Is it Racist?

[WildernessBride]

Is it okay not to vote for Obama because he allows himself to be spiritually guided by a man who is an idiot and a nutcase?

Either Obama is also an idiot nutcase or can't spot one when he sees one. Neither of those are qualities I want in a President.

So let's go for the man whose so out of touch that he believes that most people are better off now than before GWB's presidency...(he said that in Feb 2008). I want an old out of touch man as my commander in chief....

 

[Charade]

So let's go for the man whose so out of touch that he believes that most people are better off now than before...(he said that in Feb 2008). I want an old out of touch man as my commander in chief....

Before when? Last week? 20 years ago? 1775?

 

[Golf4food]

Of course not. Only white people are racist. (All of them, btw.) Everyone knows that...

 

[WildernessBride]

Before when? Last week? 20 years ago? 1775?

Maybe before 1775...he would know having lived it!!

 

[Galahad]

That is a weak argument. Are you talking about for president? It is not like there was ever a viable candidate for Prez, save for Obama?

Doesn't matter whether they were viable or not. If a black voter's reason for not voting for somebody is that they are racist, then they would just sit out an election of all white candidates.

 

[just2peachy]

This may sound simplistic; but I thought Whoopi Goldberg made a very good point recently. Imagine you are a black American "of a certain age". Meaning, you remember the civil rights movement, lived through Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on the bus, you grew up in the South where blacks were lynched by white mobs.

Now you see something you never thought could happen, a black man running for president. How can you NOT vote for him? I would.

 

[wardfamily1]

This may sound simplistic; but I thought Whoopi Goldberg made a very good point recently. Imagine you are a black American "of a certain age". Meaning, you remember the civil rights movement, lived through Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on the bus, you grew up in the South where blacks were lynched by white mobs.

Now you see something you never thought could happen, a black man running for president. How can you NOT vote for him? I would.

Whoopi is from that era YET she voted for Hillary in the primary.

 

[wvrevy]

This may sound simplistic; but I thought Whoopi Goldberg made a very good point recently. Imagine you are a black American "of a certain age". Meaning, you remember the civil rights movement, lived through Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on the bus, you grew up in the South where blacks were lynched by white mobs.

Now you see something you never thought could happen, a black man running for president. How can you NOT vote for him? I would.

But...but...that's racist!!!

The only response to this is going to be that voting for someone because of their race is "racist" (though, technically, Galahad is correct...if they were voting against someone because of their race, that might be different). See...white people rarely think that race matters, because to us, it may or may not. But to the vast majority of African Americans, it absolutely does matter. All they have to do is look at the makeup of Congress to see that.

But again...it's not about logic. It's about white people wanting to be able to call black people "racists". Are there blacks who think their race is superior to whites? Undoubtedly. But do they make up anything close to even 10% of the African American voting population? Not even close.

JMHO...

 

[DawnCt1]

But Dawn, isn't this just the reaction you were hoping for?

No, I was actually hoping for a discussion, and most have participated in it without evoking "me".

 

[lilyv]

Whoopi is from that era YET she voted for Hillary in the primary.

What follows may be a shocking concept.
There are actually many thoughtful, mature individuals in the USA who choose to vote their conscience for the best person.

 

[Galahad]

Are there blacks who think their race is superior to whites?

I see what you're saying here but a larger definition of racism is probably more like "racial hatred" - wishing harm on people of the other race, having contempt for them, etc. To that degree I think there are every bit the same proportion of "racists" blacks as there are whites. And I don't think "justified" racisim is a viable concept - unless you're willing to state the criteria needed to "call it even" eventually.

But even if every black voter voted for Obama because he's black, it's still not a racist thing.

 

[just2peachy]

But...but...that's racist!!!

The only response to this is going to be that voting for someone because of their race is "racist" (though, technically, Galahad is correct...if they were voting against someone because of their race, that might be different). See...white people rarely think that race matters, because to us, it may or may not. But to the vast majority of African Americans, it absolutely does matter. All they have to do is look at the makeup of Congress to see that.

But again...it's not about logic. It's about white people wanting to be able to call black people "racists". Are there blacks who think their race is superior to whites? Undoubtedly. But do they make up anything close to even 10% of the African American voting population? Not even close.

JMHO...

I see what you're saying here but a larger definition of racism is probably more like "racial hatred" - wishing harm on people of the other race, having contempt for them, etc. To that degree I think there are every bit the same proportion of "racists" blacks as there are whites. And I don't think "justified" racisim is a viable concept - unless you're willing to state the criteria needed to "call it even" eventually.

But even if every black voter voted for Obama because he's black, it's still not a racist thing.

So, which one is it?

 

[wvrevy]

I see what you're saying here but a larger definition of racism is probably more like "racial hatred" - wishing harm on people of the other race, having contempt for them, etc. To that degree I think there are every bit the same proportion of "racists" blacks as there are whites. And I don't think "justified" racisim is a viable concept - unless you're willing to state the criteria needed to "call it even" eventually.

But even if every black voter voted for Obama because he's black, it's still not a racist thing.

