Why I'm not voting for Barack Obama and Neither Should You!!!

I know this title will catch many of you by surprise, especially since I have written of my support for him on this very blog. But I must say my eyes have been opened in the last few months. My rabid and blind support for the greatest country on the planet will no longer let me turn a blind eye to the blatant hatred of America shown by Obama. I mean it started with his pastor, how can you sit there while a man spews hatred about America in every sermon for 20 years believe every word of it then all of a sudden now that you are running for president act like black people don't agree with every word their pastor says, we know how the black church works. A pastor preaches a sermon everyone subscribes to his beliefs fully, a pastor says it, we believe it. But, I stuck with Obama through the Rev. Wright flap. I even stuck with him through the whole "bitter" dust up. But there is one issue that I cannot under any circumstances overlook. It is the proverbial straw that broke the camels back. The final weight pulling on the string that ties me to my support for Obama. I cannot support a candidate for president who does not wear a flag pin on his lapel. I mean that's how you truly show that you love something. Think about it, when you really care for something a lapel pin is really the only way to keep it close to your heart. If you are a Christian and you don't wear a cross lapel pin then you just don't love Jesus. If you graduated from a University and you don't wear the Alumni lapel pin then I question your love for your Alma mater. If you love dogs and you don't wear a dog lapel pin then you might as well be Mike Vick. If you love your kids, wallet photos don't do it anymore, you have to make lapel pin pictures, otherwise CPS will come get your kids, clearly they are not in a loving home. People open your eyes to the real issues here, patriotism and character. Obama doesn't want to wear a flag pin to show his love for the very country where he seeks to be president. He must be an Anti-American terrorist. Think about it. While we are thinking about it, we should all check ourselves. I don't see nearly enough lapel pins on people outlining their beliefs. I think we should all re-evaluate what we hold close to our hearts. There was a time when you truly loved something you put in on a bumper sticker. That's no longer good enough, we have to put it right on our chests, sporting it proudly over our hearts. I say to you Barack Obama you will not get my vote, because I love the red white and blue and I pin my flag pin directly to my chest!!! And if you don't support your country like I do then what kind of president will you be?

Don't Fall for the Political Slight of Hand....Isn't Obama Running for President?

By now I'm sure any of you with the slightest interest in politics have heard the latest negative long shot being disseminated by the media. This campaign has been an interesting one, I'm surprised this is my first blog about it. But I was trying to watch the political process play out from the outside looking in without having to shove my opinion and thoughts into the process, though on an extremely small scale.

What has moved me to speak is the media pure avoidance of the slight of hand politics of the republican party and the Clintons. It's is obvious that these political street magicians would rather us distracted by the motion. Its the most basic principle of prestidigitation, look over here at the motion while I perform magic under concealment. It is what is happening to Senator Obama and has been since he took the overall delegate lead. Its when the Clintons or the republicans say "we can't beat you on the issues, so let's take the focus off the issues and place it on Louis Farrakhan's endorsement of Obama." Let's try to connect all the bad things Farrakhan has said with Obama, does America really want a president that was endorsed by a racist?" They have tried to connect him with radical Muslims because of his name, they have made up lies about his father, who left when he was two, teaching him Islam. They have said that Muslims will be dancing in the streets because someone with the name Hussein has become the President. They have tried to play on every basic fear of white Americans pleading for them to stop voting for this man. They have questioned his patriotism using pictures that are grossly out of context. They have questioned his wife's patriotism because of comments she made. And I can deal with all of that, those things you expect coming from conservatives, racist and his opponents.

But what really pushes my buttons is the blatant disregard for the sanctity of the black church. The surfacing of old sermons by Obama's former pastor Jeremiah Wright. The showcase of his politically incorrect statements over the years in front of his congregation. Now, I personally don't believe politics have a place in the pulpit, but if there should be one place you shouldn't have to worry about being politically correct, it is in the pulpit. To use Excerpts from Wright's sermons and twisting them to fit your agenda is disrespectful to him his position and the entire church and to the word that he was preaching on that given Sunday. There is a reason that churches tend to be racially consistent. There are black churches, there are white churches, there are Irish churches and polish churches etc. but not much diversity in church congregations. This is why. How many white people, if they actually heard the entire sermon, would Wright's message help. Maybe a few. A black persons experience in America is quite unique to black Americans, a white person will never understand what it is like being black in America. Many preachers at black churches tap into these experiences to relate to the congregation. In a sense you won't understand Wright's comments because he wasn't talking to you.

I always find it funny how quickly some white people claim reverse racism and say his message is hateful. Since he is a minister I'm sure the intention of his message was to spread the word of God to his congregation, to play a portion of a religious speech where religion is not mentioned is blatantly misleading.

On the other hand, when did calling America wrong become hateful. Our congregation has been burned, hanged, sprayed with water hoses, beaten in the streets, dragged behind trucks, had crossed burned in their yards, had its leaders assassinated, threatened and jailed unjustly because of the color of their skin, by other Americans, who called themselves patriotic. So, sorry white America if some of my people are not thanking God everyday for America. I apologize for Rev. Wright telling his congregation what he believes to be true. And sorry his congregation didn't just get up and walk out on his message.

