Thread: 'Tis A Good Week To Be Black

Originally Posted by LX_Emergency

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

Alex, I don't agree. Politics is one of the most defining aspects of human society. It is charged with emotion. It is all about emotion. Humans are emotional -- it's what marks us out from the rest of the animal kingdom and machines. Every stirring and era-defining political speech has been dripping with emotion, from Martin Luther King to Adolf Hitler.

It is the politician as automoton that we have to fear. The politician who presents himself or herself as inhumanly rational when making decisions that affect peoples' lives. We have plenty of those over here (as I'm sure every state has) and I don't trust them one bit.

Great leadership inspires. Inspiration is an emotion. We all vote for leaders who inspire us. Emotion is therefore not only necessary in politics, it is inseparable from it.

Originally Posted by Silver

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

Mad Mark from London? I'm only 50% mad, Silver.

Black people never had really had equal chances in the USA.
Some of them have surely used that as an excuse to not make anything from their lives.
Others have doubled their efforts and achieved goals that white people were able to reach with far less efforts.
Since I'm white, I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like to live in a world that will punish you harder for any crime and reward you less for any feat.
I guess most of the black people living on the Northern hemisphere swallow more prejudice in a year than white people do in a lifetime.
I think the outburst of joy is a completely normal and healthy reaction to a black man becoming president, against all odds, and in spite of more people having probably denied him a vote because his race then he received votes for the sake of it.
The only decent thing to do is to feast along with our black brothers and sisters.

A thread was closed today. http://straightrazorpalace.com/conve...ged-sword.html
I am shocked.

Originally Posted by Quick Orange

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 LX_Emergency

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.


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....

"Whatever"? This was won by a man who won the hearts and trust and faith of the majority of the voters. He made the best argument for his case and the people decided. He is going to hold the highest office in the world not because he is a black man but because he is the best man.

Alex, I disagree with you. What is voting but an emotional act? The candidates always rattle off promises. The promises are never completely fulfilled and we the people have come to accept that. So we listen to the logical campaigns with a great grain of salt, sifting through the rhetoric to various levels of fineness until the final decision is made. That decision is not based on logic. Even if a voter makes up spread sheets and analyzes every word a candidate says, the candidate who gets that vote is the one who has made the voter the most comfortable, or, sadly, in many cases, the one who is deemed to be "less evil". If then all things logical are equal, then the logical arguments on all sides will mathmatically cancel leaving nothing but the raw emotion the candidate can stir.

Further Alex you are not qualified to make any dismissive statements about the emotions of the voters in the USA. What have you done to research your claim regarding the root cause of the feelings of the black American? You have stated that feelings based on fear are irrational. That is crap. There is an organization that was formed after the abolition of slavery with the singular purpose of instilling fear into the newly freed negroes. More than a few black men were tortured, hanged and burned to death. To have been black and not be afraid would have been illogical.Take a few minutes to listen and watch Billie Holliday sing with emotion you cannot begin to understand: http://www.kewego.com/video/iLyROoafYnB4.html . Acts of terrorism against the negro continued on many levels for a very long time. I am sure you've heard of the Ku Klux Klan. The US government contributed to the terrorism by making laws designed to keep the black voter away from the polls. Only in 1964 was the 24th ammendment to the Constitution ratified allowing blacks to vote unfettered: Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The first thing a white person must admit when making statements regarding how it must feel to be a black person is that he has no idea about what he is saying. I can tell you from much experience that there are very deeply sown seeds of mistrust that have to be dug up and destroyed, one by one. Yesterday was a great day for us all because we have made a giant step forward.

One more thing, it may be easy to dismiss Obama's victory as unimportant because you feel it was strictly based on his brown skin. However, that is wrong. I don't deny that he received many votes simply because he is black but remember that blacks are still a minority in today's population so it must be something else. Obama is a very smart man. He has great leadership skills. He is "street smart". He will be a good President and in contrast to the outgoing guy who will be remembered as the worst President in US history, Obama will shine as bright as the sun. I agree with Silver when she wrote "It is a good day to be black" but again, I also think it is a good day for us all and it's been a long time coming.

Thanks Brad and I agree it is a good day for us all. For Mr Obama to have made such a good global impression speaks volumes. GW did nothing to inspire confidence in anything he did.

Is it not a good thing that this man will be closely watched on a global level, while we watch on with a renewed hope in our hearts? America is exposed in global media in a positive light for the first time in a very long time and along with it comes a new found respect from us forigners.

Originally Posted by icedog

. . . so it must be something else ...

You hit the nail on the head, people voted against the Republican party. Elections have became a cyclical event, Democrats, Republican, Democrats, etc . . . Until we have another organized party, this is what will happen.

Just my opinion and I'm sticking to it

Good lord that's a lot of assumptions about me in there. I'll be commenting in RED

Originally Posted by icedog

"Whatever"? This was won by a man who won the hearts and trust and faith of the majority of the voters. He made the best argument for his case and the people decided. He is going to hold the highest office in the world not because he is a black man but because he is the best man.

Alex, I disagree with you. What is voting but an emotional act? The candidates always rattle off promises. The promises are never completely fulfilled and we the people have come to accept that. So we listen to the logical campaigns with a great grain of salt, sifting through the rhetoric to various levels of fineness until the final decision is made. That decision is not based on logic. Even if a voter makes up spread sheets and analyzes every word a candidate says, the candidate who gets that vote is the one who has made the voter the most comfortable, or, sadly, in many cases, the one who is deemed to be "less evil". If then all things logical are equal, then the logical arguments on all sides will mathmatically cancel leaving nothing but the raw emotion the candidate can stir.
I disagree because of this: I think that a politicians words should be his bond. If I know it's not like that which is why I said that it SHOULD be done by logic. I fully understand that that is not how it works or even how it will ever work but it SHOULD. And yes, a politician should make decisions based on empathy as well as logic...but that's how he rules, not how he's elected.

