Shocked & Disgusted

[lovespink88]

I've known that racism is still alive in our country. But I am appalled by the reactions and feedback that I saw in my Facebook “News Feed” on Tuesday Night regarding Obama’s win

I understand that McCain supporters are going to be upset that their candidate lost. I would feel the same if I was in their position. But I couldn’t believe the ignorance and hatred I witnessed moments after Obama’s win. I saw a countless number of “Status Updates” from people voicing their displeasure about Obama’s victory. Yes, everyone has the right to do this, but what disgusts me is how many people were making it blatantly obvious that they’re mad at the fact that a black man won. I knew racism was still around, but I guess I was just naïve, not realizing just how bad it really is still.

I’m not accusing all McCain supporters of being against Obama just because he’s black. Everyone has their differences in opinions about political issues and I know these are reasons that many people disagree on candidates. But immediately following the election, I witnessed an overwhelming number of people express their anger about our next President because of his skin color. To these people I say: If you’re going to hate Obama, at least make yourself sound educated and hate him for a real reason—not because he’s black.

It’s 2008. When will we move past this race thing? There are so many other things that we could be doing with this hateful energy. We all know that our country needs some serious changes but we cannot do this divided. We must work together as Americans to help our country out of this mess! I sincerely hope that everyone will soon realize that the racism is useless and will only hinder our progress.


^^^ So that there was a little editorial I wrote and submitted into my school's paper....I'm crossing my fingers that it gets published soon. I just felt so disgusted after seeing a few people's reactions to Obama's win that I felt I needed to do SOMETHING...

And for some of you who may think I'm over reacting, here's a few of the status updates I saw....

"Katie ------- says obama is a poisoin to this country. he is a sin. disgusting."

Sure, that comment is not particularly racist, but here's what she also wrote on someone's wall:

"he's just after money for all the dirty black people like himself"

.....

Another girl wrote

"Samantha -------- think's it's called the WHITE house for a reason"

And another...

"Frankie --------- FREE FRIED CHICKEN AND KOOL-AID IN GRANT PARK"




Is anyone else experiencing or witnessing anything like this? If so, how do you feel about it?

[knight_shadow]

I haven't noticed any bad messages on facebook (my friends that are McCain supporters have basically been saying statements like "Well, looks like Obama won. Hopefully he follows through with his promise of change"). I have gotten a few text messages that were questionable. I think everyone needs time to calm down, so this will probably fade out in a few weeks.

[LightBulb]

That is just awful.

I don't know that I've seen anything overtly racist, but I've seen a lot of people verbally shaking their heads and throwing up their hands as if they need a miracle.

Laura ----- is praying for our country, Lord help us....it's now President Obama...

Erin ----- is is worried that the people of this country are being punished for our depravity.

I've also seen multiple people asking what types of guns should they buy before they aren't allowed to stock up anymore.

Craig ----- is taking a poll...small .38 special to wear on the ankle, or big bad 45 caliber glock?

I am, however, proud of the people out there who aren't Obama supporters but are willing to see it through.

John ----- is not thrilled with the outcome of the election, but will support our great country and it's leaders.

Amanda ----- is hoping for the best.

Andrew ----- checked this morning...the sun still rose, the Lord still reigns...we're in pretty good shape...

Final thoughts:

Sean ----- thinks statuses are a little dramatic. If we survived W not losing America in a drinking game, than we will enjoy a President who can say 2+ syllable words.

Andrea ----- is tellin' all you McCain-anites to think about George Michael. He says, "You just gotta have faith."

[Taualumna]

You know, you could save the screenshots and send it to higher-ups on FB or something like that. Don't know if it could get these people's accounts banned, but some of these comments might be against FB's terms of service.

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by lovespink88

I've known that racism is still alive in our country. But I am appalled by the reactions and feedback that I saw in my Facebook “News Feed” on Tuesday Night regarding Obama’s win ...Is anyone else experiencing or witnessing anything like this? If so, how do you feel about it?

The racism is terrible - it's still there, in the minds of many people, and the election has brought that out. I agree - those comments were ridiculous.

The sad thing is, I'm not surprised by the comments. We saw some of the things that were posted on this board, the video of people making racist statements, and the quotes from individuals that expressed racist thoughts.

Originally Posted by LightBulb

I don't know that I've seen anything overtly racist, but I've seen a lot of people verbally shaking their heads and throwing up their hands as if they need a miracle.

I think we have to be careful in criticizing some of these people - isn't it ok to be disappointed about the results? Do we really have to expect people to unite immediately after the election?

