| Author | Message | ||
     S1wmike |
Is it just me or since the Election has it been a new reality program of "Where's Obama?". I know this was a significant event, but shouldn't we be focusing on his job instead of what he became? Ask yourself what are the REAL issues. | ||
| Froggy |
I was thinking the same thing, but once the novelty wears off in a few days it will go back to normal. | ||
| Svh |
Hope so | ||
| Eboos |
I was planning on writing a thread about this, but: I was reading a newspaper (USA Today), and I was going through the opinion pages. I read several stories of segregation and bigotry, and the things that people had gone through in recent history. All along, I've been thinking, "he's the 44th president, who cares if he's the first black president", but then something simple dawned on me. I am not black, and I am young. I did not live through some of the things that black people experienced as early as 40 years ago, and some would argue even more recent. I grew up in Long Island New York, and I had many black friends. While growing up, we would take the bus to school and when finished in my area, we would go to Homestead Village and Gordon Heights and pick up that majority of the black kids that I knew. I didn't know then that they were government housing projects. I seemed more of a coincidence that they all lived there. I am not blind to race and prejudice, but through my life, I've seen it as isolated. Had I been a 60 year old black man, I could see this as quite a personal victory. I don't feel white guilt, I am only guilty for what I have done. I am a Republican, and I still disagree with some of the President's stances, but as an American commited to working together with other Americans, he has my full support. I am a reletively young white man, and now I feel like I understand why black people are so enthusiastic, perhaps even blindly, by the President's victory. In the end, when looking back in history, I hope President Obama will be remembered as a good leader and the 44th president, not just the 1st black president. I want him to be remembered for his accomplishments, not just his heritage. Maybe in time his race will be less significant and simply become a matter of obscure trivia. | ||
| Texastechx1 |
^^^ well put, Eboos... well put. | ||
| 2008xb12scg |
Well said eboos! | ||
| Lastcyclone |
If what he accomplised on his first day is any indication of what he is capable of I think we all have a little less to worry about. The future of the USA, our futures, seem to be looking a bit brighter, at least from my perspective. | ||
| Etennuly |
It is not so much what he does, but what we do with what he initiates. | ||
| 86129squids |
As I had hoped all along, he's taking the job seriously and working to fix things. I'm glad that Obama and Michelle got an opportunity to party last night- looks like they did so properly. Watched PBS's show on American comedy tonite- I HIGHLY RECOMMEND youn's watch it or buy it- it covers a lot of 20th century history and speaks of the things we, as Americans, have had a difficult time speaking to, about, and with each other. Cultural/racial prejudices eventually, hopefully can be put to rest now- our politics should become more functional and productive, with any luck. Our comedians/comediennes who have blessed us with laughter worked hard and paid a price for their voices, and this speaks directly to us today. We tend to forget the value of this aspect of free speech- What we heard through the years informs us today, and influences the body politic. My sister made a very good point last night, for us to be mindful, kind and prayerful for the outgoing president to have peace and rest in his heart. So many in this country and around the world have reviled him and his administration- myself included- but now is the time for him to let go, and become a citizen again. So much blame and ill will has been thrown his way, let us all wish him well. Like Carter, who left the presidency in disgrace, let us hope W. can grow and serve as an elder statesman someday. I have high hopes for the future- mebbe it'll get bright enough to wear shades before too long. | ||
| Boney95 |
Question, how is one considered one race and not the other? Example; President Obama, he's half white and half black. Why is he considered black? | ||
| Aesquire |
He's "black" because there developed a whole set of laws & excuses to declare certain people "not really human" so that they were legit to enslave. "Mullatto", Quantroon, etc. are all ploys by the rich white slave owners to keep some humans inhuman & so cheap labor. ( Mostly Democrat, but that's your Fathers Democrat party, not the new, white guilt liberal/socialist/special interest Party that denies ever being the party of the Klan... But they are ) Phrases like "one drop of black blood" and the like were also used in Nazi Germany to declare Jews, Gypsies, etc. inhuman & ok to murder under the law. That's why Barack is a "black man" and the 2nd "black President" after Clinton. Having a redneck like Clinton declared the 1st black president shows, IMHO, how racist the political process is, especially with rich pink skinned guys who feel guilty as a part of their social conditioning. Jerks. I hope America does well after hiring Barack to work for us. I don't agree with much of his declared political philosophy. I hope he fails at making us more dependent on an all powerful government. | ||
| Bcool83 |
Aesquire's response aside, I believe he's considered black and not white because of his skin tone. | ||
| Ratbuell |