Further Alex you are not qualified to make any dismissive statements about the emotions of the voters in the USA. What do you knkow about me that you can make this statement? Not enough I'd dare say. If you don't know then don't present things as facts. All I've stated is my opinion. What have you done to research your claim regarding the root cause of the feelings of the black American? You have stated that feelings based on fear are irrational. NOT TRUE I've stated that DECISIONS based on fear are irrational. Repeat after me: "Fear is the mindkiller" That is crap. There is an organization that was formed after the abolition of slavery with the singular purpose of instilling fear into the newly freed negroes. More than a few black men were tortured, hanged and burned to death. To have been black and not be afraid would have been illogical.
Yes, but to make decisions based solely on that fear would have been illogical as well. If people would make decisions based on fear nothing would get done anymore because we'd all be too afraid that something bad would happen.
Take a few minutes to listen and watch Billie Holliday sing with emotion you cannot begin to understand:Don't tell me what I can and what I can't. You don't have the foggiest idea about what I can and can not understand. video Billie Holiday - Strange Fruit - billie holiday, strange fruit, video - videos kewego . Acts of terrorism against the negro continued on many levels for a very long time. I am sure you've heard of the Ku Klux Klan. The US government contributed to the terrorism by making laws designed to keep the black voter away from the polls. Only in 1964 was the 24th ammendment to the Constitution ratified allowing blacks to vote unfettered: Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Yes, very sad. I mean it. I've read/know quite a bit about those times. It must have been horrible BUT! Is that still true? Is that all still reality? If not then please deal with the current reality and stop feeling sad for yourself. If the black community (or any community for that matter) wants to get anywhere they have to DO something about it like Pres. Elect Obama did. No amount of feeling sorry or sad for your past is going to help.
The first thing a white person must admit when making statements regarding how it must feel to be a black person is that he has no idea about what he is saying. Neither does a black person have any Idea about how it is to be white...or a woman about how it is to be a man. This has nothing to do with the matter. You don't know how it feels to be me either. Should that be a problem? NO. because I decide for it not to be a problem. I can tell you from much experience that there are very deeply sown seeds of mistrust that have to be dug up and destroyed, one by one. Yesterday was a great day for us all because we have made a giant step forward.

Excellent. That's great to hear. I've always worried about the racism in the states. However on the other hand I don't give a rats buttocks for the colour of the pres. Elect. I just hope he's the best man for the job. He could be purple with green spots for all I care.

One more thing, it may be easy to dismiss Obama's victory as unimportant because you feel it was strictly based on his brown skin. I didn't say anything of the sort. Please don't say that about me. I'm not that dumb. I heard the man speak. He's very charismatic and I think that has a LOT more to do with his winning than his skincolout. However, that is wrong. I don't deny that he received many votes simply because he is black but remember that blacks are still a minority in today's population Are they? I've always wondered whether that's true. But I've never seen figures to prove it either way. So I'll leave it open.so it must be something else. Obama is a very smart man. He comes across as such. I never implied anything else. I wasn't attacking the man.He has great leadership skills. That he will have 4 years to prove He is "street smart". I doubt that he'll be on the streets much as pres. But that's great He will be a good President Time will tell and in contrast to the outgoing guy who will be remembered as the worst President in US history, Once again time will tell. US will (hopefully) have a long history ahead of it. You can't make such a blanket statement untill AFTER the US nation is non-existant Obama will shine as bright as the sun. I try not to make predictions but you can try if you want to. I agree with Silver when she wrote "It is a good day to be black" but again, I also think it is a good day for us all and it's been a long time coming. I'm glad you're glad.

Next time you try to make accusations please make sure they're aimed at the right person. Most of the things you accused me of I never even said.

Originally Posted by Navaja

You hit the nail on the head, people voted against the Republican party. Elections have became a cyclical event, Democrats, Republican, Democrats, etc . . . Until we have another organized party, this is what will happen.

Just my opinion and I'm sticking to it

I guess you have personally interviewed all the people who voted? Well it doesn't matter. The purpose of this thread is not to satisfy your need to make snotty, bitter comments. This thread was authored to offer a sincere congratulatory note to a group of people who have fought very hard and very long to realize what can only be described as a dream come true.

Originally Posted by icedog

I guess you have personally interviewed all the people who voted? Well it doesn't matter. The purpose of this thread is not to satisfy your need to make snotty, bitter comments. This thread was authored to offer a sincere congratulatory note to a group of people who have fought very hard and very long to realize what can only be described as a dream come true.

There you go again, another blanket statement. You don't know what kind of research he's done. Neither do you know every person who claim have fought very hard.

I'm not saying they haven't...I'm just saying you don't know it about all of them either.

Originally Posted by LX_Emergency

Good lord that's a lot of assumptions about me in there. I'll be commenting in RED


Next time you try to make accusations please make sure they're aimed at the right person. Most of the things you accused me of I never even said.

You are repeating yourself and you still don't know what you're talking about. Who are you to make a statement that people from a foreign land are voting for "the wrong reason".

You made another statement, in fact you opened a thread stating that you are glad the election is over. If you are so annoyed by us and our American political ideals, why don't you stop involving yourself? Or, seeing how you are such an expert on the decision making process of American voters, why don't you begin your own thread and enlighten us ignorant Americans?