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Oprah + Obama aka Why Melanin Matters
The Green Eyed Monster
i blame hip hopRegistered User regular
i blame hip hopRegistered User regular
So a fortunate side effect of my recent employment is that I have plenty of time to listen to the radio, but an unfortunate side effect of my perpetually sunny nature is that for some reason I use this opportunity to listen to talk radio.
In my listening today I heard some talk about the fact that Oprah for the first time has rather aggressively thrown her hat into the political ring and is choosing to endorse Barack Obama. As the clever businesswoman that she is, she's had the sense to stay out of politics up to this point, so her endorsement in this matter is no small thing. Everyone is eager to speculate as to what exactly has so inspired her, after years of political neutrality, to back Obama.
But I mean -- this is really pretty easy, isn't it? -- it's because he's black. Does anyone doubt it's for any reason besides the fact that he's black? But when I heard people talking on the talk radio they seemed to hem and haw and tapdance around it and then finally spit it out like it's some terrible admission and regrettable thing that Oprah should choose to back a black candidate for president.
Which -- really -- makes no sense to me. So she's backing a black candidate, why is that a bad thing? Why are we reluctant to admit that? I don't know if you guys have done your history on the previous 43 US Presidents, but a cursory glance at their pictures lined up on your history classroom wall should tell you all you really need to know about this issue, so why are people upset? What is so terrible about Oprah choosing to back a black candidate? Why does this make people uncomfortable? Honestly, I don't get it.
And I suppose further, in a more general sense, what makes people so uncomfortable if a minority chooses a candidate simply because they're a minority like them? Is that really such a travesty? For all the various reasons Americans choose a candidate, I really don't see this as the worst of them.
So anyway -- Oprah is backing Obama because he's black. I said it, I think it's pretty clearly true, and what's the problem with that?
In my listening today I heard some talk about the fact that Oprah for the first time has rather aggressively thrown her hat into the political ring and is choosing to endorse Barack Obama. As the clever businesswoman that she is, she's had the sense to stay out of politics up to this point, so her endorsement in this matter is no small thing. Everyone is eager to speculate as to what exactly has so inspired her, after years of political neutrality, to back Obama.
But I mean -- this is really pretty easy, isn't it? -- it's because he's black. Does anyone doubt it's for any reason besides the fact that he's black? But when I heard people talking on the talk radio they seemed to hem and haw and tapdance around it and then finally spit it out like it's some terrible admission and regrettable thing that Oprah should choose to back a black candidate for president.
Which -- really -- makes no sense to me. So she's backing a black candidate, why is that a bad thing? Why are we reluctant to admit that? I don't know if you guys have done your history on the previous 43 US Presidents, but a cursory glance at their pictures lined up on your history classroom wall should tell you all you really need to know about this issue, so why are people upset? What is so terrible about Oprah choosing to back a black candidate? Why does this make people uncomfortable? Honestly, I don't get it.
And I suppose further, in a more general sense, what makes people so uncomfortable if a minority chooses a candidate simply because they're a minority like them? Is that really such a travesty? For all the various reasons Americans choose a candidate, I really don't see this as the worst of them.
So anyway -- Oprah is backing Obama because he's black. I said it, I think it's pretty clearly true, and what's the problem with that?
The Green Eyed Monster on
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Backing someone just cause he's black is racist.
It's not really that racist though so who cares.
we shall see
He has plenty of other credentials, but I mean clearly the one that separates him for Oprah is his similar melanin count. Also, considering that nothing besides a white male has held the office in the entire history of the nation, how is it really racist because Oprah wants to see another member of her historically discriminated against social group achieve an important first?
Because that's really really stupid and racist.
Okay that's not the reason why people find it to be strange but it really should be.
I'm curious to see the weight of Oprah's opinion. Her single comment about beef brought about disasterous consequences for the beef industry, and she can turn an unknown book or company into a hit overnight. I wonder if the same applies to a politician.
Also, there have been black candidates in the past that Oprah hasn't backed. Maybe it's because Obama is one of the few (only?) that has had a fighting chance?
Uh, yes?
