trying to grok

SHAKING MY HEAD

I'm going to let you in on a little secret: I'm not black. Heh. So this kind of stuff weirds me out.

What If Obama Loses?
African-Americans thought he had no chance—then they started to believe. Now they fear defeat.

"The conversation had to change to 'How do we change our futures now that we have someone who might actually care about us in the race?'

So no other president cares about black people. Man, I didn't know Kanye was taken as gospel. Newsflash: the policies that are good for "American" people are good for all people.

The quotes in this article are just depressing to me:

"I've never forgotten that he is a smart, articulate black man with a smart, articulate black wife," says Linda Wright, 34, a nurse's assistant from Houston. "You think white people were just going to turn over the keys to the most important job in the land without a fight?"

"I'm going to be mad, real mad, if he doesn't win," says Daetwon Fisher, 21, a construction worker from Long Beach, Calif. "Because for him to come this far and lose will be just shady and a slap in black people's faces. I know there is already talk about protests and stuff if he loses, and I'm down for that."

Fisher's comment about something vaguely "shady" echoes a common concern that the election will somehow be stolen rather than won. "I know a lot of things can stop Obama from winning, and it's not just lack of votes," says Marilyn Higgins, 36, a mail carrier from Detroit.

I've never thought these things about Hillary Clinton or Sarah Palin for being women. Never. I wouldn't have voted for Hillary Clinton even if she was my aunt because of her policies. Gender sure isn't going to sway me.

The comments on the article are interesting and varied. But here's one that confuses, like I wrote a while back, opportunity with results:

Comment: What most white people don't seem to understand is that this country has always said to the world that anybody can be president in the United States, yet the majority of Americans have proven that they don't truly believe that by the way they've voted all through this country's history. This country is made up of people whose ancestry originated from every corner of the globe, yet it's history of presidents has yet to reflect that. How can you go spouting to the world that you're the land of opportunity for everyone and wanting to import your way of life to the entire world when you are illustrating that only white, mostly rich men are allowed to have all of the opportunities.

Translation: How dare you say anyone can be president and then vote for the person you think is best suited instead of the person who matches your color/gender/hometown? I love that last bit: "allowed to have all the opportunities." That seems a gross misunderstanding of the word "opportunity."

I too am nervous that my candidate might not win. It has nothing to do with what color he is. But I won't be out protesting if he loses.

This stuff doesn't make sense to me.

Posted by Sarah at September 28, 2008 10:03 AM | TrackBack