Mr.Beetle's Bad Memory by sidewaysunrise
Today was a historic moment. The man I watched just four years ago at the Democratic National Convention stood before a crowd of millions, from all over the country and all over the world. Everything with a beating heart and working lungs tuned in to the bright screens of televisions united. A bold speech. A grand promise. Some humble words. My breathing become shallow as Lincolns inaugeration bible was brought out. With just a few words, emotion overtook me. It never stiked me that it was such an amazing thing that Barack Obama was chosen President of the United States. I was convinced that he was the right one with every fiber of my being, and so it only seemed natural that he would win. But the thing is.. he is more progressive than half of this country. Not as progressive as me, or as much as I'd like.. but thats besides the point. And then theres the obvious fact that he is part African American, another thing I never really noticed, just how I never really cared that Bill Richardson is part hispanic. Ethnicity is ethnicity. Its just something that gives you background, culture. Some make it seem negative, but I believe it is positive. Lets not forget that even white people are ethnic. We arent simply white bread, forms with no real past, no history. I'm German, Scottish, Welsh.. possibly Irish from what I've overheard from nana although my dad denies it, and those countries have traditions and a long detailed history as well.
One thing that always rubs me the wrong way is when people say Obama "sounds and acts like a white man". I've heard this not just from one source, but several, spread amongst the internet, said carelessly around campus, even in my own home. This is a clear stereotype. It is not "white" to be educated and eloquent. It is not "ethnic" or "black" (etc) to be ignorant and illiterate. White people can be just as uneducated as any other race, and all other races can be just as intelligent. I've realized lately that the main reason that there are more African Americans in poverty is because they have had a long way to come since the slavery days, even since the civil rights movements. Along that way, racism has faded slightly but it is still there. We oppress them with our words, build shoes for them to fill that send them to a repetitive cycle of crime and poverty. One day I hope people will realize that racism, even if used jokingly, is never funny, never appropriate, or helpful whatsoever. It is a very detrimental practice that only hurts. If we ever want there to be TRUE equality, we have to start acting like people are equal rather than carelessly spreading hate without ever realizing.