I think that if you have a problem with people's disappointment after the election, ask yourself a question: when Bush won last time (and in 2000), were you ready to unite behind him immediately after the results were finalized? Or, did it take you some time to get over the defeat of the candidate you supported?

If you weren't ready to support Bush immediately, then I think you should give people a little more time to get behind someone they didn't support throughout the process. That's not a slight at the President-Elect, but more of a view on the reality of elections generally.

This was a momentous election, no doubt, in that it means a great deal above and beyond the fact that a new President was elected. But, it's well within human nature for people to be disappointed if they didn't vote Obama, and for it to take some time before they get behind the new President. To expect otherwise isn't reasonable.

That's not to say that they should be talking about leaving the country or stockpiling weapons, or anything like that...

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by KSigkid

I think we have to be careful in criticizing some of these people - isn't it ok to be disappointed about the results? Do we really have to expect people to unite immediately after the election?

I think that if you have a problem with people's disappointment after the election, ask yourself a question: when Bush won last time (and in 2000), were you ready to unite behind him immediately after the results were finalized? Or, did it take you some time to get over the defeat of the candidate you supported?

If you weren't ready to support Bush immediately, then I think you should give people a little more time to get behind someone they didn't support throughout the process. That's not a slight at the President-Elect, but more of a view on the reality of elections generally.

This was a momentous election, no doubt, in that it means a great deal above and beyond the fact that a new President was elected. But, it's well within human nature for people to be disappointed if they didn't vote Obama, and for it to take some time before they get behind the new President. To expect otherwise isn't reasonable.

That's not to say that they should be talking about leaving the country or stockpiling weapons, or anything like that...

I agree. It's unrealistic to expect everyone to be happy and accepting immediately.

For example, these two statements quoted above:

Laura ----- is praying for our country, Lord help us....it's now President Obama...

Andrew ----- checked this morning...the sun still rose, the Lord still reigns...we're in pretty good shape..

I remember very similar statements around then time Bush (either one) and Reagan were elected.

That said, some of the other comments -- the clear or subtle racist ones -- are beyond the pale. It's sad that there are still such small minds out there.

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

That said, some of the other comments -- the clear or subtle racist ones -- are beyond the pale. It's sad that there are still such small minds out there.

True - there's no excuse for some of those comments; it just goes to show that racism is out there, whether people want to admit it or not.

[Scandia]

I wanted McCain and Palin too win. But it has NOTHING to do with the color of anyone's skin- and EVERYTHING to do with what they stand for.

And voting for Obama because he's black is just as wrong as voting for McCain because he's not black.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by Scandia

I wanted McCain and Palin too win. But it has NOTHING to do with the color of anyone's skin- and EVERYTHING to do with what they stand for.

And voting for Obama because he's black is just as wrong as voting for McCain because he's not black.

And voting for Palin because she's "like me" is wrong, too. (Not saying that's what you did, but a few people in my family did!)

[DrPhil]

I've been lurking since yesterday to see GCers' reactions. This username will self-destruct after the post-election hoopla is over.

Originally Posted by Scandia

And voting for Obama because he's black is just as wrong as voting for McCain because he's not black.

Originally Posted by Kevin

It's just as offensive to be against the man because of his race as it is to support him because of his race.

At the surface level, sure.

Beneath the surface and taking a critical look, NO. There are different dynamics at play:

1. A large %, if not a majority, of people who voted for McCain would've done regardless because they are Repub. So the racial eptithets and hatred in those rallies and more subtly in some of the commercials were unncecessary political tactics if we're looking at people's political loyalties. But they were employed to spark fear and racial threat from McCain supporters and hopefully sway Independents, undecideds, and Democrats based on hatred, threat, and fear of the unknown (and not just the political unknown but racial and ethnic correlates of it). That's significant and should be rememberred when we try to act like racism and prejudice operate in the same manner for majority and minority racial and ethnic groups.

2. This is the first time a nonwhite man was a plausible candidate. So a bunch of people finally being excited by having a black man, or a woman, isn't hardly the same thing. It doesn't have the same potential impact on society as a bunch of people who are deadset on keeping white men in the White House. Different sentiments are expressed, one regarding hope and excitement for something different (even nonblacks laugh at the image of stuffy politicians as "white males in dark suits") and the other regarding a desire to keep the racial glass ceiling and a hypocritical interpretation of The Constitution and The American Dream.