But to bring it all back into perspective. What do Rev. Wright's beliefs have to do with Barack Obama's ability to be president. That is the slight of hand, "Don't worry about the war and heath care, listen to, his pastor preaches hatred!" This is where this hatred thing falls apart for me. If Rev. Wright hates whites does that mean Obama hates whites. Isn't his mother white? Wasn't the only family he knew growing up all white? Isn't his grandfather that he speaks of fighting in WWII white? So does he hate them too? Does he hate half of himself?

You choose your spiritual leaders because of how they feed your spirit, what does your ministers opinions about Hillary Clinton or 9/11 or America have to do with how he feeds your religious spirit. Republicans and Obama's opponents would love for you to believe that political opinion and spirituality go hand and hand, but they don't. If that's the case, my preacher might be supporting McCain does that make me a conservative republican? The bottom line is, if you put a camera in every politicians church in the country you would have hours and hours of footage that can be viewed out of context as "hate." And if a politician or anyone goes so far as to choose their spiritual leader by political correctness and what looks good on TV, then their spirituality is for show, and I would rather have an admitted non-believer calling the shots than a spiritual fake.

The Audacity to Vote

Recently, I have been watching everything politics. Whether it be on conservative talk radio or on national news stations like CNN and MSNBC. I admit while I have always voted in every election, local and national. I find myself infatuated with the political process right now. Like many people, the main reason is the possibility of change. The last eight years have been particularly draining and people are tired. Also, its the chance to make history. For the first time ever in the America's 200+ years a black man and a women are the democratic front-runners for President. 2008 could be the year that America shows that it is ready to move past the inherent problems of race and gender that have ruled in this country for decades. While everyone tries to make race a non-issue, I will bring it to the forefront. Race has been and always will be an issue, the only difference is how much of an issue.

The strange thing is that a lot of Obama's most fierce opposers have been black people. The first time that we have a chance to have a man of any color other than white as the leader of the free world, and his opposers "use the same comb" as the saying goes. It seems to be a generational difference, with older blacks backing Clinton and younger blacks backing Obama. I know that Bill Clinton has been called "the first black president" a distinction that I detest because he is not a black man. That distinction is born of stereotypes and generalizations. Finding its roots in an argument that to be black you must speak jive, dance well, play a saxophone, cheat on your wife, smoke marijuana and lie? What does the successes and failures of the former president have to do with his wife. The first lady can't veto a bill, OK a war, oversee the economy etc. I say this not to tell you who to vote for but to open your eyes to the reality of the situation. Does eight years as the first lady count as experience?

Some of the same people who are going to vote for Clinton because she is a Clinton, are the same people who don't want you to vote for Obama "simply" because he is black. I ask what is wrong with support. The funny thing is if we don't vote for him the headlines will read "Black Voters don't back Black Candidate" but if we do, it's "simply" because he is black. Plenty of white people won't vote for him "simply" because he's black. Just like millions of women may vote for Hillary "simply" because she is a women. An interesting question is how many black people are not voting for Obama because they have been conditioned, for decades, to believe that a black man can't handle a job of this magnitude?

People, white black purple and green can vote for who they want, but if it's OK for anyone else to find something in common with a candidate and back them, then as a black person you can vote for Obama "simply" because he's black. Logically, a black man would look out for issues that effect the black community more than another candidate. That may not be true, but i sure would like to find out. Things can't get any worse than Bush.

Bottom line, go to the polls and support your candidate, whoever it may be, but don't feel the need to validate your choice with anyone but yourself.

NAACP has the Wrong Idea, Sybolic Burying of the N-Word not the Answer....

A few months back the NAACP buried the N-Word. Though this death of one of the most profane and degrading words in the American English language was just symbolic, there was a ceremony complete with burial. Now this idea of burying the N-word, in my opinion, is a bit aggressive. I don't think it was necessarily a bad idea in theory, but the N-word is not the problem. Whether we like it or not the N-word is here to stay. The funny thing is, in a country that claims "racism is over" and "this isn't 1955 anymore" and "I know my ancestors owned slaves, but I can't be held responsible for their actions" the word nigger, in its' racist form still exists. It has been passed down from generation to generation of post civil war, post Civil Rights movement "non-racist" families. People like Dog the Bounty Hunter, and Michael Richards and countless others get caught using the N-word and their first defense is always, "I'm not a racist". Does the use of the N-word by a non-black person automatically mean racism? Yes, but since i believe that all people are inherently racist in some way, then does the public use of that word make the speaker any more racist than the average joe. My answer is no. In today's society the word is used more to stir the pot. A white guy wants to get under your skin, he calls you a nigger. A falling star wants to make the news again, he calls you a nigger in public to make the news. A white guy is upset and doesn't posses the intelligence to express his feelings about his son's choice of Friends, he uses nigger repeatedly; ignorance.

