What I told a racist Democrat

[nevergiveup]

There is this woman at work who keeps saying "Obama is so arrogant". I have really pretty much avoided her but yesterday when she repeated it I looked at her and said "Nancy, Obama is probably going to be a great president and when little Brad (the grandson she adores) grows up you are going to want to be able to tell him "I voted for Barack Obama". She appeared shock and she starred at me for what seemed an eternity and then she stormed away.

[grannie4peace]

1. give her hell!!!!!!!

[Coexist]

2. from a good diary on kos:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/28/91146/8862/85/613168

I talked to an 80-year-old woman, very well-informed and who clearly agreed with Obama on every major issue, who couldn't quite get herself to support him. She said at one point, "Maybe I'm racist." I said, "Young people today don't notice the difference between black and white, but older people grew up with a different experience." "Yes!" she said, "I don't know anyone in the South who could vote for him." And then I recognized that soft tone in her accent as from the South. Teddy said, "You sound like an Obama supporter" and she smiled and said, "Maybe I am."

[Kalyke]

29. Then she doesn't know many people in the South!

I live here and my whole (mostly white) neighborhood has Obama signs in their yards - no McCain signs and about six or seven Obama yard signs.

Does she honestly believe that no white Southerner is voting for Obama? Does she really believe the South hasn't grown and matured beyond racism since the 1960s? Does she really think there are no "young people today (who) don't notice the difference between black and white" who live in the South (which just contradicts her own statement)?

I really don't get her thought process here.

[Ikonoklast]

3. "Arrogant" must mean "smarter than me while being black"

Ask her if she'd rather have a dunce like Bush running things for four more years, because I hate to tell her, McSame ain't the sharpest tool in the shed.

I want the smartest person to run things, and I don't care if that person has three eyes, blue hair and green skin.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

20. Bingo.

[Jade Fox]

24. Exactly!!!

[BrainStorm]

25. That's ridiculous.

You read a lot into stuff. Obama does come off cold to a lot of people (not a bad thing, just how he comes off) and to some people that reads as arrogance. I'm not saying she's right, but I am saying that people get impressions from lots of things other than race. (To me, Poppy Bush and his son read as "arrogant" and they're white. Others think they are "folksy" and don't see them as arrogant at all.)

[Ikonoklast]

28. There would only be one true way to tell

If Obama was white, would she still see him as 'arrogant'? Or, 'thoughtful', 'informed', measured'?

Doubt it. Racists just can't come to terms with their own racism.

Just substitute 'uppity' for 'arrogant'.

And if Obama comes off as cold, then that person has never heard Obama speak at a rally. 'Cold' is that last thing I would call him.

There is real a fire there.

But, in the final analysis, we all see that which we want to see.

[Starlight]

38. Anyone who imagines Obama to be cold or arrogant just isn't paying attention.

One of the characteristics people like most is his warm, caring, engaging manner. :hug:

[Lorien]

4. My dad is a racist Democrat (though he would never admit it)

ever since he worked for the prison system he's used all sorts of racist language, and we've gotten in more than a few rows over it. But oddly enough, he's CRAZY about Obama! He's already sent him the maximum contribution even though he can hardly afford it. I kind of enjoy teasing him once in a while by saying "Hey Pops, y'know what? Obama is black"! and he sputters and says "Only half black! He's half white! His mom is white, and she and his white grandparents raised him, so that makes him mostly white in my book"! I then point out that his life experience (how the world has treated him) is as a black man. Dad argues for a bit and when he finally settles down I say "Hey Pops, y'know what? Michelle Obama is black"! :evilgrin:

[still_one]

5. Your Father may not be the racist you think he is. There is no way a true racist

would vote for Obama

[Lorien]

6. Anyone who uses the "N" word and refers to blacks and hispanics as

"those people" is a racist in my book.

[still_one]

8. In my book also, but in reality he is actually voting for "those people"

which means that his words do NOT match his actions

[Lorien]

9. Cognitive dissonance is remarkable, isn't it?

That's why I tease him the way that I do; I want him to confront his racist beliefs and acknowledge that they are WRONG. Saying "well, I just don't think of Michelle Obama as black" won't cut it.

[Diamonique]

13. Leave him alone until after he votes. :-)

If you make him think about it too much, he might revert to his old ways out of spite.

Just encourage him.

[Lorien]

16. Oh, no worries there. Like I said, he's a huge contributor

and a total Obamamanic. I just hope that his enthusiasm opens his own eyes to reality, and that his learned bigotry will soon ebb away.

[crispini]

32. I think racism comes in all kinds.

It sounds to me like your dad is rebelling against political correctness more than anything else.

