End Of Racism

[Dr. Shane]

If Obama wins the nomination and goes on to win the Presidency of the United States, will that mean that racism is no longer a major issue in the United States? I am not asking if racism will be non-existent. I am asking if on a scale it will be a minor issue compared to what it was 20, 30, 40 or 50 years ago.

[Bravus]

I think progress is definitely being made across the board in America, with some pockets of resistance. Still a long way to go and a lot of work to be done, but it'd be more than just a symbol. Though that's not why he should be elected: he should be elected because he has the policies that will begin rehabilitating America from it's 12 year nightmare (yep, you read that right).

[fccool]

I think we forget that racism is circular. There are (I apologize for using the term for making a point) "niggers" in mind of some whites, and there are "crackers" in mind of some blacks. There is not universal cure for racism as cultural stereotypes propagated through hip-hop culture and red-neck culture simply perpetuate the issue. And the sad thing that many of those generalizations turn out to be true. Most of the blacks are not gangsters who would like to rob you or shoot you if you are not wearing the right stuff, or if you are lost BUT .... Blacks who are only 10% of population constitute near 50% of incarcerated prisoners.

On the road I hardly ever pass a black person , and then I hear them complaining about cops stopping them because they are black. Now, many of my friends are blacks, and I was the only white person on my basketball team, so I understand what they are going through when we walk into the Arby's in Central Tennessee and all of the people present (including the workers) walk out of the building. You'd think that this kind of things do not happen anymore, but they do. But again, the statistics and perpetuated stereotypes by blacks themselves do not help it.

Even in Christian circles the cliche goes around that the most segregated time of the week is 11 on Sunday, although I don't observe it in our church, thank God! ... both segregation, and Sunday So the issue goes well beyond to be fixed by a Black president.

[Dr. Shane]

Blacks make up about 13% of the US population. If Obama wins he will get at least 50% of the vote. Wouldn't that indicate that there is nothing a black man cannot accomplish in America?

One also wonders what it would mean for the black community to have a hero that is not a rapster or movie star.

[fccool]

I agree! Unfortunatly much of the black culture (as I observe it as foreigner) is blame oriented, and rightly so... as they do have many factors to blame in case of failure. There are awesome examples on part of black people that I myself look up to! The problem is that there arn't many examples that young people can realistically apply to their lives, and Obama could be that person. From my experience, many of the young kids of all races in general would like to be Pop culture stars or star athletes or likes. Much of their energy goes to trying to be these. And in a way it is GREAT. If not for sports and hip-hop, there would not be such a rapid racial reconciliation in US. The problem is that sports careers are one in thousand, and darker hip-hop aspect of black culture is what conservative whites dislike to begin with, as even most rebelios popular "white rock" could even begin to compare to what some of the popularized hip-hop artists propagate.

I hope that Obama would not be viewed as "Oreo cookie", as Rice and Powell do get that label frequently. I think that cure for racism is always to be a "transplant" into the culture as I was. I must admit that coming from Ukraine into black culture I did have a set of prejudices based on the American hip-hop and films that I've seen. But these verified to be untrue very fast. And I understood that these people struggle with same issues I did as a foreigner in US.

Like Gandhi, I think that these issues would be solved through interracial marriages, as Gandhi hoped that Indian caste system would vanish by means of intermarrying.

[Kountzer]

The issue will be solved, along with all other issues, when Jesus Christ returns, and not a moment sooner.

[fccool]

By "solved", I mean solved peacefully .

[Kountzer]

Violence, non violence, Malcolm X, MLK, Ghandi, whatever. Satan is not all powerful, but he's powerful enough to manipulate humans into doing all sorts of mean and evil things, if we allow him to. And many do.

[lazarus]

One also wonders what it would mean for the black community to have a hero that is not a rapster or movie star.

Black people already have a lot of hero's other than rappers and movie stars. To suggest otherwise shows a profound lack knowledge about the black community.

Responding to your question: Undoubtedly, the election of black president would mean progress has been made. Many whites already say that racism is no longer an major issue in America.

If it's Obama v McCain we may yet see how much of an issue race is.

Here's a new offering from Bill O'Really:

"I don't want to go on a lynching party against Michelle Obama unless there's evidence, hard facts, that say this is how the woman really feels. If that's how she really feels -- that America is a bad country or a flawed nation, whatever -- then that's legit. We'll track it down."

This is going bo interesting.

[lazarus]

.... Blacks who are only 10% of population constitute near 50% of incarcerated prisoners.

blacks and whites almost always draw difficult conclusions about those kind of statistics.

[Woody]

Yeah. I for one would not be too proud of it.

