Obama: Not Black?

[blueyedpoet]

Obama's toughest sell for White House bid may be to other blacks by Stephanie Griffith
Thu Dec 21, 4:01 AM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US political darling Barack Obama has received enthusiastic support for a possible 2008 presidential bid -- except from fellow African-Americans, a group many believed would be among his staunchest backers.

In contrast to the effusive reception Obama has received from white Americans, many US blacks so far have been cool, saying that while they may share skin color with Obama, they do not have a common culture or history.

"Obama did not -- does not -- share a heritage with the majority of black Americans, who are descendants of plantation slaves," wrote African-American newspaper columnist Stanley Crouch last month in an article entitled "Barack Obama -- Not Black Like Me."


http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061221/ts_alt_afp/usvoteobamarace2008_061221085638


I find this to be disgusting. Is there THE BLACK EXPERIENCE? Most Americans are not only black or white. We all stand at intersections - some of us are white college students others are bi-sexual black men. Speaking for someone else and deciding their heritage is nothing short of essentialist racism.

 

[deep]

Bill Clinton was the first Black American President.

Obama is less black than Clinton.

 

[anitram]

So Obama is a white Muslim then?

 

[martha]

Can I move to Canada please?

 

[Irvine511]

there is a distinction here.

Condi Rice, for example, inherits African-American history. her ancestors came here as slaves.

Obama's father freely immigrated to the US.

there's a historical distinction.

however, Obama has had to deal with just as much racism as Condi rice has had to deal with.

racists don't care much for your history, just your skin color.

 

[deep]

however, Obama has had to deal with just as much racism as Condi rice has had to deal with.

sorry my friend

but i have to disagree

condi grew in the deep south, with jim crow

obama had it pretty good, one might even say privileged

 

[dazzlingamy]

but why does this matter? Why does he have to be the next Martin Luther King to the black masses in the elction. Why can't he just be a fantastic democratic candidate, who comes from a mix race family then be looked upon as 'a half assed black person' Just cause he don't have the history, doesn't mean he doesn't understand the cause.

Bah! This grabbing at race race race all the time REALLY fucks me off. Why do we even have to LOOK at skin, facial characteristics to determine our pre judgement opinions of someone. Why does it have to become a BIG DEAL?

 

[Irvine511]

condi grew in the deep south, with jim crow

obama had it pretty good, one might even say privileged

that's a fair distinction.

but i think the broader point remains -- despite their divergent histories, they are still "black" no matter what.

 

[martha]

sorry my friend

but i have to disagree

condi grew in the deep south, with jim crow

obama had it pretty good, one might even say privileged

And you have knowledge of the varieties and nuances of the Black American experience... how?

 

[CTU2fan]

I do think there is a difference, and like it or not it DOES matter to people.

The fact that a lot of white America is in love with Obama should have been the first clue. That the "white mainstream" is so quick to embrace a "black" candidate has to tell you something.

If we're complaining "why is his race even an issue", then it doesn't really make sense to make an issue of whether or not African-Americans feel like they have anything in common with Obama, culturally. Because generally, they don't...race yes, culture no.

In fact, isn't expecting black America to love Obama because he's black racist in its own right?

 

[redhotswami]

I hate that whole "not black enough" bullshit. I've been told that all my life, and it really fucks up your identity. THAT is racist. Sorry my mom decided to screw someone who wasn't good enough to meet your standards of blackness! Really, who the fuck else should this particular group vote for then? Hillary? Oh yeah, dripping with blackness. McCain?? Come the fuck on.

What is important is cultural awareness.

 

[Ormus]

In fact, isn't expecting black America to love Obama because he's black racist in its own right?

Very interesting point.

 

[martha]

Really, who the fuck else should this particular group vote for then?

I used to hang with the local Dems here in OC, all 3 of them. They would bitch and moan about how they weren't sure they could support so-and-so in the general election because she/he wasn't liberal enough. I would think to myself "Then who the fuck else is there?"

 

[Irvine511]

The fact that a lot of white America is in love with Obama should have been the first clue. That the "white mainstream" is so quick to embrace a "black" candidate has to tell you something.

