rssHe’s Black — ‘Get Over It.’
Thursday, August 21, 2008 at 4:04 pm
- 2 Comments
When future historians dissect the press coverage of the first black person to run as the presidential nominee of a major party, they will surely marvel at all the linguistic acrobatics and patronizing euphemisms. There are exceptions, of course, and today’s New York Times features a welcome break from vague racial speculation with a thoughtful, well-researched report on racial prejudice in rural Pennsylvania. Journalist Michael Powell hits the problems that many reporters are afraid to touch, largely because he did enough homework to ensure that the article enables voters to tell the story themselves:
In Raccoon, Kelly Dobbins, a middle-aged factory worker, offered the same [view as another voter]:
2 Comments
Comment posted August 21, 2008 @ 7:19 pm
This article hits home, literally. Aliquippa and Hookstown are about a half hour out of Pittsburgh. There is a lot of racial tension within the city limits too when it comes to the general election. I’ve heard, “He’s Muslim” so many times I want to scream. I don’t think it’s so much that people really believe he’s Muslim, its just that his skin is blank and their skin is white and that means people have trust issues with Obama. You can say that about any argument against him too. From inexperience to his status as an elitist. There are a lot of people here who would never admit they are racist, but there is definitely racial prejudice happening all the time. And it absolutely happens elsewhere too. This is the major hurdle Obama must overcome. I can only hope that we, as a nation, all grow a little in November.
Comment posted August 21, 2008 @ 2:19 pm
This article hits home, literally. Aliquippa and Hookstown are about a half hour out of Pittsburgh. There is a lot of racial tension within the city limits too when it comes to the general election. I've heard, “He's Muslim” so many times I want to scream. I don't think it's so much that people really believe he's Muslim, its just that his skin is blank and their skin is white and that means people have trust issues with Obama. You can say that about any argument against him too. From inexperience to his status as an elitist. There are a lot of people here who would never admit they are racist, but there is definitely racial prejudice happening all the time. And it absolutely happens elsewhere too. This is the major hurdle Obama must overcome. I can only hope that we, as a nation, all grow a little in November.
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