My skin tone changes depending on the season, and how long I'm in the sun. I'm still the same smartass, regardless of my shade  I just don't "get" racism - maybe it's just me. It's not ignorance (re-reading this, it probably *is* ignorance that causes racism; my intent was to say that not getting it wasn't because I'm ignorant about racism itself), I've studied, have two BA's, and am fairly intelligent...but I just don't see the point. Do the job, keep the job. Don't do the job, lose the job and someone qualified will take it (sorry, thinking of quotas there). I don't give a rat's a$$ what color you are - if you're supposed to do a job, DO IT. Period. Color does not determine someone's ability (or inability) to do an action/job/whatever. There's plenty of lazy, system-teat-sucking white folk out there too. I'm hopeful. Time will tell, but I think he can do a lot of it. The hardest part for me is not taking a swing at all these jackasses who don't have a political opinion other than "he cain't do it, he's black". (Message edited by ratbuell on January 22, 2009) | ||
| Swampy |
I'm a Ron Paul republican, so this all is especially interesting to me. Last night after work I was standing in the very cold weather holding a large box waiting to be picked up for a ride home, I thought I spotted my ride and picked up the box from the sidewalk and stepped over the snowbank towards the road as the approching car moved towards the curb, at the last moment I realized it wasn't my ride and jumped back to the sidewalk and chuckled loudly about it. A non-caucasian man was walking my way and I smiled and said I am getting old and can't see well any more, the man smiled and asked if I was cold and needed his glove liners, that I could have them. I told him thanks but I was OK(just ask anybody who knows me) Now think of this, a perfectly good stranger observes my need and offers to help me(remember in this climate a pair of gloves can make all the difference) I told you all that to make the point that it looks like things are changing, and I am excited/interested to see what really does occur in the near future as to race relations because of Obama becomming president. God bless America! | ||
| P_squared |
Sorry, but not buying it. Performing a good deed/act of kindness/chivalry does NOT depend upon who is/isn't POTUS. If you believe otherwise, I won’t argue with you, as you obviously won’t be able to grasp the concepts of personal responsibility and a need for decent moral fiber in an individual. I hope he succeeds in keeping our country safe, but in nearly all of his other proposals, I am with Aesquire & sincerely hope he fails. Back to the original topic/point, yes, IMO, the MSM is in the bag and it is now “All Obama, all the time.” | ||
| Greenlantern |
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jeff erson/mixed/onedrop.html | ||
| Ezblast |
P-squared - there is change at foot and your missing it - never hope for failure, instead hope for things to go forward and solutions that work - the elections over, its time to work together. Yes people are acting better, and are trying to be more pro-active. Kids are pulling up their pants and acting better - I've seen this also - my question - can his administration live up to our expectations? I'm hoping with a Congress practically in his pocket and the serious Cabinet he is picking - that the answer will be yes. EZ | ||
| Eaton_corners |
What if.. We were all descendants of one man  | ||
| Skinstains |
I think the reason that even one percent black is considered black is because many of the American blacks can't even trace their family trees. They have been in this country longer than a lot of white families as a great many of then descend from slaves. Unfortunately they can't even trace their family trees because they were bought and sold like cattle. Named and renamed by the whites that "bought" them, and not allowed to learn how to read or write. They were also raped by their so called owners. This would sometimes end up in a pregnancy that would dilute their pure black blood. You can bet that the product of this rape was certainly considered black. The point I'm trying to make is this. Many blacks have white blood running through their viens(through no desire or fault of their own)but don't get to enjoy the benefits of being white so they just consider themselves black. | ||
| P_squared |
How about I agree to disagree? As I said, I hope our POTUS is successful in keeping this country safe. As far as his proposals, I hope he fails, as I do not agree with them. I do not agree with Nationalizing this country. As for the 'serious Cabinet', again, I will agree to disagree. I see either unqualified, criminal, and/or ethically 'challenged' appointments. To place one's belief in the Federal Government being the only way your life can be improved flies in the face of my personal beliefs of what this country was founded upon, ergo my hope for failure in regards to proposed domestic policies. As for the change I am 'missing' please explain what exactly I'm missing? How it's 'cool' to be patriotic now? You DON'T want to get me started in that vein as this thread will go to the Backfire board REAL FAST. "Yes people are acting better, and are trying to be more pro-active. Kids are pulling up their pants and acting better " and they couldn't do this before he became POTUS? Personal responsibility my friends. | ||
| Skinstains |
Fight, Fight, a XXXXXX and a white ! | ||
| Hmartin |
Accomplishments on the first day? Darn, let's hire chiselers for Mt. Rushmore already.  | ||
| Hootowl |
We ARE all descended from one man/woman. Creationism has its Adam and Eve. Evolution has its first homo sapien evolved from whatever was its parent. Add to that the three genetic bottleneck/near extinction events that we know of, and you'll find that we're all VERY closely related. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
somebody should do a nice photoshop with the Wheres Waldo page and put Obama in there somewhere. | ||
| B00stzx3 |
