[WheredoIlive?]

Originally Posted by Bluefly

I've worked in some of our country's worst.... areas formerly known as ghettos .

The problems are so pervasively entrenched in the cultures of poverty that no amount of government spending or private sector financial investment can solve them (government programs just addict residents to handouts and private investments usually just attract wealthier people and push the impoverished people somewhere else without solving anything).

It has to change from within somehow. One of my best friends grew up in that life and he says that you grow up ignorant. You simply have no idea what else is available. It wasn't until someone in a position of city power took him under her wing and showed him what was possible that he could even find a direction in which to point his life. Once he did, he climbed out of drug dealing and violence on his own.

It's easy to write these kids off as lazy or whatever, but they simply don't know what else is there and are also burdened by a culture that celebrates ignorance and violence and degrades intellectual pursuits.

We can feel sorry for them, that their upbringing is so horrible. But honestly that doesnt mean I want to live by it or in it. A few can be saved, and I have seen this myself working in career I worked in: so do not think I coming from the land of naiviete'. However some of the core problems too many people are scared to even talk about because of the pressures of political correctness and more. I suffered badly in the ghetto, I am talking walking down the street worrying about getting robbed and raped and I did see an armed robbery once, where I managed to hide, where the guy robbed a whole group of people with a sawed off shot gun. I was jumped, a few times, knew some self defense back then due to a career working with incarcarated and violent youth and was street smart, and I was lucky. I had friends in the ghetto who had been raped, and more, one had a group of men who had gone wilding on her. I wont get into detail, let people figure that one out. I ended up in the ghetto via illness, had moved there for a job, but managed to escape but am doing everything in my power to make sure I do not end up in another ghetto. Even living near Benton Harbor brings back some of the nightmares of those days, which is why I am going to be leaving here. At least in Hillsdale MI I felt safe. {people do not realize that today it is MOSTLY MONEY that buffers one from the ghetto} The people who live in the ghetto suffer, some can escape by education and having a mentor like your friend, but one thing to remember while there are plenty of the evil people walking around there are good ones held under their seige. It is a shame all around.

I do not think poverty is necessarily the cause, there are other poor areas of the country where people do not follow a certain sociopathic ethos. The ghetto to be frank, and I have lived in two of them, one in Chicago, and worked in one has a certain culture that is POISON.

This NOT a race thing because there are plenty of folks of a certain race, who do not follow this CULTURE and even those of other races get drawn into the ghetto mentality {I saw violent and abusive folks of all colors in one of my partciular ghettos} but it is a culture based on DOG EAT DOG, NEVER LET ANYONE FRONT YOU=={ie disrespect you} Where HUSTLING {the ghetto word for stealing is glorified} and you are right about the degredating of intellectual pursuits and glorification of violence. The kids become the way they are, because they are notn taught anything else, they learn the sociopathic ethos of dog eat dog, fight to survive, and know nothing else. And to be honest many members of the media have profited from promoting evil things, sometimes I want to throw up, the few times Ive had MTV on, and just seeing the narcassistic sociopathic glorification of violence, wanton sex, and a warped materialsim not based on any reality.

I think just the fact that people are afraid to say the truth about the ghetto, that there is something wrong with cultural aspects of this, has held back any real change. Look at the trouble BIll Cosby got in for trying to sound the alarm!
Even just saying "I hate the ghetto, and I was afraid while living there, and I suffered as a victim of crimes and I refuse to ever live in another ghetto knowing as a disabled woman, I would be instant prey for the wolves" is enough to get you called a RACIST, when a person really isnt racist at all. It is this misguided political correctness that keeps the ghettos entrenched.

[Indentured Servant]

Originally Posted by Bluefly

I've worked in some of our country's worst.... areas formerly known as ghettos .

The problems are so pervasively entrenched in the cultures of poverty that no amount of government spending or private sector financial investment can solve them (government programs just addict residents to handouts and private investments usually just attract wealthier people and push the impoverished people somewhere else without solving anything).

It has to change from within somehow. One of my best friends grew up in that life and he says that you grow up ignorant. You simply have no idea what else is available. It wasn't until someone in a position of city power took him under her wing and showed him what was possible that he could even find a direction in which to point his life. Once he did, he climbed out of drug dealing and violence on his own.

