Thread: 'Tis A Good Week To Be Black

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.

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.