[expabsPapsgag]

Blacks are a minority group in America. How is 12-13% of a population not a minority? Obama himself associates more with being "Black" and that's what people see him as, and he was still voted president by most white voters.

He's not an Afram(descendant of slaves). What he identifies as is just fashion. He is what he is, half black, half white. The percentages are due to the one drop rule. Many white Americans don't descent from majority material but from ex minorities.(just like you)

[rushiddink]

That comment is racist by itself

How?

Italy has had Jewish prime ministers, but that's as far as they go on the "tolerance meter". Obama grew up in Asia, and his father was born in Africa.

When Obama was elected, articles in the UK papers were saying it would probably be another 50 years before British society would allow for the same to be done there.

[phsyalcvqh]

That comment is racist by itself, you just said:

"look at us, we are not racist we put that black in office because we really like other races"

Nicolas Sarkozy is part Hungarian, part Jewish and no one care about his ethnic background, it is not even mentioned.

No, what I said isn't racist. I only brought up race because the guy who asked this question wanted us to. How the hell am I supposed to answer this question without bringing up race?

In Europe they throw peanuts and bananas at black soccer players, that would never happen in the NBA or NFL. there are racist groups of fans in Europe called "ultras", uh in America whites, blacks, hispanics, indians whatever all support the Red Sox, Patriots, whatever together at bars. there arent racist groups of fans who make their own groups.

50% because the money, 50% are brainwashed by Hollywood. sure...Hollywood hasn't been around that long and people all across the world came here to live better lives. if we were racist we wouldn't let people immigrate here like we are.

[crazuMovies]

Obama's half white, so he's half part of the majority. Also in urban areas(which are the more politically concious areas) blacks are far from being a minority. You living in NY or NJ or whatever, do you really see blacks as a minority?

The majority of urban Americans seems to be part of so called "minorities".

It's better to take both sides of Obama's ancestry into account when accessing whether or not he's a minority. People of mixed racial backgrounds are a small minority in the USA. Furthermore, he associates himself with African Americans the most and African Americans are ethnic/racial minorities. Remember that ethnicity is more of a social phenomenon than a genetic one. More importantly, he is the President of the United States, not the President of Chicago. African Americans make up 12% of the total US population and mixed race Americans are much smaller than that.

[WenPyclenoWex]

He's not an Afram(descendant of slaves). What he identifies as is just fashion. He is what he is, half black, half white. The percentages are due to the one drop rule. Many white Americans don't descent from majority material but from ex minorities.(just like you)

the average American won't make that distinction. his "black" side is from Kenya and his ancestors weren't slaves in America, so what? what does it matter? He claims his black side more, he's called himself black and has never called himself white. Everyone sees him as black and they voted for him even though he looked different.

[Fluivelip]

Of course. Again, like with the national average, about 1/8th of New Jersians are black.

Here, you find blacks in places like Camden, Trenton, Jersey City, and Newark. The largest cities in the state, and the last places anyone would want to be. New Jersey is suburban, and there are very few blacks in the suburbs.

Most can't afford it, so they're stuck in crime-ridden, impoverished, run-down ghettoes.

Obama being 1/2 white doesn't make him part of the majority. It makes him part of an even smaller minority, as he is neither white nor black but rather white and black. Mulattoes are a fringe group that are often accepted by neither.

Who is the majority then? Does it rally exist or is it just a conglomerate of people who want to be part of the majority? Isn't America just a place where minorities(at least in urban areas) form the majority? It's full of "white" people who are just as white as they can.

[Fuerfsanv]

In Europe they throw peanuts and bananas at black soccer players, that would never happen in the NBA or NFL. there are racist groups of fans in Europe called "ultras", uh in America whites, blacks, hispanics, indians whatever all support the Red Sox, Patriots, whatever together at bars. there arent racist groups of fans who make their own groups.

That's definitely not normal, if you go to a football match anywhere in Europe the chances of seeing that are very slim.
The reason it would never happen in the NBA or NFL is because the vast majority of players are black. However i wonder how the first black NBA or NFL players were treated...

