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Will Obama be judged differently because he's black?

Posted By: sm on 2009-01-28
In Reply to:

I never gave this a thought. The previous incumbent was so poor and Palin scared the bejesus out of me and McCain isn't that much of a maverick and doesn't know squat economically that I never let race enter into my voting decision. For me it was an obvious choice. (Not my first choice but by Nov. my only choice.)


If you read through this cnn.com article, you'll read that blacks who were innovative do feel they're or were held to different standards.


The very fact that this article is worthy of being printed surprises me.


=========================================


(CNN) -- Just days before he was sworn in, President Obama was giving his daughters a tour of the Lincoln Memorial when one of them pointed to a copy of Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address carved into the wall.


Obama's 7-year-old daughter, Sasha, told her father that Lincoln's speech was really long. Would he have to give a speech as long? Obama's answer was completed by his older daughter, 10-year-old Malia.


"I said, 'Actually, that one is pretty short. Mine may even be a little longer,' " Obama told CNN recently. "At which point, Malia turns to me and says, 'First African-American president, better be good.' "


The story is light-hearted, but it touches on a delicate question: Will people hold Obama to a different standard because he is the first African-American president?


Americans appear split by race on that answer. According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll, 53 percent of blacks say the American public will hold Obama to a higher standard than past presidents because he is black. Most whites -- 61 percent -- say Obama's race will not matter in how he will be judged.


The question divided several people who were racial pioneers themselves.


Alexander Jefferson was one of the first blacks allowed to become a fighter pilot. He was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of black pilots who escorted bombers in World War II.


"We had to be twice as good to be average," he says.


Obama won't face the same pressures he did because his presidential predecessor was so inept, Jefferson says.


"No, the world is ready for him," he says. "The [George W.] Bush debacle was so depressing."


Jefferson was shot down by ground fire on his 19th mission and spent a year in German prison camps. He wrote about his POW experiences in "Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman and POW."


Jefferson says he dealt with the pressures of being a racial pioneer by drawing on the strength of black leaders who opened doors for him.


"I sit on the backs of everyone who came before me," says Jefferson, who attended Obama's inauguration with other Tuskegee Airmen.


Jefferson says he would have emotionally imploded if he'd thought too much about the pressures of representing all blacks and dealing with the racism he encountered when he returned home to a segregated America after the war.


"I did what I had to do so I didn't go stark-raving mad," he says. "There wasn't all this self-analysis and back and forth. I was too damn busy with a wife, a child and a mortgage."


Michele Andrea Bowen couldn't avoid a bout of constant self-analysis. She was one of the first African-American students admitted to a doctorate program in history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.


"I know Obama is going to be held to a different standard," says Bowen, author of "Up at the College" and books such as "Holy Ghost Corner," which celebrate black faith and culture.


Bowen says she faced relentless scrutiny, and so will Obama.


"You know that it was hard for you to get in it, and you know they're watching you," Bowen says. "And you know that they're judging you by a critical standard that's sometimes not fair."


Bowen says a white classmate, her partner in dissertation, once confided to her that he received the same grades as she did, even though he knew his work was inferior.


"It toughened me up," Bowen says. "It can give you headaches and stomachaches. I learned you have to be thankful that God blessed you with that opportunity. At some point, you stop worrying, and you trust God."


'Would Bush have been president if he were black?'


Perhaps Obama will avoid those stomachaches because of the massive good will his election has generated. But that could change quickly if Obama makes a controversial decision or a mistake, says Andrew Rojecki, co-author of "The Black Image in the White Mind: Media and Race in America."


Rojecki says people who say Obama isn't going to be held to a different standard because of his skin color didn't pay attention to his campaign.


He says Obama had to deal with challenges that other candidates didn't have to face. Obama's run for office was almost ended by his association with his minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whose incendiary sermons shocked many.


But Republican presidential nominee John McCain's relationship with the Rev. John Hagee, who was accused of anti-Semitism, never threatened to end his campaign, Rojecki says.


