Especially her radical church vs. Obama's. I haven't heard anything about her church/pastor yet Obama's was ravaged. If Obama had done just a few things mentioned, (a pregnant, underage daughter is the first in my mind) he'd be annihilated by the press.

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I made this comment on another thread today about McCain, but wanted to post it here as well for maximum readership. So here goes my tirade about attacking McCain's patriotism:

I’m not talking about his POW record; Vietnam veterans can argue about that issue among themselves. It’s the patriotism McCain has today that counts – commonly defined as love and devotion to a person's country.

One way to evaluate McCain’s present-day love and devotion to America is to list those things a real patriot would NOT do.

For example, a real patriot does NOT claim he’s for regulating business when he’s been against it all his political life.

A real patriot would NOT lie about his opponent during a presidential campaign, such as saying Barack Obama will raise taxes on working Americans, which is false.

A real patriot pursuing the presidency would pick the best qualified person possible for his running mate, NOT an inexperienced hockey mom beauty queen.

A real patriot would NOT flip-flop on campaign issues to win votes, like saying Bush’s 2001 tax cuts unfairly favor rich people, then claiming the lopsided refunds were justified – such as the top 2% of wage earners getting back $32,000 while the bottom 20% received only $21.

A real patriot who had served in uniform would NOT vote against 70% of all war veteran legislation in Congress, which McCain did.

A real patriot who had been a prisoner of war would NOT stop a Senate Select Committee’s investigation into the fate of missing U.S. servicemen in Southeast Asia, which McCain did in 1992. Also against the adamant objections of MIA families, he sealed their DOD records and those of POWs, including his own,

There are many other examples but I think you get the picture. Far from being a patriot, John McCain is a dishonest, flag-waving, lobby-loving politician who’s forgotten what honor and integrity are all about.

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All this talk about white privilege really plays well with the working-class and poor white folks whose support the left desperately needs to get anywhere in this country.

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We ignore the impact of white privilege, in this election or any other situation, to our peril. Check out Speaking Fluently, if you have't already.

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I think this article confuses the left/right double-standard in the media with white privilege. Or at the very least, it fails to factor it in.

If you look at John Kerry's, Bill Clinton's, Hillary's, or any other so-labeled white "liberal" politician's experience with the US media, I think you'll find that same double-standard. In today's political climate, if you're not a rabid wing-nut coming out of the gate, your ability to lead will be constantly questioned and scrutinized, regardless of the facts, and regardless of color.

I would not argue that the Obamas haven't been portrayed as uppity n*****s and Muslim terrorists from time to time, but I don't think their blackness is their main handicap, so to speak.

When Hillary was running, didn't they all say she was being batted down because she's a woman? But look at Sarah Palin. Her record is atrocious, yet the media is portraying her as the hot librarian with moxie who knows how to get the job done.

The Al Sharpton approach this article takes is is divisive and unproductive. Step back and take a breath.

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The above piece is what we all see..everyone...but not an issue that this country will verbally acknowledge and deal with at a level that will produce productive change. The sooner we, as a nation, really face it and deal with it the quicker we will truly move forward-otherwise we will forever exist in the same dysfunctional loop. How to fix it? It starts within each individual all races, religions...men, women and children. By changing the mindset. What's the worst that can happen..? We grow closer as a nation..as a global community.

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Why would any person with a brain? Bringing race into the discussion for comparison between these two candidates is patently absurd.

If anything Barak Obama is an example of how far we've come in this country with race issues. This guy who is a member of a minority race is not only running for the highest position in the country, but he is favored to win this thing in a lot of pols. To want to dwell on racial hurdles is absurd.

Why don't we look at the ageism hurdles McCain is having to deal with? The fact is, that we all have hurdles. Everything isn't just given to people and sure there may be some racial issues going on, but apparently not enough to slow down Obama and certainly not enough for anyone to have to write a stupid article about.

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Yes, the vast majority of us in Europe are appalled that the one man who could bring real change cleaning up the worldwide G W Bush mess in warfare and finance, could well lose this election for the one reason that he is half 'Caucasian' (as you Americans put it) and half African. Had he been 'white' his ratings would be around, say, 60% - a sure victor.

Yes, we too, have quite enough racism in Europe but, for example, even in the 1960s the president of the French Assembly was a person of colour.

And today, by a huge majority we Europeans would vote for Senator Obama - not because we are 'Obamamaniacs' as some of your American media dub us, but because we see in this brilliant, well informed, well organised man who opposed the Iraq war (whose military and financial consequences have severely damaged not only the US but our European position in the world) the one person who could indeed turn the page.

