10-18-2008, 05:47 PM | #1 |
Werepandas - lurking in your shadows
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Why is Obama Black?
Why does Obama state he is black, when he is as much white as he is black? Since he was raised by his white mother and grandparents, culturally isn't he more white than black??
Why doesn't he just say he is biracial? When I was growing up, the term mulatto was used but it is now considered demeaning by some. |
10-18-2008, 05:48 PM | #2 |
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same reason Halle Berry is black?
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10-18-2008, 05:57 PM | #3 |
polaroid of perfection
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Perhaps because until about 60 years ago, anyone with a non Caucasian element to their parentage was treated as socially inferior. If your parents' generation has grown up with the assumption that you are half caste (and I only realised what a derogatory term that was about 5 years ago!) then you don't really have a choice but to identify yourself with the less socially advantaged part of your heritage.
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10-18-2008, 06:01 PM | #4 | |
Gone and done
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The one-drop rule
The definition of "black" came from America's historical classifications, some of which can be read about here:
Quote:
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10-18-2008, 06:16 PM | #5 |
Only looks like a disaster tourist
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But I thought that numerous studies have shown that we are all out of Africa. So, by the one drop rule, we're all black.
You, me, them, everybody. Everybody. |
10-18-2008, 06:17 PM | #6 |
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Yep.
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per·son \ˈpər-sən\ (noun) - an ephemeral collection of small, irrational decisions The fun thing about evolution (and science in general) is that it happens whether you believe in it or not. |
10-18-2008, 06:21 PM | #7 |
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you expect racism to be logical?
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10-18-2008, 06:44 PM | #8 |
Werepandas - lurking in your shadows
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Pie - your info made me dig deeper on this subject. I came up with this:
Many people in the United States are rejecting the one drop rule and are questioning whether a person with one black parent should be considered black or biracial. Although politician Barack Obama self-identifies as black, 55 percent of whites and 61 percent of Hispanics classified him as biracial instead of black after being told that his mother is white. Blacks were less likely to acknowledge a multiracial category, with 66% labeling Obama as black.[44] Forty-two percent of African-Americans described Tiger Woods as black, as did 7% of white Americans.[ |
10-18-2008, 06:51 PM | #9 |
We have to go back, Kate!
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Big Sarge, that poll is looking at people's attitudes now. When Barack Obama was forging his self-identity, you were either white or not. Everything else: black, mullatto, half-caste, mixed race, whatever, was not white.
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10-18-2008, 07:05 PM | #11 |
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I look forward to the day when the entire human population becomes a medium even brown.
a few hundred thousand years in the future
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10-18-2008, 07:12 PM | #12 |
Franklin Pierce
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African American - Descendant of African slaves in the United States
- [insert Ethnicity] American - Immigrant or offspring of immigrants from particular country. Usually used when individuals are still holding on to their culture. Can take out the American part. -Black - African Americans, immigrants from African countries, or multiracial mixes from the first two. Those are the common definitions that I see being used.
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10-18-2008, 07:51 PM | #13 |
Come on, cat.
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10-18-2008, 08:22 PM | #14 |
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If Barack Obama called himself biracial, a lot of people would be saying he was being uppity.
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10-19-2008, 12:02 AM | #15 |
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Fixed it for ya.
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