Posted on 06/14/2009 4:32:36 PM PDT by LA Woman3
The realization recently hit: I voted for Barack Obama because of his skin color.
For a thoughtful, responsible voter, the admission was mildly jarring. Not that I regret having done it. I couldnt be more proud.
Ive never based my vote on superficial matters. I voted on the mandate, never the man (or woman).
Now I must admit that I mainly voted for Obama because he is black, like me.
This is not to say I didnt like what he articulated for our sagging economy, our schools and for organizing the chaos of the Iraq war. But I have to admit that Obamas race was important. He represents symbolic change in how our society perceives people like me.
The widespread image of black culture in America is discouraging. A Stanford University study last year found that 40 percent of white Americans polled held at least partly negative views about us.
Given a choice of positive and negative adjectives to describe blacks, 29 percent said complaining applied. Twenty percent said violent. Thirteen percent said lazy. Eleven percent said irresponsible.
And I certainly do not believe that most whites are racists. Rather, images of blacks in the mainstream media condition people of all colors to think, if not the worst, then certainly not the best about us.
Blacks dont always help dispel these images. Examine our own culture and pop culture: Crayons in fist, we often draw, and then salute, a socially crippling caricature.
And so: Blacks make up roughly 11 percent of the population, but in the prison population theyre more than 44 percent.
Nationally, 93 percent of black men murdered annually will die at the hands of another black man. And more than 70 percent of black children are born out of wedlock.
Obamas presidency can change so much.
Growing up in Tyler, I was nerdy. Worse, I wasnt coordinated enough to succeed in where most African-Americans in my community got recognized: sports.
My dream? Not to be a pro jock but to be president. It sounded outrageous as to draw laughs. Youre crazy, my stepfather retorted. America is never going to elect a black man president.
For whites, Obamas historic achievement occasions for them a chance to see and experience a side of black culture that runs counter to stereotypes. For blacks, it gives us a chance to rewrite our collective narrative.
Im not so naïve as to think this president is the elixir to cure Americas race problems. Im acutely aware of those who still face the deep-cutting sword of systematic oppression.
So I temper my hopes. But those hopes are now realistic and largely because of this historic election. It officially has placed America on a path to fulfill and protect the boldest assertion of our founding principles, That all men are created equal.
That is why I voted for Barack Obama. It may seem superficial, vain, even pathetic. But it is change that I believe in.
Chris Scott, a 2004 graduate of Baylor University and a former candidate for the Waco city council, is pursuing a Masters of Divinity degree at Princeton Theological Seminary.
We knew that. Obama won with the racist vote
I read some very serious commentary in 1980 or so, maybe in The New Republic, that Carter's disastrous presidency guaranteed that we wouldn't see another governor from a southern state as President for a VERY long time. *cough*
I wish Chris the best in his pursuit of an advanced degree, but what things exactly did he expect to “change”? Black men are still murdering black men and the worst of black racism has been validated, not transcended, by such luminaries as Jeremiah Wright. Is tokenism only patronizing when white people engage in it? Or is it patronizing when anyone does?
Mr. Scott, you’re still deluded. He isn’t black like you. He shares nothing of your life experience.
At most, he can be described as not exactly white, but with a white mother. raised by white grandparents, educated in the lap of privilege.
How much do you have in common with such a person? Not as much as I do. Which is to say, very little.
Congratulations upon inching a little further out of the illusion, though.
Chris could have just as easily said: "I am a racist".
“Another case where someone decided to take the red pill instead of the blue pill.”
Or cut the red wire instead of the Blue.
Obama is a Communist, a narcissist, a baby-killer, an ignoramus, a thug, a liar, an economic illiterate, a lover of tyrants and tyranny, a hater of America, and almost certainly not a citizen.
The fact that Americans elected a black man is the ONLY good thing about his election.
Obama's interests don't lie in that direction, and never have. His interest is in maintaining grievance whatever the cost, in order to further his precious "change," a code word recognized the world over.
Sounds like another “minister” to the oppressed.
I would have voted for a decent black man. Herman Cain for instance.
Now I must admit that I mainly voted for Obama because he is black, like me.
You mean "negative views" like racism?prejudice?
Too bad Obama... does not seem to believe That all men (nor women) are created equal. He proves this by nominating Sonia Sotomayor!
It's well known that most people (including most blacks) are reluctant to go to a black doctor, because of the fear that they may have become a doctor through "affirmative action". If you need real, serious, medical care, you want a real doctor. Of course, this hurts all of the black doctors whose achievements were completely legitimate.
Chris Scott is a racist idiot.
To get that, it would have been better to vote for Bill Cosby.
Cris, you are a racist - admit it. And worse than that, you think all whites are racists too, and we’re not. We judged Obama by his deeds, not his empty promises of change..... you judged him by his skin color. How sad.
Neo took the red pill leading to truth and reality. The blue pill leads to the matrix fantasy land.
(Republican = red. Democrat = blue.)
Ain’t that speshul.
This guy should have an adult proof-read his work. It is the rant of a stupid racist dumbass.
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