From his clearly stated policies, he could indeed lead the world away from the Bush era of sterile confrontation to a new era - made possible by the end of the Cold War - of international cooperation to face the grim challenges not just for the US but for every country. Indeed for humanity. (For more see our website dipconsult.eu

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A FemiNazi, but Rush Limbaugh.
funny how the normally sexist, obnoxious Neo Con Whores suddenly have become senstive to Womens issues and injustices. Able to disgard their own transgressions with one simple 'Go Sarah'
After watching the Hillrisers and 'Bedazzled' blinded Sarah supporters- I gotta give Rush credit he had a great term for these 'Pay backs a Bitch' voters. Not only are the Militant about putting ANY vagina in Office, they are intentionally turning a blind eye to the Atrocities/Crimes of this Admin and their Next Puppet in Line! McCain the 'Deregualtor', the ,man who calls his wife a 'cunt' in public, who has shot down anything which would help women or children. And his Housefly wearing lipstick , who cuts funding for Young unwed mothers in need, charges for Rape kits and Fires a Official for requesting more funds to avoid another year of Alaska Topping the list of 'Most likely place to be Raped'!
So yes, Rush there are 'FemiNazi's' Their in YOUR Party- Same women who cheer for Sarah while their 'sisters' are led away to the Political Gas chambers- "Heil Mac!" ," Heil Sarah!"

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Wise has hit the nail on the head. The nail is racism. The double standard is mostly the responsibility of the corporate media.

Of course, with a President who called the Constitution "a god damned piece of paper" still sitting in office, we have them to thank for covering his and his party's ass.

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McCain and Palin are beyond white. They are almost alien-like, are beyond farcical, creating a new GOP inspirational hue that goes back to Nixon. And they don't care that everyone knows that they are lying because they think that their constituents don't know enough (or are too scared) to challenge the corrupt system of GOP politics. Their main audience are God-fearing folk who have never seen a person of any ethnicity in their sad, pathetic lives. McCain and Palin are relying on this group to put them over the top.

And speaking of corruption: why is it that people who were ready to speak out against Sarah Palin in "Troopergate" all of a sudden aren't going to talk with anyone or just want to amend their complaints about her corruption, as though it never happened. Can we say "payoff"? It is clear that someone got to these people and made an offer that they couldn't refuse. This has McCain and Palin written all over it.

The thing that American's aren't really comprehending yet (why, God... WHYYYYYYYYYY?) is that this sliminess, lying, corruption and abuses of power - DURING THEIR CAMPAIGN - are a sign of things to come if these manipulators are elected.

One thing that every America need to think about in regards to Bush being elected in 2000 and "reelected" in 2004 is this:

Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice, shame on me.

But I guess this is the third time, so middle America hasn't really learned anything, which I suppose is due to Bush's educational policy.

His what?

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so-called liberals up against
White male prejudice in small companies:

The essentials of thinking in the barroom circuit who have marginal resources are these: Vote Republican because the less interference by Government, the less there is to fuck up. Taxes are the greatest cause of hardship and people who don't pay their rent and welfare queens are the cause of high taxes. Unions are
run by racketeers who take your money and if your boss didn't give you a job where would you be?
It has been my experience in small groups if this type of thinking is in majority the social pressure is menacing to any dissenter who cannot take refuge in another part of the building. The majority in such situation are types who demand that you tell them how you are voting.
Is this the average American? But is this a generation dying off?

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Another example of white privilege that the author does not include is the Cindy McCain drug addiction, prescription-falsifying, drug stealing scandal. Imagine if Michelle Obama had in her past been addicted to drugs, forced a doctor to write her fake prescriptions, and stolen the drugs from a supposed charity she was running. We would NEVER have heard the end of it from the hate-mongers, including the similarly drug-addicted idiot, Rush Limbaugh. It would have been enough to insure that there was no Obama presidential campaign. But because it happened to a rich, blond, white heiress, it's all excusable by the "emotional pain" she was experiencing because her husband, John, was trying to defend himself on ethics charges in the Keating Five scandal.

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Now, this is substance, Alternet.

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The difference between Palin and Obama, who are not really running against each other, but some people try to paint that false picture, is this: People who live in Alaska like Patricia-Faye Brazel, Diane Woodruff and Gary Lungren feel betrayed. They say Palin ran up a tab in Wasilla and left. And they say Wasilla is still suffering because of it. Palin has run something. She does have experience running a city and then a state. But she did not do a good job. The Republicans are always saying that Barack Obama hasn't run anything. He hasn't. But he also doesn't have a record of FAILING at running something. Palin, by the stories being told by many Alaskans, does have that record.

My fear is that since she failed on a small scale which is Alaska, she will fail on a LARGE scale if she were to win the White House in November. She would then have dominion over the country in which me and my children reside. This frightens me to no end. McCain is sick and old. Let's face it. It makes me think that a vengeful McCain, who doesn't have anything to lose any way, choose Palin because he was angry because America and the World were fawning all over Obama and he got jealous. Sometimes his tone sounds like a jealous teenage school quarterback who lost a game to a less popular quarterback. It appears to me that this is all a game to McCain. He doesn't need the money, the fame, nor does he care about helping middle-class America. He just wants to win. Just for spite.

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It's OK for John McCain to be a notorious hothead because he's a "maverick" and ex-jet jockey. But if Obama gets even slightly upset, he's an angry and potentially violent Black radical who hates America--especially Whitey.