[mr.nemo]

No, what I said isn't racist. I only brought up race because the guy who asked this question wanted us to. How the hell am I supposed to answer this question without bringing up race?

In Europe they throw peanuts and bananas at black soccer players, that would never happen in the NBA or NFL. there are racist groups of fans in Europe called "ultras", uh in America whites, blacks, hispanics, indians whatever all support the Red Sox, Patriots, whatever together at bars. there arent racist groups of fans who make their own groups.

This is because the American style of multiculturalism is different from the European.

All immigrant groups integrate better in America than in Europe.

Wickedgirl, America is founded on multiculturlaism and racial diversity.

[sleelverrex]

Who is the majority then?

The 75% of Americans who belong to the Caucasian race.

does it rally exist or is it just a conglomerate of people who want to be part of the majority?

If you asked Mestizo Hispanics if they'd rather be accepted as part of the majority and working at Wall Street firms or if they'd rather be nannies and dishwashers, they'd gladly join the majority. It's not about what you want to be, but rather what you are.

Isn't America just a place where minorities(at least in urban areas) form the majority? It's full of "white" people who are just as white as they can.

In large cities, sure, minorities often form the majority, but America is not as urban as other countries.

[Assungusa]

It's better to take both sides of Obama's ancestry into account when accessing whether or not he's a minority. People of mixed racial backgrounds are a small minority in the USA. Furthermore, he associates himself with African Americans the most and African Americans are ethnic/racial minorities. Remember that ethnicity is more of a social phenomenon than a genetic one. More importantly, he is the President of the United States, not the President of Chicago. African Americans make up 12% of the total US population and mixed race Americans are much smaller than that.

He's not an Afram however, wether he identifies as such or not. There's a difference between wanting to be something and being something. He was raised by his white mom and granny.

[DavidQD]

How?

Italy has had Jewish prime ministers, but that's as far as they go on the "tolerance meter". Obama grew up in Asia, and his father was born in Africa.

I dont know if it was Racist or Racialist, but she directly mentioned the race condition of the potus. She didnt said any average American won the election, she said a person belonging to a minority won the election. It means he is like something different.

I mean racism as race related not as positive or negative.

When Obama was elected, articles in the UK papers were saying it would probably be another 50 years before British society would allow for the same to be done there.

Wasn't Tony Blair half Irish?


Now seriously, Obama was very popular in Europe, i recall Berlin when a crow assisted to heard his no sense speech before the elections.
About the UK, the Labourists leader is completely Off-White.

[hjyAMqqT]

the average American won't make that distinction. his "black" side is from Kenya and his ancestors weren't slaves in America, so what? what does it matter? He claims his black side more, he's called himself black and has never called himself white. Everyone sees him as black and they voted for him even though he looked different.

That's the point, people see him as a "black" president rather than just a regular american president. the majority of americans aren't xenophobic (at least not publicly), but the majority acknowledge racial distinctions to some extent. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but I do find certain attitudes to be strange from my point of view.

[Bonioners]

It's better to take both sides of Obama's ancestry into account when accessing whether or not he's a minority. People of mixed racial backgrounds are a small minority in the USA. Furthermore, he associates himself with African Americans the most and African Americans are ethnic/racial minorities. Remember that ethnicity is more of a social phenomenon than a genetic one. More importantly, he is the President of the United States, not the President of Chicago. African Americans make up 12% of the total US population and mixed race Americans are much smaller than that.

Indeed. Alot of people fail to realize this. In America, from my observations mixed blacks will identify as black, their white parent and her/his side of the family will also identify them as being black. It is just not the black side of the family imposing a perception.

[Redys]

That's definitely not normal, if you go to a football match anywhere in Europe the chances of seeing that are very slim.
The reason it would never happen in the NBA or NFL is because the vast majority of players are black. However i wonder how the first black NBA or NFL players were treated...

