Lets Talk Race

There are a few things getting on my nerves during this political season. One is the term "Hockey Mom". I'm about to turn anti-Palin with all the hype surrounding her. I seriously heard some Republican Senator hyping Sarah Palin in these words: "She's a great woman, she's a great Governor, she's a great hunter, and she's a great mom." Okay. I'll definitely vote for her now that I know she's a great hunter. What does that have to do with anything? All these pictures of her sitting next to a big moose she just killed are silly. But I guess that really influences people.



Then the guy went on to say that she has foreign policy experience because Russia is close to Alaska. C'mon Republicans, you can do better than that. Are we that desperate to come up with reasons why Sarah Palin is a good candidate? She's a good hunter and can see Russia from her state? I've watched some stuff and read some stuff about her and what she did in Alaska and she is very impressive. There is enough there to focus on, and enough positive qualifications between McCain and Palin to warrant a vote, despite Palin's rather annoying voice and accent. She seems more like a character out of the movie "Drop Dead Gorgeous" than a VP candidate but that's okay. And Hockey Mom is so trendy now and everyone thinks they're clever when the say Hockey Mom.



The other thing bugging me is this talk about racism affecting Obama's chances...and the discussion of racism in America in general. This discussion needs to stop. I think it only perpetuates racism and allows it to continue when it has a chance of being extinguished in today's society. I'm sure there are a number of racist white people out there that still discriminate and are condescending toward blacks. But they are an extreme minority. My guess is that there are a lot fewer racists than there are blacks, and if blacks allow that racist minority to affect their success and lifestyle in America, that's their own problem they need to deal with themselves. So what if every time I see a black person in an expensive car I think to myself, "they must be an athlete or a rapper."

Now the interesting statistic. Barack Obama received 90% of the black votes in the primaries running against Hillary. 90%! And it's not like he was running against some "oppressive" middle-aged wealthy white businessman. No. He was running against a woman who was loved in the black community. If there was one white person out there that could threaten Obama's success against blacks it would be a Clinton. Bill was often referred to as the first black president because of the affinity the black community had for him. But instead, black people turned out in record numbers and 90% voted for Obama. So who is racist? The majority of the white population, or the majority of the black population? Think if Hillary got 90% of the white vote. What an uproar would occur. "Oh, the racism. White's won't vote for Obama! How terrible!" Instead, Hillary only got about 50% of the white vote, yet race is still discussed as a potential obstacle for Obama. It's not fair that the American public continues to be pinned as racists. That we're not intelligent enough to make decisions based on issues and not a person's color. Of course there are a few that will still let race be an issue to them, but it is a minority. It is the large majority of the black population that will only vote for a black person that I think should be scorned.

If Kobe Bryant were running for president, I'd vote for him.