And how about McCain and the ugly divorce and quick remarriage to someone almost a generation younger than him?

God forbid, imagine if Michelle had been in an accident, and Obama dumped her and married a rich, 20-something heiress? What would the media call him?

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I must not be white then. Please don't group me in with all the things you said. I think I share the same sense of outrage on pretty much every point you bring up, but you're article lumps me in with it because of the color or my skin? The term "white privilege" itself is racist, and this article is part of the problem, not the solution.

And I'm sorry to say that, because based on the things you write about I think we'd be pretty much simpatico, but you've already pushed me out of your tent.

Racism is all about taking complicated multi-dimensional issues about *people* and finding an easy marker to lay the blame on, point the finger, and feel better about ourselves. We all do that in more little ways than we'll ever be conscious of every day. If you don't think that you're part of the problem, then you're part of the problem.

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The authors observations about how the media is treating the two candidates differently is accurate- but its source is the Republican Noise Machine- not Obamas skin color. Look at the kid glove treatment that Bush gets- compared to the Swift Boating of Kerry- and you can immediately see the difference.

I actually agree with the author about white preference. I know it exists, and if I were on teh black side of the divide, I would feel totally discriminated against like they do

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Black President. Latino birthrate four times that of Whitie. Michelle Obama as Vice President. This is your worst nightmare, cracker, and it's coming true.

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you state that this article is to "help" people who " still can't grasp the concept of white privilege". you do this by dumping on them a laundry list of grievances - many of which are grievances which have been experienced by white candidates time and again - punctuated with bald assertions that this time around, the problem is racism. i strongly agree that white privilege and racism are major forces in this election, but i'm not the one you're claiming to be directing this article at. how do you expect people who can't grasp the concept of white privilege to be swayed by your total lack of analysis here? this kind of writing does a disservice to people like barack obama, who has worked to start a real, nuanced conversation about race - not just with those who agree with him already but with the people you are claiming as your audience. next time try to consider why those people don't get it and work on an actual strategy to help them out.

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OBAMA BLUE DAY!!!

September 30, 2008

It's time to REPRESENT!!!!!

This election season has remained too close for comfort and too close to call! We have 100,000s of unregistered voters and millions more sitting on the fence! It's time for us to come together, voice our unity, and make a difference!

On Tuesday, September 30, 2008, everyone is asked to do two things:

1) WEAR BLUE
2) REGISTER TWO VOTERS

If you can't register two voters talk to two people who may be on the fence/ or a McCain supporter and sway them to become a Obama Supporter.

LETS MAKE OBAMA BLUE DAY a DAY OF ACTION!!!!

PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO EVERYBODY WHO MAY BE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING!!!

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Can you imagine for one second if Obama had a knocked up teenage daughter and the baby daddy said "I'm a fuckin gangsta and I like to shoot shit."

Imagine if Michelle Obama was a member of the NAtion of Islam.

They wouldn't be running for President, they'd be under FBI survellience.

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At least Obama's doing much better in OH, WI, MI, and IA and even reaching out in Republican strongholds such as VA and CO. Give him some time.

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Your help is needed. If you're ready for change, please share this video with all of your family and friends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM58nqX1ehE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN_pGy_1bEg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD0iAQN7VPY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpfHz_WeXHw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH9BtZwTyHo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWVGsuNecYg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UssvnQMn-EM


Go to youtube and do a search for "thinkverybig" and watch all of those videos. The one called "We Must Change" would be fitting to recite at Obama's Inauguration.

Here's a community organizer that's reached out to over 20,000 youth and has a goal of touching a million by teaching them the game of life using the game of chess. Click below to watch video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLFENGymr34

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DRAFUS DRAGON DARES

Excellent, Tim Wise. You nailed it. If many of the national media had the courage of their convictions as some of us do, McCain, Palen and the Christian Right would certainly have been laughed off the scene by now. I am appalled and disgusted at the lack of truth reported by the media. I guess they are afraid to make waves and lose their jobs as Dan Rather did a few years ago. I just learned to use the internet, where a much more accurate accounting can and does exist. Obviously the powers that be haven't figured out a way to control this outlet. As many of us are now aware, we have a holy war going on. Though I'm aware that everyone has their own truth, according to their life experience. the Christian Right BELIEVES they are right and are definitely right FIGHTERS, but I hear nothing but hate, judgment and ignorance from these dangerous people.

