Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Racism and this election

My friend, Charlotte Alexandre sent me the following:

How racism works:

What if John McCain were a former president of the Harvard Law Review?

What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?

What if McCain were still married to the first woman he said 'I do' to?

What if Obama were the candidate who left his first wife after she no longer measured up to his standards?

What if Michelle Obama were a wife who not only became addicted to pain killers, but acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?

What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?

What if Obama were a member of the 'Keating 5'?

What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker?

If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the poll numbers would be as close as they are?

This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes negative qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference.

Why isn't anyone in the mainstream media pointing these things out?
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7 comments:

  1. Magdalena10:19 PM

    Because the media (and the government) would like us to believe that racism is no longer an issue in this country. And they can't point out the disparities between treatment of Obama and McCain without naming it racism. It's the giant elephant sitting in the corner that everyone ignores.

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  2. Rinchen12:33 PM

    Once again, Ellie, you've hit the nail on the head. I'm afraid the campaign of subtle racism will grow much more evident in the next few weeks. Let's hope that all voters can finally get over it and do the right thing.

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  3. Ellie Finlay12:38 PM

    Yes, it's very troubling, isn't it, Rinchen?

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  4. Anonymous11:06 PM

    Well stated! Thanks for this.

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  5. nan9:43 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. nan9:47 AM

    along the same vein, have you seen this piece?http://www.zcommunications.org/zspace/viewCommentary/3618/1
    http://www.zcommunications.org/zspace/viewCommentary/3618/1

    [I tried to insert a hyperlink in my previous comment, but it didn't appear... so I reposted the comment. I didn't do it correctly. Sorry for the deletion!]

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  7. Ellie Finlay10:05 AM

    Yes, I have seen it, Nan. I'm quite an admirer of Tim Wise, by the way.

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