Tired of the "Lotsa of Racists in this country" & "Racists won't vote for Obama" Threads & Posts!

I am real tired of the "there is soooo much racism out there.....perhaps McCain has a chance at taking this thing" talk here and elsewhere.....especially from Democrats.

To those of you who believe that there are sooooo many more racists in this country than anyone will admit, and oh....Obama probably will lose because of it......then so be fucking it! keep talking about electing John McCain, and how it can happen, and know that you are part of the problem.

Why?

Because pushing this racism bullshit by constantly posting every fucking damn article found on the subject, and then gnawing one's fucking teeth about it, doesn't do anything to help us win. These kind of threads actually encourages us to think that everyone and his brother is a great big racist, which in turn encourages defeatist attitudes, demoralizes many and screams "Self Fulfilling Prophecy"!

Then you have the posters that join into these threads to say in their despair; ....Yes, there are a whole lot of racists in America.....I've seen it with my own eyes......its all around me, etc., etc...

Well, since you are in the bastion of racism, and it is everywhere, is there something that you are doing about it other than worrying out loud? Have you written an LTTE to your local paper about how you are NOT a racist, and how Melanin cannot be what this election is about, and how we should all be way better than this in this here 21st Century?

You see, Group think sucks! And the more folks advance the theory that everyone and their mother is a racist, the more folks will believe that this is quite an OK thing to be. Is that what we want? Or do we want folks to start thinking past this useless racism shit and start thinking about how our country is going down the drain based on what the Republicans have done to this country?

Perhaps it is the intended purpose, to have us all "worrying" about Obama's race 24/7?
And Perhaps the predicted response from such posters, e.g., "Hide your head in the sand if you want to" reasoning is supposed to mean something. See, it doesn't matter if we hide or not (since skin color can't be hidden anyways).....if people keep saying "well a lot of people won't vote for Obama because he is Black", then people will believe that this is an OK thing to do since it has been said so many times over and over again!

So the fact is, just in case you didn't know, the press as well as many others have already given the go ahead for those who choose to be as racist to be so as much as they want to be during this election. In fact, I daresay, being a racist is almost kind of cool again.

I'm pretty sure that those White folks saying they will vote for Obama to pollsters are telling the truth, since they could just say they won't if they wanted to. It's not like their picture will be printed in the newspaper the next day or anything. So, in addition to what I have said, let me also say that I don't give a shit if Pollsters "claim" that somehow people saying that they will vote for Obama must be lying. What a bunch of shit that is!

And as far as I am concerned, from this point on, shame on the posters at DU who somehow believe that they are providing a public service everytime they post a thread that tells us once again how so many White people are racists. If you think that this is helping anything....other than advancing the theory that Race is the issue in this election, it is not.

Bring us the threads about issues instead, or start working to promote (if you haven't already)the fact that we have a way better candidate than the Republicans do, regardless of his race....because we do.

This election ain't about race unless you (yes, you) allow it to be. This election is about the current state of affairs in these United States for all of its citizens; Fucked up as could be.
That is what we should focus on......

Let the haters say otherwise if they so choose, but we should not be jumping on that bandwagon. That is dangerous and solves nothing, no way, no how.

Thank you.

And they will vote for John McCain unless we can shame them into thinking about their attitudes, and that means talking about it, in the open.

but people who have such twisted ideas about other people are about 99% Republican anyway.

Be my guest.

I believe it helps nothing as I noted in my OP.

I'm going to concentrate on the fact that Obama is the best candidate, regardless of his race, and that his race should be he least of our concerns.

And the course you suggest is the proper one.

"Race" is the sort of word that penetrates, and stays in the memory with whatever meaning the hearer normally attaches to it, whatever the actual context in which it was heard. Thus arguing that only racists will vote against Sen. Obama, or that the election is about race or is not about race, will only leave a great many people focused on race, and reacting in whatever direction their views, and even their submerged preconceptions and cultural imagery, normally take them.

That there is real racial factor cannot be denied, nor can it be denied a number of people will be moved by race in this election. But the way to minimizer this effect is indeed to talk up Sen. Obama as far and away the better of the two candidates, which in fact he is. He is an extraordinary blend of wisdom and charisma, of sound sense and intelligence and physical attractiveness and vigor. He is running against cranky, crotchety, intemperate and ignorant fool, mired in a past that has nothing to say to the present, let alone the future.

"More Wars! Less Jobs! McCain '08!"

I sat in a bar arguing with a guy who insisted Obama opposed all veterans issues. The other folks in the place didn't know who to believe. But the guy kept getting angrier in his insistence that Obama could not have voted the way I kept assuring everyone he had. Finally a lightbulb went off in my head and I simply asked him why he believed Obama did not do these things.

He replied, "because no nigger never did nobody nothing good".

At which point the entire bar knew I was the one telling the truth.

What could cinch victory for Obama this election is Pat Buchanan giving another racist tirade at the Republican National Convention (though I think they've learned better than to let him do that again). Or the media could do on-the-street interviews like they did when JFK was running in West Virginia. It is widely accepted that those inverviews of wild-eyed crazy folks in West Virginia spitting out their anger at "papists" is why JFK won that state.