To so many of us who love animals and our beloved planet, I am appalled, horrified and angered by John McCain's incompetent decision in choosing Palen for a running mate and very probably president of these United States at some point in time. While she is busy enjoying entrapping, slaughtering and butchering innocent animals many of us “sinners”, (according to the religious right), are trying to save them. I am so lifted that Barack Obama has NOT lowered himself to engage in the ridiculous adds and attacks that the McCain, Palen, Karl Rove travesty creates, a repeat of the nightmare of lies and horrific acts of the Bush fiasco. I would hate to see what these “loving” Christians would've done to Obama if it had been his daughter who was in trouble. These people are the most dangerous cult that exists in this country. Don't get me wrong, I myself belong to the Unity Church which teaches what I believe and what Christ taught, that God is LOVE and is within US. There are millions of wonderful, loving, giving Christians out there but many seem to be asleep when it comes to politics. It is too much trouble to check out the facts. They just might find they are wrong in their thinking, God forbid. It is much easier to follow someone who says what they want to hear, no matter how absurd. They become enthralled over anyone who they think will give them what they want, power and control over the rest of us “sinners”, as they continue to operate for THEIR GOD OF THE WORLD, MONEY. It is too much trouble for them to check out what their “leadership's” true agenda entails. I cannot imagine how they can turn a blind eye to the past eight years we have suffered under the “guidance” of the biggest joke of a “commander 'n chief” that EVER took power as well as the most treacherous, yet they are ready to continue the travesty for the next four years. My God, People, WAKE UP and get you damn heads out of the sand.

I am fully awake and aware of the controversial nature of what I have to say but I do not live in fear. I am a self taught artist and writer. I will speak out while we still have a short span of time to do something to save ourselves and our planet. PLEASE go to my website: www.saintlysinnersloft.com and click on the “Manifesto” link to read more. Forty eight days are all we have left. Mc Cain and Palen are the most dishonest, incompetent and dangerous pair (outside of their cohort, George W.) that has ever darkened the door of our country. Have any of you checked out the “American Concentration Camps”(created by FEMA) website or the truth about 9/11? Please check it out. This is very serious business, Folks. So PLEASE get busy. We still have time to save ourselves and our beloved country. I am convinced that Barack Obama is the “SPIRIT of LIGHT” who can assist us in getting there. Anne St. Aubin aka Saintly Sinner

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For example, polygamy thrives in Colorado City, Arizona (McCain's home state) where thousands of American families (10,000 people) are systematically stripped of their democratic rights and women & children are abused. John McCain hasn't lifted a finger to stop it. What qualifies McCain to be president when he can't even clean up the Taliban in his own backyard? Take a look at the trailer for the recent alarming documentary, BANKING ON HEAVEN . COM

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Imagine for a moment if the Democratic primary had gone differently and Hillary Clinton were now the democratic nominee.

Let's say for argument's sake that she chose Joe Biden as her running-mate as well.
Now imagine John McCain choosing a black man to be his running-mate.

What sort of reaction would the American people have? Can you imagine the media clamoring over all the black men that may come out of the shadows for the McCain campaign? Doubt it.

White privilege means that you can use someone's IDENTITY to gain political leverage, not their experience.

Just one more white woman's observations.

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DRAFUS DRAGON DARES

Excellent, Tim Wise. You nailed it. If many of the national media had the courage of their convictions as some of us do, McCain, Palen and the Christian Right would certainly have been laughed off the scene by now. I am appalled and disgusted at the lack of truth reported by the media. I guess they are afraid to make waves and lose their jobs as Dan Rather did a few years ago. I just learned to use the internet, where a much more accurate accounting can and does exist. Obviously the powers that be haven't figured out a way to control this outlet. As many of us are now aware, we have a holy war going on. Though I'm aware that everyone has their own truth, according to their life experience. the Christian Right BELIEVES they are right and are definitely right FIGHTERS, but I hear nothing but hate, judgment and ignorance from these dangerous people.

To so many of us who love animals and our beloved planet, I am appalled, horrified and angered by John McCain's incompetent decision in choosing Palen for a running mate and very probably president of these United States at some point in time. While she is busy enjoying entrapping, slaughtering and butchering innocent animals many of us “sinners”, (according to the religious right), are trying to save them. I am so lifted that Barack Obama has NOT lowered himself to engage in the ridiculous adds and attacks that the McCain, Palen, Karl Rove travesty creates, a repeat of the nightmare of lies and horrific acts of the Bush fiasco. I would hate to see what these “loving” Christians would've done to Obama if it had been his daughter who was in trouble. These people are the most dangerous cult that exists in this country. Don't get me wrong, I myself belong to the Unity Church which teaches what I believe and what Christ taught, that God is LOVE and is within US. There are millions of wonderful, loving, giving Christians out there but many seem to be asleep when it comes to politics. It is too much trouble to check out the facts. They just might find they are wrong in their thinking, God forbid. It is much easier to follow someone who says what they want to hear, no matter how absurd. They become enthralled over anyone who they think will give them what they want, power and control over the rest of us “sinners”, as they continue to operate for THEIR GOD OF THE WORLD, MONEY. It is too much trouble for them to check out what their “leadership's” true agenda entails. I cannot imagine how they can turn a blind eye to the past eight years we have suffered under the “guidance” of the biggest joke of a “commander 'n chief” that EVER took power as well as the most treacherous, yet they are ready to continue the travesty for the next four years. My God, People, WAKE UP and get you damn heads out of the sand.

