Letters to the Editor
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Pyrrho your black Irish comment was kind of blue
In gaelic, when colour is used as in "fear dubh," i.e., "black man" it refers to hair colour -- and describing someone as balck, in terms of their skin colour is done by saying they are blue as in "fear gorm." A bit odd that ...
Black Irish was a term used to denote Iberian or sallee (as in the sallee reivers) ancestry, i.e., descent from either Spanish sailors or Barbary (Moroccan) pirates, since black hair and melanin in any significant quantity is rare in the Celtic Irish (hence the proneness to skin cancer in the Irish in Australia and the US.)
To be quite honest, I do not know if anyone considers it offensive at all -- but to suggest that someone cannot comment on US elections because they are not in the US or from it is I think a little rude. Economically and politically the US is like an elephant, and when it rolls over all sorts of people get crushed, when it is disengaged from the world (1920s and 30s) , or engaged in the wrong way it causes huge issues. More to the point, knowing how the US is perceived abroad is important, and those perceptions need to effect the election. At this stage the US is committed to a war with 3,996 US dead so far and a $3 trillion price tag, the dollar is frankly in the shitter, Federal and State governments are in debt up to their balls (or ovaries) and the Bush administration is busy working on a sequel to "How to lose friends and alienate people."
I disagree with much of what Maureen O'Donnell says, a good bit of it is nonsense, but it is what she thinks, it is what people like her think, and it is something the US should hear, even if it disagrees -- and it is what I hear on my travels from country to country. Listen to her and disagree, but don't deny her the right to say what she says.
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Moving beyond Obama and race
Actually Joan, I think you and other commentators are the ones having a hard time getting Obama's grandmother "right". She most likely is a typical white person who puts love for her family above her fears. I live across the street from another "typical white family" in much the same circumstances and they have raised their black grandchild with sincere love. And, yes, I know these people harbor the same fears as Grandma Obama. I for one am tired of all the commentators who think typical midwesterners are too fearful and uptight to understand race the same way the elites do. After listening to all the garbage from "political analysts" (including Pat Robertson??? - thanks MSNBC) lately, I fear their prejudices more than those of my father-in-law who worked in an Ohio automotive plant for 52 years.
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@aka
I begin to fear that his supporters want to have a conversation about race more than they want to win the presidency. I begin to fear that they wish to express the liberal solidarity with blacks or their anger as black people more than they want to see him in the White House. I begin to fear that they want to air their grievances and nurse those grievances more than they want to save the world.
Speaking for myself, the point isn't that a conversation about race is more important than the presidency.
That's a false dichotomy.
The point is that, in order to accomplish the things we say we want, we have to form a working coalition and the only way to do that is to defeat the southern strategy once and for all.
The only way forward is, well, forward.
Moreover, it's not even about race per se, but about honesty.
Obama's speech on race wasn't just a great speech about race, it was a great speech.
Meaning it was honest, challenging, not pandering, uplifting, inspiring, courageous, etc.
It told us so much about his character, about how he sees the world and how he responds to "a crisis."
This is leadership.
Obama's premise is that, without strong leadership, the politics of division will win every time.
The premise is that someone needs to stand up to it, to overcome it.
I believe his assessment is correct: racial divisions, geographical divisions, scapegoating of immigrants, etc., prevents a genuinely populist or progressive or enlightened or whatever you want to call it agenda from gaining traction.
Without trust, nothing worthwhile can be accomplished.
All we can agree upon is to blow up Iran or that Arabs are bad news.
Obama's attempting to "change the mindset that got us into war" as well as the mindset that allows rightwing fearmongering to succeed.
No easy task, but an obligatory one, don't you think?
Winning for winning's sake won't cut it.
The victory has to mean something and it needs to involve us all in the vision.
It's about what kind of interpersonal bonds we form.
It's about brother's-keeperism.
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AKA
It was not Sen. Obama who started the conversation about race. Iwas not blacks who started airing their grips. Blacks did not want this to be about race and nor did Obamas white supporters. They were glad Obama did not run on "vote for me to get rid of your guilt." He was running on "HOPE" the same thing Bill Clinton ran on. Remember "The Man From HOPE." Sen. Obama was running on his belief that he could get us past the old politics and build a coalition of people to pass legislation that will better America.
But another segment of our society made it about race to divide the democrats. Many blacks loved Clinton and even though they are mad at her most will still vote for her over McCain. But guess what AKA a whole lot of black,white,Hispanic and Asians have just as hard time voting for a woman. The reason Hillary says this is an historic election is because one way or another race and gender are going to be talked about.
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Hhatchet
How noble that a church gives back to the community...I'm sure David Duke also raised money for poor Southern Racists as well...This does not abolve Pastor Wright for his hateful sermons or (insightful words spoken within the Black American context) as some would say here...That's like a Black man stating that he beats his wife but at least I stayed around to raise my kids...