[Dr. Shane]

Black people already have a lot of hero's other than rappers and movie stars. To suggest otherwise shows a profound lack knowledge about the black community.

When most kids are asked who their heroes are they name their father as one of the first on their list. Since the black community has bigger issues with fatherless children, it only follows they have bigger issues with healthy heroes than White, Hispanic and Asian kids. Yet it is by no means a racial issue. It is an issue I am well qualified to address as my father abandoned my family when I was quite young. I have spent most of my life, including my adult life, looking for a male figure to be my mentor or my hero. President Reagan was at one time a hero figure for me so I imagine if Obama is elected President he will be a hero figure to many black youth. I, for one, think that is a good thing.

[lazarus]

The implication is that the only hero's African Americans have are rappers and movie stars. This is not correct.

[Kountzer]

Originally Posted By: lazarus

The implication is that the only hero's African Americans have are rappers and movie stars. This is not correct.

That statement by Shane about the black community only having rappers and entertainers as role models is a classic example of what I call message board pontification. Those type of statements are germane to cyberspace msg boards. Just get on the internet, and make up something as you type along. And what you post may or may not have any basis on what is really going on.

Besides that, there is enough false hero worship to go around. Kids in the suburbs idolize $16 million a year baseball players. TV shows like TMZ and entertainment tonight, and at least a dozen or so gossip magazines make a good living following every step and move Brittney Spears, Brad Pitt et al, makes. Also, I am seeing white and hispanic young people wearing all sorts of rap paraphenalia (sic). So, why single out people in the black community?

[Dr. Shane]

Let me make myself clear. Children that do not have fathers tend to make public figures into their role models. I am one such child and studies have shown that in this area I am the rule, not the exception.

Now admittedly, I have not seen studies that show white, fatherless children tend to make white public figures their heroes and that black, fatherless children tend to make black public figures heroes. I did; but I could be an exception in that area, although I doubt it. I am assuming that fatherless children of all ethnic backgrounds tend to choose public figures within the same ethnic background as heroes. I could be wrong. Maybe a lot of fatherless, black children in the 1980s made President Reagan one of their heroes. I suspect not but... I could be wrong.

I think Barak Obama would make a good role model for young, fatherless black children looking for a hero.

[lazarus]

I'm not contesting the points you mention. I'm contesting the whole notion that the only roles models that black people have are rappers and movie stars. This is a false and prejudiced assumption. I ask you to withdraw it.

[Amelia]

Quote:

I'm contesting the whole notion that the only roles models that black people have are rappers and movie stars

Very true. There are black role models in every arena. Unfortunately some young people focus on the rappers and atheletes a little to much.

[Woody]

I'm not contesting the points you mention. I'm contesting the whole notion that the only roles models that black people have are rappers and movie stars. This is a false and prejudiced assumption. I ask you to withdraw it.

Give me a break.

This is a forum of ideas and opinions. If the man is not allowed to have his prejudicial views ... then I am not allowed to keep my prejudicial views. And I LIKE mine. So let's not call for others to withdraw their views. Please.

[Dr. Shane]

I was not trying to say that rappers and entertainment stars are the only black heroes. Fathers are the most common heroes but those children without fathers look to others. Some most certainly look to their pastors and school teachers. Some may look up to journalists and politicians. However I think it is fairly accurate to say most look up to entertainment stars. I idolized Van Halen when I was young. During my drug rehab treatment a counselor told me I needed to change my heroes which resulted in me looking up to President Reagan and some of my school teachers.

I think supporting Obama because he will be a positive role model for young blacks is a legitimate reason to support him.

[lazarus]

This is a forum of ideas and opinions. If the man is not allowed to have his prejudicial views ... then I am not allowed to keep my prejudicial views. And I LIKE mine. So let's not call for others to withdraw their views. Please.

It it because this is a forum that I exercise my right to ask someone to withdraw a statement. Its also their right to choose not to.

[Amelia]

Many Blacks Worry About Obama's Safety

By DAVID CRARY

AP National Writer

Feb 22, 2008

NEW YORK (AP) -- For many black Americans, it's a conversation they find hard to avoid, revisiting old fears in the light of bright new hopes.

They watch with wonder as Barack Obama moves ever closer to becoming America's first black president. And they ask themselves, their family, their friends: Is he at risk? Will he be safe?

There is, of course, no sure answer. But interviews with blacks across the country, prominent and otherwise, suggest that lingering worries are outweighed by enthusiasm and determination.

"You can't have lived through the civil rights movement and know something about the history of African-Americans in this country and not be a little concerned," said Edna Medford, a history professor at Washington's Howard University.