It's easy to write these kids off as lazy or whatever, but they simply don't know what else is there and are also burdened by a culture that celebrates ignorance and violence and degrades intellectual pursuits.

This is the most accurate response I have read. One has to ask themselves how and why these “sub cultures” or “counter cultures” get formed. The creation of distinct cultures generally requires a certain degree of isolation. Immigrants coming to America and living in a particular area often have a different culture because their native culture evolved in isolation away from the American culture. However, how and why do 15th generation Americans, in some cases, manifest a different culture from that of the dominant culture?

Well, people really do not want to know the answer to that. The answer is due to a combination of race and class and the “isms” that go along with it. Socialization and enculturation is achieved naturally, and most profoundly, via emulation. This requires immersion. In other words, for the “proper” culture or normative behaviors of the dominant culture to be transmitted by emulation, all groups need to be fully or equally immersed in the dominant culture and not isolated from it.

When certain people of a race or class move into a community that is supposedly displaying the “proper culture” and as a result these “proper” people move out, such behavior is what creates segregation and allows counter-culture incubation. It is a self fulfilling or self reinforcing prediction, to a large degree. Some people do not want to live near a certain group of people because of assumptions about the behavior and culture of these people being “different”, but sense “culture” is a learned and emulated behavior, how can these people ever become immersed to learn the proper culture?

The Irish were a group that faced a lot of discrimination in America, along with other white “ethnics” immigrants that were not Germane or English. However, you will be hard pressed to find an Irish neighborhood in America to the same degree that you find massive black communities. The Irish have been fully immersed, allowed in, in America, residentially. People don’t fear the community going down when they see Irish people move in. In fact, no one can even tell that they are Irish. On the other hand, you can identify an African American a mile away.

People say that are willing to live next to anyone, regardless of race, if they keep up their property, lawns, don’t play loud music and value basically the same things as they do. In other words, it’s not race that they have a problem with, they say, but rather, culture/behaviors. However, certain behaviors are seen as endemic or particular to “black culture”. The “bad” behavior or culture might not be seen as exclusive to black people, but instead are seen as much more prevalent or likely in black people. So in other words, culture/race is a distinction without much of a difference. So when black people start moving in, the fear of the black counterculture moving in their subconsciously if not consciously and people start moving away before they can be proved wrong. This perpetuates segregation, isolation and the counter culture that these same people complain about.

People don’t really want explanations. There is a reason for everything. Everything evolved into what it is today. Evolutions manifest via time and space; therefore, nothing in its present condition can be explained without using the past….ie…..history…..ie…..time. That is true of anything and everything in the present that is being explained. Everything that is currently is a reaction to what was previously. However, when dealing with conditions of blacks in America, counterculture and the like, people refuse to link the past to the present. It’s like people want to think “that’s just the way they are” and that history has nothing to do with the way they are unless it’s their genetic history. It’s like people simply want to see other groups, collectively, as “inferior” to their own group identity, which makes them feel superior by membership.

[WheredoIlive?]

Originally Posted by malamute

I think the problem is that we're paying women to breed when it should be the reverse. In order to qualify for welfare handouts, someone should voluntarily agree to be sterilized. The last thing someone who is trying to escape welfare needs is another baby and it's gotten to be too easy to do nothing, have no goals but a welfare life and having babies is all it takes to obtain it. Imagine if all drug addicts, alcoholics, and welfare recipients were offered $200 to $400 in exchange for permanent sterilization, or in order to receive any of the many welfare programs one had to agree to sterilization, many societal problems could be solved in a generation.

I dont agree with sterilizing people that is a bit draconian, but I wonder about the whole having babies you cant afford thing. I am on welfare, [food stamps] {this is new since husband decided never to work another job again and one reason I am going to divorce him since he is healthy enough to work} but I never had children because I was sick and never could afford them. Living in the ghetto during my 20s, and barely keeping bills paid on social work and teaching jobs with poor health, I was careful about any unplanned pregnancies, was mostly infertile anyhow.

One thing that astounds me in the ghetto, and I do not understand it, this is something I cannot relate to, is how many have babies with no resources to take care of them. Just endless unplanned pregnancies, even with different fathers. What gets me is I know welfare doesnt pay that much, in many states, you have to work for welfare check or even the food stamps. IF I wasnt disabled, I would have to be down at a work program every day just getting food stamps. So it isnt a free ride for every baby...anymore. So why are people doing this when birth control isnt that hard to get and easy to get. One cant claim that people are that ignorant, they know how babies are made. Maybe they see having babies as the only "achievement" they are capable of. That is all I can think it is. Course maybe they are smarter then me, I am old and alone, and a teen pregnancy for me would mean I would had a grown child to help me by now.

