Study: You may be more racist than you think

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

To take the most obvious example, whiteness is no longer a precondition for entry into the highest levels of public office. The son of Indian immigrants doesn’t have to become “white” in order to be elected governor of Louisiana. A half-Kenyan, half-Kansan politician can self-identify as black and be elected president of the United States.


http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200901/end-of-whiteness

Your Thoughts?

That's only true to some extent...it still takes a level of "whiteness," or possibly just being fully assimilated into mainstream culture, to be elected to high office. Bobby Jindal may be the son of Indian immigrants who was elected LA governor--but he converted to Catholicism, has an impeccable education, and uses the name "Bobby" instead of "Piyush." All of these things make him more attractive to Mainstream America than if he was still a Hindu who called himself Piyush; if he had a discernable Indian accent instead of the vaguely Southern accent that he has.

The same holds true with Obama--sure, he's got a very "ethnic" name, but the fact that he doesn't carry himself with the same manner as say a Sharpton or Jackson makes him far more acceptable--not just to whites, but to all people who are uncomfortable with the afore-mentioned men. Add to that his education level and the fact that he's half-white, and you have someone who's clearly pretty electable.

The successes of Jindal and Obama, as well as David Paterson and others, does not indicate that the concept of "whiteness" is becoming obsolete in American politics. Instead, it seems that members of minority groups are possibly entering politics more "assimilated" to the mainstream culture than their predecessors, or people of color running for lower offices.