I am fully awake and aware of the controversial nature of what I have to say but I do not live in fear. I am a self taught artist and writer. I will speak out while we still have a short span of time to do something to save ourselves and our planet. PLEASE go to my website: www.saintlysinnersloft.com and click on the “Manifesto” link to read more. Forty eight days are all we have left. Mc Cain and Palen are the most dishonest, incompetent and dangerous pair (outside of their cohort, George W.) that has ever darkened the door of our country. Have any of you checked out the “American Concentration Camps”(created by FEMA) website or the truth about 9/11? Please check it out. This is very serious business, Folks. So PLEASE get busy. We still have time to save ourselves and our beloved country. I am convinced that Barack Obama is the “SPIRIT of LIGHT” who can assist us in getting there.

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With all due respect to this article, one could argue that Barack Obama is more white than black. His mother was white and it was primarily her influence that guided his life.

Let's get off the racism bandwagon and admit that some people back the GOP policy agenda (I'm not one), that some simply do not embrace Obama's platform nor that of the Democrats.

Hillary Clinton was brutalized for gender -- thick ankles, references to sexual preference, her pantsuits, jokes about her husband's infidelities and what prompted them -- so please do not play racism as an issue without embracing also the whole realm of biases from race to gender to age.

My opinion is that Obama has needed all along to have a 15-point platform, succinct and understandable, that he reiterated at every opportunity, over and over, not just on a Web site nor funneled through the press.

He needs to do this now and in clearest terms possible so everyone is clear on his tax, education, healthcare and immigration plans.

I am white, I do not care a hoot about race in a candidate, nor age nor gender. To tell me these are biases that influence my vote will not win you any admirers in my household.

Frankly, I'm smarter than all that and so are the people I know.

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This article points directly to what is wrong with corporate medias double standards, and white Americas inability to confront "white privilege"! Yes, there is an African American male running for the highest office in this country, so "African Americans" have come far and no longer need to complain, right! The "Women's rights" movement have come far also, but they are still complaining- right!

Two things wrong with the statements above: (1)the first assumes that simply because an African American is running for office everything is right in "Black America", which flies in the face of pay inequities, hiring inequities, housing inequities, living standard inequities, educational inequities, etc. I could go on but you get the point. There is a perception (if they think about it at all) in white America that all African Americans are doing well! If an African American is hired than it must be because of "Affirmative Action", what you don't realize is that most African Americans have to walk in and act as though they wrote the book on the job that they are applying for, while simultaneously making their "white peers" comfortable enough that those white people don't feel stupid! And if you happen to be an African American female, than it's twice as bad! (2)There are more "White women" working, and yet, Lilly Ledbetter doing the same job as a man was paid much less than her male counterpart! So even as there are women CEO's, there is pay inequity, and yet, no one would say these women are whining!

Those women that voted for Hilary were enthusiastic because she was a white woman that they could identify with! She was someone that they could point to their daughters and say you too can be whatever you want! In her bid she represented the best of what women believe about themselves, when given a chance! Yet, the "Womens" movement are not called whiners, are they?

So while African-Americans have come far, there is still inequality in treatment between the races! Daily since Sarah Palin has been put on the ticket, no real substantive questions have been really asked or answered! Both her and McShame have been treated with kid gloves, yet the Obama campaign is not given such deferential treatment, why is that? Yet no one wants to discuss not just the elephant in the room (race), but the double standard that that affords to the other side! No America, this country really needs to have an honest discussion about race, but "White Americans" first must confront the privileges that they receive daily!

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White or not, its hard to overcome McBush being a blundering idiot and outright LIAR. I honestly fail to see how anyone with a single ounce of common sense could be taking McBush/Failin seriously.

JIff
Ultimate Anonymity

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This article is a page from the Obama play book. The white privilege are always at fault, its never anyone else's fault. How very sad that you just don't get it, it is not his race, its Obama.

Barack Obama is what American is truly about; he is/was an average student that was admitted to Columbia and Harvard because of his race. He has been given far more privileges than most persons possibly could expect with such limited experience. He has the least amount of experience of any Presidental candidate in modern history...and the reason we are not calling him on his lack of qualifications is because of his race.

Your article is written on hate, rather than genuine opposition to the other party's policies. Your tactics are to silence the critics of Obama, so he can become the President through affirmative action.

This has worked most of his life...but not this time,Obama is an opportunist, who is not qualified to be the President, has a huge credibility and secret gap in his personal history, has many scary associates, and belonged to a church that does not represent or support this country. These are the reasons many are not voting for him, and it has nothing to do with his color.

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I never could understand the right wing's so-called ideas before I read this explanation of it.

Thank you , thank you (deep bow) Tim Wise. You certainly deserve that wonderful name!

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Great article, most people see all the things this article states, but only see it as a matter of fact. Nice to see someone is looking at the world in Technicolor. What is even better at this point in time, on the space-time continuum, is that they write about it. It even gets better; some people can actually hear what they are saying.

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They get to act like total assholes 24 hours a day if they want to, and they're exempt from the rule that people should at least try to make sense.