"Obama was held responsible for what his minister said, and McCain was associated with Hagee, but somehow that didn't stick," says Rojecki, a communication professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.


Even people who regard themselves as the most progressive, open-minded supporters may subconsciously hold Obama to a different standard, Rojecki says.


He says several academic studies show that it often takes people longer to associate good qualities to blacks when different faces are flashed across a screen.


"They have these stereotypes buried in their subconscious," he says. "That's why people cross the street when they see a young black man. They'd rather not take a chance."


Obama virtually had to be perfect to overcome those stereotypes, Rojecki says. He was the first black Editor of the Harvard Law Review, he has an Ivy League-educated wife and adorable daughters, and he ran a great campaign.


"He's the perfect symbol of achievement," Rojecki says.


White candidates for office don't have to have an uninterrupted life of achievement to be considered for the Oval Office, Rojecki says.


"If George W. Bush were black, do you think he would be president?" Rojecki says.


Jefferson, the Tuskegee Airman, says Obama should have at least one consolation. The problems he confronts now are so immense that anyone, even someone who was considered by many to be perfect, would not be able to escape withering judgment.


"If the president was Jesus Christ, '' Jefferson says, "they would still debate if he's qualified."


 





LINK/URL: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/24/obama.pressure/index.html


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He most certainly will be judged differently -- less harshly!
It rode into the white house on the race card and for a while no one will look past the historical fact that he is the first African-American president.  Who cares if he has experience -- he makes pretty speeches and he is an articulate black man.   If you are not an Obama supporter and you are critical of his policitics and changes, that same race card will be thrown at you! 
Obama winning BECAUSE he's black?
Do you hear yourself? You need a time out.
Why this black man can't vote for Obama

Why I can't vote for Obama:  Worth the read! 
I wanted to send this article from Huntley Brown - a fabulous concert pianist, a man of God and a black man. I appreciate so much his reasoning for not voting for Obama. I would like to see his article published or spread out via Email to as many as possible. It's good stuff!


