Social Tyranny is different to spiritual disposition, which is an issue that is being raised in this thread (even though my original comment was about the appropriateness of paying homage to someone not 100% black as though he were - not that skin color or even religion should be such an issue) but rather one's spiritual disposition, which cannot just be ignored in a person: it shapes their thinking and overall vibe.
even though my original comment was about the appropriateness of paying homage to someone not 100% black as though he were
What does "100% black" mean? I have reason to believe I have some black folks in my family tree three generations back. Does that make me 6.25% black and 93.75% white?
A lot of your comments in this thread are being voted down, a lot, which I don't think is entirely useful. You have opinions and thought processes that I find interesting...I simply don't understand them, and I'm trying to. What is it you're trying to say? Are you saying that Obama thinks like a Muslim because some of his relatives are Muslim? That he's thinks half-black/half-white, whatever that means? Are we talking about racial/ancestral memory here? I'm confused. Folks seem to think you're being racist and intolerant, but I'm not sure that's what you're trying to say. But I can't ferret out exactly what it is you are trying to say.
I am trying to ferret out the truth: just as you are with my comments. Basically, I think my main concern is with people who were born and raised as children in the USA (not raised in Indonesia and Hawaii [well Hawaii is USA]) to two black parents and very poor in a poor neighbourhood. Barack shouldn't represent that stereotype, but people credit him for it and energize his persona on those sympathies - to the detriment of those who really come from such a background.
edit: I might add that really going beyond race is saying:
"We can look at the candidate's policies regardless of the candidate's color or religion."
...instead of being tainted by the color or religion of a candidate as an automatic promoter or detractor of proposed policies.
The downmodding of my comments borders on extreme political correctness and censorship. It's not a good way to head. I've said nothing unreasonable, racist or irrelevant.
Barack shouldn't represent that stereotype, but people credit him for it and energize his persona on those sympathies
So, Cuban's actual words, in the blog post we are all discussing, that I guess you're referring to were:
"In a single day of voting, our amazing country once again reinvigorated the dream that any child in this country, no matter what circumstances they are born into, can grow up to be anything they want, including President of the United States."
I'm not seeing anything about two black parents and being very poor in a poor neighborhood anywhere in the blog post. I didn't take the post to mean, "He was an inner city gangster and he became president, so put down your guns and drugs and go run for state senate!!!111!!"
I took it to mean exactly what he said, that Obama being elected president is a great way to show a kid that they can grow up to be anything they want, and that America won't limit them based on the color of their skin or whether they grew up without the benefits of two wealthy, married, parents and a private school education (because Obama clearly does have much darker skin than any of our prior presidents, though we have had a few presidents with black folks in their family tree, even if it doesn't get talked about much). He is "black" by the definition that matters in this context: The definition that racists follow, since racism is the barrier we're talking about. He looks black, so he is black to the Klan and anybody else that holds that sort of philosophy.
to the detriment of those who really come from such a background
Mark Cuban: "Having an elected black President will do more to energize this country than any economic or social policy ever could."
... yeah if he were black. But why omit being half white? That's the gist of my comment. Or why not just say a half-cast? I personally am not phased by any which way.
But, it's important that US citizens (I'm not one so I am not pursing this thread further) create their own narrative, and I say aim to include as much information as possible, especially to children, instead of downmodding anything that comes in the way of the dream.
... yeah if he were black. But why omit being half white? That's the gist of my comment.
I've already answered that in a manner that I'm confident makes sense in America: Because he is black. By the definition of the people for whom it matters, the color of his skin tells them all they need to know. Whether he has "white" relatives (whatever "white" means, since a large percentage of white folks have non-white ancestry, of some sort), or not, is irrelevant to a racist. It doesn't matter to folks who don't care about race; it matters no more whether he is black, half-black, one-quarter black, mocha-latte-frappucino brown, or plain old white of the purist driven snow. To the people for whom it matters, though, "half-black" is like saying "half-virgin" or "half-pregnant". To them, a black man has been elected president. And this is what many black folks have grown up believing was impossible...because there is a real history of racism in this country. As a nation, it has dramatically improved over the past four generations.
I still don't understand why you think it is some great truth that should be trumpeted from the rooftops that Obama is merely half black. It's not a secret that he has mixed race parents, and never has been. Nonetheless, his skin is brown. If racism was going to hold a black man back, it would have held him back just as well as it would hold any other brown-skinned man or woman back. And...it didn't hold him back.
