Another Obama Mistake - "Remember, I'm Black."

orig_long red

Watching the DNC right now ... Obama's speech tonight will fall on the 45th anniversary of MLK Jr's "I have a dream ..." speech. Right now, they're showing an MLK tribute video ...

Oh Barack, you slipped up.

Why can't he understand that this country is overflowing with white people who are scared to DEATH of having a BLACK leader in the WHITE House?

All this "Freedom Rings" and "Free at Last" stuff is terrifying the Silent Majority.

And by the way, institutionalized racism is DEAD, but if African-Americans keep using it as a crutch, America as a whole will always hold a little racism in its heart.

anotherclone

I'm pretty sure he's not worried about the white people terrified of a black man in office. There's no way to reach those folks until they pull their heads out of their asses.

heartdesire

long red wrote:

Watching the DNC right now ... Obama's speech tonight will fall on the 45th anniversary of MLK Jr's "I have a dream ..." speech. Right now, they're showing an MLK tribute video ...

Oh Barack, you slipped up.

Why can't he understand that this country is overflowing with white people who are scared to DEATH of having a BLACK leader in the WHITE House?

All this "Freedom Rings" and "Free at Last" stuff is terrifying the Silent Majority.

And by the way, institutionalized racism is DEAD, but if African-Americans keep using it as a crutch, America as a whole will always hold a little racism in its heart.

I'm a bit shocked by this. I do understand what you are saying about holding on to something as a crutch which keeps it alive, though I don't agree that this country is overflowing with white people who are scared to death of having a black leader. Maybe its me. I haven't witnessed this.

I think folks were more afraid of having a woman in office than a black man. : >

Which is ridiculous either way. Either thought process makes me feel quite ashamed to live in this country, maybe even this planet. For heaven sake it is 2008 ... what the hell are people thinking? Where are the true progressives for change? I am starting to think there is a reverse evolution happening of late ...

orig_long red

anotherclone wrote:

I'm pretty sure he's not worried about the white people terrified of a black man in office. There's no way to reach those folks until they pull their heads out of their asses.

he should be worried. ... those people don't just live in the backwoods of Alabama, etc. those with subtle fears will decide this election in favor of McCain.

mca47

Yeah, if he made it past the Reverand Wright thing (and beat Clinton) he's not worried about whitey (Not McCain...the average ingorant white voter).
The anniversary of MLK will only help his cause.

anotherclone

long red wrote:

he should be worried. ... those people don't just live in the backwoods of Alabama, etc. those with subtle fears will decide this election in favor of McCain.

so then maybe he should try to appear "less black" instead.

Come on. A MKL video isn't going to make or break it for someone that's never going to vote for a black man anyway.

orig_long red

heart&desire wrote:

I'm a bit shocked by this. I do understand what you are saying about holding on to something as a crutch which keeps it alive, though I don't agree that this country is overflowing with white people who are scared to death of having a black leader. Maybe its me. I haven't witnessed this.

I think folks were more afraid of having a woman in office than a black man. : >

Which is ridiculous either way. Either thought process makes me feel quite ashamed to live in this country, maybe even this planet. For heaven sake it is 2008 ... what the hell are people thinking? Where are the true progressives for change? I am starting to think there is a reverse evolution happening of late ...

right. where indeed is the progressive change? black people CLING to the former racial divide of the country. I guess it keeps a lot of people in business. Whites and Blacks benefit financially from a "glass ceiling" national consensus.

BenInTacoma

long red wrote:

black people CLING to the former racial divide of the country.

It's generalizations like this that are the real problem.

fugawzi

I'm failing to see the point of this thread, besides maybe to scare some Obama supporters.

orig_long red

fugawzi wrote:

I'm failing to see the point of this thread, besides maybe to scare some Obama supporters.

it's meant to help people like you kill a few minutes.

fugawzi

long red wrote:

it's meant to help people like you kill a few minutes.

people like me? and what kind of people would those be? because this forum in general is meant for people to kill time discussing things. again, what's the point?

