Obama - perspectives

[Troy McClure]

Originally Posted by cured

I'm going to Inauguration in two months

Someway I'm going to try my hardest to be in D.C. on Inauguration Day, too. I don't know if you need a ticket to be there or where to get them.

All I know I'll probably need some gloves, a warm coat and a hat.

Jason

[cured]

Originally Posted by Troy McClure

I don't know if you need a ticket to be there or where to get them.

I'm still trying to figure that out, too. You can kick it on the streets for his walk on the street but I don't think you need a ticket unless you're trying to get really close. There are tickets for the grandstands.

Anyway, it was nice not having McCain supporters come in and take their frustration out on me today. I read a lot about the world reaction and I was very heartened to hear some of the stories. Just to have a guy with intellect in the White House would have been good enough for me but it looks like we got the whole package; a student of Reagan, a student of the Constitution, Clinton's charisma, MLK's legacy, and so on.

[cacophony]

i hope this doesn't come off condescending, but i'm very very happy for african americans today. i don't know how else to say that without sounding condescending, i guess. i feel like it's that old "us" and "them" thing again. those of "us" who feel like we hold no remnants of the tradition of discrimination have had no way to prove it and let "them" know that we can move past it as a single community. there's been a culture of distrust, i think, where as individuals we feel like the amorphous masses might not be as interested in equality as we are. this election proved, in a way, that so many of us truly believe in that equality and it's almost like we can all look each other in the eye en masse and say, "well thank god, i'm glad i'm not the only one." i feel hopeful that "we" have managed to let "them" know that we think of each other as fellow americans and fellow human beings with inner qualities first and demographics second.

maybe that's overly optimistic and overly simplistic.

i'm reminded of an interview i saw with chris rock after he'd had his family tree researched by a genealogist. he was amazed to find out that one of his ancestors was elected twice to the south carolina state legislature back when the abolition of slavery was still a new concept, and that this same ancestor had owned land and was financially successful. he said as an african american you always feel like you came from nothing, that there was no power or success preceding you to lift you up as you strive to succeed in your own life. you feel like if you make it, you'll be the first. to learn that there were people in his own family who had been successful, that it's not an anomaly for a black man to make it in america, was an incredible revelation for him. for those african americans who don't have access to their family ancestry i hope they can see themselves in the success of obama, and broaden their vision to see how many black americans have already paved the way as senators, mayors, businessmen/women, etc.

again, maybe this isn't a sentiment that can be expressed by a white woman without coming off as condescending. i don't know how to express it otherwise so i hope it's taken as sincere.

[Deckard]

Well a white man like me is probably no better qualified to judge either, but fwiw, I don't think it's condescending at all. I think you summed up very nicely what lots of people - members of the human race - are feeling. I've no idea who (if any) on here is black but I'd be interested to hear their thoughts too. In fact anyone who isn't white, since that's the real significance too. When he reached through that magic 270, I felt it to be a fantastic symbolic victory for non-whites everywhere, including those close to me. At the risk of sounding mawkish, it felt like we all somehow got a bit closer that night.

[Sean]

As yet another white guy, I agree Cacophony.

And here's an interesting interview with Ann Nixon Cooper, the 106 year old woman Obama referenced in his victory speech:

"Things are changing, changing, changing, and I look for more change now that it's the first black president in victory of faith over fear," she says. "Don't you know, that's quite something to be proud of."

and:

"I ain't got time to die 'cause I've got to see a black president," she said, giggling with excitement. "I've got to see that."

[34958hq439-qjw9v5jq298v5j]

Honestly I think the race angle is pretty played, but I couldn't help but wonder; is this the first time a president/prime minister/king or whatever you use was elected in ANY country that went against the 'majority' race?

[cacophony]

interesting question. i'm not even sure how you'd dig up an answer without simply being a history expert.

[jOHN rODRIGUEZ]

Originally Posted by 34958hq439-qjw9v5jq298v5j

Honestly I think the race angle is pretty played, but I couldn't help but wonder; is this the first time a president/prime minister/king or whatever you use was elected in ANY country that went against the 'majority' race?

Not to sound like I'm attacking you, but this very question fuels racial competition.

Let us hope this is the dawning of a new timeless age of looking past minor differences(race, sex(...), religion, etc) as to what's possible.

[gambit]

Originally Posted by 34958hq439-qjw9v5jq298v5j

Honestly I think the race angle is pretty played, but I couldn't help but wonder; is this the first time a president/prime minister/king or whatever you use was elected in ANY country that went against the 'majority' race?

From what I've heard, Europe hasn't yet. I don't know about other countries, but I doubt the list would be very long.