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6/9/2008
Fred Dooley: I am not a racist
I do not support Barack Obama, and that does not make me a racist.
In an historic move, the Democrats have selected the first African-American to be the Presidential candidate for a major political party.
Along the way people were called misogynists for not supporting his opponent, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, and many were called racists for not supporting Senator Barack Hussein Obama.
I could never support Hillary Clinton as she has proven herself over the years to be an unethical opportunist who will say absolutely anything to achieve her end goals. That does not make me a woman hater. It means the best way to tell that Senator Clinton may be lying is to notice that her lips are moving.
There are a number of reasons why I can never support Barack Obama; none of them have anything to do with his skin tone. Obama has been rated the most liberal Senator in 2007. Being the most liberal anything is never going to garner my support.
Obama speaks eloquently on the campaign trail about bringing us together. But when push comes to shove, throughout his entire career Barack Obama has never shown any willingness to compromise with conservatives on anything. All he has done is make empty promises and use class warfare on the campaign trail. Class warfare will never do anything but drive us further apart. In short Barack Obama is a liberal’s liberal and that is enough for me.
I don’t support Barack Obama because he is a radical liberal; I could care less what his skin tone is. But call me prejudiced against liberals, and I’m guilty.
So allow me to make a simple observation about race.
If we are to ever truly move beyond race, we must finally move beyond race. (Hmmm.) Obama supporters have been using the race card as a tool to attack those who have anything negative to say against him. Likewise, supporters of Hillary Clinton tried to make the claim that if you did not support her you were some kind of woman hater.
And what if a person was just a person? And what if a person of this classification or that was not given preferential treatment based on their sex or the color of their skin? That sounds pretty good to me. After all I thought treating everyone the same way based on the content of their character instead on the color of their skin (or their gender) was the goal all along?
The Obama campaign has a monumental opportunity here to move beyond race, if, and only if, they accept the premise that there are people who will not support him based on who he is and what he believes, but not based on the color of his skin.
I’m not an idiot, I do know there are people out there who will never vote for a black man, or a woman (sorry Jo); I’m not defending those people. Just the same way there are people out there who will never vote for a Republican and there are others who would never vote for a Democrat.
I abhor racism and I hope beyond all hope that Candidate Obama will comprehend his historic opportunity to move beyond the ugly grasp racism has on our society. The only way he can accomplish that goal is to move beyond the playing of the race card in his own campaign.
I wish him well in that endeavor.
Fred Dooley writes regularly at Real Debate Wisconsin.
COMMENTS
"Being the most liberal anything is never going to garner my support."
How about the most liberal butcher regarding trimming fat, or a bartender when it comes to a pour, or a mother concerning smooches?
Jim Spice (Mon Jun 09 11:12:06 2008)
Fred, how about if you move beyond labels in addition to you having moved beyond racism? Wouldn't it be wonderful if we talked about issues? So go ahead, name your first issue and compare Obama vs McCain. BTW I note that you use Obama's middle name. Not that your statement is racist or anything but I have yet to hear anyone (including the candidate himself) other than Obama's detractors who use the middle name. Would you use the middle name if it was smith?
dave allen (Mon Jun 09 15:18:28 2008)
emily matthews (Mon Jun 09 15:46:21 2008)
I will not be voting for McCain. But I think people should know what Obama himself has said. From "Dreams of my Father": "I found a solace in nursing a pervasive sense of grievance and animosity against my mother's race." (Does he hate whites? Not sure after seeing this)
From "Audacity of Hope": "I will stand with the Muslims should the political wind shift..." (Sorry, I don't believe we can trust Muslims.)
Before jumping to attack me, watch the pre-9/11 PBS documentary "Terrorists among Us". (If you can find it. I might be willing to loan it if there was a way to do so.) Or read "The Politically Incorrect View of Islam" (I think that's the title.) Or the Koran itself; it has many suras regarding persecuting non-Muslims. Or lying to them, pretending to be friendly when you're not. Can anybody be sure what Obama's intentions are?
It was as late as the 1600s when the Muslims were at the gates of Vienna. The date they were defeated on, was 9/11. They've never forgotten...can we afford to?
emily matthews (Mon Jun 09 16:07:38 2008)
"How about the most liberal butcher regarding trimming fat, or a bartender when it comes to a pour"
Jim,
If the Presidency were a non-political office the politics of the office-holder wouldn't be a big deal.
It's not, and it is.
Although if you really feel this way, then by all means vote for John McCain in November.