JD Sal

fugawzi wrote:

I'm failing to see the point of this thread, besides maybe to scare some Obama supporters.

The thread is legitimate. I read an article today about how Barack's nomination is so historic because he's the first black nominee of a major party, yet we didn't hear anything about this at the DNC so far. But we did hear plenty about Hillary's monumental achievement for women. Why? Well, read the article below for starters. Race is definitely an issue for a lot of white voters. It's sad, but true.

Labor leader: Race could hurt Obama

Gordon Trowbridge and Mark Hornbeck / The Detroit News
DENVER -- A top labor leader on Wednesday tossed the delicate issue of race into the heart of the presidential campaign, declaring to Michigan Democrats that some white union members refuse to support Barack Obama because of the color of his skin.

AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer Richard Trumka's comments, to a gathering of Michigan delegates to the Democratic Convention, were a stark claim -- one of labor's most respected leaders, accusing some members of his movement of racism. But they highlighted one of the Democrats' gnawing, though often unspoken, worries: whether Obama's race may hand John McCain the presidency.

"People are losing their health care, their pensions, their jobs. A lot of them are losing their homes," Trumka said. "They want change, they desperately need change, but they just can't accept that voting for a black man named Barack Obama is the only way to make that change."

The issue is particularly sensitive in Michigan, with its history of racial tensions and segregation. The McCain campaign pins its Michigan hopes on "Reagan Democrats" in places such as Macomb County -- white Democrats who abandoned the party in the 1980s for many factors, including racial animosity stoked by issues such as school busing and affirmative action.

And Obama supporters worry that Kwame Kilpatrick's scandals may link the mayor's troubles with their African-American presidential candidate in some voters' minds.

But political analysts and polling data also suggest that race is not the only factor keeping some Democratic-leaning white voters from coalescing behind Obama. National security, abortion and other social issues kept white candidates such as Al Gore and John Kerry from carrying white voters.

The McCain campaign denied that race plays any role in the Arizona senator's support. "Voters, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or gender, want a candidate who is in touch with their everyday struggles," said McCain spokeswoman Leah Yoon. She said Obama's tax plans and reluctance to support new oil drilling are bad for working families and hurt his support with them.

But Trumka's statements voiced a concern labor leaders in Michigan and elsewhere have privately spoken about for months.

Trumka told the Michigan delegates of a conversation with a longtime friend before Pennsylvania's April primary. The woman expressed a number of concerns about Obama -- whether he was a Muslim, whether he would wear a flag pin -- but finally, Trumka said, told him she couldn't trust him because he was black.

"I said, 'Good God, lady, it's 2008. Are you out of your mind?' " Trumka said.

Sen. Tupac Hunter, D-Detroit, a delegate and co-chair of Obama's Michigan campaign, called Trumka's statements "remarkable."

"We need to be open and honest about it, not brush it under the rug, not hide it in the closet," Hunter said. "But Barack Obama would not be where he is today if not for legions of white voters as well as Hispanic and African-Americans voters. He started out in Iowa, which is 85-90 percent white. So I don't buy that whites won't vote for Barack Obama because he is black."

Floyd Clack, an African-American delegate from Flint, believes race "will be a problem. Probably not as large as we anticipate, but a problem. People will vote their pocketbook and health care needs, rather than race, in most cases."

It's in Macomb County where Stanley Greenberg -- President Clinton's longtime pollster -- discovered what he called "Reagan Democrats." This week, Greenberg's firm released a poll of Macomb voters, and found that while Obama indeed struggles there -- trailing McCain by 7 percentage points -- race is not the major reason.

In polling and focus groups, Greenberg found some concern among whites that Obama would favor African-Americans, but that other worries were more important. Obama has failed to fully tap into middle-class anger over the economy, and lagged McCain on questions of national security, the polling found.

Obama's campaign spokesman Brent Colburn said Wednesday that Obama is supported by "Americans from all walks of life, and his ability to reach across the lines that sometimes divide us will help him win here in Michigan and lead our nation as president."