[WheredoIlive?]

Originally Posted by darstar

The prisons are way over crowded now. We must change things from the start. Its way to simplistic , to just blame this or that , depending on your politics.
Starting with education , and decriminalizing Marijuana use, would go a long way in lessening the populations of our prisons. It is true that a lot of the breeding ground for crime is the ghetto. These areas need to be closed down. Move the people out. I know it sounds strange , but , considering the cost for incarceration , medical , and welfare-child care , we could afford to relocate the people for much less cost. There is a lot of wide open spaces in places like Wyoming , that need populated. Show them the way , that there is hope for a better way of life , and , things will start to change,... If we need to pay the parents for doing a good job with their kids , it would be worth it. If we need to pay young girls , not to have baby's , it would be worth it..... Yes , the cost of doing nothing has now far exceeded the cost of prevention.

When I lived in Chicago, I knew a few smart resourceful women from the ghetto, who decided, I am going to move out to Iowa, Nebraska etc, and away from this mess. They actually pulled it off. These women were employed so did have a few job skills or stable workhistories even if jobs were lower level, to help them pull this off.

Even I decided to escape, but I ended up in the ghetto for very different reasons.

[WheredoIlive?]

Originally Posted by Indentured Servant

This is the most accurate response I have read. One has to ask themselves how and why these “sub cultures” or “counter cultures” get formed. The creation of distinct cultures generally requires a certain degree of isolation. Immigrants coming to America and living in a particular area often have a different culture because their native culture evolved in isolation away from the American culture. However, how and why do 15th generation Americans, in some cases, manifest a different culture from that of the dominant culture?

Well, people really do not want to know the answer to that. The answer is due to a combination of race and class and the “isms” that go along with it. Socialization and enculturation is achieved naturally, and most profoundly, via emulation. This requires immersion. In other words, for the “proper” culture or normative behaviors of the dominant culture to be transmitted by emulation, all groups need to be fully or equally immersed in the dominant culture and not isolated from it.

When certain people of a race or class move into a community that is supposedly displaying the “proper culture” and as a result these “proper” people move out, such behavior is what creates segregation and allows counter-culture incubation. It is a self fulfilling or self reinforcing prediction, to a large degree. Some people do not want to live near a certain group of people because of assumptions about the behavior and culture of these people being “different”, but sense “culture” is a learned and emulated behavior, how can these people ever become immersed to learn the proper culture?

The Irish were a group that faced a lot of discrimination in America, along with other white “ethnics” immigrants that were not Germane or English. However, you will be hard pressed to find an Irish neighborhood in America to the same degree that you find massive black communities. The Irish have been fully immersed, allowed in, in America, residentially. People don’t fear the community going down when they see Irish people move in. In fact, no one can even tell that they are Irish. On the other hand, you can identify an African American a mile away.

People say that are willing to live next to anyone, regardless of race, if they keep up their property, lawns, don’t play loud music and value basically the same things as they do. In other words, it’s not race that they have a problem with, they say, but rather, culture/behaviors. However, certain behaviors are seen as endemic or particular to “black culture”. The “bad” behavior or culture might not be seen as exclusive to black people, but instead are seen as much more prevalent or likely in black people. So in other words, culture/race is a distinction without much of a difference. So when black people start moving in, the fear of the black counterculture moving in their subconsciously if not consciously and people start moving away before they can be proved wrong. This perpetuates segregation, isolation and the counter culture that these same people complain about.

People don’t really want explanations. There is a reason for everything. Everything evolved into what it is today. Evolutions manifest via time and space; therefore, nothing in its present condition can be explained without using the past….ie…..history…..ie…..time. That is true of anything and everything in the present that is being explained. Everything that is currently is a reaction to what was previously. However, when dealing with conditions of blacks in America, counterculture and the like, people refuse to link the past to the present. It’s like people want to think “that’s just the way they are” and that history has nothing to do with the way they are unless it’s their genetic history. It’s like people simply want to see other groups, collectively, as “inferior” to their own group identity, which makes them feel superior by membership.