Obama is a black person white people feel totally guilt-free about. he's post Civil Rights-era.

 

[BVS]

He got the same shit in Chicago when running for Senate.

 

[verte76]

They should look at the candidate and his or her merits, not what race they are, when deciding on a candidate to support. Yes, expecting blacks to love Obama just because of his race is indeed racist. They should like him if they agree with him on the issues or think he's smart or whatever. That's what counts.

 

[deep]

And you have knowledge of the varieties and nuances of the Black American experience... how?

the information about obama is out there


perhaps some (mostly white folks only see his skin color, we have a nice negro here)

Early life and career



Barack Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Barack Hussein Obama Sr. of Nyangoma-Kogelo, Siaya District, Kenya, and Ann Dunham of Wichita, Kansas. His parents met while both were attending the East-West Center of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where his father was enrolled as a foreign student. In his 1995 memoir, Dreams from My Father, Obama describes a nearly race-blind early childhood. He writes: "That my father looked nothing like the people around me –- that he was black as pitch, my mother white as milk –- barely registered in my mind."

When Obama was two years old, his parents divorced and his father returned to Kenya. His mother married Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian oil manager, moving to Jakarta with Obama when he was six years old. Within six months he had learned to speak the Indonesian language. According to novelist Scott Turow's March 2004 Salon.com piece about Obama's diverse background and his prospects in the 2004 Senate race, Obama spent "two years in a Muslim school, then two more in a Catholic school" in Jakarta. At age 10 he was sent back to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents so that he could attend the highly-regarded non-sectarian private Punahou School; he entered Punahou in fifth grade and went through high school, graduating in 1979.

 

[martha]

the information about obama is out there

It was your interpretation of his experiences I was questioning.

 

[deep]

all I know is what Obama has put out there

he has said he was raised where his race (mixed race) had very little effect on him


now his wife Michelle, comes from a working class family in Southside Chicago,
I am sure she has some stories she can tell him


and there is always this

* Obama writes in Dreams from My Father that one of his mother's Kentucky ancestors "was rumored to have been a second cousin of Jefferson Davis". This statement has been neither proven nor disproven by genealogical investigation.[86] Claims of an ancestral connection between Obama and Davis have continued to appear in the print media, including a September 2006 Men's Vogue cover story.

So if Obama is elected -
We could have the decendents from slave holders and slaves as our first couple.


(and if I get to choose between Obama and McCain, Obama gets my vote, hands down)

 

[Devlin]

It's the same stupid thing every Black person who isn't ghetto fabulous and breathing hatred down the necks of any white person they meet gets. And I say this as a Black person - many Blacks are obsessed with reparation and punishing every white person for the vocal minority. Obama is a great guy from what I know of him. He's actually Done Shit in Chicago. He doesn't sit around moaning and bitching about how evil white people are.
Basically, anytime a Black person actually does well, he or she gets shat upon by those who choose not to do well, or have a more difficult time (legitimately or not so legitimately) of it. It's that old 'house ****** vs. field ******' routine most play.

 

[BrownEyedBoy]

lol ...blacks are so racist for saying that. .......

 

[BostonAnne]

Basically, anytime a Black person actually does well, he or she gets shat upon by those who choose not to do well, or have a more difficult time (legitimately or not so legitimately) of it. It's that old 'house ****** vs. field ******' routine most play.

That reminds me of something Bono said in an interview about the Irish, so I hunted down the quote..


KING: Why -- how did you handle money and fame and all the things that goes with it? Well or not well?

BONO: I don't know. Ireland has a very different attitude to success than a lot of places, certainly than over here in the United States. In the United States, you look at the guy that lives in the mansion on the hill, and you think, you know, one day, if I work really hard, I could live in that mansion. In Ireland, people look up at the guy in the mansion on the hill and go, one day, I'm going to get that bastard. It's a different mind-set. KING: I'll say.


http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0212/01/lklw.00.html

 

[blueyedpoet]

Here's the thing, it's stupid to believe there is one single BLACK experience. Believing as much has led to many false and flawed stereotypical beliefs. If anything, that white america has embraced such a racially diverse individual is, in fact, quiet promising.

