Feel like Crying...A Proud Cry

[aziajs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kimmy i was raised by white people and it wasn't engrained in me. i didn't even know anything about racism until i was a target of it in school.

I hear people say this all the time and it baffles me. It is virtually impossible not to have racism ingrained in us. It is EVERYWHERE. It's in the books we read, on t.v, at work, at the store, in school, at home. I could go on and on. It is an ugly element of our society and has been for generations.

Now, I'm sure you're not running around in white sheets and burning crosses but racism takes MANY shapes, forms and faces. It's subtle. It's overt. Most importantly it's always there.

 

[AdlersMommy22]

I really honestly think that the only thing people are trying to say here is that it's SAD that in our country the fact that we are FINALLY having a black president is SAD in the resepct that things should NOT BE THE WAY THEY ARE

no one is trying to take away from the OP... no one is trying to make this a race issue- if anything those of us on this side of the "argument" are trying to say that its really really really really upsetting that what happened in this country happened and that this is something that is a milestone in history. this is something that should have happened DECADES ago and been "ok." Not now. Not in 2008. That's crap. Its sad that things are like this.

I think we all just over-analyzed it so much.

For calling us "uneducated" and "out of touch" is ridiculous. To think that our country should be something much more than what it is is not "uneducated.".... its upsetting that our history is the way it is. Its upsetting that blacks or ANY one of a minority has dealt with what they have dealt with-- and i think thats what people (at least me) are saying.

Everything that has come as a result of rascism is upsetting.

 

[PMBG83]

And what the other half is trying to say is that yes it shouldve happened a long time ago but since it didnt or hadnt(and we know why) were HAPPY that it is now taking place and were going to raise much praise about it. PERIOD

 

[benzito_714]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbella Dang, whether you agree with her or not, let her be happy. It is a milestone. I'd be pissed if I wanted to express my happiness and it was taken away from me like this. I genuinely love everyone on here, but this didn't seem like a thread that was really open for any "debate". JMO.

yes ma'am. you took the words out of my mouth (believe me i was struggling). as i said before, to all who understood my post thank you-regardless of race this is a monumental time in history and it affects all of us. it allows us to tell our children they can be the first ____ president-AND MEAN IT!
i feel like for each one of us there is going to come a time in our life that transforms our entire being. it may be a public change (like this election) or a personal change (a parent passing, birth of a child, marriage, divorce-whatever). this is my time of change. in the past four years i have moved to a different city, graduated college, become a mom, become a wife, lost family members, gained family members and battled with a few self-esteem issues. this entire time i have gone through the process of self-realization (which i thought was bulls*** until i was forced to look at myself in the mirror) and this election is part of that process.
to everyone in this thread-i thank you for your posts (many of you spoke for me when i could not find the words)!

 

[laperle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by benzito_714 yes ma'am. you took the words out of my mouth (believe me i was struggling). as i said before, to all who understood my post thank you-regardless of race this is a monumental time in history and it affects all of us. it allows us to tell our children they can be the first ____ president-AND MEAN IT! i feel like for each one of us there is going to come a time in our life that transforms our entire being. it may be a public change (like this election) or a personal change (a parent passing, birth of a child, marriage, divorce-whatever). this is my time of change. in the past four years i have moved to a different city, graduated college, become a mom, become a wife, lost family members, gained family members and battled with a few self-esteem issues. this entire time i have gone through the process of self-realization (which i thought was bulls*** until i was forced to look at myself in the mirror) and this election is part of that process. to everyone in this thread-i thank you for your posts (many of you spoke for me when i could not find the words)!

i'm glad there are people like you in specktra.

your post touches me very much and you're a sweet crab.

i wish i could vote there, too!

 

[Chikky]

I really don't even want to touch this election with a ten foot pole. Everyone I know is voting for the wrong reason. I think it's going to be highly controversial either way. The girls I work with have no clue what Obama stands for, but they will vote because he's 'cute'. I'm reading an article now about how many people don't even agree with either men's politics, but are voting via color.

I don't know if this makes me naive or... I dunno. I don't care what color someone is, so I'm not voting that way. I vote for who I agree with most (though politics are so not my thing).

Media is blowing everything out of proportion. Trying to play the vote. On one side there's a woman and the other is a biracial man (because Obama is not fully African American.) The media forgets that and plays on the color game. I hate it.

I'm happy you are proud, benzito, and props, because you worded your opinion well (as I'm sure mine was a jumble, haha. Not even my opinion, just thoughts.) and you seem to know alot about the election.

But the media? Makes me want to stick my head in the sand and hide. I hate drama.

 

[PMBG83]

Nor should someone vote based on color but the fact this time has finally come around is WONDERFUL! Yes I will be voting on who I agree with, which isnt a hard decision for me whatsoever this time around.

 

[aziajs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chikky Media is blowing everything out of proportion. Trying to play the vote. On one side there's a woman and the other is a biracial man (because Obama is not fully African American.) The media forgets that and plays on the color game. I hate it.

The media hasn't forgotten. Welcome to the reality of the "one drop" rule.

 

[PMBG83]

Good Point!

 

[Chikky]

I have no idea what that means...

 

[frocher]

......

 

[Corvs Queen]

If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you always got.

 

[PMBG83]

Hmm???

