Barack Obama - how important is Black?

[flobbergob]

So, the inauguration, and I expect the world is excited for a new future.

How important is it that Obama is Black. Correction - half-Black. Will a great big deal be made of his being Black (apart from the obvious BBC and Channel 4)?

I have a wonderful hope that Obama will be a great president, a light for the world, without anyone harping on about his being BLACK.

[flobbergob]

Why fredpuli? Because black people are a small minority of the population. We are seeing and will see political correctness in its full flow. Political correctness is going to see a minority ethnic group ruling over a whole country purely because of skin colour. It is going to happen.

Jolly good job the black people brought all their advanced democratic ideas with them, all their high-tech, all their medical advances. Still, who needs the Eurofighter?

[krazydiamond]

Quinlad
Tue 20/01/09
14:57 The people getting "fed up" with this are retards.

And, as for the view that Obama won the election because of his colour and not because he was the better candidate in just about any department you care to name, wow....


Would he have won if he was white ?

As for american history quinlad i remember the race riots in new york . do you .

seems if you don't agree that this is the best thing to happen since sliced bread you are a RETARD

[flobbergob]

Thanks again, and probably time to bow out of this, but it seems to me that Black/skin colour/race is taking over here. All the news coverage, all the interviews, they simply have nothing to state except that Barack Obama is black.

His mother is White, conveniently not mentioned.

[krazydiamond]

Quinlad
Mon 19/01/09
17:17 Is it possible to criticise the actions of Israel without being accused of being a Jew hater?


Is it possible to criticise obama without being called a retard ?

[LoftyLottie]

Thank you flobbergob for saying exactly what I think. I have just watched the news (I avoided watching all day) and every report was about his colour and what a great historical day this was was for the african americans.

What about his other attributes, his politics and his beliefs, and the way he intends to take America forward.

I find it quite frightening actually.

[LoftyLottie]

Frightening in that today should have been a day to celebrate a new start for America with a new President to take them forward and put right all that has gone wrong over the George W years. Instead it has turned into a celebration of being Black.

[frodsham]

Regarding quinlad's statement about other people who disagree with him over this issue being "retards", is to say the least, insulting, not just to well adjusted people, but mainly to genuinely mentally handicapped people. He comments about about a previously divided community achieving equality. Its as if this has only just happened because of obama's election. If so this is obviously a racial vote. No-one disagrees with equality.I think the fact is that this is definitely turning into a celebration for the black population. Do whites not matter now. I think quinlad owes an apology to all people who are retarded/handicapped in one way or another, as his comment is obviously discriminatory. His crass "retard" comment should be confined to the dustbin.

[Quinlad]

"I think the fact is that this is definitely turning into a celebration for the black population."

It certainly is. Is that a problem?

"Why fredpuli? Because black people are a small minority of the population."

Black people in America - 1 in 6.
Black presidents of America - 1 in 44. It's an absolute tidal wave of political cirecctness, that.

"Would he have won if he was white ?"

Probably even more comfortably.

"As for american history quinlad i remember the race riots in new york ."

Do you remember that black people were until fairly recently unable to vote, unable to attend white schools, unable to go to the zoo on certain days, and unable to use public swimming pools in certain parts of the US? I'm sure you all do. That's why I find it retarded that the newsworthiness of a member of the black commnity reaching the highest public office in the land is lost on you. If the completeness of that turnaorund isn't a victory worth celebrating for black people in the US, I don't know what is. Enjoy it, guys!

"Frightening in that today should have been a day to celebrate a new start for America with a new President to take them forward and put right all that has gone wrong over the George W years. Instead it has turned into a celebration of being Black."

Why can't it be both? In fact, it clearly is both - more of the former than the latter. Do you read newspapers? Do you want me to provide some links?

"Jolly good job the black people brought all their advanced democratic ideas with them"

Oh, I seeeee where you're coming from now. Didn't think you'd be able to hide it for long. :-)

Anyway, chin up, chumps.

[LoftyLottie]

Yes, I do read the papers on line. But I still maintain that all the TV reports I heard yesterday on the news and the special news later concentrated on the fact that Obama is black.

I have no problem with everybody in the government, here or in the US, being black, yellow, brown or white. I just feel that to move forward we need to play colour down. We are all the same, only the skin colour is different.

What happened in the past was bad and it is great that anyone of any colour is now accepted. But the Americans have had black people in high ranking positions in government and elsewhere for many years now.

Celebrating colour is rascist in my opinion and is going backwards. And that's what a lot of people were doing yesterday. I also suspect that a lot of the black community voted for him because of his colour, rather than his politics.

And Obama is of mixed race anyway.

Would the turnout have been so good yesterday if an someone of Asian descent had been elected!

I am glad he was elected, I admire the man.

[fredpuli47]

flobbergob, if MPs are elected it's because they are electable and are democratically voted in. How would it be political correctness if it ever happened that all MPs were black? Let's face it, your dislike is not of what you term 'political correctness ' but would be then, and seems to be now, of a black man being elected to power in a predominantly white country. That would be particularly galling to someone who doesn't accept blacks as equal to whites, but you would never think like that, would you?

Mrs Thatcher was the first woman PM. That too was treated as a novelty and a historic blow for women, particularly in the Conservative Party, but the novelty wore off and she was judged on whatever abilities she had

[flobbergob]

What I find almost frightening, like LoftyLottie, is the amount of stress on "black". There was even a radio discussion about "What will Obama's election do for Blackness in Britain".

I mean, wholly OTT surely?

Let's see the man get down to some politics, I think and hope he will be brilliant, but I still fear what the peripheral "blackness" groups are going to play for now.

[LoftyLottie]

We shall wait and see flobbergob! ;o)

[Dave G]

Is Obama ashamed of his white roots ??????

[Quinlad]

"Celebrating colour is rascist in my opinion"

Riiiight. That's where we differ. Some people do get 'not disriminating' muddled up with 'pretending everyone is identical'.

I'm surprised you're one of them though, Lottie.

[LoftyLottie]

Hey, Quinlad I didn't say everyone is identical - I believe everyone is different. I believe we should be proud of who we are and our routes - I just don't believe that it matters what colour we are!!! We should see beyond skin colour. When we stop defining people by the colour of a persons skin the world will be a better place.

Skin colour should be no more important than height, build, etc.

I am actually quite proud to be British, whether I am dark skinned, light skinned, red haired, etc. doesn't make any difference.

'I am proud to be African' is very different from 'I am proud to be black'.

[LoftyLottie]

roots!!

[LoftyLottie]

Actually Quinlad, I have worked and socialised within an environment where the mix of races (and therefore skin colours) was very diverse. I have had many friends from different races and colour has never even been mentioned.

I still maintain that Tuesday's TV reports put the emphasis on Obama being Black and stand by my statement that 'Celebrating colour is rascist'.

[LoftyLottie]

Me again,

When Margaret Thatcher became the first woman prime minister I do not remember women celebrating. Yes, it was an achievement, but thousands of women didn't line the streets to celebrate.

So is that different from a black person being elected as President, in view of the fact that women have been oppressed and not been treated as equal in very recent history.

http://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/documents/key _dates_women's_history.pdf