Obama~Black or biracial?

[haha]

Originally Posted by rs0460a

My mother used the term "mulatto" when I was growing up to signify the offspring of a "mixed marriage" (no, she wasen't speaking about catholic/jew). Looking at the term under Webster's, I find that she was correct.

However unlikely that term would be used today, it's simply amazing that my mother was correct ...

This term is used frequently by today's Cubans, and perhaps others from the Caribbean who themselves have some African heritage. There is a local entertainer who bills herself as "La Mulatta".

Ha

[ls99]

Originally Posted by haha

This is a very naive statement. In America one's racial views interact with one's perceived race. By this I mean that a black person can say many things about race that a whilte person had better not.

Ha

So I live and learn. I'll need to chew/mull/cogitate what you said about the naive bit. Wife announced: Dinner!

Your assertions on racial views and explanation thereof seems reasonable. I agree that the your statement "This is a very naive statement" is a naive statement.
Also, America starts at the northern end of Canada, ends at Tierra del Fuego. Folks in the rest of the Americas see things a bit differently. I think you intended to mean US of America.

[bigwonderfulwyoming]

Originally Posted by Marquette

snopes.com: Who Is Barack Obama?

CNN debunks false report about Obama - CNN.com

Summary: Between this and "american gas", you're not doing a lot to help your credibility.

Executive Summary: Shut up.

and, might as well get it out of the way... I don't know who I'm voting for this November, but I don't like stupid.

Chicken Noodle News? Oh, please, they are the holy grail of unbridled liberalism. Change the channel occasionally, it'll be ok, really.

Executive Rebuttal: KMA

and, might as wll get this out of the way, too...I do know who I am voting for this November. I don't like stupid, either. ( but thankfully, she is finally out of the race...)

[Letj]

Originally Posted by Texarkandy

Obama doesn't look or sound like a "black guy" to me - at least not many of the "black guys" I've known over the years. To me he looks mulatto, biracial, whatever you want to call it - but his speech and mannerisms seem quite mainstream American. In fact, if I close my eyes & listen to him he kind of sounds like a white preacher.

Is this code word for saying "he sounds white". What is considered "main stream America". As an American, I am totally disgusted with the way "main stream America" has butchered the English language. He sounds educated and eloquent; there's nothing main stream about this. Only about 25% of this population is college educated and even some from this population does not know how to speak grammatically correct English and their elocution stinks. To some, this point of view my sound elitist but I am pretty much a traditionalist when it comes to this stuff. The variety of accents, slangs and dialect that exist in the countries defies your "main stream American" logic.

[Letj]

Originally Posted by Texarkandy

I think this is part of his appeal to whites as a candidate - "Finally a black candidate who doesn't talk black" - "talking black" is threatening to some whites just like "talking redneck" is threatening to some blacks.

One more thing. There's no such thing as a "black accent". There's regional accents and because many blacks are located in inner cities, they speak with your so called "black accents". Naturally people speak based on their environment not because they have an innate "black accent".

[BoutDone]

This presidential race will be about race. But, not as one might expect.

Obama is black in skin, faith values and his drive for giving blacks benefits he feels they have been denied. He couches his ideas to the general population as helping the "middle class" but really, he has always worked for black causes primarily.

This ethnic bent may be in some way be related to his upbringing. Read his book "Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance". In it Obama tries to reconcile his absent father's place in his life. Obama did not grow up in black America. He had white care takers through out his life. Yet, he realizes he is black. I am not sure if Obama's quest to be "black" is founded in his search for an identity or political expediency. Joining the blackest church he could to prove his blackness for or political purposes.

Senate district races, at the state and federal levels are decided on very contorted district boundaries. While in the IL state senate Obama ran in the 13th district, virtually an all black demographic. Obama needed to be black to win there.

Obama first ran for US Representative and lost two to one to Bobby Rush, co-founder of the IL chapter of the Black Panther Party. Hard to get more black than that. Obama then ran for US Senate where he won when his Republican opponent dropped out of the race. Alan Keyes, a Republican, Regan loving, black man who never lived in IL, ran against Obama for the US Senate seat and lost - obviously.

