What Privileges Do McCain and Palin Receive Because They're White

DixieN

All I can say is that in my work place there is a person who works there who is afraid Obama is a terrorist because of his skin color and his name combined. But, she's not afraid of McCain because of his skin color--it matches hers. Improbable in this day and age? I thought so, particularly in my area of the country. But, I was wrong. I didn't believe it until I heard her say it herself.

Of course, most of the other white people I work with are voting for Obama, judging from the sea of bumper stickers in the parking lot. But, still. Here's a person who isn't voting for Obama based on flat out fear.

I suppose there have to be areas of the country where some people might be afraid to vote for the "white guy," but traditionally, that's been the choice offered. Not so true nowdays--there's more parity. Black people have voted for white people for a long time for high offices. Voting for a Black guy for the same thing is a first. It seems to me there are bound to be a few jitters. The first time for anything makes some people a little nervous.

Dirtie_Frank

I pose this question then too. Is it Racist to vote for Obama because McCain is white? If it can happen one way it sure can happen the other way.

digster

Dirtie_Frank wrote:

I pose this question then too. Is it Racist to vote for Obama because McCain is white? If it can happen one way it sure can happen the other way.

Maybe so (I should say that I think many black voters will be drawn to Obama because he could be the first black president)...but when you realize that probably about 75% of the electorate will be white, and a significant number of them, particularly in the swing states, may vote against Obama because he is black. You tell me which is the more significant problem.

BetterThanYou

digster wrote:

Maybe so (I should say that I think many black voters will be drawn to Obama because he could be the first black president)...but when you realize that probably about 75% of the electorate will be white, and a significant number of them, particularly in the swing states, may vote against Obama because he is black. You tell me which is the more significant problem.

doesn't matter. voting for someone based on their skin color alone is retarded.

Dirtie_Frank

BetterThanYou wrote:

doesn't matter. voting for someone based on their skin color alone is retarded.

Thank you my point excatlly. My only problem is it has been brought against McCain supporters only. Being questioned for supporting McCain because he is white ticks me off.

g under p

digster wrote:

Maybe so (I should say that I think many black voters will be drawn to Obama because he could be the first black president)...but when you realize that probably about 75% of the electorate will be white, and a significant number of them, particularly in the swing states, may vote against Obama because he is black. You tell me which is the more significant problem.

That's IF a significant number of blacks even get the opportunity to vote in some states. With all the many stipulations in getting a Driver's license to show an ID to vote. Some blacks in inner cities don't drive and therefore face many difficulties in getting a DL.

Take a look at the thread 2008 Election Could See Unprecedented Attempts to Bar African American Voters


Peace

digster

BetterThanYou wrote:

doesn't matter. voting for someone based on their skin color alone is retarded.

Fair enough. If Obama loses because a sizable chunk of that electorate was unwilling to vote for a black man I'll probably think differently.

digster

Dirtie_Frank wrote:

My only problem is it has been brought against McCain supporters only.

I often hear concern and anger from conservative commentators about black men and women voting for Obama due to his skin color. As I said before, this is different for few reasons...

1) As I said before, the majority of the electorate is white, and they will be deciding the election. If there's going to be a race-based voting bloc that decides the election, it will be in that part of the electorate. So for all those acting "ah, racism is racism is racism", you're right, that's true; but only one of these forms of racism looks like it may actually have a chance of deciding this election. That's the one that concerns me.

2) Again, racism is racism is racism. Got it. But, let me understand this...

Black voters = voting for Obama because for the first time there is a chance that an African-American has the chance to be the leader of our country. It is a moment of pride.
Prejudiced white voters = Voting for McCain because, due to their racism, they will not elect a black man into the office of the Presidency.

Yes, racism is wrong and all that, and they're both wrong in this case, but does anyone really consider these cases equally morally reprehensible?

BetterThanYou

digster wrote:

I often hear concern and anger from conservative commentators about black men and women voting for Obama due to his skin color. As I said before, this is different for few reasons...

1) As I said before, the majority of the electorate is white, and they will be deciding the election. If there's going to be a race-based voting bloc that decides the election, it will be in that part of the electorate. So for all those acting "ah, racism is racism is racism", you're right, that's true; but only one of these forms of racism looks like it may actually have a chance of deciding this election. That's the one that concerns me.

2) Again, racism is racism is racism. Got it. But, let me understand this...

Black voters = voting for Obama because for the first time there is a chance that an African-American has the chance to be the leader of our country. It is a moment of pride.
Prejudiced white voters = Voting for McCain because, due to their racism, they will not elect a black man into the office of the Presidency.

Yes, racism is wrong and all that, and they're both wrong in this case, but does anyone really consider these cases equally morally reprehensible?

if i had one of each of those voters in front of me and they told me those were the reasons they voted the way they did, i'd be equally disgusted by both. i mean, think about it. they probably don't normally vote to begin with (both examples), but with this election they'll go out to make damn sure the person with the same skin color as them will win. that just pisses me off. doesn't it you?