 

[aziajs]

I just wanted to add this:

Quote:

Former secretary of state Colin Powell is the latest politician to get the urge to emcee, as the respected Washington veteran performed an impromptu freestyle this week at London’s Africa Rising Festival. The festival, which has become a popular showcase for African music and culture, paired Powell with African rapper Olu Maintain, originator of the Nigerian dance and song “Yahoozee.” Powell, to the crowd’s shock, alternated between performing the dance and spitting various call and response chants into the mic. After his set’s conclusion, Powell took a moment to pontificate with the crowd on the importance of African heritage, acknowledging their culture and never dismissing or forgetting it despite their achievements. “I stand before you as an African-American,” Powell reflected. “ Many people have said to me you became secretary of state of the USA, is it still necessary to say that you are an African-American or that you are black? And I say yes, so that we can remind our children.”

 

[MAC_Whore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PMBG83 I can understand what youre saying and yes there are lots of ethnicities with turbulent pasts but not a past like OURS.....

I think a few Jews may disagree with that.

 

[M.A.C. head.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAC_Whore I think a few Jews may disagree with that.

I think it's safe to assume that she's speaking about the United States. Even so, there are some Native Americans who would disagree with her statement. I don't really like how everyone thinks of Jews first, in this type of argument. I'm not saying that respecting the history of the Jews is less important, but clearly when we speak of slavery and civil rights issues, we're talking about the U.S., not Europe.

 

[MAC_Whore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by M.A.C. head. I think it's safe to assume that she's speaking about the United States. Even so, there are some Native Americans who would disagree with her statement. I don't really like how everyone thinks of Jews first, in this type of argument. I'm not saying that respecting the history of the Jews is less important, but clearly when we speak of slavery and civil rights issues, we're talking about the U.S., not Europe.

Jews have a history of slavery and civil rights issues, as well. I don't think it matters were injustices occur (America v. Europe). It doesn't make them any less or more important.

I don't know that anyone thought of Jews first. I just saw a post (see below) that seemed to imply that no other group had difficulty like "OURS". I think that is incorrect.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PMBG83 I can understand what youre saying and yes there are lots of ethnicities with turbulent pasts but not a past like OURS. To relate OURS with learning tolerance and discretion I think weve handled and dealt with both of those with grace. My mother being called the "N" word to her face as 13 child in the MS's town square of the city just because she accidentally bumped into a white women and not having hostility towards whites today. In alot of instances alot of black people (myself family and friends at least) arent even worried about race until its brought up by someone else. There hasnt been one time I can think of where I havent had to explain that "yes this is my real hair and yes Im ALL black". One white female I worked with damn near had me conduct a verbal survey to find out if my hair was real and then finally exclaimed "well you know how you all wear weaves and stuff" (with a chuckle might I add). This was all after I started a conversation simply showing her I had a new hair color(had nothing to do with race no racial over/under/or side tones) she brought of the race part. So you see in this country it will always come up because this country is connected to issues about race.

Jews were called names. Jews were made fun of for physical charecteristics. That is just one example that came to my mind. Cleary, it is not the only one. A lot of minorities faced injustices in the past: Asians, Native Americans, Middle Eastern ethnicities. Think about the great immigration. You were ostracized and discriminated against for being Irish, or German or Catholic.

I saw this interview with Morgan Freeman on 60 Minutes and I think his attitude towards the issue of race is genius: YouTube - Morgan Freeman on Race and Black History Month

 

[Nox]

How convenient. In a thread that was created to express innocent joy:

We have those who would like to play "Oppression Olympics", a few folks that tell people to "just get over it", and those who feel race has not had a profound effect in their lives and that they couldn't possibly be uneducated racists (and ironically spelling it wrong) while turning around and asking "What's the one-drop rule?" in the next breath.

Pure. Shiteous. Comedy. And all in one place. I'm actually pretty disappointed here, though sadly I'm not surprised.

This isn't for anybody to just "get over". You can't have selective amnesia about American history and expect everybody else to play your game. It doesn't work that way. Likewise, I think this presidential season can serve as a good motivator to some individuals in aforementioned communities to stop being complacent and actively take part in civic functions. Yes, I am happy we have had such prominent women take center stage (though I think some unfair, biased and sexist "critique" has been leveled at Palin and Clinton in the process). I am also thrilled that Obama has inspired a movement as much as he has, there are adults who have never voted in their life registering to do so this November. IMO, higher voter participation is a good thing, because there very few things more irritating than hearing the bitching from non-voters about their current president/representative.

 

[SparklingWaves]

I understood what the OP stated and her intentions about this thread. I will honor her wishes & feelings.

What does concern me is this - Why is this thread in the "Chatter" section still?

From my observation, this is not looking like "chit chat" topics. It really appears as falling into "thought provoking" at the least. Would it not be more appropriate to move this thread to the "Deeper Thoughts" section of the forum?

 

[MAC_Whore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nox ....and those who feel race has not had a profound effect in their lives and that they couldn't possibly be uneducated racists (and ironically spelling it wrong) while turning around and asking "What's the one-drop rule?" in the next breath.......

That comment is clearly directed at one poster in this thread and there is no need to assume that she is uneducated because she holds a different view from you. Please refrain from calling names.