I wouldn't say that "racism" can be justified, but what you're describing in blacks could simply be resentment rather than true racism, and that is absolutely justifiable in people over a certain age (and I would include Jeremiah Wright in that statement). Blacks old enough to remember the civil rights movement undoubtedly have vivid memories of seeing whites protesting black equality. I don't think it is a stretch at all to say that they may still feel resentment towards whites as a whole for those actions, even after 40 years.

Real racism, to me, is the belief that another's race is inferior to your own. I'm just not sure there are that many blacks that believe that the white race is inferior. Do they have anger and resentment towards whites for what they see as injustices done to them by people of that race? Absolutely. Is that justifiable based on history? That is a judgment call, but in my opinion, yes, it is in a lot of cases, though not in all. I think it gets used as a crutch or an excuse for failure at times, too...but that doesn't mean it doesn't have some basis in reality on the whole.

I think part of the problem is that there are so many people that seem to think Jim Crow died out ages and ages ago, and nobody alive today remembers what it was like to have to ride in the back of the bus. Rosa Parks only made her stand a little over 50 years ago, so anyone around that age might just have lived through some pretty awful things. It'd be nice if more people remembered that little fact.

 

[Charade]

But...but...that's racist!!!

The only response to this is going to be that voting for someone because of their race is "racist" (though, technically, Galahad is correct...if they were voting against someone because of their race, that might be different). See...white people rarely think that race matters, because to us, it may or may not. But to the vast majority of African Americans, it absolutely does matter. All they have to do is look at the makeup of Congress to see that.

But again...it's not about logic. It's about white people wanting to be able to call black people "racists". Are there blacks who think their race is superior to whites? Undoubtedly. But do they make up anything close to even 10% of the African American voting population? Not even close.

JMHO...

Since 1868, 121 African Americans have served in the United States Congress.

Isn't it strange that black people are underrepresented in Congress since black population votes primarily democrat. Who's holding them back? Why aren't there at least 5 to 10 black Senators? (there's only one that I know of And there's only been 5 TOTAL). You'd think the really blue states would be able to get more than one.

Nearly ALL of the post reconstruction black US Reps have been/are Democrats but they are underrepresented as well. Again strange for a party that's supposedly been on their side for so long. You'd think they could do better.

Maybe a little Affirmative Action is needed.

So let me understand...

The vast majority of black people DO take race into account when they vote?

I'm convinced that if you took two identical candidates (right down to policies and personality), one black, one white, the vast majority of black voters would elect the black candidate. Of course those would be Democrats because the vast majority of blacks vote Democrat.

Most white people probably DO NOT care about a candidates race.

So where does this frequent projection of white people being racists at the polls come from?

 

[just2peachy]

But...but...that's racist!!!

The only response to this is going to be that voting for someone because of their race is "racist" (though, technically, Galahad is correct...if they were voting against someone because of their race, that might be different). See...white people rarely think that race matters, because to us, it may or may not. But to the vast majority of African Americans, it absolutely does matter. All they have to do is look at the makeup of Congress to see that.

But again...it's not about logic. It's about white people wanting to be able to call black people "racists". Are there blacks who think their race is superior to whites? Undoubtedly. But do they make up anything close to even 10% of the African American voting population? Not even close.
JMHO...

I'm glad you said JMHO, because how can you justify this? How do you know that white people rarely think that race matters? Because IMO they definitely do. Where did you get the 10% figure? Just asking.

 

[Galahad]

I think part of the problem is that there are so many people that seem to think Jim Crow died out ages and ages ago, and nobody alive today remembers what it was like to have to ride in the back of the bus. Rosa Parks only made her stand a little over 50 years ago, so anyone around that age might just have lived through some pretty awful things. It'd be nice if more people remembered that little fact.

Well, yes and no. In the sense that we should never forget so that we never repeat - like the Holocaust, I agree. But we will never be color blind - and we SHOULD be - until we, among MANY other things, stop passing that resentment down from generation to generation.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

Well, yes and no. In the sense that we should never forget so that we never repeat - like the Holocaust, I agree. But we will never be color blind - and we SHOULD be - until we, among MANY other things, stop passing that resentment down from generation to generation.

I totally agree with this.

 

[wardfamily1]

Well, yes and no. In the sense that we should never forget so that we never repeat - like the Holocaust, I agree. But we will never be color blind - and we SHOULD be - until we, among MANY other things, stop passing that resentment down from generation to generation.

I Totally Agree!

 

[chobie]

Well, yes and no. In the sense that we should never forget so that we never repeat - like the Holocaust, I agree. But we will never be color blind - and we SHOULD be - until we, among MANY other things, stop passing that resentment down from generation to generation.

I agree with that, and I think at the same time we should not be dismissive or minimize how horrible it was, or have an attitude of "that was in the past-get over it."

 

[3jsmommy]

I am sure all of the people in NC that voted for Obama have heard that he was 1/2 white, so how does that factor into this argument?
If someone was truly racists would they vote for a candidate that is mixed?
If it isn't good enough to be 1/2 white for the white racists, why is it good enough to be 1/2 black to the black racists, give the "supposed racists" of NC some credit!!