"But African-Americans are more concerned that Obama get the opportunity to do the best he can," she added. "And if he wins, most of us believe the country would do for him what it would do for any president, that he will be as well protected as any of them."

Clyde Barrett, 66, a longtime U.S. Labor Department employee now retired in Tampa, Fla., says he often hears expressions of concern for Obama's safety. One young acquaintance, Barrett said, declared he wouldn't even vote for Obama for fear of exposing him to more danger.

"To me that's a cop-out, where you can't take a stand and support someone because you fear for his safety," Barrett said. "I don't have any apprehension ... We've got to go ahead and persevere."

For many older blacks, the barometer for gauging hopes and fears is the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

But concern about Obama's safety transcends racial lines. He has white supporters who see him as an inspiring, youthful advocate of change in the mold of Robert F. Kennedy, and they are mindful of Kennedy's assassination just two months after King's.

Pam Hart, the principal of a multiracial elementary school in the Philadelphia suburb of Cheltenham, said she is struck by the contrast between some of the black students there, innocently excited about Obama's candidacy, and the more anxious perspective of older people who lived through the violence of the 1960s.

"My 70-year-old aunt - every time I call her, she says she's really afraid Obama is going to be assassinated. She is so worried that history will repeat itself," said Hart, who is 40. "I understand why she's afraid, but I feel we live in a different world now."

Bruce Gordon, a New York-based business leader and former president of the NAACP, also feels the climate has changed dramatically - as evidenced by the strong nationwide support that Obama is receiving from whites as well as blacks.

Gordon felt differently back in the mid-1990s, when Gen. Colin Powell was weighing a run for the presidency, and Powell's wife, Alma, was among those voicing concern about his safety.

"When Powell decided not to run, I said to myself, 'Good,' because I thought someone would kill him," Gordon recalled. "This time, I think that if, out of fear, we keep our most talented people from running for office, it will never happen.

"Yes, there's a risk, but I would never want it to be in the way," Gordon added. "In running, Barack Obama has to accept the fact that he faces a risk. And yes, we pray for him."

Obama received Secret Service protection last May - the earliest ever for any presidential candidate. At the time, federal officials said they were not aware of any direct threats to Obama, but Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin - who was among those recommending the Secret Service deployment - acknowledged receiving information, some with racial overtones, that made him concerned for Obama's safety.

Obama's campaign, invited this week to comment on the concerns felt by many blacks, referred to a speech given by the candidate's wife, Michelle, to a mostly black audience in South Carolina last fall.

"I know people care about Barack and our family. I know people want to protect us and themselves from disappointment," she said, before urging people to cast fear aside.

"If you're willing to heed Coretta Scott King's words and not be afraid of the future ... there's no challenge we can't overcome," she said.

Obama himself, while acknowledging that his family and friends are concerned about his safety, has drawn a contrast with King.

"He didn't have Secret Service protection," Obama told TV host Tavis Smiley last fall. "I can't even comprehend the degree of courage that was required, and look what he did."

Sherry Miles, 45, of Madison Heights, Va., said she's had sobering talks about Obama's safety with her friends and her mother.

"People who want to bring drastic change bring a certain fear among those who don't want change," Miles said. "You look back at our history, and all of the people who tried to bring about change were killed or threatened."

Miles, who works for Virginia's Department of Mental Health, said she was troubled listening to a recent local radio show in which one female caller termed Obama "the devil" and falsely asserted that he was Muslim.

"It's ill-informed people like her who concern me," Miles said. "I'm very pleased that Obama is there, doing so well. But at the same time I'm fearful someone will try to hurt him."

Bryan Monroe, Chicago-based editorial director for Ebony magazine, said the risk faced by Obama "is in the back of people's minds," but that their worries are often superseded by excitement that he could win. Their No. 1 question, Monroe says, "is could this really happen in our lifetime?"

Yvonne Scruggs-Leftwich, a former executive director of the Black Leadership Forum, noted that political leaders of any race face risks in a society where mass shootings and other violence by aggrieved or deranged assailants is all too common.

It is troubling, she said, to acknowledge such dangers at the very moment when Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are demonstrating the historic opportunities available to blacks and women.

"We cannot be crippled by fear. That's the overwhelming emotion in the African-American community," Scruggs-Leftwich said. "We have to do the American thing: We buckle up and keep going."

[Woody]

Political and Racial Fear-Mongering.

[lazarus]

by who Redwood?

[Amelia]

How can it be fear mongering when the fear was already there?

Honestly, this is a VERY REAL fear. The press didn't create this. It can't be ignored that there are factions out there who would not like to see a black man as President.

[fccool]

I don't think its even an issue of Black and White either. If Ron Paul would be nominated... I'd fear for his life too.