Reader Justo sent me an email regarding my story 'Blacks Don't Vote For Obama Just Because He's Black - Yeah Right' wherein I reported the facts and findings that indeed blacks are voting for Obama just because he is black. I was expecting responses on this since it is so easy to be dubbed a racist simply for pointing out any facts when it comes to race.
Below is Justo's comments and my response.
I was born in California (of Cuban and Puerto Rican parentage) and look more Middle Eastern or European than Hispanic. I take issue with your criticism of and bemoaning the fact that African-Americans vote for Obama simply because he is Black. Unfortunately, after slavery was abolished in this country (USA) Blacks were subjected to an almost-as-inhuman system of Jim Crow and institutional racism that virtually guaranteed their being unable to make any significant or economic progress.
In Latin America, the Black people (after slavery's eradication) were NOT subjected to racial discrimination and very much were allowed to become a part of mainstream society. As such, I can't really blame Black leaders like Al Sharpton, Louis Farrakhan, Jeremiah Wright and others for feeling the animosity they do toward White America--whenever a race has been dicriminated against for such a long time it (naturally) has cause to hate or despise that race which has been the perpetrator for so long.
By the way, I am college-educated and an Obama supporter.
And my response.
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And your examples of Al Sharpton, Louis Farrakhan, Jeremiah Wright just prove that the only thing holding back individuals in the black community are themselves. The people mentioned above are wealthy and successful, along with politicians and business people throughout this country who happen to be black.
If there was a cabal or secret plan to "hold the black man down" none of these people would have been allowed to succeed. So your argument is flawed from the start.
Also you seem to assert that with racism in the past that it's okay for them to segregate themselves and vote as a bloc for Obama simply based on race. The leader they hold most dear, Martin Luther King Junior would be sick to his stomach. He would call for people to vote for who is right for this country and not based on their skin color.
It is also nice that you point out that all white people in this country should be hated by blacks or that it is understandable, even though the majority of white people in this country alive today neither supported slavery, voted for slavery or had anything to do with slavery. You seem to see it as fine that this occurs, which is just as racist as being an outright bigot in a group like the KKK. It is not fine for whites to be hated for simply being white, each person is an individual.
As far as being college educated, I have met many idiots, both college educated and not. I have also met many intelligent people, both college educated and not. Geniuses and successful businessmen, both college educated and not (Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard for instance). A college degree makes you no better than anyone and no much more right. After two years of entering the work force a degree is virtually worthless and experience is what people care about. So I'm not sure why you include that little fact. I don't believe that it increases the weight of your opinions.
I hope you are supporting Obama because of his stance on the issues and what it will do for this country as a whole and not just for what he will do for one group of people. From what I know of Obama's stance on issues, he does not stand for the benefits of all Americans but only certain sections, and that is why I cannot support him.
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Thanks for the comments Justo.
There is still KKK members
There are still Black Panthers and the Nation of Islam calling for the extinction of whites.
I will agree there is still racism present in this country. However, I disagree that it is as vast a conspiracy as you make it out to be. Not every white person is a member of the KKK and the KKK is a ridiculously small group of people that has been exaggerated over the decades. It really is a strawman argument.
isolated because of their race
That's funny, the only isolation I see in the black community is self-imposed. Black colleges, the Congressional Black Caucus, Black churches, neighborhoods where anything other than black will be targeted and attacked...
I have been called a racist more times than I could ever count and I particularly don't care. I work daily with people of all races throughout this country and the world to provide equality and an equal playing field to all. The reality is though that most minority groups do not want equality. They want more than what others are receiving for "past transgressions" that those here today had nothing to do with.
The "woe is me" crying is what is keeping people down, not some big, bad "man".
As for Farrakhan "uplifting the black community", he apparently has to do so by calling for the elimination of all other "competing races" as he sees them. Good to see that he is uplifting the black community by basically saying that the only way they can succeed is if there is no "competition".
"The levies were blown up to kill black people"
"White people are potential humans — they haven't evolved yet"
Farrakhan has referred to Jews, Palestinian Arabs, Koreans, and Vietnamese collectively as "bloodsuckers" and maintains that "Murder and lying comes easy for white people."
Posted by: Digger on April 24, 2008 04:29 PM