So that is how Obama got to where he is today. Where does he go from here?

Obama does not need to court the black vote. The already vote 90% for Demoocrats. Obama's being Democrat and black ices the black vote. Obama needs the white vote to win. As he courts the white vote will he lose the black vote? Of course not - at least not unless he wins the Presidency.

If he is elected will he really push for the black cause as much as black voters expect him to? I strongly doubt it. Obama will run into many established stake holders, white establishment stake holders, who will not allow him to push too far too fast. Once Obama under performs in the eyes of black voters, they will protest against him. To save his face, and prove his blackness, as they protest because he is not moving fast enough, Obama will have a difficult time not leaning black.

This ethnic lean could piss off the whites and could rekindle race conflicts like we have not seen in a long time.

JMHO

[Texarkandy]

Originally Posted by Letj

Is this code word for saying "he sounds white". ......

Chill out, Letj. Do you always scrutinize everything you read & hear for racism - or only that written/spoken by people who haven't drank the Obama Kool-Aid.

I was responding to the previous poster (quoted) who said Obama looks & sounds black. Why don't you jump down his/her throat if it's so offensive?

I was merely pointing out he doesn't sound "black" to me. He really doesn't sound anything - just Standard American English as it should (according to some, self included) be spoken by anyone in a business or political setting - a little preachy sometimes maybe, but not in the stereotypical "black preacher" way if you know what I mean.

[Texarkandy]

Originally Posted by HFWR

Please move this to Soapbox...

Agreed! That's where it belongs & why Soapbox was created

(I had assumed that's where it was till you pointed it out & I looked at the top of the page & saw that it isn't)

[Texarkandy]

Originally Posted by Letj

One more thing. There's no such thing as a "black accent". There's regional accents and because many blacks are located in inner cities, they speak with your so called "black accents". Naturally people speak based on their environment not because they have an innate "black accent".

Excuse my sarcasm, but:

Well, duh!!! Really! , you mean it's not part of the genetic code? Thanks for schooling me on that, LetJ. I had no idea. Cause you see, I'm just a dumb southern redneck who's never been anywhere, had no skoolin, & only met two or three black people in my life & they all spoke with Ya' Suh's & Yas' M's.

There are wide variations in Southern accents spoken by white people who hail from the south (a very big place) - it's still referred to as a "southern accent" is it not?

What's the problem with referring to in a generic sort of way the variety of distinctive ways of speaking practiced almost exclusively by blacks (with some regional variations of course) that you refer to above as a "black accent"? (and before you get all balled up again, I'm certainly not trying to infer all african-americans speak with those accents/dialects, or those that can/do do so all the time)

Why is that anymore offensive than saying a white person had a "southern accent" be he/she from Florida or Texas. Should I get all offended about it?

[clifp]

Originally Posted by haha

In modern America and you have any claim on being black you would be irresponsible not to make it. Want you kids to get into Harvard or Stanford? Want them to get a scholarship?

I would be black in a New York minute. Obama understands this logic.

Ha

I think there is a big difference between unmistakably black, i.e. with very dark skin, and being able to claim you are black for various affirmative action programs. I think there is still enough prejudice in this country that I am happy to be born a white man. On the other hand if I was fortunate enough to have Tiger Woods good looks and skin color (not to mention his brains and golf abilities), I'd definitely claim that I was black.

He is light skinned enough that he could pass for a white guy with a good tan and I think Obama is in the same ballpark. I am not surprised that Tiger downplays his ethnic background and upbringing while Obama really emphasis his black heritage.

[Wags]

Originally Posted by HFWR

Please move this to Soapbox...

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever

This candidate thread is definitely a candidate for the Soap Box forum ....

Originally Posted by Texarkandy

Agreed! That's where it belongs & why Soapbox was created

(I had assumed that's where it was till you pointed it out & I looked at the top of the page & saw that it isn't)

I fourth it move this to the Soapbox.

God Bless Us All

[Letj]

Originally Posted by Texarkandy

Well, duh!!! Really! , you mean it's not part of the genetic code? Thanks for schooling me on that, LetJ. I had no idea. Cause you see, I'm just a dumb southern redneck who's never been anywhere, had no skoolin, & only met two or three black people in my life & they all spoke with Ya' Suh's & Yas' M's.