Why I Can't Vote For Obama
By Huntley Brown
Dear Friends, A few months ago I was asked for my perspective on Obama, I sent out an email with a few points. With the election just around the corner I decided to complete my perspective. Those of you on my e-list have seen some of this before but it's worth repeating...
First I must say whoever wins the election will have my prayer support Obama needs to be commended for his accomplishments but I need to explain why I will not be voting for him.
Many of my friends process their identity through their blackness I process my identity through Christ. Being a Christian (a Christ follower) means He leads I follow. I can't dictate the terms He does because He is the leader.
I can't vote black because I am black; I have to vote Christian because that's who I am. Christian first, black second.  Neither should anyone from the other ethnic groups vote because of ethnicity. 200 years from now I won't be asked if I was black or white. I will be asked if I knew Jesus and accepted Him as Lord and Savior.
In an election there are many issues to consider but when a society gets abortion, same-sex marriage, embryonic stem-cell research, human cloning to name a few, wrong economic concerns will soon not matter.
We need to follow Martin Luther King's words, don't judge someone by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I don't know Obama so all I can go off is his voting record. His voting record earned him the title of the most liberal senator in the US Senate in 2007.
NATIONAL JOURNAL: Obama: Most Liberal Senator in 2007 (01/31/2008)
To beat Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton as the most liberal senator, takes some doing. Obama accomplished this feat in 2 short years. I wonder what would happen to America if he had four years to work with.
There is a reason Planned Parenthood gives him a 100 % rating. There is a reason the homosexual community supports him. There is a reason Ahmadinejad, Chavez, Castro, Hamas etc. love him. There is a reason he said he would nominate liberal judges to the Supreme Court. There is a reason he voted against the infanticide bill. There is a reason he voted No on the constitutional ban of same-sex marriage. There is a reason he voted No on banning partial birth abortion. There is a reason he voted No on confirming Justices Roberts and Alito. These two judges are conservatives and they have since overturned partial birth abortion. The same practice Obama wanted to continue.
God help him. There is a reason Obama opposed the parental notification law.
Think about this:  You can't give a kid an aspirin without parental notification but that same kid can have an abortion without parental notification. This is insane.
There is a reason he went to Jeremiah Wright's church for 20 years.
Obama tells us he has good judgment but he sat under Jeremiah Wright teaching for 20 years. Now he is condemning Wright's sermons. I wonder why now?
Obama said Jeremiah Wright led him to the Lord and discipled him. A disciple is one in training. Jesus told us in Matthew 28:19 - 20 'Go and make disciples of all nations.' This means reproduce yourself. Teach people to think like you, walk like you; talk like you believe what you believe etc. The question I have is what did Jeremiah Wright teach him?
Would you support a White President who went to a church which has tenets that said they have a ...
1. Commitment to the White Community
2. Commitment to the White Family
3. Adherence to the White Work Ethic
4. Pledge to make the fruits of all developing and acquired skills available to the White Community.
5. Pledge to Allocate Regularly, a Portion of Personal Resources for Strengthening and Supporting White Institutions
6. Pledge allegiance to all White leadership who espouse and embrace the White Value System
7. Personal commitment to embracement of the White Value System.
Would you support a President who went to a church like that?
Just change the word from white to black and you have the tenets of Obama's former church.   If President Bush was a member of a church like this, he would be called a racist. Jessie Jackson and AL Sharpton would have been marching outside.
This kind of church is a racist church. Obama did not wake up after 20 years and just discovered he went to a racist church.  The church can't be about race.  Jesus did not come for any particular race. He came for the whole world.
A church can't have a value system based on race. The churches value system has to be based on biblical mandate. It does not matter if it's a white church or a black church it's still wrong.  Anyone from either race that attends a church like this would never get my vote.
Obama's former Pastor Jeremiah Wright is a disciple of liberal theologian James Cone, author of the 1970 book A Black Theology of Liberation. Cone once wrote: 'Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community. If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him.
Cone is the man Obama's mentor looks up to. Does Obama believe this?
So what does all this mean for the nation?
In the past when the Lord brought someone with the beliefs of Obama to lead a nation it meant one thing - judgment.
Read 1 Samuel 8 when Israel asked for a king. First God says in 1 Samuel 1:9 'Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do.'
Then God says
1 Samuel 1:18 ' When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day.' 19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. 'No!' they said. 'We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.'  21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, 'Listen to them and give them a king.'
Here is what we know for sure.
God is not schizophrenic
He would not tell one person to vote for Obama and one to vote for McCain. As the scripture says, a city divided against itself cannot stand, so obviously many people are not hearing from God.
Maybe I am the one not hearing but I know God does not change and Obama contradicts many things I read in scripture so I doubt it.
For all my friends who are voting for Obama can you really look God in the face and say; Father based on your word, I am voting for Obama even though I know he will continue the genocidal practice of partial birth abortion. He might have to nominate three or four Supreme Court justices, and I am sure he will be nominating liberal judges who will be making laws that are against you.  I also know he will continue to push for homosexual rights, even though you destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for this.  I know I can look the other way because of the economy.
I could not see Jesus agreeing with many of Obama's positions. Finally I have two questions for all my liberal friends.
Since we know someone's value system has to be placed on the nation,
1 Whose value system should be placed on the nation.
2.  Who should determine that this is the right value system for the nation?
Blessings, Huntley Brown
 


Obama and the black vote...
I don't mean this offensively to you but don't you think since Obama may possibly be the first black President of the United States, that the majority of black people want to share in that historical moment?  I may be a white lady or a "cracker" as the blacks sometimes call me, but I can understand the majority of black people wanting to vote for a black man for President.
You're right - Obama does look like a black Dickie.
xx
So did Obama. The search for Black identity, heritage,
Renewing American Leadership: Foreign Affairs. He also made contributions to The State of Black America, Portrait of a Black male. Whether you realize it or not, these subjects are of interest many Americans and Transcend gender, race, ethnicity and religion.
This is for a serious discussion... Do you think Obama will help the black community to "change&#
I am watching a story on Nightly News maybe that's what this is... It is about what he will do for the "black community" I guess they call it. They then pointed out the murder rate between in that community, that African-Americans make up 13% of the population but 40% of the incarcerated, etc. etc.