I think the impact of class [socioeconomic level] is far more important. There is too much focus on color of skin and race and "history".

By "history" I should be rich. I am not. I had a great grand father who was a multi-millionaire on one side of the family. So if the inverse is true, that if someone's long ago ancestors were slaves, does that guarantee poverty?

Some people even fall from the socioeconomic class of their relatives, forming a chasm even greater then a changed skin color could do. They no longer fit into their lives. This downward mobility is one of the undiscussed phenenmenons out in the world. Especially the difference in the lives between GEneration X and Y and the Baby Boomers.

Race really is limited, because honestly poor people of other races are now finding themselves living in bad areas and ghetto places. People do not realize it but it is really MONEY that buffers one from the ghetto.

We can look at history etc as the determinate to a degree, but really isnt MONEY the biggest factor determining where one goes or what kind of lifestyle or cultural things they can afford. . The people of whatever race who have good jobs, can escape whatever the mess is. Education today isnt even a guarantee. Yes there are some historical factors like slavery and more having made impacts. But today really it is money that more and more determinates address. IN Chicago you could draw lines over what monthly rent could be afforded.

People make what is a MONEY thing into too much of a RACE thing. White and other type people who are poor or who have lived in the ghetto, it is not like we even exsist, that is one thing that bothers me reading books on poverty, it is like there is no such thing as a poor person of another race. WE are ending up in the ghettos too. We are on welfare too. That is one thing when people think welfare, they think of one race, that isnt even fair to them because there are more white people on welfare in this country just by the numbers.

I think too as this country goes more and more into a depression, these race based theories are going to go by the way side. The deal is how much GREEN you carry, not the color of your skin.

[Indentured Servant]

Originally Posted by WheredoIlive?

I think the impact of class [socioeconomic level] is far more important. There is too much focus on color of skin and race and "history".

By "history" I should be rich. I am not. I had a great grand father who was a multi-millionaire on one side of the family. So if the inverse is true, that if someone's long ago ancestors were slaves, does that guarantee poverty?

Some people even fall from the socioeconomic class of their relatives, forming a chasm even greater then a changed skin color could do. They no longer fit into their lives. This downward mobility is one of the undiscussed phenenmenons out in the world. Especially the difference in the lives between GEneration X and Y and the Baby Boomers.

Race really is limited, because honestly poor people of other races are now finding themselves living in bad areas and ghetto places. People do not realize it but it is really MONEY that buffers one from the ghetto.

We can look at history etc as the determinate to a degree, but really isnt MONEY the biggest factor determining where one goes or what kind of lifestyle or cultural things they can afford. . The people of whatever race who have good jobs, can escape whatever the mess is. Education today isnt even a guarantee. Yes there are some historical factors like slavery and more having made impacts. But today really it is money that more and more determinates address. IN Chicago you could draw lines over what monthly rent could be afforded.

People make what is a MONEY thing into too much of a RACE thing. White and other type people who are poor or who have lived in the ghetto, it is not like we even exsist, that is one thing that bothers me reading books on poverty, it is like there is no such thing as a poor person of another race. WE are ending up in the ghettos too. We are on welfare too. That is one thing when people think welfare, they think of one race, that isnt even fair to them because there are more white people on welfare in this country just by the numbers.

I think too as this country goes more and more into a depression, these race based theories are going to go by the way side. The deal is how much GREEN you carry, not the color of your skin.

I stopped reading when you dismissed race. Yes, racism has gone down considerably in America but the impact of past racism, its legacy effect, is very problematic. In fact, if the issue is class, the history of racism placed more blacks in the lower class. Black poverty is 3 times the rate of white poverty. How did that happen? Well, that is not new because that skew has always been a part of American history. So people who discriminate based upon class are 3 times more likely to discriminate against a black person than to discriminate against a white person……which results in racism by effect, if not intent…..but its still racism.

[WheredoIlive?]

Originally Posted by Indentured Servant

I stopped reading when you dismissed race. Yes, racism has gone down considerably in America but the impact of past racism, its legacy effect, is very problematic. In fact, if the issue is class, the history of racism placed more blacks in the lower class. Black poverty is 3 times the rate of white poverty. How did that happen? Well, that is not new because that skew has always been a part of American history. So people who discriminate based upon class are 3 times more likely to discriminate against a black person than to discriminate against a white person……which results in racism by effect, if not intent…..but its still racism.

