Thread: 'Tis A Good Week To Be Black

Originally Posted by jockeys

second page of the thread, and already the ad hominems are flying. nice.

No ad hominem from me. If I had mentioned that your red neck was showing or asked you if you had a rebel flag on your pick up truck perhaps then you could make such a claim. I merely (sarcastically but with a loving spirit) questioned your compassion.

Brad

I just wonder if we have really come any farther as a nation to being any less racist. If a man was elected president because it was time to have a black man hold that office and people voted for him because of that then it was still racialy motivated. What I am saying is that maybe he was not elected into office because he was the best person for the job but because some people feel we need a black man to be president to help clear us of our white guilt.

Originally Posted by roughneck

I just wonder if we have really come any farther as a nation to being any less racist. If a man was elected president because it was time to have a black man hold that office and people voted for him because of that then it was still racialy motivated. What I am saying is that maybe he was not elected into office because he was the best person for the job but because some people feel we need a black man to be president to help clear us of our white guilt.

Do you feel "white guilt"? This man brought out more voters than any other candidate in history. That's alot of guilt. I like to think that Barack Obama was the best person for the job and it is a good thing to find the best man for the job happens to be a representative of a large group of some of the most disenfranchised people in our sordid history. Perhaps one day a native American woman may be elected president.

I think it's really telling the way people speak about Obama. Some, especially the media, really talk up this idea that it's a historic election because a black man was elected president. My question is, how does this help the idea of eliminating racism? The people that are so quick to cry racist are now saying "ha, gotcha! we put a black man in office", instead of "we just put a great leader into office". It's like people voted for him just for the symbolism.

Originally Posted by jockeys

I guess four years ago when Bush and Schumacher won, respectively, it was a good week to be white, huh?

Should I feel proud every time another white person does something good?

Collectivism sucks.

Agreed.

I think this was a good week to be Lewis Hamilton or Barack Obama. I think this was a good week to be an individual.

What do you say after an African election? "It was a good/bad day to be black!"

Don't take me too seriously.

Originally Posted by Quick Orange

I think it's really telling the way people speak about Obama. Some, especially the media, really talk up this idea that it's a historic election because a black man was elected president. My question is, how does this help the idea of eliminating racism? The people that are so quick to cry racist are now saying "ha, gotcha! we put a black man in office", instead of "we just put a great leader into office". It's like people voted for him just for the symbolism.

I wish you could be "a fly on the wall" in my living room last night from 11:30 til about 0100 this morning. To listen to my giflfriend cry on the telephone with her 87 year old great aunt who moved from Georgia to New Jersey. There were several very emotional calls but Aunt Carrie was the best. She was on "speakerphone" so I could hear. This woman was born in 1921 and lived in Georgia through the Jim Crow days. She said last night as she was sobbing that in her entire life she always hoped the black man would rise up but while she never stopped hoping, she never actually believed it would come true. I cried too.

There are of course those who will deny that there is any hate groups that target blacks. There are those who will accept segregation and say the concept of "separate but equal" was fair. It wasn't. This is a great victory for the people of the United States in general but if you understand the great contributions to our country by people like Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King you cannot deny that this is a remarkably joyous day for the blacks of this country.

This afternoon I had an interesting conversation with the black woman who sent me something that could be considered decidedly racist. She joyously proclaimed that Black is on top! Black is first! . She assured me that it could not have been just any black man to attain this landmark. She told me that if the election was between Joe Biden and Jesse Jackson, she would have voted for Biden.

Originally Posted by roughneck

I just wonder if we have really come any farther as a nation to being any less racist. If a man was elected president because it was time to have a black man hold that office and people voted for him because of that then it was still racialy motivated. What I am saying is that maybe he was not elected into office because he was the best person for the job but because some people feel we need a black man to be president to help clear us of our white guilt.

Do you really think 349-163 is white guilt? I have been a public servant all my adult life. I have been a Paramedic, an Infantryman, and now an RN. I have always tried to serve the people, but have never been proud to be one of them. I have gone to war for my country. I have held my dying friends in my arms. I have looked into the face of evil, and spit in it. I have never really been proud of who I am, a member of the human race, and American. Today, I can truly say I am PROUD to be an American.

Originally Posted by icedog

I wish you could be "a fly on the wall" in my living room last night from 11:30 til about 0100 this morning. To listen to my giflfriend cry on the telephone with her 87 year old great aunt who moved from Georgia to New Jersey. There were several very emotional calls but Aunt Carrie was the best. She was on "speakerphone" so I could hear. This woman was born in 1921 and lived in Georgia through the Jim Crow days. She said last night as she was sobbing that in her entire life she always hoped the black man would rise up but while she never stopped hoping, she never actually believed it would come true. I cried too.

