Posted by
JayPeriod on Monday, August 25, 2008 12:10:38 PM
As the general election is drawing near, look for racism to creep its ugly head more and more into the picture. We experienced this two years ago in Tennessee. Many threw around the word racism when white Republican Bob Corker defeated black Democrat Harold Ford, Jr. Our state was impugned as racist because we wouldn't elect this extremely liberal Democrat.
Sure, there will be people across America (not just in the south) who will not vote for Obama just because he's black. Hey, there are people who won't vote for a woman, a Catholic, etc. Prejudice and bigotry exist. There's no getting around it. Most Americans, though, have and want nothing to do with that kind of attitude. Maybe.
As more and more people are polled, though, we are seeing another, softer, form of racism. How many people are replying that they will vote for Obama because he's black. If that is their only reason for voting for him, or their main reason, isn't that racism as well?
If we as a country really want to move beyond racism, shouldn't we be addressing it in all its forms? Yet, we don't hear about this other form in the mainstream media. We only hear about the form that seems to perpetrate the idea that white America is bad. Just as the media played up the so-called racism in Tennessee (which had a very clean campaign in this area, I might add), nothing was done or said about the same situation in Maryland where black Republican Michael Steele was defeated by white Democrat Ben Cardin. There were accusations of racial overtones, yet the mainstream media downplayed it and brushed it under the rug. Of course, no one accused the citizens of Maryland of being racist for not electing Steele.
Personally, I'm ready to move on from the racism of previous generations. I wish more people in the mainstream media were as well. Yet, as we are sure to face this new form of racism, where people will vote for Obama because he's black, we can never move forward. If we can't look at the issues and who is actually best prepared to lead, this will be a moster we'll face for years to come.