Tuesday, November 04, 2008
You voted for a nigger for president?
I know it's a horrible racist title for post, today or any day. But read on.
If I could travel in a time machine back to Roselle Park NJ in the early Sixties, my home town, a small town little more than a mile from here, & convinced people, neighbors, family, I really was from the future, that would be their reaction, & the word they would use (colored if they were being polite).
Oh, we were taught manners, & applied them as required. But we knew no African-Americans - a phrase not even in use then, negro was standard. & negro slid so easily into nigger among the whites of Roselle Park. The entire town was white. We weren't southern rednecks; we didn't have the balls to stand up to blacks & say what we really felt about civil rights, integration, Dr. King.
I still know a few people who won't vote for Barack Obama because he's a nigger. They'd never admit it. One of them, I think, even voted for Al Gore.
Inside me there's a 16 year old boy, & the Sixties have become The Beatles, The Stones, Motown, electric Dylan; the "I Have Have Dream" speech is in the past, the Voting Rights Act has been passed; & that teenager's mind has been turned & changed, he's still conservative in many ways, but he knows what racism is, & he no longer wants to be racist, & he no longer uses or wants to hear the word nigger. That kid comes with me to the voting booth. I don't vote for Barack Obama because he's black. But he makes my vote feel all the sweeter to cast. I cast it against the ugliness I remember, & for the future Dr. King & others showed me long ago.
If I could travel in a time machine back to Roselle Park NJ in the early Sixties, my home town, a small town little more than a mile from here, & convinced people, neighbors, family, I really was from the future, that would be their reaction, & the word they would use (colored if they were being polite).
Oh, we were taught manners, & applied them as required. But we knew no African-Americans - a phrase not even in use then, negro was standard. & negro slid so easily into nigger among the whites of Roselle Park. The entire town was white. We weren't southern rednecks; we didn't have the balls to stand up to blacks & say what we really felt about civil rights, integration, Dr. King.
I still know a few people who won't vote for Barack Obama because he's a nigger. They'd never admit it. One of them, I think, even voted for Al Gore.
Inside me there's a 16 year old boy, & the Sixties have become The Beatles, The Stones, Motown, electric Dylan; the "I Have Have Dream" speech is in the past, the Voting Rights Act has been passed; & that teenager's mind has been turned & changed, he's still conservative in many ways, but he knows what racism is, & he no longer wants to be racist, & he no longer uses or wants to hear the word nigger. That kid comes with me to the voting booth. I don't vote for Barack Obama because he's black. But he makes my vote feel all the sweeter to cast. I cast it against the ugliness I remember, & for the future Dr. King & others showed me long ago.
Labels: growing up, THE election
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"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
I've had a few white, working class baby boomers comment to me today on how the President-Elect is gonna become beholden to Jesse Jackson and predicted riots in urban centers if "these people don't get EVERYTHING that he promised right away" and then began speaking like Stepin Fetchit (who was thankfully before my time).
That's ridiculous. Anyone ought to see the mountains of trouble ahead for President Obama. He didn't promise much more than that he would govern differently, & better, & more responsibly. Which at this point sounds good to me.
So..erase my comment if you want, but I'm still very, very afraid for this country. Obviously, it's not ok with you to have an opinion, anonymously or not.
# posted by 
: 4:49 PM
: 4:49 PM
I see somone is testy! Every major blog deletes inappropriate comments, and like Bob, I too, sign my name to all of my posts on other blogs. I stand by my beliefs and don't hide behind the "anonymous" tag line.
Although, Bob, I find the moderating of comments much easier than deleting the ones that are over the top -- because sometimes the trolls will just keep posting the same comment all night, and I can't stay up all night deleting them!
It's too bad my ex friend Tony has not learned his lesson, and all too many of his comments end up never seeing the light of day. Hell, I think he should just start his own blog so he can write whatever he wants about me! The last post was pretty good until the end, when he said something akin to at least he knows how to lose graciously -- which of course, was when he just became not gracious and ended up in the "do not publish" post category.
Not to dwell on it on your blog, but four years ago, I was not ungracious over the loss of the election by Kerry to Bush. What I was bothered by was the level to which the Republicans stooped -- the name calling, the lying, the cheating, the stealing, the claim that anyone other than Republicans were not true Americans, and the full on hate that was not only tolerated but focused on and pushed hard as valid Republican values. That is why many in America after 2004 ended up brother against brother, friend against friend, etc., and all because they were either a Democrat or a Republican.