I don't know how the first NBA and NFL players were treated, but it probably wasn't nearly as good as it is now. America has a racial past, people discriminated against Irish and Italian people too. I don't deny that because it's definitely true, but if you look at us today, the progress we made is pretty amazing and like Janos said, America was built on multiculturalism while European countries weren't. In Asia, China and Japan are extremely xenophobic last time I checked and they aren't at all multicultural.

It would be more fair to compare Europe to Asian countries and America to Latin American countries.

[everlastinge]

I dont know if it was Racist or Racialist, but she directly mentioned the race condition of the potus. She didnt said any average American won the election, she said a person belonging to a minority won the election. It means he is like something different.

I mean racism as race related not as positive or negative.

It was racial, but not racist. Racist in English has negative connotations. And what she said was entirely accurate. Barack Obama, as a biracial mulatto belongs to a group that comprises of less than 3% of Americans.

Wasn't Tony Blair half Irish?

Not really. His father was English and his mother was descended from Scottish Protestants who settled in Northern Ireland but returned to Britain.

Now seriously, Obama was very popular in Europe, i recall Berlin when a crow assisted to heard his no sense speech before the elections.

Of course he was... but an Obama would have never been elected Chancellor. They wanted America to be radically changed, and his line of thinking is social democratic. A black social democrat is the opposite of George Bush. They embraced that enthusiastically.

About the UK, the Labourists leader is completely Off-White.

He's a Jewish atheist. No such person has ever become PM in the UK. Closest was Disraeli who was an Italian Jew who converted to Church of England as a youth.

[pharmablogger]

the average American won't make that distinction. his "black" side is from Kenya and his ancestors weren't slaves in America, so what? what does it matter? He claims his black side more, he's called himself black and has never called himself white. Everyone sees him as black and they voted for him even though he looked different.

I see this "identifies as" stuff brought up a lot by Americans but what does it really mean? Is a person of fully euro descent who "identifies" as black black?
Who your mother is doesn't matter? I don't believe so.

[unfolaReemoma]

That's the point, people see him as a "black" president rather than just a regular american president. the majority of americans aren't xenophobic (at least not publicly), but the majority acknowledge racial distinctions to some extent. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but I do find certain attitudes to be strange from my point of view.

So what? He is a minority, race exists in society..deal with it. And most of the times when people bring him up as a "black president" they do it to talk about how far America has progressed since The Civil Rights Era. There is nothing wrong with that.

[machpamb]

I see this "identifies as" stuff brought up a lot by Americans but what does it really mean? Is a person of fully euro descent who "identifies as black black?
Who your mother is doesn't matter? I don't believe so.

To put it in terms you can better understand,

Jerome Boateng identifies as German.
His half-brother Kevin Prince Boateng identifies as Ghanian.

They are both half-white, half-black. Identity is what you make of it. Jerome was raised by his white mother and has never been to Ghana. His blood may be half black, his phenotype may be mixed, but to him, he is as German as anyone else.

Barack Obama grew up in a Marxist family, and growing up where there were no black kids, he couldn't help but see a black face in the mirror. Despite his father abandoning his family, he couldn't bring himself to identify with white people.

[Avgustslim]

I see this "identifies as" stuff brought up a lot by Americans but what does it really mean? Is a person of fully euro descent who "identifies" as black black?
Who your mother is doesn't matter? I don't believe so.

Does Obama look white or black to YOU?

If Obama said he was white, would you believe him? I wouldn't.

If he said he was black, I would definitely believe him. The way other people look will always matter to us, it's biological.

The fact of the matter is, Obama wasn't even raised in the U.S. for a large part of his life, he was born in Hawaii, has a last name that sounds like "Osama" and "Hussein" as his middle name and he looks black and he still became president.

[ssyyyrruho]

So what? He is a minority, race exists in society..deal with it. And most of the times when people bring him up as a "black president" they do it to talk about how far America has progressed since The Civil Rights Era. There is nothing wrong with that.

What he's trying to say is that, in an ideal world, you all should be americans instead of (insert x nationality/race here)-american.