All Obama All the Time!

Is it just me or did there seem to be a huge influx of Obama related news over the past week or so. I was able to pretty much avoid the Rev. Wright fiasco to a degree, but geez, he's going to subliminally win votes for president. Not that I mind because the more I learn the more I like him (compared to the other two options). Some interesting tidbits that gave him more respect for him included an interview in the Advocate magazine: http://advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid53285.asp. For those who don't know (and I didn't) the Advocate is an award winning (per their website) national GLBT magazine. Some issues Obama touched on were why he doesn't give more time to the gay media and he doesn't seem to fully address gay issues. After one response I understood why people have hope in him. Obama declared (I'm paraphasing) that he addresses GLBT issues as a part of the American experience and he doesn't believe in separating out different constituencies of people.

Everyone should want equal treatment for all citizens regardless of their sexuality, race, gender, etc. I agree, being treated fairly and humanely isn't a gay thing or a black thing it's a human thing. I personally feel that this is a wonderful way to think for everyone. You shouldn't look at people in their little demographic boxes. When you stop viewing people just as their color or sexuality you can see the person. I don't think society should ignore or be blinded to our differences because our differences add to who we are.

Next item about Obama, indirectly. Michelle Obama's white college roommate was on the TJMS this morning. She told the story of her (and her mother's) negative reaction to having a black roommate. In a nutshell they felt it was unacceptable. The woman is orginally from New Orleans and her grandmother lived in Macon, GA. She stated that she'd heard her mom and grandma say very racist things about blacks but at the same time the grandmother spoke in glowing terms of the blacks that worked for her. After one semester this woman stated that she got along very well and respected Michelle but her mother arranged for her to have a single room anyway. She felt that is was horrible that her own and her families small minded predjudices prevented her from possibly having the Obama's in her life in the future because she has become a great individual. This woman and her mother are supporting Obama. Her message was that anyone who refuses to consider Barack because of his color is missing out on something special.

As a black female who's first roommate in college was a rural white girl (she lived on a farm and admitted she really didn't know any black people) I can relate on the other side. Regardless of what you are you can be sensitive to stereotypes concerning your particular sect. For a fleeting moment I thought she might be put off by a black girl from DC (still very much the district of crack), I'm not ghetto in the least but I do have some tendencies, lol. Would I have to explain my hair, my music (yes I gave impromptu lessons in go-go at St. Neumman to everyone not just the white girls), my slang. Yes the inevitable why don't you wash your hair everyday came up but it wasn't in an offensive manner. As far as I know, she didn't seem to have a problem with me being black and very urban, she was even extremely tolerant of the big black men on the basketball team that came to visit at all hours (completely innocent, lol). I didn't have a problem with her admittedly being afraid to venture into the city of Philly and riding the subway. We were very nice and cordial to each other but never really became friends (I don't even know if she graduated in '01 from LaSalle). The point is, it goes both ways and eventhough its natural to have preconceptions about others you shouldn't let it stop you from getting to know someone.

As with most black people I am happy with the Obama campaign simply because it does open the door for more issues to be discussed. Race is a big part of it but, it also allows parallels to be made in certain struggles. Including what people really say among their peers. For all of the shock an appaul being uttered because people have offensive opinions I welcome it. Regardless of how many gay people are out and proud, showing that they are people too, displaying that they have no intentions of forcing their lifestyles on others there will still be people who hate gays, they may have a gay best friend and still think that homosexuality is an abomination. Doesn't matter how many black people live adverse to the stereotypes, and show that we aren't some scary hoodlum, ignorant, whiny, backward group of people would open their mind and realize blacks and gays are really no threat to American (or Christian) society, they are going to exist and still hate. Just because you ban the F-word or the N-word from TV and the media doesn't mean people don't still use them. I don't think the American public or it's elected officials should be forced to be politically correct at all. We are all entitled to our opinions, and really wouldn't you rather have a candidate that you felt said what they believed not what you want to hear, offensive or not. If John McCain issued a statement that black people need to get it together and stop relying on the government to fix their communities, I'd respect that so much. He'd be labeled the biggest racist to run for prez since David Duke but hey it would be the truth and very in line with Republican party ideals. Somewhere we have to draw the line at being so offended all the time. I think that the fact that the (labeled) black man running for president gets so much attention for sometimes diverting from politi-speak is phenomenal. The more I hear the more I enjoy it, more fodder for my blogs.