Wait, because they're white or because they're white Republicans?


FREE AMERICA

REVOLUTIONARY (DIRECT) DEMOCRACY

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That individuals like McCain/Palin and their supporters/ilk be reincarnated as poor black females living in any inner city in America.

"But suppose God is black? What if we go to Heaven and we, all our lives, have treated the Negro as an inferior, and God is there, and we look up and He is not white? What then is our response?

~ Robert Kennedy ~

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DrSuess and JTandy make their points.
Let's recall our Frantz Fanon and let's extrapolate from Fanon's thesis.
In any _colonialized_ state (or "memed" individuals if you prefer Richard Dawkins's terminology), the "colonist"/oppressor is usually way too powerful to be attacked head on. _Fear_ of the oppressor's "power" does not make the grievances of the _colonized_/oppressed go away. Rather it boils just under the surface. So, this anger, fear, and frustration is now channeled away from the oppressor and _toward one's fellow oppressed_. Yes, the oppressed turn on each other. It used to be called "divide and conquer." And the oppressor _remains in power_!
The Gilded Age plutocrats called it, "hire half of the poor to kill the other half."
When we as individuals and as "stakeholder" groups make silly distinctions and attack each other based on changeable (and some unchangeable ones, I admit)"qualities," we begin to side with the oppressor in perpetuating oppression.
And let us recall Steven Biko's warning, "the most powerful weapon of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed."
Whether that distinction is based on ethnicity, pigmentation, educational level, neighborhood, linguistic group, geographic location, gender, supernatural beliefs, it remains a _man-made_ distinction. We are all humans with identical rights and needs.
The entitlement "class," that particular and insignificant segment of our specie that wants all the resources, all the bounty of earth, all the rights and privileges, _and_ the absolute right to dole these out to its favorites and with-hold it from the "undeserving," _that "class"_ is the enemy of man. No one else...
Palin and McCain are just another tool in _their_ arsenal.
They may hogged the resources, but "we got us the numbers." That's why the Founders gave us the _vote_. It's to have a _bloodless revolution_ every four years. If you don't inform yourself and your friends and vote and get them to come out _and vote_, you have yourself to blame for _your oppression_.
Your oppression, think about it: all it does is feed your fear, your anger, your frustration, and, ultimately, your depression. The cure is not pot, booze, coke, Xanax, Zoloft, etc. The cure _is_ organization and the honest vote...
Do you have the will? Nay, do you have the courage?

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IF McCAIN IS SO PROUD OF HIS WAR RECORD, WHY DOESN'T HE OPEN IT TO THE PUBLIC? HE HAD IT SEALED FOREVER, SO NO ONE CAN QUESTION HIM ABOUT IT. FOR SOME REASON I DON'T BELIEVE HIM. MAYBE IT'S BECAUSE I KNOW PEOPLE PERSONALY WHO HAVE GONE THROUGH WWII, WHO WERE WOUNDED SEVERAL TIMES, WHO HAVE MANY, MANY MEDALS TO PROVE IT, AND ONE WHO WAS GIVEN THE CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR, AND THEY DON'T TALK ABOUT IT. THEY DON'T USE IT AS A, "LOOK AT ME YOU GUYS, YOU KNOW WHAT I DID, ATTITUDE. I KNEW THESE PEOPLE ALL MY LIFE. THEY WERE MY UNCLES. YOU DON'T BRAG ABOUT THINGS LIKE THAT. YOUR HUMBLE, AND UNASSUMING, LIKE OTHERS ARE.

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I think one of the main issues that is the pink elephant in the room when discussing race is expectations and perspective.

The West African Sub-Saharan culture was arguably one of the most technologically primitive cultures on the planet a few hundred years ago. You can make all sorts of arguments, but the fact is that Egyptians, Romans, Arabs, Asians, and then Europeans frequently used these people as slaves throughout history. They were without defense and subject to culture after culture assaulting their sovereignty.

With that being said they were brought here and put into brutal slavery where their children and children's children would even be subject to such horrors. When slavery did end, they were second class citizens who, for the most part, were not given proper educations and faced discrimination, an unemployable postion, and bodily harm for years after.

So now we have Barack Obama. A man not even a two centuries removed from the Sub-Saharan African's position as a traditionally enslaved peoples. This is a phenomenal accomplishment and speaks to the strength and fortitude of not only America, but African Americans in general. My point being is this, we should celebrate this accomplishment as a shake up of the social order. However, being guilty over White Privilege is like being guilty over having paved roads and electricity in your house. It is a fact of history and asymetrical technological development. Expecting African Americans to be on an equal footing with other races as far as success in a society that was totally foreign to them up until 150 years ago, and they were shut out of until recently is unreasonable. It takes time to build success; it doesn't happen overnight. It will take generations. Not grasping this point and trying to "speed" up socialogical changes only leads to a weak, divided society that reaps less benefits for all involved. There are still racial issues that need to be resolved for sure; but this particular one shouldn't be spoken about without a little bit of history and perspective. While the rights enumerated in the Constitution should be afforded to all American Citizens; success comes from eons of history and cannot be duplicated overnight. We have to do all we can to not discriminate and help African Americans. After that, it has to be up to them; we have to sit back and let history take its course. And if Obama is any indication, then we are going to be pleasantly surprised.

