You're making a racist inference here:
- The letter stated that the only factor in the black voters' decision was race. That's racist, because it suggests that black voters don't care about the economy, or about health care, or about anything else: it belittles them by suggesting they're detached from the political process. Furthermore, its demonstrably false: Black voters didn't turn out for Alan Keyes, Carol Moseley-Braun, or Al Sharpton in significant numbers providing three counterexamples to the theory you're defending that black voters care only about electing a fellow black person.
- It's also racist, because you defend the 90% figure to be sufficient evidence for race-based voting among black voters, but haven't made similar claims involving blocs of white voters:
McPherson County, South Dakota is about as white as counties come: In the 2000 Census, 99.4% of the population was white; the rest were predominately native Americans. There were zero African-Americans in the county. McPherson County overwhelmingly chose Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama in their state's primary. Are you prepared to say that this county voted as a bloc based on their common race?
- And can we stop using the phrase "half black"? Racial discrimination is bad enough in this country without returning to the days of labeling people mulattoes and octoroons. Do you also label people "half brunette" (brulatto?)
1. well, i am not "inferring" anything...my stated belief that while Obama is a very brilliant and intelligent man, his record is not one that would lead african american people to believe this much in him, if he was not in fact black. A white person with his record would have likely been annihilated by Hillary in the primaries.
indeed, black voters do in fact care about a laundry list of issues...however, there are in fact plenty of voters out there, who do not know what the hell their candidate stands for black or white, be it now, or 4 years ago, or 12 years ago...but many african americans who you hear discussing Obama talk about the "dream" of having a black man in the White House...if not, why did they not go crazy over Michael Dukakis?
Like it or not, there are, in fact many african americans in this election who do not see policy, but see color...sadly, much the same as the type of redneck who when he sees obama, only sees color and won't vote for him either. Ignorance and racism inhabits both sides of this debate, both for, and against him.
With all due respect, i did not say that all african americans vote "all black" all the time, because when was the last time there was a black presidential or vice presidential candidate?
How could blacks vote for Alan Keyes in the republican primaries since most blacks are not registered republicans?
as for Mosely Braun,
2. I do not need to make "similar" claims about white based voters. Everyone knows it is a fact that plenty of white people in certain places vote on race.
Where did i say otherwise? I would be prepared to say that their vote for Hillary was based on race, yes, absolutely, if the votes bore that out. If those are the stated numbers from South Dakota, and all of those people chose Hillary, then yes, it would indeed suggest race based voting if they did not have policy differences between Obama and Clinton, absolutely. If you provided the accurate stats, and not one solitary person in the whole county voted for Obama, then yes, that would seem a concrete example of race based politics.
I would say also, that HIllary Clinton is a far more experienced person than Obama in national government, and yes, there were an overwhelming number of african americans who supported him over her, when in fact, based on track record, hers was far superior, and their policies were not that far apart...so what conclusion are we left with? Obama was clearly a weaker candidate in terms of experience and policy than Clinton was, yet blacks voted overwhelmingly for him...that says something, does it not?
3. What else shall we use? Half white? Nobody is labelling him a "mulatto". The fact is, people like yourself and the media, and his supporters are labelling him as "african american"...the first african american president...when he isn't.
In fact, it is insulting to call him an african american without acknowledging, that he was the son of a white mother, was raised in a white family, and whose father abandoned the family.
I would say that his experience as part white shaped him as much as anything that being black did. He was the part of two different people, and as such, the claiming of him as "african american" while dismissing the part of him which is white, is insulting and pathetic.
everyone, all his supporters and admirers, agree that this is a very intelligent, charismatic and admired person...so why discount an entire half of *HIM* that makes him *HIM*.
he is, in fact, half black and half white. That is not discrimination...that is fact. It is a fact that *TWO* races combined to form a very commendable and important human being...not just *ONE*. I would label your comments as discriminatory and racist for demanding that the honest truth be held up at the expense of a lie.
the man is the part of two distinct cultures...that is a *GOOD* thing not a *BAD* thing...it is just a shame that some people want to claim him only as a part of their culture, instead of admitting the fact that what makes him who he is, is actually *BOTH* black *AND* white. Not just black.
so when you say he will be the first black president, you are in fact being discriminatory...because he is bi-racial, and the man standing on the cusp of the presidency would not be who he is right now, at this moment in history, without that part of him that is white either.
that is a fact, not racism.
Being biracial is not a crime, nor is it a label...it is no more a label than "African-american" or "caucasian". If you are going to use the label of the first "african american" or "black" president, why not use the correct label at least, since most people revert to them anyway.
4. Being a brunette is not a question of race, and you know that. Hair color does not define your ethnicity. Hair color can be changed, ethnicity and who you are cannot...and Obama, is indeed bi-racial, and represents the good qualitites of *TWO* distinct ethnicities, not just one.