My discussion would be this, do you think it will be a main focus for him to guide or change those young men and women into better things and do you also think that him simply becoming president gives the ones on a bad road reason to make more of their life?
obama won...he wouldn't really because people won't really vote for black and lie to polls
x
Obama's mother is white, his father was black, making him an oreo.
nm
I have judged no one!
Odd that you should make that remark.  It seems you had someone of the Jewish persuasian here on this board, maybe two.  Why did you not ask them?  I see that it was because you were too busy attacking them.  Not a judgement, just an observation.  And again, defending Israel has absolutely NOTHING to do with whether Jews will go to heaven. I don't follow your logic at all.
Weighed, yes. Judged
We are here at witnesses, not judges. 
Now, that's very noble of you and if you have never judged..sm
anything or anyone good for you. But you are coming to the defense of a woman who not only judges people, but is in a position to spread her ideals to millions. You have shown more vigor on this thread than you have on any of the other threads, and I know it was the F-word or maybe even the word devil that got your blood boiling.

You ask about Ward Churchill, and all I can say is it's too bad he feels the way he does about his country. I can't discount his feelings, but it is too bad he feel that way. He was wrong in indicating that the people in the twin towers somehow deserved what they got, dead wrong.

Now one reason why he doesn't bother me as much as Ann is because she has stereotyped *liberals* of which I fall in that category.
yep, and you SHOULD be judged by the friends that
nm
Didn't He also say judge not lest ye be judged? nm
.
Jesus also said "judge not lest ye be judged and let he who is without sin.....sm
cast the first stone. I am not a liberal, I am just not so rash and harsh when it comes to picking and choosing what liberty and freedon is, sometimes you DO have to put your own personal religious beliefs second, stand back, and try to play Solomon.....I am just concerned with true equity, I do not have to carry a banner or an "agenda", only a cherished belief system in my heart and soul, which I practice not only with righteousness, if that is what you want to call it, but with love, mercy, compassion, and forgiveness, very Christ-like beliefs, as I remember Scripture.
Some may view that differently.......
When I was little and my grandfather said pull yourself up by your bootstraps and move on, he simply meant do the best you can, lean on God and do not expect yourself to be able to handle EVERYTHING yourself. Somehow politics gets pulled into the meaning, when it shouldn't really. It used to be a phrase thrown out there to encourage others to get up and on the saddle again, so to speak, and just get moving without waiting for everyone else to do it for you. Do the best you can in whatever you do.
Here is a link for you saying differently...

http://usinfo.state.gov/media/Archive_Index/Illegal_Weapons_in_Fallujah.html


Did the U.S. Use "Illegal" Weapons in Fallujah?


Media allegations claim the U.S. used outlawed weapons during combat in Iraq






The fighting in Fallujah, Iraq has led to a number of widespread myths including false charges that the United States is using chemical weapons such napalm and poison gas. None of these allegations are true.

Qatar-based Internet site Islam Online was one of the first to spread the false chemical weapons claim. On November 10, 2004, it reported that U.S. troops were allegedly using "chemical weapons and poisonous gas" in Fallujah. ("US Troops Reportedly Gassing Fallujah") It sourced this claim to Al-Quds Press, which cited only anonymous sources for its allegation.

The inaccurate Islam Online story has been posted on hundreds of Web sites.