 

[Harry Vest]

HOGWASH!!!
Just the fact that Obama IS BLACK (and Democrat) will get him more African American votes than ANY other Presidential candidate EVER!!!
This is the first of many false media reports that will hound this guy until he either quits or wins.

 

[CTU2fan]

That reminds me of something Bono said in an interview about the Irish, so I hunted down the quote..


KING: Why -- how did you handle money and fame and all the things that goes with it? Well or not well?

BONO: I don't know. Ireland has a very different attitude to success than a lot of places, certainly than over here in the United States. In the United States, you look at the guy that lives in the mansion on the hill, and you think, you know, one day, if I work really hard, I could live in that mansion. In Ireland, people look up at the guy in the mansion on the hill and go, one day, I'm going to get that bastard. It's a different mind-set. KING: I'll say.


http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0212/01/lklw.00.html

I love that quote, just love it.

I still don't understand the hostility here toward the idea that some black people just might not feel like they have a lot in common, culturally, with Obama. It doesn't mean he's a bad guy, or a bad candidate, or that he'd be a bad President...it just means that despite his skin color, he isn't all that much like them. Honestly Obama probably has more in common with other first-generation Americans than he does with a black man who's family has lived in America for 300+ years.

Now, if you think that observation's being made as part of an anti-Obama right-wing agenda, then you might have a point, but that doesn't make it incorrect.

I know I'd vote for the guy...but I'll vote for whoever the Democrat is most likely.

 

[tim722]

www chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-061104obama-rezko-story,0,2788405.story

The great Obama. Just another corrupt politician from Illinois.

Who else would get a corrupt political fundraiser to buy a lot next to your property for $625,000 on the same day you paid 1,650,000 for your home.

By the way, the lot can not be built on and can only be used by Obama. Obama got a 400,000 discount on his home since Rezko paid the full asking price for the lot. THEY CLOSED ON THE SAME DAY!!

Rezko can't use the lot. Can't build a house on it. Rezko has since been indicted.

But Obama is the next President because he's black and can speak intelligently. Give me a break.

Granted Bush wasn't qualified either. What are we thinking.

America is lacking politicians and is in a very sad state.

To all in favor of voting for Obama, I have one question.

What has he done in his 2 years in office for him to qualify to become President.

If you give a good enough answer, he'll have my vote.

 

[maycocksean]

I hate that whole "not black enough" bullshit. I've been told that all my life, and it really fucks up your identity. THAT is racist. Sorry my mom decided to screw someone who wasn't good enough to meet your standards of blackness! Really, who the fuck else should this particular group vote for then? Hillary? Oh yeah, dripping with blackness. McCain?? Come the fuck on.

What is important is cultural awareness.

I feel you.

I've been told the same thing. (I mean, come on. I'm a U2 fan! I'm in trouble already!).

When I say I'm glad that I live out here in Saipan because I don't have to deal with American racism, I wasn't referring to just the white racists.

 

[maycocksean]

In fact, isn't expecting black America to love Obama because he's black racist in its own right?

It is.

There is no single Black Perspective or Black Opinion despite what both black and white pols want to suggest.

 

[maycocksean]

To all in favor of voting for Obama, I have one question.

What has he done in his 2 years in office for him to qualify to become President.

If you give a good enough answer, he'll have my vote.

I'm not sure.

But if you can give a good enough answer to this I'll try to find out:

What had Lincoln done prior to his election to qualify to become president (other than lose most of the elections he ran in)?

I'm not saying experience is completely irrelevant, just that it does not necessarily indicate whether someone will be a good or bad president. After all Bush had been the governor of a state for some years before his election. A lot of good his "experience" did him.

 

[Devlin]

It's not that I care about not having much in common with Obama. I don't either. What I have a problem with is people trying to negate his being black based on where his family came from. I wouldn't vote for him specifically because he's black, no more than I would expect anyone else to. That would be stupid.

Hey, here's a question: What kind of experience does Hilary CLinton have? About the same as Obama. Even money. I'm not going to indict Obama on the real estate thing without sufficient evidence. Did he have knowledge of this fiasco beforehand? Kick his ass (hypothetically speaking). If he didn't, leave it alone.