Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Racism and the upcoming election

Two weeks from today is Election Day.

I recently saw another blog post at Pink & Green Mama with some thoughts on racism in the upcoming election. I am excerpting some of it here but to read her full post, please visit this link. This definitely gives us all something to think about.


"How Racism Works...

What if John McCain were a Harvard grad and 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 were a charismatic, eloquent speaker?

If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are? This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference.

PS: What if Barack Obama had an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter...."


No matter who your favorite candidate is, think about these statements and how different things really might be if their personalities were opposite. Scary thought, isn't it?

1 comment:

pink and green mama MaryLea said...

Thanks for the link! If you haven't yet, check out SITS (the secret is in the sauce) it's a great way for mom bloggers to get to know each other, drop comments, and link to other sites.