On November 12, 2004, the U.S. Department of Defense issued a denial of the chemical weapons charge, stating:

"The United States categorically denies the use of chemical weapons at anytime in Iraq, which includes the ongoing Fallujah operation. Furthermore, the United States does not under any circumstance support or condone the development, production, acquisition, transfer or use of chemical weapons by any country. All chemical weapons currently possessed by the United States have been declared to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and are being destroyed in the United States in accordance with our obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention."

To its credit, Islam Online ran a Nov. 25, 2004, story carrying the U.S. denial.

In both stories, Islam Online noted that U.S. forces had used napalm-like incendiary weapons during the march to Baghdad in the spring of 2003. Although all napalm in the U.S. arsenal had been destroyed by 2001, Mark-77 firebombs, which have a similar effect to napalm, were used against enemy positions in 2003.

The repetition of this story on Islam Online’s led to further misinformation. Some readers did not distinguish between what had happened in the spring of 2003, during the march to Baghdad, and in Fallujah in November 2004. They mistakenly thought napalm-like weapons had been used in Fallujah, which is not true. No Mark-77 firebombs have been used in operations in Fallujah.

On Nov. 11, 2004, the Nov. 10 Islam Online story was reposted by the New York Transfer News Web site, with the inaccurate headline "Resistance Says US Using Napalm, Gas in Fallujah."

The headline was wrong in two ways. First, as explained above, Islam Online was incorrect in claiming that U.S. forces were using poison gas in Fallujah. Second, the New York Transfer News misread the Islam Online story to mean that U.S. forces were currently using napalm-like weapons in Fallujah. But Islam Online had never claimed this; it had only talked about napalm use in 2003.

The false napalm allegation then took on a life of its own. Further postings on the Internet repeated or recreated the error that the New York Transfer News had made, which eventually appeared in print media. For example, on Nov. 28, 2004, the UK’s Sunday Mirror inaccurately claimed U.S. forces were "secretly using outlawed napalm gas" in Fallujah.

The Sunday Mirror story was wrong in two ways.

First, napalm or napalm-like incendiary weapons are not outlawed. International law permits their use against military forces, which is how they were used in 2003.

Second, as noted above, no Mark-77 firebombs were used in Fallujah.

The Sunday Mirror’s phrasing "napalm gas" is also revealing. Napalm is a gel, not a gas. Why did the Sunday Mirror describe it as a gas?

It may be that, somewhere along the line, a sloppy reader read the inaccurate New York Transfer News headline, "Resistance Says US Using Napalm, Gas in Fallujah," and omitted the comma between napalm and gas, yielding the nonsensical "napalm gas."

Next, the Sunday Mirror’s misinformation about “napalm gas” was reported in identical articles on Nov. 28 by aljazeera.com and islamonline.com. These two Web sites, which are owned by the same company – AL Jazeera Publishing – are deceptive look-alike Web sites that masquerade as the English-language sites of the popular Qatar-based Arabic-language satellite television station al Jazeera and the popular Islam Online Web site, which is islamonline.net.

Finally, some news accounts have claimed that U.S. forces have used "outlawed" phosphorous shells in Fallujah. Phosphorous shells are not outlawed. U.S. forces have used them very sparingly in Fallujah, for illumination purposes. They were fired into the air to illuminate enemy positions at night, not at enemy fighters.

[November 10, 2005 note: We have learned that some of the information we were provided in the above paragraph is incorrect. White phosphorous shells, which produce smoke, were used in Fallujah not for illumination but for screening purposes, i.e., obscuring troop movements and, according to an article, "The Fight for Fallujah," in the March-April 2005 issue of Field Artillery magazine, "as a potent psychological weapon against the insurgents in trench lines and spider holes …." The article states that U.S. forces used white phosphorous rounds to flush out enemy fighters so that they could then be killed with high explosive rounds.]