See already I'M in trouble..you stopped reading.

now you know why people are scared to even talk about this stuff. Because instanteosly someone is deemed a racist for not supporting the status quo.

How discriminated are black people still being if we got a black president who won by POPULAR VOTE?

Yes it can happen, but racism goes in more then one direction.

Do you know horrible it was to live in the ghetto, then go to your church in the good neighborhood, {I was in a liberal church then} and then be told because you are white you are the oppressor when you are dirt poor?
BTW I believe this guilty white liberal stuff allows for MORE racism and division. People are people. I didnt oppress anyone. Some things about slavery, there were tribes in Africa enslvaing other tribes, and some of that is happening TODAY.

Dont get me wrong, I feel bad when I hear about something missing out on a job, or more because of race. Even I got almost beaten up twice in the Chicago area, for the crime of just being with black people, [interracial couple I was with got jumped] so I know there is racism out there but the reverse is true too. One of my colleagues, who was just passing through in her car, because she went through the wrong area, almost got killed, car hit with bottles, jumped etc. Evil is Evil. Whatever side it comes from.

But the old formulas arent working, something else is insidious. I beleive the powers that be, love to pound on the racism drum because then white people will blame black people and vice versa, or blame the hispanics, etc etc, instead of people asking questions like why have the bankers just cleaned out the till? Why are all our jobs being outsourced over seas? Why is our infrastructure and inner cities being allowed to collapse while billions is being spent overseas?

[malamute]

Originally Posted by Indentured Servant

This is the most accurate response I have read. One has to ask themselves how and why these “sub cultures” or “counter cultures” get formed. The creation of distinct cultures generally requires a certain degree of isolation. Immigrants coming to America and living in a particular area often have a different culture because their native culture evolved in isolation away from the American culture. However, how and why do 15th generation Americans, in some cases, manifest a different culture from that of the dominant culture?

Well, people really do not want to know the answer to that. The answer is due to a combination of race and class and the “isms” that go along with it. Socialization and enculturation is achieved naturally, and most profoundly, via emulation. This requires immersion. In other words, for the “proper” culture or normative behaviors of the dominant culture to be transmitted by emulation, all groups need to be fully or equally immersed in the dominant culture and not isolated from it.

When certain people of a race or class move into a community that is supposedly displaying the “proper culture” and as a result these “proper” people move out, such behavior is what creates segregation and allows counter-culture incubation. It is a self fulfilling or self reinforcing prediction, to a large degree. Some people do not want to live near a certain group of people because of assumptions about the behavior and culture of these people being “different”, but sense “culture” is a learned and emulated behavior, how can these people ever become immersed to learn the proper culture?

The Irish were a group that faced a lot of discrimination in America, along with other white “ethnics” immigrants that were not Germane or English. However, you will be hard pressed to find an Irish neighborhood in America to the same degree that you find massive black communities. The Irish have been fully immersed, allowed in, in America, residentially. People don’t fear the community going down when they see Irish people move in. In fact, no one can even tell that they are Irish. On the other hand, you can identify an African American a mile away.

People say that are willing to live next to anyone, regardless of race, if they keep up their property, lawns, don’t play loud music and value basically the same things as they do. In other words, it’s not race that they have a problem with, they say, but rather, culture/behaviors. However, certain behaviors are seen as endemic or particular to “black culture”. The “bad” behavior or culture might not be seen as exclusive to black people, but instead are seen as much more prevalent or likely in black people. So in other words, culture/race is a distinction without much of a difference. So when black people start moving in, the fear of the black counterculture moving in their subconsciously if not consciously and people start moving away before they can be proved wrong. This perpetuates segregation, isolation and the counter culture that these same people complain about.

People don’t really want explanations. There is a reason for everything. Everything evolved into what it is today. Evolutions manifest via time and space; therefore, nothing in its present condition can be explained without using the past….ie…..history…..ie…..time. That is true of anything and everything in the present that is being explained. Everything that is currently is a reaction to what was previously. However, when dealing with conditions of blacks in America, counterculture and the like, people refuse to link the past to the present. It’s like people want to think “that’s just the way they are” and that history has nothing to do with the way they are unless it’s their genetic history. It’s like people simply want to see other groups, collectively, as “inferior” to their own group identity, which makes them feel superior by membership.