ACCBootlegGoddess

g under p wrote:

It just appears he's making points of reality and the way things are in this country. To me this not deciding issues just points we may have to look at from Obama's point of view.

One of the reasons he won't get my vote is because I'd like to see him be more aggressive on attacks or be on the offensive instead of this reserved style he seems to have. However it appears he has to tread lightly as how this might appear to many potential voters.

Peace

He did release one that was on the offensive and if you see the thread about it in here...he caught heat for it...possibly even more than McCain did for his ad.

Obama has to tread lightly because of the double standard that exists between what republicans and Democrats can do and not get slammed for. (I hope that made sense lol)

I really hope thats not the sole thing you're basing your vote on (based on other posts I've seen from you I doubt it is) ...ok he's not on the offensive as much, but do you agree with his stance on stuff?

g under p

BetterThanYou wrote:

if i had one of each of those voters in front of me and they told me those were the reasons they voted the way they did, i'd be equally disgusted by both. i mean, think about it. they probably don't normally vote to begin with (both examples), but with this election they'll go out to make damn sure the person with the same skin color as them will win. that just pisses me off. doesn't it you?

What the hell are you talking about? Did you have an issue with black voters going out to vote for a white candidate in the past, did that piss you off? Now that there's a black presidential candidate and if those black voters decide to go and vote for Obama regardless of the their reason so be it, it's their fucking choice.

I'm black and I'm not voting for Obama, not ALL blacks are going to automatically vote for Obama because he's black. Many of my friends ask me why I'm not voting for him, I tell them and that usually eases their surprise.

I do feel though he's certain to be our next President, Republicans don't want the presidency this term. They don't want to be the ones to try and clean up this mess.

Peace

LONGRD

Dirtie_Frank wrote:

Let's see there are no racist black people though right? I mean every white person who does not agree with someone of color is a racist. There are assholes in all different walks of life, white, black, brown, yellow, green. ALl over the world.

I think it is black privelage that affirmative actiopn lets people into college and jobs because of there skin color rather then the work they have done, but that is for actions that no one under 30 (probably older) controled.

Affirmative Action doesn't guaranteed anything for anyone, it's just an effort to give the minority applicants a chance in playing field. Don't kid yourself thinking that blacks get free-passes on everything, they don't.

Ask a corporate employer to tally up the employee applicants, and you'll see why affirmative action is necessary. I fully support it, b/c it's giving the odd man out a chance.

_

digster wrote:

I often hear concern and anger from conservative commentators about black men and women voting for Obama due to his skin color. As I said before, this is different for few reasons...

1) As I said before, the majority of the electorate is white, and they will be deciding the election. If there's going to be a race-based voting bloc that decides the election, it will be in that part of the electorate. So for all those acting "ah, racism is racism is racism", you're right, that's true; but only one of these forms of racism looks like it may actually have a chance of deciding this election. That's the one that concerns me.

2) Again, racism is racism is racism. Got it. But, let me understand this...

Black voters = voting for Obama because for the first time there is a chance that an African-American has the chance to be the leader of our country. It is a moment of pride.
Prejudiced white voters = Voting for McCain because, due to their racism, they will not elect a black man into the office of the Presidency.

Yes, racism is wrong and all that, and they're both wrong in this case, but does anyone really consider these cases equally morally reprehensible?

I think you make some very good points.

Some might even argue in support of the theory that racism equals prejudice plus power. So, although it's wrong to be prejudiced and vote against someone based solely on their race, if that voting faction has no significant power within a given system, then their prejudice is largely insignificant - and perhaps therefore inappropriately termed racism.

I also find it interesting that you distinguish between voting against someone because of their race and voting for someone because of their race....

BetterThanYou

g under p wrote:

What the hell are you talking about? Did you have an issue with black voters going out to vote for a white candidate in the past, did that piss you off? Now that there's a black presidential candidate and if those black voters decide to go and vote for Obama regardless of the their reason so be it, it's their fucking choice.

I'm black and I'm not voting for Obama, not ALL blacks are going to automatically vote for Obama because he's black. Many of my friends ask me why I'm not voting for him, I tell them and that usually eases their surprise.

I do feel though he's certain to be our next President, Republicans don't want the presidency this term. They don't want to be the ones to try and clean up this mess.

Peace

jesus christ, it amazes me how on a daily basis, people can read things that aren't fucking written in this forum. i don't give a shit what color someone is, if they're voting for someone because of the candidates skin color, it pisses me off. do you understand? hope so, because i don't know how to make it any clearer.