Peter Brown, a pollster for Quinnipiac University, has cited race as one factor that could harm Obama in Michigan. But he also says it's not the whole story.

"Democrats who are skeptical about Obama are the same people who were skeptical about Al Gore and John Kerry and who voted for Bill Clinton," he said.

"It is not just race; it is ideology, personality; it's a variety of factors.."

orig_long red

fugawzi wrote:

people like me? and what kind of people would those be? because this forum in general is meant for people to kill time discussing things. again, what's the point?

yes. people like you. people on message boards.

and the point is, it was on my mind so i fucking posted it.

now kindly piss off.

SoonForgotten2

JD Sal wrote:

The thread is legitimate. I read an article today about how Barack's nomination is so historic because he's the first black nominee of a major party, yet we didn't hear anything about this at the DNC so far. But we did hear plenty about Hillary's monumental achievement for women. Why? Well, read the article below for starters. Race is definitely an issue for a lot of white voters. It's sad, but true.

Michigan's a strange, backwards place.

orig_long red

chiefojibwa wrote:

institutional racism is most certainly not dead. it takes a long, long time to undo the errors of the past...i mean, how long ago was the nation still segregated? not very long as far as history goes. and even after segregation blacks were certainly not "equal". still aren't. sorry you can't see that but it's a fact, jack. and obama becoming prez won't change much as far as racism goes. it's gonna take a long, long time to eliminate the prejudices in our society.

where is it? where is there institutional racism? you saying "its a fact, jack" doesnt make it true, it just means u can rhyme. congratulations.

know1

Should white people be offended that he chooses to ignore his white heritage and incorrectly label himself as black?

know1

long red wrote:

Watching the DNC right now ... Obama's speech tonight will fall on the 45th anniversary of MLK Jr's "I have a dream ..." speech. Right now, they're showing an MLK tribute video ...

Oh Barack, you slipped up.

Why can't he understand that this country is overflowing with white people who are scared to DEATH of having a BLACK leader in the WHITE House?

All this "Freedom Rings" and "Free at Last" stuff is terrifying the Silent Majority.

And by the way, institutionalized racism is DEAD, but if African-Americans keep using it as a crutch, America as a whole will always hold a little racism in its heart.

I think racism is alive and well because of mentalities like yours. I don't think the country is overflowing with "white people" who are scared to DEATH of having a BLACK leader in the white house.

I'm sure there are some. Overflowing? No.

The way all of us are of mixed race and getting more mixed all the time is just making it too darn complicated and difficult to be racist.

orig_long red

know1 wrote:

I think racism is alive and well because of mentalities like yours. I don't think the country is overflowing with "white people" who are scared to DEATH of having a BLACK leader in the white house.

I'm sure there are some. Overflowing? No.

The way all of us are of mixed race and getting more mixed all the time is just making it too darn complicated and difficult to be racist.

racism is only alive and well because i'm constantly being reprimanded by the likes of Al Sharpeton and Jesse Jackson because i've oppressed an entire race of people somehow, someway.

DOSW

long red wrote:

And by the way, institutionalized racism is DEAD, but if African-Americans keep using it as a crutch, America as a whole will always hold a little racism in its heart.

So you're blaming black people for the racism that exists today?

Wow that's racist. And if you think institutionalized racism is dead, take any introductory college course on race or sociology. Or just do some research. Saying there's a double standard is one thing... saying that it's all black people's fault is ignorant and racist.

know1 wrote:

Should white people be offended that he chooses to ignore his white heritage and incorrectly label himself as black?

Race labels are inherently idiotic. Considering there's no scientific base to race, pretty much anyone can label themselves anything and not be incorrect.

know1

DOSW wrote:

Race labels are inherently idiotic. Considering there's no scientific base to race, pretty much anyone can label themselves anything and not be incorrect.

That's essentially exactly what I've been saying for years. Racism is stupid and one of the reasons why is that race is a farce.

orig_long red

DOSW wrote:

So you're blaming black people for the racism that exists today?

saying that it's all black people's fault is ignorant and racist.

why dont u go ahead and put more words in my mouth.


jackass.