Democratic
Race Issue
January
20, 2008
This
issue is dying down, but it will be back.
The media is determined to portray Obama as the black candidate and
Clinton as a female candidate.
They canÕt simply be great candidates, who happen to be African American
or female. They are not judged by
their content or character. They
are pre-judged by their minority status and everything else is secondary. This is ultimately because in
presidential elections Americans expect to vote for white males.
African
Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans (First Peoples), etc will
all vote for a white man. White
women will vote for a white man.
As a matter of fact, they all have fought for the right to vote for a
white man. The question is whether
white men will ever vote for them.
IÕm
skeptical. My beloved country has
too long a history of racial injustice, racial malice, and gender inequality
for me to ignore.
[For
instance, this week on NPR there was a story about election fraud in 2004. To paraphrase, election machines in
Democratic areas of New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and other places did not register
votes for the president. Those
Native American and Latino communities either chose not to vote for president
or had their votes deleted. (And
it seems doubtful they would vote in local and state elections yet voluntarily
choose to omit the presidency in such a nationally heated race.) It didnÕt have to be a conspiracy
involving a waspish cabal. It
could have been one crackpot with the codes to the privately owned
(profit-making) computers or it could have been a software malfunction. Regardless of the reasons, the bottom
line is: In America in 2004, once again, citizens were denied voting privileges
on a racial basis. This tears away
at the very fabric of our democracy and makes a mockery of our banners of
liberty.]
As
long as we have candidates that arenÕt all white men, we will have race and gender
issues that flare up on the campaign.
Anytime Clinton mentions African Americans, it is going to be
scrutinized. Anytime Obama
mentions race, he is going to be labeled as sensitive and Ōtoo blackĶ for white
voters. Plus, Clinton has to watch
her emotions, or she will be derided as too feminine for office.
These
are exciting times full of new possibilities. They are also depressing times as this presidential campaign
will bring out the worst in many people.
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Try as they might, the candidates will not be
allowed to avoid the issue of race. |
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