There is a great deal of misinformation feeding on itself about U.S. forces allegedly using "outlawed" weapons in Fallujah. The facts are that U.S. forces are not using any illegal weapons in Fallujah or anywhere else in Iraq.




 


That's how I feel. How dare the victims be judged.sm
while we sit cumfy in front of our PCs and eat popcorn. That kind of stuff makes me SICK!


It''s too bad you feel you have to "cure" those who think differently

And that you classify such thinking as wrong.


Perhaps you should spend some time thinking on that.


I think history will look at Bush differently
Bush has become the guy we love to hate. But I think years from now, history will view him far more kindly.

Especially if things go the way the polls tell us and we end up with O.

I guess we all see things differently. LOL
Right now I'm angry at CNN, in particular my old bud, Lou Dobbs.  It seems to me they are doing their dead level best to see McCain elected even while trashing his air head running mate.
I meant their (I was wording it differently and then

oops


Doubt that I would feel differently
We have all become so incredibly thin-skinned. I have Irish and Polish blood and you can tell jokes about either of those and I'm not offended.

For that matter, I have a cousin who has an autistic child who participated in the Special Olympics and he's a h*ll of a bowler, could beat the snot out of Obama in a bowling match.

I am not up in arms. I feel no differently about him today....
than I did yesterday, and I shouldn't. In my opinion, it is up to him to change my mind. He said basically for those of you whose respect I have not as yet earned...I am one of those people. He can either solidify what I think about him, or he can change my mind. It is up to him. Being bashed and belittled by his followers does not help his case.
Guess we all handle things differently
If I were you I'd just let it go. Not worth the frustration.

Anyway...it's a beautiful weekend here (well if you call 50 degs and rainy beautiful), but it's the weekend and I'm going to enjoy it. Going to make myself a cup of hot cocoa and get warmed up. Hope you have a good weekend.
Isn't amazing that you judged, sentenced, and stereotyped someone just from one Bible verse they
posted. My, you must be clairvoyant. And immensely proud as well. You really told her, didn't you. You should never quote the Bible as though you now what you are saying. The spirit in which you quote it negates any meaning YOU might give it. You actually just proved what that poster said to you.
You'll think differently when it all comes to pass...O will be a failure and make us

Even a black man..(sm)

*there is a great many people ready to believe in anything, even a black man from a corrupt Chicago political machine with a nice smile and pretty words. *


Yes, it is a historic event for a black man to become president, as is readily recognized and rightfully so.  However, the OP used *even a black man* in what can only be described as a derogatory manner.  -- ready to believe in anything -- even a black man -- followed by more derogatory comments.  To read a statement like this that was obviously meant to be demeaning and pick out one aspect and try to paint that as an innocent description is ridiculous.  Do you really think she meant to add a compliment in the midst of that statement?  I think not.  In fact, even the phrase *with a nice smile and pretty words* was meant as a sarcastic representation.  I'm not making a mountain out of a mole hill here.  This was obviously a racist statement.  If Obama were white do you think the post would have included the statement *even a white man?*  Of course it wouldn't.  Why do you think that is?  I think the OP managed to show her true colors on this one, whether or not she even realized it. 


LOL! Yes, black and white =
only. Too bad it's not a black and white, good or bad world. The you're either with us or against us philosophy has not served us well in the world community and here at home your patriotism is questioned simply because you ask questions. But it's our mission to spread democracy. God help us.
this looks like you are comparing a black
person to a "retarded" person, which makes YOU look bad. -and have some respect for the office, please. Talking like a 5-year-old does not help your own cause.
One black man jealous of another who
xx
He is both black AND white.
Not that it matters and your not the only one but people keep referring to Barack as a "black" man without acklowdeging that he is also half white (50/50). His mother was as white as they come. I don't feel we are electing a black man (or a white man). I feel we are electing a capable man.
yep - black humor
Actually, I thought it was hilarious when he said it.......but I'm a pretty easy going, laid back person. I saw the comedy in it.
Or as Louis Black would say...
"They deserve to be as miserable as the rest of us!"
Love Mr. Black!
No one is afraid of him because he is black....
it is a valid concern that he is a racist.