Thanks for the explanation. That's certainly puts most if not all of your posts within context. I will now put you on my ignore list.

[summer2007]

When I said Obama sounds black I didn't mean the way he talks I meant how deep his voice is. Now I know there are white guys with deep voices but it's that that makes him sound black to me not his accent or lack of one.

I don't know enough half black or white guys to gauge it but Obama's nose and hair and dark skin made me think he was black..I didn't find out for a while that he was half and I was kind of shocked...I was like really! But maybe to others he looks mixed.


The guy I knew that was Mexican and considered himself an Indian I think could be considered correct. What is funny though is his brother and sister consider themselves Mexican!

My point was that it's funny how people will side with one nationality.

Also I think this is getting a little too heated...who cares if someone thinks he looks black or white.

I told a guy I was half Italian one time and he didn't believe me because I don't look it at least to him. He found out I was telling the truth after talking to me......I thought it was funny!

The only time I think there is a problem with race is if someone is using it in a hateful way or excluding someone because of it though. I have been around black guys that like to make fun of how white guys dress and talk and so on and I think it's funny. People shouldn't be so uptight about it.

The way I looked at it is if someone is making fun of me being Italian it's not anything really personal there is like millions of people from Italy.

I heard what Don Imas said and I thought that was fine but what Micheal Richards said I thought was disgusting. The media made a huge deal out of both. The difference was what Micheal said was really hateful and voilent.



Jim

[Gumby]

Originally Posted by Wags

I fourth it move this to the Soapbox.

God Bless Us All

Done

[laurencewill]

This election cycle is fascinating for me, because it's the first I'm not rooting for one candidate and rooting against the other. I personally find both major party candidates acceptable, and pretty like able. I think both bring a lot of good things to the table. I'm leaning a little bit towards McCain, but I'm still open to Obama, and I'm really looking forward to the debates. It's interesting to see the aggressive campaigning from a more objective viewpoint, and realize that if it was Jesus vs. Gandhi we'd be seeing "Swift Apostles for Truth" and "Hunger-striking peaceful independence movement members for Truth" ads all over the cable channels, and viral emails about Gandhi secretly eating meat and Jesus true relationship with Mary Magdalen etc. etc.

[ChrisC]

Originally Posted by haha

In America one's racial views interact with one's perceived race. By this I mean that a black person can say many things about race that a whilte person had better not.

Ha

Oh really. I don't know how many countless times I've bitten my tongue when matters of race have been spoken by white people in real time or even on this forum by people who appear clueless to the insensitivity they display on matters you would think demand a little judgment and discretion that have nothing to do with so-called political correctness. I surmise you've bitten your tongue a few times too, when discussing racial issues, but I bet I've bitten my tongue more than you. Now there's something wrong with the logic that says because you've bitten your tongue, perhaps even a lot, that it's easier for a black person to say things that a white person better not.

[haha]

Originally Posted by ChrisC

Oh really. I don't know how many countless times I've bitten my tongue when matters of race have been spoken by white people in real time or even on this forum by people who are appear clueless to the insensitivity they display on matters you would think demand a little judgment and discretion that have nothing to do with so-called political correctness. I surmise you've bitten your tongue a few times too, when discussing racial issues, but I bet I've bitten my tongue more than you. Now there's something wrong with the logic that says because you've bitten your tongue, perhaps even a lot, that it's easier for a black person to say things that a white person better not.

Not sure I understand, but it's OK by me.

BTW, ChrisC, could a white man write this? FOX Sports on MSN - NBA -

Ha

[ChrisC]

Originally Posted by haha

Not sure I understand, but it's OK by me.

BTW, ChrisC, could a white man write this? FOX Sports on MSN - NBA -

Ha

Ha, I'm having trouble understanding why you might think a white man could not write something like that? I do believe a columnist like Kornheiser could have easily written this piece and I'm sure he and Wilbron sometimes deal with issues of this sort on ESPN's PTI show, which I occasionally watch. I'm missing something, but that's ok too.