Are you really saying that you think someone who wouldn't vote for Obama solely because he's black isn't a racist?
Is it so impossible to believe that Oprah might be supporting Obama because of his policies and not their shared minority status? Hey, we've never had a woman president before, and there's one running this year with a pretty good chance. Oprah's a woman. Why isn't she supporting Clinton because of her vagina?
I mean, Oprah and Hillary are both women. If Oprah had come down for Hillary would that have been the automatic reason.
Or is this woman who built herself into an incredibly powerful media tycoon from nothing perhaps capable of reasoning at a slightly higher level than the nucleotides of her DNA?
it's not just cause he black.
Black, chance to win, shares similar ideology, cute enough to get her on some more magazine covers(and not hated by 48% of the country) and maybe she just really wants to him win over the alternatives too.
As far as the Clinton thing, who knows what might have happened if Obama wasn't in the race, but I really don't think it's a stretch to say that skin color was the ultimately deciding factor to earn Oprah's endorsement.
This keeps being brought up, that voting for Obama because he is black (or Clinton because she is a woman, I suppose) is as bad as not voting for someone because they are black/etc. I don't see how this is true. I'm actually reminded of an article that was linked a while ago:
I think the passage does a decent job of demonstrating the fact that there is more to a politician than only their policies. Is it racist to acknowledge the historical (and not so historical) discrimination faced by minorities, and to believe that having such a person elected president would change the way the United States is viewed (both domestically and abroad)?
I can see disagreement over specifics, but to call it "entirely irrational and culturally damaging" strikes me as unfair.
Right, and melanin is a value.
It's not racist to acknowledge discrimination. However furthering discrimination by alienating other candidates solely based on race is racist.
Yes, of course we should...
I'm also somewhat ashamed of myself because I'm glad all the idiots who will follow Oprah wherever she leads will likely now vote for Obama, pretty much for the sole reason that she endorsed him.
edit: Also,
It would be appropriate if that was the sole reason why she's endorsing him and Obama was a horrible candidate. But he's not, and there's likely more to it than just race. Of course it's a big factor, though.
You're making an arguement against yourself. Being Christian is (for the most part) a choice. It's a matter of personal ideology. Race has nothing to do with ideology or view points. Everyone should be looked down upon for doing something as brash as voting or not voting for a person solely based on ethnicity.
It is logical that a Mormon would vote for a Mormon candidate. They subscribe to the same ideology. On the other hand when presented with two individuals of differing ethnicities, It does not make sense to vote for one because their skin color is akin to yours.
That's like voting for a guy in a red tie because you happen to be wearing a red tie.
There's also the matter of the historic first, which is still something you're conveniently ignoring. There are walls facing people of color like Oprah, and she's done an awful lot in her lifetime to break many of them down herself. Why is it problematic when she desires for even more to fall?
So why not Hilary? Women have (and still are) discriminated against as a group and have never held the Presidency.
Oh fuck off with your strawman.
Yeah, so why'd she pick Obama?
I thought I made my opinions on that pretty clear in the first post.
That's a fair question that's already been raised, and people would probably still be bitching for exactly that reason if Oprah had backed her instead of Obama. But it's an impossible situation to what-if. For the first time in history, we not only have a viable black candidate, but a viable woman candidate as well.
You're just saying that 'cause you're black.
You're missing the point. According to you, Oprah decided to break her career-long streak of not endorsing candidates to come out on Obama's side. She did this purely for reasons of race - she the same race as Obama, and black people have been historically discriminated against and have never held the presidency.
Now, take that and replace with Clinton.
"According to you, Oprah decided to break her career-long streak of not endorsing candidates to come out on Hillary's side. She did this purely for reasons of gender - she the same gender as Hillary, and women have been historically discriminated against and have never held the presidency."
You're saying that Oprah is only supporting Obama for those reasons, when the exact same reasons apply to an equally viable candidate. There must be some other reason that tipped Oprah over to Obama instead of Hillary.
There's plenty of non-race related reasons Oprah supports Barack Obama, but I think the ultimately deciding factor in her endorsement is his race. I then don't see why that's so upsetting to some people.