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Old 11-20-2008, 02:50 PM
 
Location: SE Arizona - FINALLY! :D
20,460 posts, read 26,278,891 times
Reputation: 7627

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Quote:
Originally Posted by LML View Post
I am so pleased that we voted not because of his race, not in spite of his race but because we were indifferent to his race. We looked at the MAN and saw a leader and a leader that we wanted to follow. Perhaps American has started to grow up and to grow into what we were meant to be.
Well, some Americans anyway.


Ken
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Old 11-20-2008, 04:40 PM
 
19,198 posts, read 31,425,821 times
Reputation: 4013
All my life, I've been sick and tired. Now, I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired!
-- Fannie Lou Hamer

I hope Fannie Lou had her feet up watching TV that night.
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Old 11-20-2008, 08:37 PM
 
31,387 posts, read 36,975,677 times
Reputation: 15038
Quote:
Originally Posted by saganista View Post
All my life, I've been sick and tired. Now, I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired!
-- Fannie Lou Hamer

I hope Fannie Lou had her feet up watching TV that night.
In a big asssed Barco lounger made of strato cumulous clouds while watching a celestial and universe wide screen TV.
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Old 11-21-2008, 02:58 AM
 
Location: On the "Left Coast", somewhere in "the Land of Fruits & Nuts"
8,854 posts, read 10,430,759 times
Reputation: 6670
Quote:
Originally Posted by ovcatto View Post
Rep points to:

My grandfather who organized the first union for African American railroad workers in Louisiana,
My mom for her work with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee.
My dad for his work with the Urban League and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference,
My grandmother who in no way would have believed this day could be possible, but supported us all,
Aretha Hailey who gave me my first job registering voters in the South

Thank you for making this possible.
Very nice... Congrats!

BTW, today on Democracy Now, listened to Princeton University professor of religion and African American studies, Cornel West, talk about the election of Barack Obama, and some of the recent choices for his Cabinet. West, who is a liberal and also black, was complaining that "my dear Brother Barack Obama seems to be recycling all of these Clintonites," and that "At this moment, the best America could do was Brother Barack Obama, liberal, centrist."

Being of the "caucasian" persuasion, am probably not qualified to offer an opinion on those points, but I did come away from the interview concerned that some of Obama's harshest critics and the most inflexible pressure may actually come from "old school" black liberals.

Anyone else have a sense about this?
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Old 11-21-2008, 07:00 AM
 
Location: SE Arizona - FINALLY! :D
20,460 posts, read 26,278,891 times
Reputation: 7627
Quote:
Originally Posted by mateo45 View Post
Very nice... Congrats!

BTW, today on Democracy Now, listened to Princeton University professor of religion and African American studies, Cornel West, talk about the election of Barack Obama, and some of the recent choices for his Cabinet. West, who is a liberal and also black, was complaining that "my dear Brother Barack Obama seems to be recycling all of these Clintonites," and that "At this moment, the best America could do was Brother Barack Obama, liberal, centrist."

Being of the "caucasian" persuasion, am probably not qualified to offer an opinion on those points, but I did come away from the interview concerned that some of Obama's harshest critics and the most inflexible pressure may actually come from "old school" black liberals.

Anyone else have a sense about this?
Yeah, that could well be. It wouldn't surprise me one bit. I've said all along that Obama will govern a lot more from the center than some people expect -notably the Right Wing Crowd (such as those on this board) who have been led to believe (by their leaders and pundits) that Obama is extreme Left Wing. Some of the Left Wingers in this country will be disappointed in him of course, but the bulk of the country will be VERY PLEASED. Like Clinton before him, Obama will be a Centrist - exactly as I expected.

