Voting for Obama because You are Black and He is Black makes you...

Originally posted by Royal76
If Obama was a white guy he would have already withdrawn

... or laughed off the political stage.

The fact is that Ferrarro was at least partly correct. He has gotten to where he is because he is black. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.

I think I have come to the conclusion that the black folks who are voting for Obama strictly because he is black are behaving in a racist manner and not just because they are prejudiced. The power of politics is behind that thought.

I also think that more of them are voting in this racist manner than admit to it .. much the same as more white people vote for the white candidate rather than the black ones based upon skin color (and they may not be aware of it).

It's amazing that someone actually felt the need to post the definition of 'racism' on here, and it's STILL being completely ignored.

Chissler, you're wasting your breath, my friend. It is pretty obvious what was said above about what actually constitutes 'racism' vs. predjudice, and it doesn't seem that anyone's listening.

Also, I'm sure you'll find that there are several women who are voting for Hillary because she's a woman, and several white people voting for McCain because he's white, yet for some reason, the Obama supporters are being called out.

[edit on 3/14/2008 by bigbert81]

Originally posted by chissler
reply to post by seagull

 

I have said all along that I think it is wrong. What I have said is that I can at least understand. So while I can empathize with those that are doing it, I am not in agreement.

I'm curious what I have said or done that leads you to feel that I am biased in some way surrounding this concept.

[edit on 14-3-2008 by chissler]

As I said in my post, I agree with most all of what you said. If I misconstrued you certainly have my apologies. The way it read to me, over the course of several posts, was that you seemed to think it was, if not OK, certainly understandable. Then you said exactly that. I obviously misconstrued what you were saying. My apologies, Chissler. Sometimes I have a habit of leaping before I look. This seems to be an instance of just that.

Originally posted by bigbert81
It's amazing that someone actually felt the need to post the definition of 'racism' on here, and it's STILL being completely ignored.

:shk: berti berti berti...

Chissler doesn't need you to fight his battles.
He does a fine job of holding an adult conversation without ya'.

Chissler and I were politely discussing if the power that comes from politics consitutes the power necessary for racism v prejudice.

As far as your other remarks ... this thread isn't about Hillary or McCain .. those are off topic. This is about asking the question if voting for Obama based upon his skin color is racism or not.

And it's being politely discussed... or at least it was until now.

reply to post by SteveR


How about voting against Obama because he's Black?

How about Geraldine Ferraro who chalks up Obama's popularity to the fact that he is Black? Ferraro believes that Obama doesn't offer anything other than his skin color, that because of his skin color he is getting votes. She also happens to believe that anybody who is not White and who happens to disagree with her view on this point only disagrees because she is White. Is Geraldine Ferraro crazy? Is she a racist? Prejudice? All of the above?

How about many Hispanics who are voting against Obama and for Hillary simply because Obama is Black? Allegedly many Hispanics do not feel as if they have been included in the agendas that some Black politicians have had in the past, and so they have come to the conclusion that any and all Black politicians will treat them the same way in the future. Is that evidence of racism? Or, is it a matter of prejudice?

Voting for someone based solely on race is not necessarily equal to making the claim that one race is superior to another race. Only when the issue of one race being superior to another race is it a matter of racism. I do believe, however, that casting a vote based on the candidate's race is a matter of prejudice. It may be what the voter prefers but it is still a matter of prejudice because it implies that other candidates who are not of the same race are at least lacking in the crucial factor of preferred racial identity. Now that's not saying that one race is inferior to another, it's just saying that one candidate's race is preferable to the race of other candidates. Not better or worse, superior or inferior, just preferable. This point of view is not without controversy.

Geraldine Ferraro, in my view, is a racist. She sounds like a racist who is in denial about about being a racist. At any rate, the claim that Obama only gets votes because he is Black is a patently racist statement. It's racist because the implication is that Obama's skin color is the only substance that matters and exists in order for him to garner votes, and that she, Geraldine Ferraro, a White person, is one who is in a position to know and declare it. Ferraro's hatred is so deep that I think she just may be going crazy because of it.

The Hispanic vote situtation is more complicated. I think it is partly a matter of Hispanics wanting to count more in political decisions that affect their future than it is about a candidate's race. However, it is true that the candidates race is a factor. If Obama where White or Hispanic we would then be in the position to know more about how Hispanics feel about Obama's policies as opposed to Hillary's. I do not know how legitimate the claims that some Hispanic leaders have made against some Black politicians are. What is unfortunate is that many Hispanics seem to be casting their votes based on fear, past and current grievances, and boiling it down to the candidate's race. The situation is too complicated to draw definitive conclusions based solely on what some Hispanic leaders are espousing about some Black politicians. In this situation I think it is a matter of prejudice for some Hispanics and racism for other Hispanics. There are of course Hispanics who are in neither of these camps and are only voting based on a candidate's perceived ability.





[edit on 14-3-2008 by Areal51]

reply to post by FlyersFan


Oh good lord.

That was the entire point of the post, genius. Someone has already clarified what racism was, you just don't seem to listen. Despite the DEFINITION being right in front of your face, you still argue that it's racism.

I guess we should all listen to you instead of the friggin' dictionary.

Originally posted by bigbert81
genius.

tsk tsk tsk ... and this thread was going so nice ... we all were being so polite and having a nice conversation. berti ...

reply to post by FlyersFan


I don't like you.

Originally posted by bigbert81
I don't like you.

I don't care.

Oh .. and that is a one line response and off topic (and baiting).
another tsk tsk tsk



[edit on 3/14/2008 by FlyersFan]

reply to post by FlyersFan


You know, it was meant to be a joke, but now I see that we have yet another wannabe MOD running around.

Let the MODS do their jobs, I'm growing extremely tired of hearing from people like you who think you've the responsibility of telling others how to act here.

Originally posted by SteveR
Disbelief, guilt, resentment. It will be a hard lesson, but one that many of you desperately need.

I agree. The white guys I know holding their nose and voting McCain for a third Bush term simply because they're idiots and can't imagine a woman in pants or "painting the White House black" as they say in the barber shop do deserve a long, hard fought lesson about their failures the past 200 years.

Originally posted by RANT
"painting the White House black" as they say in the barber shop

Rant .. buddy .. ya'll really need to get out of the deep south, ya' know?
I escaped from 9 years of hell .. uh .. I mean Alabama. Seriously ...

I haven't read the entire thread, but what I did read was somewhat interesting and occasionally entertaining.

Anyway, voting for someone simply because of the color of their skin is, in my opinion, a racist thing to do. Having said that, I believe that many people will vote for Obama because he's black, yes, but not simply because of that, rather what his being black means. And that is that he holds the promise of people being treated more equally.

As a woman, I may vote for a woman, not simply because she's a woman, but because as a woman, there's a better chance she'll see to the needs of women.

So, I'm going to guess that the black people who are voting for Obama because he's black are more voting for the hope of equality in this country than voting for a color.

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
rather what his being black means.

Problem is ... he doesn't share the average black americans 'black american experience'.

He was raised overseas. He (mostly) was raised in a white family.
He went to very high-end schools. etc etc

Not exactly the average 'black american experience'. Ya' know?

Hi FF! It's great to see you!

I'm not implying that Obama has any sort of shared experience (although I think he certainly does have some), I'm only saying that it's possible that people might vote for someone in hopes that they will have sympathy for people like themselves and make sure that they're taken care of better than they have been in the past.

If I were to vote for a woman (which I'm NOT!) and I stated that I'm voting for her "because she's a woman", there might be a further explanation under that simple reason - that being that I would hope she would see to women's needs better than they have been addressed in the past.