if you look African American in this society, you're treated as an African-American.
What the "flash" doesn't go into is how he, himself, actually felt like. Does he feel like a "real" black American? Or is he a "white" man with dark skin? These all may seem like stupid questions, but I don't believe they are. I'll tell you why, because there's a difference between a black man raised by African-American parents and a black man being raised by non-African American parents.
Around the same time (I think) that Obama was quoted, Stephen Colbert had a black woman on his show. She was some sort of historian (I believe) who explained that Barack Obama was not a black American the way we normally think of blacks in America. This is, she explained, because he was raised by a Kenyan man and a Caucasian woman from America. What's the big deal? Well, I'll tell you.
Generally speaking, we're all taught how our society works. Whether we realize it, there are messages all around us teaching us how society works. Generally speaking, we only see blacks in "lesser" positions in our world. You see the black garbage man, the black bus driver, the black repair guy, etc. Believe it or not, over time, this consistent barrage of seeing blacks in these kinds of roles teaches us that these are the roles blacks generally fill. It's a subconscious thing, but generally, it's true. When you think of the kinds of jobs black people have, regardless of your race, you're likely to think of blacks in jobs I described above, or perhaps as athletes, rap artists, or gangstas.
Now, if you're a black American, you have also been subjected to this same message over and over again. You'll then teach this same worldview to your children. They will come to (at least in part) reflect this same word view. While I don't blame my own parents for negative habits/beliefs I have, I do know that I got some of my negative habits/beliefs from them, easily without them even realizing it. The same would go for Barack Obama. However, the same goes for positive habits/beliefs. This is how Obama is not a black American the way we think of them.
Obama was taught by parents who were able to achieve great things in their lives. Most blacks, sadly, can't say the same thing about their parents. Yes, of course, there are plenty of exceptions, but generally speaking, African-Americans don't excel. It's my belief that because Obama's parents weren't both underprivileged it allowed him to draw from their belief that you don't have to be a garbage man or a hip-hop artist just because you're black.
This speaks to the endemic racism in our country today. It's not just that people are racist it's that society, itself, is racist. I'm not sure how to solve this, but in the construct I present above I think it's obviously true.
You can't look at Obama and say "Well, there's a great example of a black man who did good!"
Obama might as well have been born white to rich parents on Long Island for all the time in the 'hood he spent as a child. He had the advantages successful white people had--solely because his parents were not typical black Americans.
I hope that makes sense and I also hope I didn't offend anyone.
The good news is that his "whiteness" will allow people who don't trust blacks in leadership roles to have an easier time voting for him. In turn, if elected, Obama will prove that blacks are perfectly capable of leading the country. This will invariably break down a tremendous number of barriers for blacks everywhere.
The bad news is that his lack of experience in the common black American life will limit his popularity among American blacks. This could easily mean he won't get enough votes to win, making all the good of the above paragraph not happen.
Will I vote for Obama?
I doubt it. Right now I'm leaning toward John Edwards because he is brave enough to talk about the two Americas--the rich and the poor. So far, Obama's been too busy explaining racial issues that I haven't heard him explain his issues. Of course, there's PLENTY of time for him to do that...
I can't believe this crap is starting already!
The original article at DrudgeReport.Com has been replaced with another, so here's the whole thing as I first found it back on February 9, 2007:
OBAMA: IF YOU LOOK AFRICAN-AMERICAN, YOU ARE TREATED LIKE ONE
Fri Feb 9 2007 15:51:32 ET
Acknowledging that his presidential campaign has opened a racial debate, Sen. Barack Obama, who has a white mother and an African father, says if you look African-American, you are treated like one. Obama and his wife, Michelle, who also addresses the race issue, appear in an interview with Steve Kroft to be broadcast on 60 MINUTES, Sunday Feb. 11 (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS television Network. If, as expected, Obama declares his formal candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination tomorrow, it will be his first interview to be broadcast after that event.
When asked by Kroft if growing up in a white household had caused him to make a decision to be black, Obama replies, "I'm not sure I decided it. I think... if you look African American in this society, you're treated as an African-American.Ó "It's interesting though, that now I feel very comfortable and confident in terms of who I am and where I stake my ground. But I notice that... I've become a focal point for a racial debate," says Obama.
Obama's wife also addresses the race issue when asked by Kroft whether she fears for her husband's life as a black candidate. "I don't lose sleep over it because the realities are that... as a black man... Barack can get shot going to the gas station," says Michelle Obama. "You can't make decisions based on fear and the possibility of what might happen."
Will being African-American hold him back as a candidate? "No.... If I don't win this race it will be because of other factors --[that] I have not shown to the American people a vision for where the country needs to goÉthat they can embrace," Obama tells Kroft.
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