My dear granny used the N-- word until the day she died, but she didn't have an unkind bone in her body. She didn't mean anything by it. I think somebody like your dad is doing a lot better than some people. :D

[Historic NY]

7. My brother was the same way but he has changed 360 degrees..

I used the same half white thing with him and he agrees Michelle is a hottie. He is squarely in Obama's camp now.

[blondeatlast]

15. I have racist midwestern relatives--but their yellow-doggedness trumps the racism. they'd die before

voting for a republican.

From family communications, I know that they are, indeed, voting for Obama.

[Lorien]

17. Yep, my dad loathes the GOP

the thing is that he raised us to be repulsed by racism, but after he worked as a psychologist for a Midwestern prison system his views changed radically. I guess it came from being around so many bigots (the prison guards) and seeing the worst humanity has to offer-and, of course, minorities outnumber whites in prison, though he's equally dismissive of under educated white people because they're well represented there. I just keep hoping that his Obama support will translate into a return to his pre-racist beliefs. Hearing him utter racist phrases over the past ten years has put a strain on our relationship, and I'd love for that to end!

[LWolf]

10. "Arrogant" does not automatically mean "racist."

Yours was a good response for the circumstance.

One can think someone is "arrogant" regardless of race, though. I think it's irresponsible to accuse people of racism without evidence, and I think it's poor form to accuse anyone who doesn't like Obama, for any reason, of racism.

I don't much like Obama, and I've never made a secret of that. It has nothing to do with his race, and everything to do with his republican-friendly positions on issues.

While I'm not a fan, I'll also stand up to support him in the face of any and all legitimate racism. And I have.

And for those rabid responders who want to rend me into pieces, foaming mouth and all, because I am bold enough to say up front that I'm not a fan, I also declared my intent to vote for him. Take your fight somewhere where it will count.

[LowerManhattanite]

12. LOL @ the “drama”. n/t

[Curtland1015]

11. Racist democrats are hilarious! It's like our version of "log cabin" republicans.

It seems to be very contradictory.

[derby378]

34. If racists are the Dem version of Log Cabin Republicans...

...does that mean pro-gun Democrats are off the hook? :rofl: :hi:

[Fractasticlicious]

14. There are no racist Democratics!

What rubbish!

[Lorien]

18. Sure there are. There are racist Dems, sexist Dems, anti-environmental

Dems, gun loving Dems, corporation loving Dems, anti-choice Dems, you name it-the Democratic party has become the "Big Tent" that covers every non-Republican!

[BlooInBloo]

19. hahahaha! Oh - wait - you're serious.

BWAHAHAAHAHA!!!!!!

[blondeatlast]

27. Bull. shit. I know plenty of them; they are family. They will still vote for Obama, though.

They'd vote for a man of color over a republican any day of the week.

[BlooInBloo]

21. What BiB tells racist Democrats: Fuck off and die.

[OwnedByFerrets]

22. What I would tell her...."Its a shame you cant discern arrogance

from intellect." This man is presidential.

www.wearableartnow.com

[The Backlash Cometh]

23. Way too civil.

[sandnsea]

26. I really like that and will use it

Yes, many people will want to tell their grandchildren they voted for Barack Obama, just like my parents told my kids they had voted for JFK. Very good.

[vssmith]

31. Arrogant and elitist are code words for

"uppity nigger" or "who does he think he is"--in days gone by Blacks were lynched for that

[sandnsea]

33. I know what they're code for

It doesn't matter. Some people have to be slapped into reality and this little comment is a good slap. Others are parrots and don't know what the hell they're saying, and this is a good slap for them too.

[backscatter712]

30. I have absolutely zero respect for racists.

Seriously. I have utter contempt for them. I am bigoted against racists (I know, that's quite a bit of cognitive dissonance there...) I can't stand them.

Mostly, I avoid talking to them at all, and when I'm forced to, I use small words and simple sentences so that I can express my thoughts in ways their limited intellects can manage.

[codjh9]

35. Ha ha! Good for you! And what about how arrogant Bush, Cheney, Nancy Reagan, Rumsfeld,

and a long list of right-wingers are?!? Besides the fact that Obama is NOT arrogant anyway!

[blue-kite]

36. Great words

You did the right thing. Stand up to this wherever you see it...
Racism is everywhere, it is in part inside of all of us, whether white/black or a variation inbetween.
But, and its an important BUT, it doesn't have to affect our judgment beyond the knee-jerk. We all live with the jerk of the knee...

Keep up the great, the fantastic work...
Get out the Vote.

Cheers
Blue-Kite

[vaberella]

37. By saying he's arrogant is to say, he doesn't know his place.

A lot of racists have this feeling that we are white and superior and Blacks can get somewhere but they need to remember their place. It's to say, you don't know where you belong and it's not representing Whites. Also I think it's a laden fear that they think if Blacks get some power they will some how turn on Whites and get pay back. False, since we just want to be happy...two wrongs don't garner change or a right. Bush is a great example of that.