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I know plenty of people voting for McLame strictly because he IS white! They agree with Obama and his principles but absolutely will not vote for him because he's black. Of course, Palin speaking on NBC Nightly news with a huge confederate flags waving behind her sends that message too..vote for us whitey...we're the white supremist party remember? We like whitey, whitey is supreme, whitey is the only way etc etc...I no longer speak to those I know who turned their backs on me by voting for McCain/Palin because they're white..they've turned their backs on every American, all classes of Americans, ALL veterans by voting WHITE.

Yes, I know there are black people voting for Obama because he's black. That's not right either and inflames whitey to no end...only ,making the racial divide even worse. Whitey is forgetting that Obama is 1/2 whitey himself! I guess I'll never understand why we can't just vote for a person on principle and NOT color. You know where I'm hearing this from? The Pentacostals here are saying it! They welcome blacks into their churches for their MONEY, but knife them in the back, twisting it when they're not looking...

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they're white what else could we expect. Of course Obama may have the whites sitting in the back of the bus then they'll know what the Blacks had to endure.

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The rich have always gotten more 'Liberty and Freedom' than the Working/Poor Classes. This author asks a stupid question,of course they get more breaks,more look-the-other-ways,
more,more,more. but,that being said,you have to be the right kind of 'White' person. You could be Jerry Garcia rich and not get McCain/Palin treatment,but,if you're a Hienz,a
Gates,or Murdock,you live in an entirely different America where the Bill of Rights and the Constitution really mean something,because you own so much shit you can't remember where it all is.
That is the real issue in this election,
'do we keep giving tax breaks to those who don't need it or do we rebuild our society from the bottom up and make the rich really pay their fair share?". It's the 'I'm so above everything.' crowd that has given us Iraq,9/11 and the current Wall Street woes. Who will
suffer it the most....us. The folks that have to turn a wrench for a living,wait tables,wash dishes,work three fast food jobs just to live in a reasonably safe district. All to be treated as if we are nothing but fodder for their whim and dictate. I think not!!!!
But really, what more proof do we need that McCain/Palin thinks they are above the rest of us than Ms. Palin's own family.
If a poor kid knocks up a rich kid,the poor kid gets charged as a sex offender. If Ms. Palin's daughter's boyfriend was 18 or over,by rule of law,he should be. By rule of 'Palin's Law' it's her daughter's choice. Which means,the kid that got her pregnant must have alot more money than the Palin's.

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All of you, try and look at it like this; White Privilege should be viewed as whites being born with and insurance policy and the darker hues aren't. It depends on how and when whites will take advantage of this insurance policy called white privilege.

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GREAT ARTICLE AND RIGHT ON TARGET!!

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I don't get it.

How is it that Tim Wise--A WHITE GUY--manages to see clearly what black people have been trying to say and get shot down for every time? I mean what does it take to convince some of my fellow white liberals that white privilege is real and is tangible.

Every single example Wise gives is right on. If one of Obama's daughters was a pregant teen, his political career would be all over. The right-wing wackjobs would be creaming their chinos while raging on and on about "black sexual irresponsibility". Even here we're tip-toeing around the fact that Bristol Palin is a knocked-up seventeen year old who probably hasn't even finished high school yet. Off limits--no way--especially in light of her mother's twisted views on sex education and reproductive freedom.

Here on Alternet, posters complain that Obama's not being "tough" enough--all the while conveniently forgetting that should he do so, he will be wrongfully perceived as an Angry Black Man, the same way Michelle is wrongfully perceived as an Angry Black Woman. Just imagine if he really went after Sarah Palin--white men would lose their collective cool and want to lynch him in order to protect "sacred white womanhood". It would be the equivalent of Birth of A Nation--the scary black man attacking the "poor, defenseless" white woman.

Again, here in the so-called "liberal" blosphere, Obama is chided for not addressing "working-class whites" or "working white women" or what-have-you. He's attacked for being "elitist" because he went to an Ivy League school (as if blacks aren't supposed to strive for excellence), or in the case of Ralph Nader, not "black enough". Every speech and every bit of his legislative record proves the contrary, but it seems my fellow "haters" are too stupid to read it. All they see is Obama's skin color and that alone makes him "different".

And where is the MSM on Palin's scary-ass church? These folks make anything Reverend Wright said look peaceable by comparison. Everyone was quick to condemn Wright, though few actually bothered to comprehend where the man was coming from. BTW, Rev. Wright served in the Korean War, so I think a man who's put his ass on the line for a country that still refuses to acknowledge the sacrifices and innate equality of black people, has a RIGHT (no pun intended) to have grievances. Palin's church wants to bring about the end of the world through death, pain and suffering.

