Presidential Race
I'm glad for a lot of things, but mostly right now I'm just glad that the presidential race is over. I'm sick of it all after two years of coverage. Why can't we just do it like Canada and have a snap election that is over in a month or two?
I'm also glad that Obama won. I'm not sure that he'll make a better president than Bush, or that he will be better than McCain would have been. I don't think that all of the troops will be out of Iraq by the time he leaves office, and I don't think that he will magically solve economic problems brought on by people whose desires were bigger than their pocketbooks. No, I'm glad for one simple reason. I think that his win has meant a lot to many non-white Americans, and I'm glad for that.
His election has also raised some really interesting issues about race and our conceptions of it that prove that our society has done anything but move beyond racism, despite what the pundits would have you think. Both of my points on this are probably not politically correct, and have not been stated by the media that I have heard.
First of all, why is someone who is half white and half black called black? Especially when that person was not raised in a black community or black culture, if there is such a thing? The reason our society calls someone like that black, is because we have an almost Nazi conception of race when it comes to defining who is white. It is a pure-blood philosophy. If you are 3/4 white, and 1/4 black, you're still not white.
My second point is that racism works both ways. I have been to predominantly black neighborhoods where black cashiers have served black people behind me in line. That is racism. The same holds with elections. The media focused on whether there would be a "Bradley effect" in which non-black voters would not vote for Obama despite telling pollsters otherwise. Is it not just as racist for black voters to vote against McCain because he is white, as it is for white voters to vote against Obama because they says he's not?
I'm also glad that Obama won. I'm not sure that he'll make a better president than Bush, or that he will be better than McCain would have been. I don't think that all of the troops will be out of Iraq by the time he leaves office, and I don't think that he will magically solve economic problems brought on by people whose desires were bigger than their pocketbooks. No, I'm glad for one simple reason. I think that his win has meant a lot to many non-white Americans, and I'm glad for that.
His election has also raised some really interesting issues about race and our conceptions of it that prove that our society has done anything but move beyond racism, despite what the pundits would have you think. Both of my points on this are probably not politically correct, and have not been stated by the media that I have heard.
First of all, why is someone who is half white and half black called black? Especially when that person was not raised in a black community or black culture, if there is such a thing? The reason our society calls someone like that black, is because we have an almost Nazi conception of race when it comes to defining who is white. It is a pure-blood philosophy. If you are 3/4 white, and 1/4 black, you're still not white.
My second point is that racism works both ways. I have been to predominantly black neighborhoods where black cashiers have served black people behind me in line. That is racism. The same holds with elections. The media focused on whether there would be a "Bradley effect" in which non-black voters would not vote for Obama despite telling pollsters otherwise. Is it not just as racist for black voters to vote against McCain because he is white, as it is for white voters to vote against Obama because they says he's not?
posted by The Mad Hatter at 12:27 PM
1 comments