PJMEMama

OK, let's imagine that Obama had an unwed pregnant teen age daughter...and the teen father bragged of beating the shit out of people...or if he had divorced his first wife after she had a disfiguring car accident and after he had cheated on her with a young rich blonde...or had been implicated in the savings and loan scandal...or if his wife refused to comply with a subpoena to testify...of if he didn't know what the Bush doctrine was...hmmm...I dunno, seems like a double standard to me.

Collin

digster wrote:

Black voters = voting for Obama because for the first time there is a chance that an African-American has the chance to be the leader of our country. It is a moment of pride.
Prejudiced white voters = Voting for McCain because, due to their racism, they will not elect a black man into the office of the Presidency.

Yes, racism is wrong and all that, and they're both wrong in this case, but does anyone really consider these cases equally morally reprehensible?

Yes. If the only reason they vote for Obama is the colour of his skin, it's just as bad.

You vote for the candidate your agree with the most. At least that's how it should be, imo. But people seem to have abandoned that notion; they vote for the lesser of two evils, or the candidate they'd like to share a drink with the most, or someone they can watch football with :rolleyes:

If you vote for Obama soley because he's black, you might as well vote for McCain because he looks like he's a good barbeque chef.

Yes, it's a historical moment, a very meaningful moment. But let's not forgot it's the presidential race of the most powerful nation in the world. How is it evn morally defensible to vote for someone based soley on looks when this person will have to stipulate the course your country will take?

There are important things at stake here. Perhaps these people should swallow their pride and use their minds.

Pats54

anotherclone wrote:

Bill Maher said something funny recently (I'm paraphrasing)...

If Barack Obama were a white guy named Barry O'Sullivan, he would be owning this presidential race.

Actually that is a really dumb comment. If he were named Barry O'Sullivan with less than 3 years Seante expereince (2 of which he has been running for president) he wouldn't even be in the race. It is really funny that in states he should be running away with the polls are close PA, WI, MN, MI to name a few. If Hillary was the candidate this wouldn't even be a close race. Obama is not a very good candidate. It is funny to watch as the Dems are going to fuck up another election they should have had no problem winning.

DixieN

Poll: Racial views steer some white Dems away from Obama

http://news.yahoo.com/page/election-2008-political-pulse-obama-race;_ylt=An234JeoSgLwJxkyXg6V5pis0NUE

"Deep-seated racial misgivings could cost Barack Obama the White House if the election is close, according to an AP-Yahoo News poll that found one-third of white Democrats harbor negative views toward blacks — many calling them "lazy," "violent," responsible for their own troubles.

The poll, conducted with Stanford University, suggests that the percentage of voters who may turn away from Obama because of his race could easily be larger than the final difference between the candidates in 2004 — about two and one-half percentage points."

_

Collin wrote:

Yes. If the only reason they vote for Obama is the colour of his skin, it's just as bad.

You vote for the candidate your agree with the most. At least that's how it should be, imo. But people seem to have abandoned that notion; they vote for the lesser of two evils, or the candidate they'd like to share a drink with the most, or someone they can watch football with :rolleyes:

If you vote for Obama soley because he's black, you might as well vote for McCain because he looks like he's a good barbeque chef.

Yes, it's a historical moment, a very meaningful moment. But let's not forgot it's the presidential race of the most powerful nation in the world. How is it evn morally defensible to vote for someone based soley on looks when this person will have to stipulate the course your country will take?

There are important things at stake here. Perhaps these people should swallow their pride and use their minds.

I'm not defending people who vote based solely on race. But I think it's important to note that race is more than just looks. Race dictates one's experience as well. Obama, simply because of his looks (and regardless of the fact that he's only half black), has had a different life experience than the status quo white experience. We all know what it's like to have a country led by a person who's had the life experience of a white person since this is all we've ever had. Perhaps some people feel like it's time to find out how a person with a different viewpoint would handle things. Perhaps they hope that a person with a different experience/viewpoint would be more likely to consider the experiences/viewpoints of other "different" people when making policy decisions or dealing with foreign nations.

bizzat92

g under p wrote:

That's IF a significant number of blacks even get the opportunity to vote in some states. With all the many stipulations in getting a Driver's license to show an ID to vote. Some blacks in inner cities don't drive and therefore face many difficulties in getting a DL.

Take a look at the thread 2008 Election Could See Unprecedented Attempts to Bar African American Voters


Peace

That article is plain and simple bullshit. how the hell do you go through life with out a photo id? how much effort does it take to go to the dmv, regardless of how far away it is or how much effort it is to obtain something that says who you are and is issued by the state government. if voting is that important to them they will get off their asses and do it. i think that just weeds out the people who are voting for real reasons and people who are voting to make history. when i worked retail and someone didnt have a picture id, i has zero pity for them. and no matter how much of a fit they threw, tough shit. it takes ten bucks and a couple of hours of your time. or least that is what it is in pennsylvania. there is no excuse for laziness or stupidity.