and the one who has to set and carry out policy. He came back from defeat to take the job again. Clinton was also head of the National Governor's Association and worked with the New Democrats on a national level.
Hillary has been speaking on race, poverty, sexism, education and other ills since the 1960's. Bill Clinton of course had it as a major focus in his administration. Assuming that Obama is the first one to broach this topic is a bit naive, perhaps akin to thinking he invented "hope" and "change".
May 14, 2008 3:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
If Obama's close association with Jeremiah Wright doesn't bother you, fine. If Obama's denunciation of his grandmother's racism to save his political butt doesn't bother you, fine. If his comment that she is a typical white person doesn't bother you, fine. If his statement that he can not renounce Wright because Wright is a part of him doesn't bother you, fine. If his sudden outrage at Wright's comments and reversal of his decision not to renounce Wright doesn't bother you, fine. If his playing of the race card by accusing Hillary of belittling Martin Luther King doesn't bother you, fine. If Michelle's comment about being proud for the first time to be an American doesn't bother you, fine. If his refusal to wear the American flag or place his hand over his heart during the National Anthem doesn't bother you, fine. If Obama's attitude toward small-town people doesn't bother you, fine. But don't call those who are concerned uneducated or lacking in humanity. And just because they don't trust Obama, don't assume they are racists.
May 14, 2008 3:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
Otto F -
Thank you for your comments: In comparison to any other candidate Obama's association to Rev. Wright doesn't bother for several reasons;
1. He is Obama's pastor and what others see as hate-speak is simply not the case. An example would be groups like the KKK, Aryans, Skinheads, who have said harsher comments and have committed acts of violence towards Blacks, Gays, Jews, Illegals, and other minorities. - Rev. Wright has never advocated for the harm of any particular race. 2. What has Obama said or what actions has he taken that would align himself with some of the comments and beliefs held by Rev. Wright?
Hillary seems to get a pass when it comes to her racially divisive comments or her story of Sniper fire. (this was said to validate her foreign affairs credentials) on 4 separate occasions. This was chalked up as a "misspoke." I too believe Michelle misspoke, there is no way and you seem like a fair-minded individual that you would believe that a 40 something, educated, hard-working African-American woman would not be proud of this country! The history of African-Americans in this country is interwoven in it's make up. We've fought and died for this country, although the while being treated as second-class citizens.
Honestly, a flag pin? Is that the patriotism test? Those who wear it have caused and have acted unpatriotic in sending our troops to war. He didn't place his hand over his heart, well wouldn't that make athletes, and people who attend sporting events unpatriotic? Have you Always placed your hand over your heart? If you have-great, but don't tell people who may not have done it they are unpatriotic.
What is a patriotism test? Who is deemed to be or not to be a patriot? Who sets that marker?
His comments toward small town people was not verbalized well but for good-sakes, he was born in and from small town folks. Why is that most people understand the senitment that was trying to convey, that people everywhere are bitter because Washington politicians make promises that they've never intended to keep. After years of this pandering, people vote based on issues not related to issues that will help their situation but the fall back to things they are more comfortable with.
Maybe I should have said that the metric that one judges Obama, shouldn't be that used to judge the other candidates. Because trust isn't a Clinton strong suit!
I would love to continue this dialog, just maybe together we can learn something.
Yet the jist of my blog was that we should not use race because our troops put their lives on the line for a united America.
Thanks
May 14, 2008 10:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
A nice article, but maybe too nice. It's all well and good to call for people to just come together and all get along, but there's an entrenched favortism and privileging of the white perspective, and of white people in general, that needs to be dislodged first.
My people, the white folks, are generally still on top and still generally in control, but most of them don't even realize that. Given that, it's too soon to expect everyone else to just join white hands and start singing unity spirituals.
Evidence of white oblivion lies in the amazement of most white folks that anyone would consider America today a "white supremacist" country. And yet, as As Alex Jung explains, "white supremacy is simply the idea that white people, neighborhoods, concerns, beauty and self-worth are more important then nonwhite ones."
If anyone doesn't see how that still applies to America today, they've got a lot of recovery to do from their life-long racial training.
May 14, 2008 7:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
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