Ken
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Old 11-21-2008, 07:09 AM
 
Location: Montrose, CA
3,032 posts, read 8,908,756 times
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I'm white, and I voted for Obama, and now you tell me he's black? Damn it, I never noticed that before.
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Old 11-21-2008, 07:11 AM
 
Location: Londonderry, NH
41,478 posts, read 59,660,138 times
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ovcatto - thank you for your thoughts. Welcome aboard.
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Old 11-21-2008, 07:16 AM
 
Location: Londonderry, NH
41,478 posts, read 59,660,138 times
Reputation: 24860
Kooter - is your name a derivative of the slang term Kootie? IIRC kootie refers to a flea. Fleas are bloodsucking parasites known for their ability to carry disease and create irritation out of proportion to their size. Fleas are also neatly universally despised. You fit the bill.
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Old 11-21-2008, 07:17 AM
 
Location: Pennsylvania, USA
5,224 posts, read 4,999,150 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ovcatto View Post
I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that not only did the US elect and African American to the Presidency of the United States, but elected an African American whose name is Barak Hussein Obama! My god!

As an African American male, who sent part of his youth living under Jim Crow and as a result couldn't; play in the nearest park; who had to walk by a white school in order to get to the "colored" one 6 blocks further away; whose high school had to sue the Catholic Archdiocese so that it could be included in the all white Catholic Athletic League, I am simply astounded.

During the campaign I spoke with numerous African Americans my age and older who refused to believe that white Americans would either elect or allow to be elected a man of color. We all lived in fear, and still do, that Obama would fall as so many black leaders from Octavius V. Catto to Martin Luther King to an assassin's bullet. We wondered how our collective experience as a people believe that THIS country would look past it's horrendous history and usher in a new era.

In his last speech before being struck down by an assassin's bullet, Martin Luther King said:

"Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."

Many of us, black, brown, red, yellow and white, have finally gotten to the mountain top from which King looked out across at the promised land and its a marvelous sight.

color didnt' play a role in it for me.. but what he ran on did.

But.. that being said there are some African American's that would have made me nervous in the seat of President.. such as Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton ( I believe once upon a time both made early bids for office). and it doesn't really have much to do with their color, but more their attitude ABOUT their color.

Obama, however, is a well articulate, well educated, smart man and it was easy to see beyond his skin color to the type of president he will be.

One thing that amazes me is that so much emphasis has been placed on the fact that he is "African American" ..BUT.. why do they ignore the fact that he is only 1/2 African American nad 1/2 white. His mother was as white as snow!!!! I think that makes him a great "diplomat" for race because he can't be biased against any of them.. white or black.

I'm proud that America has elected Barack Obama!
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Old 11-21-2008, 07:37 AM
 
Location: SE Arizona - FINALLY! :D
20,460 posts, read 26,278,891 times
Reputation: 7627
Quote:
Originally Posted by TristansMommy View Post
color didnt' play a role in it for me.. but what he ran on did.

But.. that being said there are some African American's that would have made me nervous in the seat of President.. such as Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton ( I believe once upon a time both made early bids for office). and it doesn't really have much to do with their color, but more their attitude ABOUT their color.

Obama, however, is a well articulate, well educated, smart man and it was easy to see beyond his skin color to the type of president he will be.

One thing that amazes me is that so much emphasis has been placed on the fact that he is "African American" ..BUT.. why do they ignore the fact that he is only 1/2 African American nad 1/2 white. His mother was as white as snow!!!! I think that makes him a great "diplomat" for race because he can't be biased against any of them.. white or black.

I'm proud that America has elected Barack Obama!
Yup.
Besides the changes that have taken place in America's attitudes, there is a HUGE difference between Obama and previous Black Candidates. The previous ones (Jackson etc) really were BLACK Candidates - and were perceived (correctly in my opinion) as having a very narrow platform revolving around issues specifically related to race (or at least predominately so) - and thus their base of support was VERY narrow. They had great appeal to Blacks but very limited appeal to White Americans - and that showed at the voting booth, where neither one was able to gain much traction.

Obama, on the other hand campaigned as an AMERICAN Candidate - with a focus not on issues specifically related to the Black Community, but on issues related to EVERYONE. He didn't have a typical "Black" accent. He didn't have a typical "Black" agenda - and in fact took a "Bill Cosby" type approach of criticizing the Black Community for their failures in childrearing and family stability. In short, he looked (aside from his skin color) and sounded MAINSTREAM. He was clearly intelligent and articulate and (what REALLY sealed the deal for him) he appeared CALM and COLLECTED in the midst of the financial crises - in other words PRESIDENTIAL.

Ken
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