Obama finally pulled people together as Americans, and put to rest the idea that this country should govern from a position of hate and fear.
And as long as people like Tony (and apparently Mr. Anyonymous) still harbor those beliefs and feelings against other Americans (and other peoples of other nations) because they believe that only white, Christian males are the true inheritors of this fabulous earth, I will continue to distance myself from them, and avoid their friendship.
Although, Bob, I find the moderating of comments much easier than deleting the ones that are over the top -- because sometimes the trolls will just keep posting the same comment all night, and I can't stay up all night deleting them!
It's too bad my ex friend Tony has not learned his lesson, and all too many of his comments end up never seeing the light of day. Hell, I think he should just start his own blog so he can write whatever he wants about me! The last post was pretty good until the end, when he said something akin to at least he knows how to lose graciously -- which of course, was when he just became not gracious and ended up in the "do not publish" post category.
Not to dwell on it on your blog, but four years ago, I was not ungracious over the loss of the election by Kerry to Bush. What I was bothered by was the level to which the Republicans stooped -- the name calling, the lying, the cheating, the stealing, the claim that anyone other than Republicans were not true Americans, and the full on hate that was not only tolerated but focused on and pushed hard as valid Republican values. That is why many in America after 2004 ended up brother against brother, friend against friend, etc., and all because they were either a Democrat or a Republican.
Obama finally pulled people together as Americans, and put to rest the idea that this country should govern from a position of hate and fear.
And as long as people like Tony (and apparently Mr. Anyonymous) still harbor those beliefs and feelings against other Americans (and other peoples of other nations) because they believe that only white, Christian males are the true inheritors of this fabulous earth, I will continue to distance myself from them, and avoid their friendship.
I was deleting inappropriate links from an anonymous that had nothing to with the real theme of the post. But if I'm ever stalked the way you were, I'll switch to moderated comments.
Hi, just happened on your blog and it made me want to write. I live in Nashville, Tn. I was raised in an average home, not wealthy, not poor, just somewhere in the middle and having 4 kids we were sometimes closer to the poorer side. My father was most of the time a kindly man but he unfortunately is very predjudice. It unfortunately affected me and I sometimes have looked at the world through his eyes. I don't like that. I don't want to have a dislike of a person simply because of their skin color. Oh the things we do to our young, predjudice is and ugly thing that scars people and changes your life. I wonder what it would be like to be blind and to truely not know the difference in skin color. I myself did not vote for Obama. However like you it was not because of his skin color. I simply didn't agree with some of the directions he wanted to take things. However, He "IS" the president and the one thing I have always believed is, whether I like what the president is doing or not, I still respect him as President. It takes a special person to take a job knowing not everybody likes you and some even hate you. Each President places his life on the line every day. So whether or not I agree with everything President Obama may do in the future or not, he is still My President.
# posted by : 1:27 AM
: 1:27 AM
dildo -- I'm sure you voted for the REAL retarded President, the one who couldn't pronounce "nuclear", and personally invented the word "decider" not quite understanding the phrase "decision maker". The REAL retard that picked the wrong country to fight and borrowed $10 billion dollars a month for the last 5 years for his mistake. Like Columbus, he landed in Iraq and called the natives Afghans. The Obama could only stoop to that level of stupidity if received blunt-force trauma to the head. I'm sorry deldoe, perhaps I should rewrite this post so that "Intelligent" people like you can understand the meaning of all of the word.
# posted by : 10:21 PM
: 10:21 PM
I didn't vote for Barak Obama, not because he's black, race had nothing to do with it. I do not care for the man stands for. Voting for Obama just because he's black and you feel like your countering some great wrong imposed on blacks in America by previous generations is not only wrong, it's stupid. I remember the press being all a buz with don't vote for the "lesser of two evils"... So everyone voted for the greater of two evils! Way 2 go Amerika so proud to be living in the U.S.S.A.
# posted by : 3:40 PM
: 3:40 PM
Thanks, David. One of my reasons for the title of this post was see the google searches visitors had used to find it.
I find it hard to believe that after 2 years of an untrustworthy and downright embarrassing president, people are still coming to his defense. It has nothing to do with his skin color. The man has an agenda, and it's not one that holds our country's interests.
He's a terrorist working from the inside...too bad you didn't realize that 2 years ago.
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He's a terrorist working from the inside...too bad you didn't realize that 2 years ago.
# posted by : 4:39 AM
: 4:39 AM<< Home