However, his far left socialism is more concerning to me than his racism.
Vote just because he/she is black - sm

Is just as wrong as not voting for because he/she is black


I am afraid that too many folks casting their votes will be doing it for these reasons, and that is scary


what does black and white have to do with it?
s
Nothing to do with black or white there....has to do
!
I wish McCain was a black man.

I personally feel the McCain hasn't been able to attack Obama like he should because they are too afraid of the race card being played.....and let's face it.....the race card is being played as it is. 


He does not need to LOOK for black vote.
Already addressed this Selma junk yesterday. Know how many black feel patronized? Don't make me have to go dig up my post from yesterday that already put this garbage to rest. It will embarrass you.
do you think if she were black it would have matter?
So sad.
Black and White
People and organizations often try to condense life into a black and white little box. It's way too gray for that.

One thing I discovered as I got older ... just because people or organizations come on strong doesn't mean they know what they are talking about or have good ideas.

I was always shy and figured the people who were forceful were such because the knew their $#it. Sooo not true. :)
I admit that I am not black.

I guess you could say I have not walked in a black person's shoes.  However, don't for one second think that I have never felt racism.  I've seen the glares and dirty looks aimed in my direction by black people.  I've given smiles to strangers who instead of smiling back would glare hatefully at me.  I've said, "I have a nice day," to people who have either given me a dirty look or turned their back to me. 


I was at a hospital visiting my dying father when I left with my son to get something to eat.  My son is very young and has a developmental delay.  A black mother and her daughter walked onto the elevator with us.  My son, not knowing any better, looked at the little girl and commented that she was brown.  Without even thinking I said, "Yes she is.  Isn't she beautiful!"  The mother gave me the dirtiest look.


Well, I hear that something like 95% of black
nm
He chose to be more black
He said so himself in his book.
Black? You mean muslim.
x
Anybody see the Black Panther
arguing with the Fox reporter in Philadelphia.  Yeah, I would feel comfortable going there to vote.  What is wrong with these people.  Why can't people just go vote honestly with none of the scams and crap going on, and see who the MAJORITY of citizens want for our next President?  This whole thing is absurb!  Glad I live in a small town, no lines, no bull*****
Those of us that aren't black could
never understand in a million years what this election to means to many black people.  Just 40 years ago, they could not even vote.  Obama never referred to himself as being akin to MLK -- that tag was put on him by others as a standard for the few black people in our society that have been held up as examples of what any human being can accomplish if given the opportunity.  I ask you, if you or your ancestors (blacks, Jews, etc.) had been held in slavery for hundreds or thousand of years, being treated as non-humans, would you not consider it a victory to finally be recognized as an equal?  Get over your self-righteous indignation and accept it for what it is -- a progressive step forward long overdue.
I think it's official.....gay is the new black (sm)
It amazes me that we can take such a huge step as we did in the general election and yet at the same time take away someone else's rights.  I hope this goes to the supreme court.
Oh boy, now that we have a black president
Now, if say, Chris Rock had made that comment, you're going to tell me you would still find that bad? That guys says plenty of racist things and I can guarantee you many on this board would be laughing at any racist comment he makes. They just won't admit it.
Black Friday
That was so terrible!!  I cannot believe that people are so greedy and thoughtless as to create such bedlam...there was no need for something like this to happen.  I hope they find the person responsible and throw them under the jail.  I think BF should be outlawed.  I once went shopping a day after Thanksgiving many years ago and have not since - people pulling items out of others' hands, people cursing at one another...I felt so bad for the people running out the checkout counter.  One checkout girl was so frazzled she began to cry because one of the people in line told her she was 'too slow', and went on to threaten this poor lady..it's a sad commentary on our society, and even sadder that there is a family in mourning because people don't know how to behave in public