Lets see if I get this straight.....
pimpdave wrote:In some ways, it is very important. It hearkens back to DuBois' seminal work, The Souls of Black Folk. Obama is an example, a role model that comes along only very rarely. He's a guy every black parent can point to and say "See, if you work really hard and stay out of trouble, someday you could run for President."
So its "very rare" that the "black folk" can find role models in their community? Your point being there are only "very rare" instances in which "black folk" can be described as role models?
pimpdave wrote:And of course, he serves as that example to all people in this great land, but to those black kids who are misguided into thinking their only chances for the peak of success are being a professional athlete or rapper, maybe this historic election can serve as some inspiration to avoid the allure of the Game.
...because Colin Powell, Condi Rice, Clarence Thomas, J.C. Watts, Robert Woodson, Brian Jones, Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, Shelby Steele, Armstrong Williams, Ken Hamblen, Ezola Foster, Bill Cosby, George S. Schuyler, Glenn C. Loury, and countless other "black folk" who have been very successful in their lives don't count. After all, they may espouse (what some would call) conservative ideals; therefore, they're not
down with the struggle........ Uncle Toms, if you will....
pimpdave wrote:Obama knows this. He has known this for years, and that's part of why he's avoided the vices that bring down so many leaders.
By vices you mean shady landscaping deals, or associations with admitted domestic terrorists & black liberation theologians? (despite being half white)
pimpdave wrote:The color of Obama's skin (despite even being half white!) forces him to grasp with a despicable reality everyday, and I can only pray he isn't assassinated because of it.
See list above of prominent, successful black Americans who haven't been assassinated.....
pimpdave wrote:I won't be voting for Obama because he's black, but I'm also not going to refuse to recognize the huge setbacks he's had to overcome in his life either.
Like graduating from Harvard....
pimpdave wrote: Obama's skin color doesn't matter in the literal sense, but thinking abstractly, it's similar to Presidents like Lincoln or FDR. Lincoln suffered a debilitating injury as a child. He was kicked in the eye by a horse, which is why his face grew misshapen. You can see it in photos, but artists correct it in sculptures and paintings. And FDR overcame the debilitating effects of polio.
So being black is like being kicked in the face by a horse, or having polio.......I guess future artistes & sculptures will "whiten" him up a bit....
pimpdave wrote:Obama, just by being the Democratic nominee has proven he was capable of rising above the racism and prejudice very much ingrained in American history and culture, and has done so in a classically American way: by working hard and avoiding vice. Of course, my writing this could be interpreted as saying that race matters, so let me address that head on. It's a catch-22. It's two sides of a coin. There is the "should be" and the "what is". To ignore the facts is as naive as to falsify them. So I'll repeat it. Race doesn't matter in the literal sense, but there is sadly still enough racism both in the world and in the USA to force one to recognize that race does matter.
Its pretty obvious race matters to you.
Obama,
despite being half black-folk, has adapted and overcome insurmountable odds. Quite a feat. I guess it was only possible due to his white side..... After all, according to you (and DuBois, I presume), blacks are inherently not capable of success......only in "rare" instances....
pimpdave wrote:I know this post is off-topic, and I'm sorry for that, we should go back to discussing McCain's VP choice.
Yes, lets.
I'm curious as to your take on Sarah Palin being nominated for VP. I'm sure you can come up with all sorts of examples on how she overcame such odds
despite being a woman....