There are of course those who will deny that there is any hate groups that target blacks. There are those who will accept segregation and say the concept of "separate but equal" was fair. It wasn't. This is a great victory for the people of the United States in general but if you understand the great contributions to our country by people like Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King you cannot deny that this is a remarkably joyous day for the blacks of this country.

This afternoon I had an interesting conversation with the black woman who sent me something that could be considered decidedly racist. She joyously proclaimed that Black is on top! Black is first! . She assured me that it could not have been just any black man to attain this landmark. She told me that if the election was between Joe Biden and Jesse Jackson, she would have voted for Biden.

I won't argue about this, because there really isn't a reason to argue. I understand Aunt Carrie's perspective and understand why it's a milestone for her generation. To quote Chris Rock, she went through some real ****. Like you said, Georgia in the Jim Crow days.

Really though, whatever. If that's what the majority wants, a symbol, then fine. That's how this great nation is set up to work. I hope he's more than a symbol and actually proves me wrong.

Originally Posted by icedog

I wish you could be "a fly on the wall" in my living room last night from 11:30 til about 0100 this morning. To listen to my giflfriend cry on the telephone with her 87 year old great aunt who moved from Georgia to New Jersey. There were several very emotional calls but Aunt Carrie was the best. She was on "speakerphone" so I could hear. This woman was born in 1921 and lived in Georgia through the Jim Crow days. She said last night as she was sobbing that in her entire life she always hoped the black man would rise up but while she never stopped hoping, she never actually believed it would come true. I cried too.

There are of course those who will deny that there is any hate groups that target blacks. There are those who will accept segregation and say the concept of "separate but equal" was fair. It wasn't. This is a great victory for the people of the United States in general but if you understand the great contributions to our country by people like Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King you cannot deny that this is a remarkably joyous day for the blacks of this country.

This afternoon I had an interesting conversation with the black woman who sent me something that could be considered decidedly racist. She joyously proclaimed that Black is on top! Black is first! . She assured me that it could not have been just any black man to attain this landmark. She told me that if the election was between Joe Biden and Jesse Jackson, she would have voted for Biden.

no-one denies the feelings that these people have.

But on the other hand such feelings came forth out of fear. Not out of rationality. And although I know that people do vote from emotions perspective.....they really shouldn't.

Voting for someone because he "speaks well" is the wrong reason just as voting for someone because he's black is the wrong reason. People should've voted because they like the mans ideas. If they did...great. If they voted for another reason it was not the most clever one.

So i'm not saying that the reason THAT people voted for him was race. I'm just saying that if he DID win because of this he shouldn't have won.


Politics are a thing of logic...or should be at least. Not of fear and emotional hype.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

BTW just to point out the obvious, or perhaps not so obvious...
Barak Hussian Obama is 1/2 white and 1/2 black
But isn't it funny that you all chose to call him the first "Black" president....

I find that very telling!!!!
I am sure his Mother is sooooo proud to see that her half of the family tree is being ignored....

Glen it is the same for Lewis, his mother is white. Mixed relationships are very common over here and no one seems to make a fuss anymore (or at least the ones that do are in the minority). Part of my point in the media handling of the situation is that we don't see Hamilton as being black, he was a prodigy waiting to come into his own.

Originally Posted by WireBeard

As for "'Tis a good day to be Black", in the author's words I see only pride in being part of a significant portion of Americans, in a monumental achievement brought into being by a majority of voting Americans (again, no hyphens please), with special significance for Black Americans and their achievements as part of the fabric of the American nation. I cannot begrudge him his world view - I have not walked in his shoes.

With this election, it is also good to be a Germano-Anglo-Celt, but even better, it is a great day to be an American.

Wirebeard, can I just point out that the author (me) is neither a man or an American and I think my shoes would be way too small for you!

Originally Posted by majurey

Yep, that's 'labeling' for you, there's no logic or rationality to it.

I'm mixed race. So, according to rational argument, I'm neither white nor yellow, and I'm both white and yellow in equal measure.

Except, in Hong Kong the locals called me a 'ghost' (derogatory term for the white man) and in the UK I've been called a Chink.

I married a Jew. My kids are therefore Jewish. Yet the Orthodox would have a problem with that description, and in Nazi Germany they would have been made to put a pencil in their hair, shake their head, and if the pencil stayed in (tight curly hair being a trait), they'd be classed Jewish and shipped off to the camps.

50-50 or not, lables do not follow such prescribed logic.

I think it's reasonable to describe Obama as black. I don't think any right-thinking person is going to disagree. You can try to rationalise it anyway you like, but I reckon 99 out of 100 people will feel comfortable describing him as black.

As I said, there's no logic in labels, but we all use them. To me, Obama is black. That's great, given the history of persecution and slavery. But in my mind the fact that he's the first balck president is not as important as the fact that he was the right choice for a whole load of other reasons. (My opinion, of course.)

Mr Mark! I had no idea you were 50% anything my dear, to us you are just Mad Mark from London.