Burying the N-word is not the answer. Instead of a nationwide movement to bury the N-word, how about a nationwide ignoring the ignorance movement. In today's world anyone who will use that word in an effort to stir the pot, or insult someone is ignorant. Ignoring the ignorance would eventually kill the word anyway, it doesn't deserve the pomp and circumstance of a true burial. Once that word dies I would be satisfied with wrapping it in a garbage bag and throwing off the Brooklyn bridge. The power of that word in today's world is wrapped in pettiness. How many brothers are in jail today for fighting some ignorant fool, over an ignorant word, all while perpetuating ignorance.

There is enough real racism out there and the generators of this racism will never utter that word. We have to learn to quit wasting our time arguing over the petty words and gestures; getting in a tizzy every time someone uses a played out word that is not even relevant to us. It's time to recognize real injustice and ignore the ignorance.

Racism Will Remain, Until Attitudes are Changed

In today's world the debate of racism seems to secretly permeate almost all aspects of American life. Today, more than any other time in recent history the American public tends to be split down racial lines on most current issues that deal in some way with liberty and equality. I ask myself, why is this? Why is it that the NAACP can't support or choose not to support an issue without some whites taking issue with it. Here in Florida there has been an ongoing fight for justice in the Martin Lee Anderson case (see previous blog). I have been monitoring blog sites and news websites reading various comments to see what the masses feel about the case. Almost all comments from people identifying themselves as white people, felt that there was too big a deal made of the case, they felt that the family was ultimately responsible for "giving up on him" and putting him in a boot camp. The majority of people identifying themselves as black people, detested the decision of the jury to acquit the guards, and cited the all-white jury in a small southern town as the reason for the not-guilty verdict. Thinking this occurrence may have just been an anomaly, I searched other stories on other sites in other parts of the country and found this phenomenon was not a phenomenon at all, it was a regular occurrence. There was a racial split in the worlds of news and even sports. From Mike Vick to Barry Bonds to the Genarlow Wilson case to the Jena Six, even Paris Hilton, and Anna Nicole Smith. It seems that our sympathy revolves somewhat around how well we relate to the accused or deceased and a lot of the time race is the only relation.

Seeing these differences in opinion made me think, why? being a black person I am sometimes willing to give another black person the benefit of the doubt even when the evidence isn't in their favor. To me that is only natural, but why the outcry from many white people. It seems that anytime black people in this country attempt to show some unity we get accused of reverse racism. Some people compare the million man march to a KKK rally. On some websites people actually said if there can be an NAACP then people shouldn't complain about the KKK. "Where's my National Association for the Advancement of White People?" I don't have a problem with white people supporting each other or creating organizations for themselves as long as they are not burning crosses in black peoples yards, shooting and hanging blacks. It leads me to believe that there is a sense of entitlement in the white psyche that makes even the most racially tolerant white person resent us from time to time. But I must say for there to be reverse racism there must first be RACISM.

Where does this sense of entitlement come from? It seems evident from the beginning of time, through the fall of many African and Asian empires to the rise of Europe. Even to the current state of places like Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, South Africa Ghana and Kenya. It has been extremely evident through the entire 231 year existence of America. In today's world it almost seems that anything that was created to help even the playing field and help black people in this country progress or "catch up" is supported until it affects their everyday life. For instance, affirmative action in schools was fine until middle class Americans felt their "more qualified" children were being left out of the best schools to allow minorities to enroll. The governments attempt to diversify the business world was met with residence when people felt that their businesses were being left out of Government contracts to allow minority businesses to get that work. Traditional white American neighborhoods' black population can only rise to about 6-7% before the white population begins to decline. Do many whites feel that their color makes them more entitled to the "American Dream"? If they don't feel that they are smarter because they are white, it has to be some inherent sense of entitlement that makes some whites resist diversity. If black people are 12-15% of this countries population, shouldn't at least 12-15% of businesses be black, 12-15% of employees be black, 12-15% of CEOs be black 12-15% of college students be black. I'm no economist or accountant but that seems like simple math. But if an any of the previously named categories are say 6% or 8% black, then there should be something done, not saying that black people should be given anything but there should be a greater effort to find qualified black people to fill that 6-8%. Isn't that what diversity means, everyone has an equal piece of the pie? So why the complaints, in the attempt at equality the bottom few percent of the majority will just have to make way for the top few percent of the minority, is that injustice or leveling the playing field?

It is crazy to believe that peoples racial and cultural differences will never be a factor in America, as long as we look different we will treat each other different, but that doesn't mean we should stop trying at equality. By all means the country is in better shape racially today than 50 years ago, but this sense of entitlement still exists and as long as it does, racism will never die. As long as the majority feels more entitled than the minority racism will always be a factor. At some point we will have to follow the lead of the Brazilian people of color and examine ways to update the attitudes of many whites and make them comfortable with diversity. And while we are at it we should examine our own attitudes so that we can equip ourselves and our children with the tools to continue to level the playing field and make this county an all-around better place for everyone.