Not much we can do about it.

although I think concentrating on what Obama is saying and doing and not so much the shade of his skin can make a difference in those who don't have much of an issue with it, but could go either way. Let the "R" gnaw their teeth about racism.......since they have to be the ones to promote it for it to work for them. We don't need that....which is why I have had quite enough!

with the question, "is America ready for a Black president?" I always felt the people who obsessively asked this question needed to turn the question inward and ask themselves if they were ready because it's usually those obsessed with these "concerns" that need to take a look in the mirror at least. we are all aware of the reality of racism, but let's let the man show us what he can do. give it a rest!!!

but can you simultaneously cheer to see the first black Dem. nominee while wishing that all mention of race be struck from the election discord? :shrug:

edited for clarity

just because you used about 80% more words than necessary to further your simple point doesn't mean it's lost to me. I'm just wondering how this election can be "not about race" but people can champion Obama for the fact that he's black. I don't have a problem with that.

In fact, if we AVOID race, we let the media and the pukes co-opt the issue and twist it any way they like. In my opinion, race isn't being dealt with honestly in this election by the vast majority of people talking about it, including on this board.

My biggest issue is with the Democratic party thinking that we are somehow post-race, and that everything is Benetton-ad hunky dory. I also personally don't think Obama is a particularly great candidate on a lot of issues. I don't think his race has anything to do with how he will govern, so in some ways you're correct in saying focusing on race isn't particularly relevant. However, it's foolish to say Obama's campaign has not actively allowed the rhetoric of "first black president" to flourish; why would they? Once someone "allows" race to be in the rhetoric, you can't control how people react to the topic, and the reactions have been varied. On DU, the rhetoric spans from "I'm proud to cast my vote for the first black president" to "I worry about racism in voting" to "Obama is no blacker than John Kerry" etc. etc.

I guess my main point is that instead of frothing at the mouth and spanking people who "worry" about racism affecting Obama's chances, you can do the actual productive thing and try to work through these issues with them, or just ignore them.

Either way, posts on DU are really not going to have a particularly large effect on racist attitudes in the general voting public or the people that post about the issue. As I'm sure you noticed, 99.9% of people here have their minds made up!

It's destructive, and serves no point other than to alienate voters who DON'T see racism under every rock, tree and butterfly. It was disgusting enough leveled in the primaries, but when people started accusing Jackson of wanting to lynch Obama ("Cut his nuts OUT? That's racist!"), it reached a whole new level of ridiculousness.

White people are all racists, as I've been informed on DU.

I know white people, and am one. We are all racists.

White people think, for example, all them damn illegals should be deported. But when they meet someone who is an illegal alien, there is a sudden exception in their minds. All those illegals should be deported, but their friend, let's call him Juan, is a hard working, good guy, and there should be a way for him to be legal, and it's not fair that all those other illegals get away with so much when Juan has such a hard time becoming a citizen. Juan ought to be a citizen.

Likewise, the "rock star" thing is good for Obama. He becomes known. All those AA people are lazy and shiftless and blah, blah, blah, :sarcasm: but Obama, he's cool. He's the guy they know. Like the "black friend" most white people have, who is hard working and smart and should not meet with any discrimination. His media exposure has been brilliant. Just keep sending the photos around - Obama with the Euro leaders, Obama on vacation (those photos of him taking the girls for ices completely blows away all "elitist" claims), Obama just generally being cool, and that will do it.

Now THAT was passive aggressive. I believe that when we see racism being used as a tactic to defeat Obama, we should point it out and talk about it LOUDLY. This is DU, after all, and race is very much an unsolved problem in this country. I didn't think I'd ever see an instance where we'd decide to hide our heads in the sand.

I believe for saying that maybe they should give Joe Biden a break on the "clean and articulate" thing where I had the racist opinions that on occasion there are persons of African ancestry who speak Ebonic (something we are called upon to recognize if we are not racists, but never mind). Like the white rednecks who speak in a hillbilly fashion, some blacks speak in a fashion indicating their (unfairly racist discriminatory) lack of good education, and merely pointing that out made me a racist.

I admit I think some black people, like some white people (notably *) are inarticulate, and I was duly informed by DUers that I was a racist for so saying. Also I am a racist for thinking that when someone says Obama is articulate, they mean that as a compliment to his speaking abilities.

I am also an anti-Semite, having had the temerity to argue that maybe Israel had no right to bomb the Lebanese.

Make no mistake, if you are a Democrat, you will meet with worse on DU than you will debating right wingers directly. May as well learn about that now.

But as I've said, even us racists are going to vote for Obama.

are the numbers of people who bring it up, rather than confronting the wrong attitudes. The Civil Rights era happened because Courage of one's convictions to address issues in a nonviolent matter. That ruled the day, rather than passive aggressive namby pamby's that run and tell other people, rather than stating the Courage of one's convictions.

Thank you for the PSA, Frenchie.

And yes, we need to be a bit braver and a bit less loud about this.