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Now the world has to rethink its image of a racist US
The London Guardian ^ | November 9, 2008 | Keith Richburg

Posted on 11/10/2008 6:02:07 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet

Back in midsummer, when the long, hard-fought Democratic primary campaign was drawing to an exhausting end, I heard a lot of sceptics saying that even though Barack Obama had prevailed for the nomination he could never win the presidency. America, I heard over and over again, wasn't ready to elect a black man as President.

What was unusual about these sentiments was that they weren't mostly from Americans-although there were plenty of sceptics here, too. Instead, the most pessimistic were my friends around the world.

Despite some notable advances for black Americans over the years - Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice as successive Secretaries_of_State, for example-a prevailing global narrative about the US has persisted; that this is an indelibly racist country and that black Americans remain an oppressed and entrenched underclass. It was a view I heard repeatedly, not only in this election season, but during my nearly 20 years as a foreign correspondent.

If I mentioned the growth of the black middle class, or the number of black American CEOs running companies such as American Express, Time Warner and Kmart, or the increasing number of blacks with PhDs, I was usually met with stares of incredulity or slapped down by undeniable statistics. 'So why are so many black men in prison?', a French friend asked me once. Another, in Hong Kong, asked: 'So why are black people in your country all living in ghettos?'

Of course, if I persisted there was always the trump card; yes, but a black person can never be elected President in your country. Now along comes Barack Obama, and much of the_world, with its fixed image of America - an image that is often as outdated as it is accurate - doesn't know quite how to deal with his astonishing success.

(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2008; bho2008; blackpresident; election; elections; obama; presidentelectobama; racism
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To: hflynn

Nah, they won’t take anything but Euros right now. ;^)


21 posted on 11/10/2008 6:18:07 PM PST by saganite (I for one welcome our new Socialist masters /s/)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

France is racist, much of asian is racist, europeans in general think they are better than everyone else.

Screw em all.


22 posted on 11/10/2008 6:18:17 PM PST by driftdiver (No More Obama! - The corruption has not changed despite all our hopes.)
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To: villagerjoel

I heard he didn’t write both of em. He had his terrorist friend write at least one of them.


23 posted on 11/10/2008 6:19:26 PM PST by driftdiver (No More Obama! - The corruption has not changed despite all our hopes.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
America, I heard over and over again, wasn't ready to elect a black man as President.

We didn't. He said it himself, we elected a mutt.

24 posted on 11/10/2008 6:20:12 PM PST by ApplegateRanch (The Great Obamanation of Desolation, attempting to sit in the Oval Office, where he ought not..)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Foreigners always think America is racist and wasteful until they spend a little time here. A while back I was dating a Serbian woman living in this country who said that living here had changed her attitude about America dramatically.

She says Europe is far more racist than America. Before coming here she said she despised our “car culture”. once she moved here she realized that we are far larger than Europe and trains just won’t get the job done.


25 posted on 11/10/2008 6:20:25 PM PST by cripplecreek (The poor bastards have us surrounded.)
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To: Shyla

He said “laid”; not “laid low”.


26 posted on 11/10/2008 6:21:18 PM PST by ApplegateRanch (The Great Obamanation of Desolation, attempting to sit in the Oval Office, where he ought not..)
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To: GaryLee1990

Do we have a say in who becomes their leaders? I didn’t think so


27 posted on 11/10/2008 6:22:18 PM PST by realcleanguy
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
No wonder the world hates us, they have no idea who we are!

There are countries in this world where minorities and majorities have been fighting, killing, and enslaving each other for thousands of years.

Look at 1960....and look at a black President. This huge societal movement is incredible. We sometimes give ourselves too little credit for how amazing a change has occurred.

Hopefully Republicans can elect the first woman President at some point.
28 posted on 11/10/2008 6:24:51 PM PST by Arkinsaw
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

They know exactly who we are. At the end of the day, they will paint us however it suits them. Our only mistake is giving a rats a$$.


29 posted on 11/10/2008 6:27:24 PM PST by rbg81 (DRAIN THE SWAMP!!)
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To: marron

In 1964, my young nephew, who was born & raised in England (brother was serving 2 consectuive 4 year USAF tours there) screamed and cried and begged my parents not to leave for home, when they visited.

No; not the usual doesn’t want granpa & grandma to leave him.

No; it was “don’t go to America! The Indians will kill and scalp you!”

Between British news & entertainment, and American westerns, even he had a very distorted view of our reality.

To counter that misperception, I suddenly found myself sharing my bedroom when they returned home with him.


30 posted on 11/10/2008 6:29:45 PM PST by ApplegateRanch (The Great Obamanation of Desolation, attempting to sit in the Oval Office, where he ought not..)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
No wonder the world hates us, they have no idea who we are!

Just so. I have been reminding people of this periodically for years now--that the rest of the world, despite it's childish, naive know-it-all posturing, is woefully ignorant and provincial re: the USA. They get their "information" by watching reruns of crime shows and Baywatch, and perverted images propagated by antiAmerican news outlets from both here and abroad.

Which is why I, indeed, do not give a sh&t what they think.

31 posted on 11/10/2008 6:31:00 PM PST by hinckley buzzard
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To: ApplegateRanch

oops

: )


32 posted on 11/10/2008 6:32:06 PM PST by Shyla
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Whenever someone starts on this "The World Hates The US", I just want to show them pictures of hundreds of people lining up day after day at our Embassies and Consulates trying to get immigrant visas to live and work there.
33 posted on 11/10/2008 6:32:21 PM PST by AmericanInTokyo (Look at the bright side. The Mass Media will FINALLY report nice & praising stories of the military)
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To: marron

YEP...a co-worker of my husbands was on assignment in South America.....locals asked him....how many guns do you have? He said “None.” They couldn’t believe it....they thought ALL American’s had MANY guns....and carried them with them everywhere....


34 posted on 11/10/2008 6:33:03 PM PST by goodnesswins (CONSERVATIVES....saving America's A** whether you like it or not!)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
How many Heads of State for France, England, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, have been black???

America doesn't need Europe telling us how to govern ourselves. For God's sake, we LEFT Europe because of how depraved they'd become. And thank God, too--because we've been savin' their ass the last 100 years or so...mostly from THEMSELVES.

35 posted on 11/10/2008 6:33:15 PM PST by Recovering_Democrat
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To: realcleanguy
In France, are there any ranking politicians that are Black Muslims? I didn’t think so. So France is a racist nation

no black Prime Ministers in England or Chancellors in Germany making them all racist nations too! What about Canada? Oh this is fun. All these countries now have to take a look at their issues.

36 posted on 11/10/2008 6:35:00 PM PST by Wonderama Mama (Socialism is great until you run out of someone elses money - Margaret Thatcher)
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To: driftdiver
He had his terrorist friend write at least one of them.

See, Obama is a capitalist. Created jobs, managed the division of labor according to those most able to do the work, buy cheap, sell dear, figure out the marketing angle and manage the packaging and the sale price [of his soul].

37 posted on 11/10/2008 6:37:33 PM PST by AndyJackson
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

The world has no conception of what America is about


38 posted on 11/10/2008 6:37:44 PM PST by Brilliant
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To: Wonderama Mama

So in reality, European nations are all racist nations


39 posted on 11/10/2008 6:39:59 PM PST by realcleanguy
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To: Poser; 2ndDivisionVet
Name the last European country to have a black president or prime minister...
Crickets.
Racists.

You know, if Barack went to the UN and gave that speech and took them all to task....he could really put himself on a track to real jfkness. Oh well. Never mind.

40 posted on 11/10/2008 6:45:50 PM PST by sam_paine (X .................................)
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