Aesquire- rednecks is an offensive term. We prefer Appalachian-Americans, thanks jk, jk For one, hes a celebrity, a hero among my generation (college aged). That, and its the highest office in the land combined with our celebrity obsession is why every trivial act or appereance is a big deal. For the "why is he considered black" thing, I used to question that to, why they didn't say he was mixed or half white. In my African American History class, we learned about the Kress Theory of Color Conflict, an explaination to fair skinned peoples past habits of oppressing dark skinned peoples (slavery, etc.) Between a white and a black, the offspring will be considered black because the black skinned gene is dominant over the white skinned one. Thats why hes considered black, and plus he looks like an average Joe black guy. As far as politics, I as a young, white rural moderate Democrat male am excited to see some of the divisions break away. Even if slavery and segregation are over, racial divisions are not. An example is Baltimore where I lived. The white neighborhoods are hostile to blacks, and the black neighborhoods hostile to whites. Maybe this is due to class, since Baltimore is mostly poor and blue collar, but it was shocking to see coming from my all-white rural Maryland town. Whatever your politics aside, for the sake of the country, not the Dems or Repubs, let him succeed, for the good of America (Rush Limbaugh take note!). America is first and the most important over anything and anyone else. On a side note, its intresting to bring up the point of positive black male role models. If ya really look at it, young black dudes got rappers and sports heroes to look up to, thats whats presented to them as something to emulate. Well, most people WILL NOT, let alone black males, will become pro rappers or pro sports figures. Plus rappers and (some) pro sports heroes aren't the greatest in terms of morals and character, its good to see Barack give them a positive choice for their aspirations and goals in life. Sorry if I offended any Black folks, just saying what I know. I'm just a dumb white guy. (Message edited by b00stzx3 on January 22, 2009) (Message edited by b00stzx3 on January 22, 2009) | ||
| Swampy |
P_Squared, I understand, just two months ago my song was a different one. I also do not believe I need a government to give me what I need or to make me happy, I too believe the government should just step out of the way and let me at it, I too believe that if our founding fathers were alive today they would hold a second American Revolution. I also am looking forward to blacks and whites getting along, recognizing the fellowship of Americans and what I experienced the other day made me think of that. If it takes electing a "Black" president to do that, well lets say he is not who I voted for but since we have him for atleast the next four years I'm for jumping on the band wagon and improving our country. On the same hand, I will be the first to be vocal if by some strange reason he does not faithfully uphold the office of president, and defend the constitution of the United States. I'm not contradictory when I say these things, I think we can grow as a country because of these events and I believe I witnessed the beginnings of such the other day. | ||
| Edgydrifter |
My dad raised the issue of Obama's "whiteness" a few months ago, and my response to him was as follows: "Dad, if Obama showed up at the door to take Jennifer [my sis] out on a date, would you think he was white or black?" I think Skinstains hits the nail on the head. A lot of people of mixed racial ancestry self-identify with the non-white component of their lineage if that's the way they are perceived and treated by others based on the sum of their physical characteristics. | ||
| P_squared |
Does that include hoping he succeeds in signing a 'stimulus' bill currently estimated at ~$850BILLION that OMB believes will provide NO BENEFIT? No, I hope it fails. Before the inauguration, it was 'patriotic to dissent' as per the Democratic party ‘mouths’. Now suddenly it's not? Am I the only person who sees the hypocrisy? I ‘have’ to hope he succeeds in EVERYTHING he proposes, otherwise I’m ‘un-patriotic’ and/or ‘un-American’? Really???? As I stated, and I stand by it, I hope OUR President succeeds in protecting this great nation from all enemies, foreign & domestic. I hope OUR President fails in enacting his objectives that I do not agree with, which I believe will do more harm than any good, some of it potentially irreversible. The MSM has gone into the tank in getting him elected IMO, which was where this thread started. They will continue to cover him in the most positive light possible for the next 4 yrs. IMO. No surprise really, just wish they weren’t so blatantly partisan. I have no ill will towards our President personally. I just disagree with the majority of the changes he wishes to accomplish. Therefore, I hope those things he proposes which I oppose fail. Nothing wrong with that folks. If you don’t agree with that, then not much I can say or do to change your mind. | ||
| Swampy |
I'm in on that!  I guess I am more interested in seeing how we socialize changes because of this event. | ||
| Court |
>>>>Ask yourself what are the REAL issues. You will be comforted to know that far more folks tuned into American Idol than the innauguration and only a fraction of the number of folks who witnessed Ronald Reagan take the oath. This was more a Democratic Love-Fest. Interesting to listen to them interviewing folks returning from the event today on the radio in New York . . . "what do you think about Obama and having Carolyn Kennedy as a female Vice President? Typical response: "it's time for a woman to be the Vice President and I'm glad he chose her". Nuff said. |
