offended, but i need opinions?

Question

barack obama is half white. why does everybody act like he is just pure black, when he is not. i think its offensive to 'predominately' black people like me. why do people act like he is just black when he's not???
now, ya'll know it will cause a lot of controversy if he just said that he is white. i just want to know some opinions.

first of all, i understand he's human, and i dont think his race affects his politics, but im just wondering why do you guys think that everyone calls him black when he is biracial.

Answer 1

It's because Americans are preoccupied with race. It isn't popular these days to talk about race so we use 'code words', we talk about crime or drugs in the 'inner city', or welfare or whatever, but we're always talking about race. Even the illegal immigration issue that's so hot these days has a large component of race.

People who are not pure black are talked about as if they're black, just because they're -dark-. Not just Obama but people like Colin Powell and Tiger Woods. That becomes the most salient, relevant quality about them, that they are not white.

The Republicans have demagogued on race for decades, trying to make the Democrats look like 'the party of black people'. Naturally they're going to play up Obama's blackness. They've already tried to smear him several times, saying that he's really Muslim, that he went to a 'madrassa' as a kid, etc. etc. This is how the GOP operates, with lies and smears, especially nowadays when the failure of their political ideas is so obvious to everyone. So we're going to see a lot more of it in the next year and a half, basically saying 'Do you really want to elect a black man as your president?' but without actually saying 'black'.

Answer 2

Do you remember the one drop rule? It was done away legally, but socially it is still here.

Barack Obama isn't black, but mixed. I don't care if he has dark skin. You still can't deny that he is mixed.

I am mixed (German, Irish, Italian, Native American) too and I have real light skin. Yet, I'm still told by white and black alike that I'm still black. Why?

Americans still hold to the idea that if you look black then you are black despite having a white mother. I wish that people who say that Obama looks black and therefore is only black can take a look at his white as snow grandparents.

Race is so stupid. Everybody in America is mixed and race has been scientifically disproved. Race is nothing but a social concept and it doesn't work.

Answer 3

I personally could care less what color he is. All I know is he is a liberal democrat who borders on being a socialist/communist (in my opinion.) Personally, my mother is reservation born and bred and my father is white, however, the federal government classifies me as Native American, which I also consider myself. He could claim to be the man in the moon right now and it will cause controversy, due to the fact he is in a bid to be the President. Most people don't care about the truth, only the dirt slinging and the harmful lies that infect both parties. Until this changes, the slightest thing will drive people to controversy and wild speculation.

Answer 4

Interesting question. I have a four year old who has been asking about "black" people. I tell her everyone is the same on the inside, but may look different on the outside. I think it may just be a matter of his skin color. I certainly feel that he is an American man and his skin color is merely a matter of visual perception. He does not look white, he looks black.

Of course racism is alive and well in America, but he is liked by so many people, I think that it is a positive step in racial equality that he is getting the respect and press = to everyone else who is running.

Answer 5

I think for most American, whose family has been in this country for two or three hundred years, there is no such thing as a pure white or pure black heritage.
My ancestors came to the new world in 1638. My family tree includes all races. As a result, I'm pure American.

Answer 6

Being a white woman I don't have the answer to your question, but there are millions of people in this country that are a combination of white and black. I can't remember meeting one of them who doesn't identify as primarily black. I'd be interested in an explanation of why this is so myself.

Answer 7

Why even get offended? Color shouldn't matter right? and if color does matter to you...then you are just contributing to the racist issues here in USA! It shouldn't matter if you are half white or black or mexican or italian etc. I am half irish, a quarter Hungarian, and then english, dutch, and german.... but people treat me as just plain white.... lol does that matter NO! So black people should not get any special treatment either! WE are all the same.

Answer 8

I think since the Democrats and Media have made his campaign around his skin color the American public just follows their lead. They were trying to use his skin color as an angle to help him gain popularity. Then you have people like Al Sharpton who disowns him all together as if he had no black in him at all.

The thing that bothers me the most is when you see black people in the public eye such as Obama, Condi and Collin Powell who are light skinned and/ or tend to speak with more of a "Caucasian" sound to their voice they are rejected by the majority of black citizens as if they aren't representing them correctly. What does black America want? A person speaking slang and wearing baggy clothing to represent them?

Answer 9

He identifies himself with the black community. Look at his complexion. He looks more black than white. I really don't think his race or religion should be a factor in voting for or against him or anyone else for that manner.

Answer 10

your Y/A name sez it all-WHY? WHY does this offend you? WHY does it matter whether obama is black, half-black, 37.9% green, 'cablanasian' like tiger woods, or polka dotted? WHY can't people just move past race as a factor in electing public officials and start paying attention to the issues and challenges facing us? WHY does everything have to offend someone? WHY can't we, as the american public, just GROW UP?