Brian (Mon Jun 09 16:49:52 2008)
Emily,
I suggest you read the context of the excerpts (see Snopes link) or refer to the book it's self. It is clear that he is referring to standing with Muslims should they be treated like the Japanese were during WW2.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/ownwords.asp
I also suggest that you look into the diversity of Muslims around the world. You say "sorry but I do not believe we can trust Muslims". Who is "we"? Which Muslims, where? Perhaps there are Muslims in our own community who read what you write and believe they can't trust you because of your apparent prejudice. I think you should go and talk to some Muslims here and elsewhere. Perhaps they would forgive your ignorance and you may learn something.
Dave allen (Mon Jun 09 16:52:23 2008)
Dave,
Calling Emily ignorant, speaks to your own ignorance.
Fred (Tue Jun 10 07:36:07 2008)
To the original point: of course, it's not inherently racist to be against Obama. But I try not to be prejudiced against conservatives, Blacks, Muslims or liberals. I may tend to agree with more liberal positions, but conservatives often have worthwhile things to offer. Biases should neither interfere with compassion, nor with critical thinking. And Heaven knows we need all the critical thinking we can muster with any politician of whatever belief.
Emily is correct that Steven Emerson's pre-9/11 documentary "Terrorists Among Us" is not easily found. But you can buy it on Amazon for $15, and his 2000 book, "Jihad incorporated: a guide to militant Islam in the US", which provides something of an update, is available at larger public libraries in this area. Robert Spencer's "Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades)" is also at the Appleton Library. This may be the title Emily had in mind, rather than "The Politically Incorrect View of Islam."
But Emily's statement about not being able to trust Muslims seems prejudicial. I do not believe that every Muslim is still resentful about "their" loss at Vienna. Yes, you can find some awful statements in the Koran -- and in the Bible. The fact is that many Muslims are also fighting against radical Islam, many Muslims are against violence and sexism. This doesn't minimize the threat of radical militant Islamists, but that's not all Muslims. There are plenty of good, trustworthy Muslims here in the Fox Cities.
Terry Dawson (Tue Jun 10 08:43:52 2008)
Dave, how many Muslims do YOU know? The ones I know, are liberal--that is, they don't really believe what the Koran teaches, because they don't KNOW what it teaches. Some do not even celebrate Ramadan.
I remember one female journalist who was hiding out in Britain with her husband, who'd enrolled as a student, just so they could get out of Iran. (This was just prior to the fall of the Shah.) She was terrified that she'd lose her job or her life if the religious Muslims took control.
BUT, this does not negate what the Koran teaches! Nor the fact of what the Turks did to the Armenians--read "Journey from Home" by Kherdian. Did you know Hitler based his treatment of the Jews, on their treatment of the Armenians?
I remember one former Muslim saying that when he was a Muslim, he'd PRETEND to sympathize with Americans (during the Gulf War) whenever there was news of deaths. Then he'd drive home on the freeway, yelling "Allahu akbar" at the top of his lungs because he was so filled with joy. He bluntly said that the Koran teaches that a Muslim may lie to any non-Muslim, and that this is considered praiseworthy!
"We" refers to any non-Muslim, and knowing their doctrine of lying, we can NOT be sure that Obama is not a Muslim. If he WERE a religious radical, you can be sure he'd not tell us! Check out the information I provided.
emily matthews (Tue Jun 10 09:15:51 2008)
Emily,
I do not believe that your innuendos and accusations have any benefit to any thinking person. Your statements about Obama not only are paranoid ("how do we know he isn't a Muslim")but a sad representation of the kind of thinking that not is only prejudicial and racist but if left unchallenged would lead to the witch hunts this country endured throughout it's history. One of the good things Bush did after 911 was to try to let the American people know that we should not and cannot take the 911 actions to be representative of a whole group. He was right about that and I suggest you heed his advice.
dave allen (Tue Jun 10 12:19:01 2008)
Funny, he was registered as Muslim in the Indonesian school he attended...
I maintain thet Muslims cannot be trusted politically, whatever your personal relations with them are. (Did YOU briefly date a Muslim, as I did?)But me saying this, is as popular as Willem Ten Boom in 1927, warning that the anti-semitism he saw in Europe would lead to huge problems, even war. At the time, he was laughed to scorn; ten years later, nobody was laughing.
emily matthews (Thu Jun 12 08:06:04 2008)
I agree, Emily -- to one extent.
We should not underestimate the potential damage or consequences that will result from patterns of prejudice.
Terry Dawson (Fri Jun 13 17:02:21 2008)
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