The Confederate flag disgusts me, as does a T-shirt I saw in a Virginia store with one emblazoned on the front that read, “If this symbol offends you…you need a history lesson.” Well I’ve had my history lesson—and it still offends me.
It’s 2008 and Barack Obama could be the next president of the United States. Several factors will stand in his way: experience level, new policies, and voting history, all of which he controls. There is one looming obstacle that he doesn’t control—his race. That’s right people, BARAK OBAMA IS BLACK. There, I said it. He’s black and he could be running our country. Oh the horror!
Not all Southerners are racist, or all Northerners, not. Racism crosses geographical and political lines. |
I’ve heard it so many times I can see it coming: “I don’t like Obama,” quickly followed by, “and it’s not because I’m a racist.”
You’re misleading yourself if you say race has no bearing on this election.
“There’s a little secret that’s not so much a secret anymore,” St. Michael’s history professor Douglas Slaybaugh says. “Despite all the talk of equality, we do have this history of slavery and racism, racism that still persists.”
In 1865, blacks were technically freed against the wishes of Southerners who emphasized state’s rights, not slavery, as the reason for the Civil War.
“The reality is that slavery is so intertwined with the South,” Slaybaugh says. “What is it that they were trying to defend with state rights? It was slavery.”
Not all Southerners are racist, or all Northerners, not. Racism crosses geographical and political lines. YouTube features a video of faithful Democrats from West Virginia who during the primaries swore that if Hillary Clinton lost, they would be forced to vote for John McCain in the presidential election.
Few people come out and say that the problem isn’t Obama’s record, but his race. They use what Slaybaugh refers to as “code words,” such as outside the “mainstream” or “radical.”
"Not only is there the overt racism, that is that [Obama] is an African American, there is also this running strain that he is anti-American." |
-St. Michael's Professor Trish Siplon |
There are two levels of racism taking place in the campaign, according to political science professor Trish Siplon.
“Not only is there the overt racism, that is [Obama] is an African American, there is also this running strain that he is anti-American,” Siplon says.
So you’re aware of the obvious; Obama is an African American. But here it comes; prepare yourself: his middle name is Hussein. That’s right, he’s a terrorist too. Xenophobes everywhere are reaching for the Bayer Aspirin before they have a stroke. And if you’re not scared yet, conservative groups will use the media as a constant reminder.
Racism will play a critical role in this election. An Associated Press-Yahoo news poll conducted this September with Stanford University, says that 40 percent of white Americans hold some level of negative views toward blacks, and Obama’s support would be about six percentage points higher if he were white.
These negative stereotypical views are popping up around the country. In Upland, Calif., fake $10 food stamps picturing Obama surrounded by a bucket of fried chicken, rack of ribs, Kool-Aid, and watermelon were distributed to members of the Chaffey Community Republican Women.
Is it that this presidential race is so close that we have nothing to fall back on but race? When thinking about black Americans, people like Oprah Winfrey, Colin Powell, Maya Angelou, and Michael Jordan should come to mind.
If Obama loses the election, I don’t want to wonder if it was a result of his race, and neither should you—Joe the plumber.
|
