LOL, I already know what people on this site will say, it all depends on what the race of the author is though.
There is a healthy debate to be had over white privilege, but it's hard to take a foaming-at-the-mouth rant against Palin as a starting point for any kind of rational discussion.
What about Black Privledge. Do you believe that Obama, with his qualifications and history, if he were white, would have been the Presidential Nominee? I term it Social Affirmative Action.
Do you think that certain aspects of his history would have been blown so much out of proportion if he were white? It goes both ways.
Yes. If he were white and had a stars and bars flag in his office (see George Allen). Happens all the time.
Such as what? Reverend Wright? That was a dip in the pond compared to the hype and blind following he gets for being black. He's become an iconic figure in the social hierarchy of things in which people are more prone to vote for the idea of Obama (strong, well spoken black man) than what he really is (relatively inexperienced politician with little leadership experience).
So you think that if he were white, with his qualifications, that Hillary would be the presidential nominee?
Obama is who he is. Him being half black half white, raised by a white single mother, and white grandparents, living in Indonesia, having an absent father, visiting Kenya, etc. are all apart of Obama. If you change those things, the man is no longer Barack Obama. Barack Obama is where he is because he's Barack Obama, not because he's black.
Quite possibly. I think if Obama was white, he wouldn't even be in politics at all. Maybe a city councilman? But again, since he was black, he probably got some support from certain demographics. But again, she's only there because she's Bill Clinton's wife.
Lets not play this game. You can argue that he is ill qualified, but not that he has no qualifications whatsoever. The question was more posed to whoever it was that implied that he would not be the nominee were it not for his skin color.
Its all related. His color and image makes up for the lack of qualifications. Social affirmative action.
Yeah, I was just about to post something similar to this. The man is half white, genetically. As far as how he was raised one could argue that his upbringing was similar to that of a white American. Although his complexion is clearly not that of someone who had two white parents so his experiences were not completely (white). Its amazing that people (even myself) consider him to be a black man, when really, it could go just as easily the other way.
If McCain weren't the son of an admiral, do you think he'd be a senator right now? If Bush weren't the son of a president, do you think he'd be president right now? I don't think Obama would've made it to being a presidential candidate if he were white. Yet. (I do think he might have eventually.) But it doesn't bother me that he got a leg up because he's got a big constituency that was looking for a black person they could elevate to that level. 12% of America is black--they've been pretty unified in their support of him. People, even presidents, are born into all sorts of advantages. For every Bill Clinton who pulls himself out of nowhere, there seems a Kennedy who gets a lot of mileage out of name recognition, money and family connections. I wish the presidency were a true meritocracy, but as long as it isn't, I'm ok to see race being used as one of those advantages.
well, as long as you can admit it. that's all and dandy. most people can't and just start yelling "RACIST!" at you.
I agree with most of this. That Obama did get attention because he's black didn't help him seal the deal. He still had to raise money, formulate policy ideas (in that order), win primaries, etc., etc. Thank goodness the presidency is NOT a true meritocracy.