3. A large %, if not a majority, of voters who voted for Obama would have voted for a Democrat, anyway. Repubs aside, many registered Independents also vote Democrat more often than not. Obama's skin color helped get new registered voters and encouraged some people to vote this time around---don't know the final stats on that so people can just theorize at this point--but a lot of these people would've voted Dem regardless if a white Dem had mobilized them the way that Obama's people did. His skin color made people more excited and was a good talking point. But it isn't uncommon for many people (read: not just black people) to religiously vote Democrat but not really know about the issues or to be able to explain their vote. This time they were simply able to say "he's black" as an additional seemingly superficial reason (that's not superficial at all given this KKKountry's history).

*******
I'm glad I was wrong about America being ready to elect a nonwhite POTUS. It couldn't happen with just the black and other minority vote. Whites were a large % of the vote. More work has to be done and we are nowhere near where we need to be as a nation. So I don't want people to assume that America is truly READY for a nonwhite POTUS. That remains to be seen. And structural racism and inequality did not disappear Tuesday evening so having a black POTUS does not make things better in society as a whole.

Of course, how well he will do remains to be seen. I just hope he will be given a fair chance that isn't based on his skin color and these "messiah-like" expectations. He's made a lot of promises but we should all know that the POTUS isn't in control as much as they claim that they are. He will have to do a lot that he doesn't want to do. And he won't be as honest and forthcoming as he is promising he'll be. He can't--the public can't and won't know everything.

[jwright25]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Of course, how well he will do remains to be seen. I just hope he will be given a fair chance that isn't based on his skin color and these "messiah-like" expectations. He's made a lot of promises but we should all know that the POTUS isn't in control as much as they claim that they are. He will have to do a lot that he doesn't want to do. And he won't be as honest and forthcoming as he is promising he'll be. He can't--the public can't and won't know everything.

I agree with you completely.

I, too, found myself reading statuses on Facebook as they were changing every second - literally. I live in a very red region, so the majority were anti-Obama. Some were racially motivated. The few pro-Obama ones that I saw, however, were quite nasty as well - like some of the ones Winnibug posted. Some folks out there are awfully sore winners. Something that I think Obama himself would be very disappointed in.

I think that what bothers me most about this election is the vast number of people out there who voted based on something completely false. On BOTH sides. Like how Howard Stern's show went out and asked people on the street who they were voting for, then listed the opposing candidate's VP and platforms to see if the folks would agree with those positions. They did - both McCain and Obama supporters. It's things like that that lead me to believe that there are tons of Americans out there voting for something other than issues. And this year, the biggest "something other" was quite arguably race.

I was thinking as I read your post, "This sounds like something DSTCHAOS would say...."

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Beneath the surface and taking a critical look, NO. There are different dynamics at play:

Your 'different dynamics' are just justifications as why it's okay to vote for a person based on their skin pigmentation.

How is despising Obama or being afraid of him because he's black not the moral equivalent of supporting him simply because he's black? What you offered were reasons -- justifications as to why you think that's fine. That's all well and good, given your obvious problems with this "KKKountry's"h history, but you're just trying to justify a behavior you would condemn if it was a white man supporting a white candidate because they were white.

[starang21]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Your 'different dynamics' are just justifications as why it's okay to vote for a person based on their skin pigmentation.

How is despising Obama or being afraid of him because he's black not the moral equivalent of supporting him simply because he's black? What you offered were reasons -- justifications as to why you think that's fine. That's all well and good, given your obvious problems with this "KKKountry's"h history, but you're just trying to justify a behavior you would condemn if it was a white man supporting a white candidate because they were white.

people are entitled to vote for whoever they want why they want. white people have been doing it for years against candidates of color. and guess what, that's ok. those are personal biases, and people are allowed to have those. big difference between personal bias and unjust law.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by starang21

people are entitled to vote for whoever they want why they want. white people have been doing it for years against candidates of color. and guess what, that's ok. those are personal biases, and people are allowed to have those. big difference between personal bias and unjust law.

I think you're mistaking what Kevin's arguing as "OK" versus "acceptable" or "understandable" or "beneficial for the individual/group, outweighing any real or perceived moral or ethical issues" - not that it particularly matters.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Kevin

How is despising Obama or being afraid of him because he's black not the moral equivalent of supporting him simply because he's black?

"Moral equivalent" is the surface level. If you only deal with surface level then it would appear to be the same thing, as I stated in my post. I don't deal with surface level so...we can end this transaction because I'm typing about stuff beyond the surface.

*****

I have already visited both sides of this issue because I heckled and challenged staunch Democrats and Obama supporters for months. But, although it is fun to heckle, I always knew the different dynamics at play and am looking forward to my colleagues' analyses of this election as another illustration of the dynamics of race, class, gender (sexual orientation, etc.) in America. That's the critical approach to our social world that requires more than just "they do it and we do it...it looks the same to me because humans are suddenly removed from our social roles and statuses."