It's not race. We've got blacks in the White House, in the Supreme Court, Congress. There are black doctors, dentists, lawyers. That excuse no longer flies.

There is no black gene that leads to violence. Poverty does not make worse people than money does.

These kids have no future because their mothers don't really care much about them. Their kids get them free health care, food stamps, WIC, and free housing. Beyond that they don't really give a damn about them.

[malamute]

Originally Posted by darstar

The prisons are way over crowded now. We must change things from the start. Its way to simplistic , to just blame this or that , depending on your politics.
Starting with education , and decriminalizing Marijuana use, would go a long way in lessening the populations of our prisons. It is true that a lot of the breeding ground for crime is the ghetto. These areas need to be closed down. Move the people out. I know it sounds strange , but , considering the cost for incarceration , medical , and welfare-child care , we could afford to relocate the people for much less cost. There is a lot of wide open spaces in places like Wyoming , that need populated. Show them the way , that there is hope for a better way of life , and , things will start to change,... If we need to pay the parents for doing a good job with their kids , it would be worth it. If we need to pay young girls , not to have baby's , it would be worth it..... Yes , the cost of doing nothing has now far exceeded the cost of prevention.

As thought he state of Michigan spends very little on education..... Michigan teachers are among the highest paid, Michigan schools are very well funded. These kids have schools.

Shipping them to Wyoming isn't going to help. What would they do there? Certainly they aren't about to want to work for a living and Wyoming doesn't offer anything near what Michigan does in welfare handouts.

[Indentured Servant]

Originally Posted by WheredoIlive?

See already I'M in trouble..you stopped reading.

now you know why people are scared to even talk about this stuff. Because instanteosly someone is deemed a racist for not supporting the status quo.

How discriminated are black people still being if we got a black president who won by POPULAR VOTE?

Yes it can happen, but racism goes in more then one direction.

Do you know horrible it was to live in the ghetto, then go to your church in the good neighborhood, {I was in a liberal church then} and then be told because you are white you are the oppressor when you are dirt poor?
BTW I believe this guilty white liberal stuff allows for MORE racism and division. People are people. I didnt oppress anyone. Some things about slavery, there were tribes in Africa enslvaing other tribes, and some of that is happening TODAY.

Dont get me wrong, I feel bad when I hear about something missing out on a job, or more because of race. Even I got almost beaten up twice in the Chicago area, for the crime of just being with black people, [interracial couple I was with got jumped] so I know there is racism out there but the reverse is true too. One of my colleagues, who was just passing through in her car, because she went through the wrong area, almost got killed, car hit with bottles, jumped etc. Evil is Evil. Whatever side it comes from.

But the old formulas arent working, something else is insidious. I beleive the powers that be, love to pound on the racism drum because then white people will blame black people and vice versa, or blame the hispanics, etc etc, instead of people asking questions like why have the bankers just cleaned out the till? Why are all our jobs being outsourced over seas? Why is our infrastructure and inner cities being allowed to collapse while billions is being spent overseas?

First of all, I NEVER called you a racist. Secondly, I don’t know why people are scared to talk about this stuff. What…….do you think I am going to shoot you over the internet? If people are scared….maybe they are scared of seeing themselves reveled...exposed in other words. I don’t know what “the status quo” is, but I am pretty sure whatever it is that it is the position held by the majority of the population, which is hardly black. Thirdly, 55% of white folks voted AGAINST OBAMA. Moreover, there are roughly 6 whites for every black in America. Thus, if just one out of six whites are indeed racist, that is one racist white for every black man, women and child in America. If one in six blacks are racist, that breaks down to 1 black racist for every 31 white person (200 million whites and 40 million blacks in America…do the math). Given that poverty rates are 3 times that of whites and black unemployment rates is over twice that of whites, obviously whites are disproportionately over represented in the position of power and authority and blacks underrepresented. Therefore, this renders the one racist white for every black American much more problematic if these racist whites happened to be in positions of power and authority, which many are. So in other words, the fact that America elected a black president does not mean that black America is free from racism at other levels and branches of socioeconomics. It does not invalidate racism as a factor/impediment in the lives of black people. Moreover, it ignores that people can and do grant exception to the assumed rule as racism is more about how a person feels about a racial group as a whole, as opposed to how they feel about a particular member of a racial group. Besides....Obama is HALF WHITE and raised by whites.....which makes him much more palatable to whites.