What I find ignorant--yet typical--is this notion that Barack Obama is more "white than black". This is racist nonsense. In essence what is being said by many here is that black people simply cannot be articulate, educated, hard-working, law-abiding, family-oriented people. Not to mention, Obama is indeed half-white, but we all know that to Mr. Redneck, he's still a black man. That's what much of America sees.

Come on, people, poor whites have shown time and again that they're willing to shoot themselves and the rest of us in the head because they have never made peace with "change". These people have less than dirt but cling to their notions of superiority. It's a religion to them. These people want what their fathers and grandfathers had--a world where people knew their "place". Where uppity black folks didn't demand a place at the table and where women were content to bake cookies and raise Wally and Beaver and where the only latino was Ricky Ricardo.

The bottom line is that blacks are still subject to a double-standard. When we bring it up, we're "whining". It's "our fault" that poor whites don't want to find common ground with the working-class of all races. They'd rather live and die with the myth of their innate superiority...and take the rest of the country down with them.

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... I fear that he may come from this type of political culture, which uses victimization and racial scapegoating as it's rasion d'etre. We have a Democratic candidate who has abandoned the concept of National single payer health care, has signed on for FISA wire-tapping, dropped out of public financing, and supported the same faith-based initiatives as the man he runs against.

And the author of this tripe might want to think before he starts typing - white Sarah Palin 'attended four different colleges', but none of them were on par with Columbia or Harvard, like the black candidate Barack Obama. A little thinking before you open your mouth might save you a lot of stupid coming out of it.

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This is so painfully true. Sometimes it makes me cry, often it makes me feel ashamed, often it makes me terribly unproductive to combat racism because of my own fear and sadness. It makes my head spin with madly conflicting should-and-shouldn't, is-and-isn't, do-and-don't narratives of white guilt at the simplest triggers.

What can we do to change these truths? This has been five hundred years in the making, all across the world, from the domination of England, Spain, Portugal, Holland, France, etc. to the colonization and repression of native populations all across the world, through the myriad sea traders forcing people into slavery in other places. Our whole society is built on forgetting this. I mourn every time someone forgets this in the standard narrative while weaving the *whole* of the history in a more affirming light.

It's still here, in the forgottenness of the Native American population, in the group statistics and personal experiences of people of color, in the way African and other states remain carved up in the shapes set out for them and indigenous peoples remain oppressed, in the fabric of how we view history and create today's society, in the combination of violence, hate, apathy and pure neglect, in you and in me as well as in our society's groupings of people.

But what do we DO now? Perfect love drives out fear. What do we do on a national level and on a personal level? How do we work together and work out our bitterness and feuding? How can I start being more productive and stop being so triggered with feelings of guilt?

What places of dialogue can we set up together and keep holy?

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White privledge is being a member of a church (assemblies of god) which is part of a religious movement that wants to discard the constitution and establish a theocracy (christian dominionism) and being seen as a good church going American, while if you're black and your pastor is a retired Marine who criticises the racist history and policies of this country in common street language, you're a racist, and extremist, and a traitor.

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Of course the ultimate - most special privilege is reserved for straight white men - especially older straight white men.
When is this shit going to end?

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Anyone with a brain can see that Obama and Biden are clearly the right choice for President and Vice-President, as demonstrated by Obama's 2 min. ad in which he outlines a definitive 6 point plan for dealing with our economic problems.

McCain has yet to provide even a bullet list of his plans on how to "fix" the economy, except to say he wants a committee to "investigate" how we got into this mess.

Nobody really wants to say it or wants to admit it, that this all boils down to one thing.
The reason Obama is not doing well in the polls is because AmeriKKKans can't bring themselves to vote for a black man, there I said it.

They won't vote for a black man even if it is means voting against their interests.

I've read and heard the racist jokes about Obama. " If Obama gets to the white-house, is it going to still be called the White-house?"

How disgusting can people be (rhetorical question)?

How sad that this is still the way white people think, I don't think like that, if Obama is the right person to run this country and he is, then I'll vote for him.

Thanks all.

-OBAMA/BIDEN are the right people for this country.

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There were exactly 36 black people at the Republic National Convention in St. Paul. Thirty-six.

This was according to Mr. Steele (can't recall his first name) -- a black Republic who lost his Senate campaign last election in Maryland. He was very upset with the Republic National Committee for not making more of an effort to reach out to black people. He said it "makes them look like they don't care about black people."

And this comes from a black Republic!

Only a fool would deny that racism exists, and particularly in this presidential campaign.

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I agree with the article, I know white privilege is part of the national matrix, and I agree with many or most of the comments, on this and most other AlterNet articles; however, I read them less and less because AlterNet and its commentators, largely a sane group, represent a marginal "eddy" in the currents of United States culture(s), and even though we come here, read, and agree with one another, the effect of this activity on other streams is insignificant. The majority of Americans are insane, and I believe, irretrievably, irremediably so. "Abandon hope, all ye who enter here..."

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OK, I'll admit I'm a Hapa and like that Obama comes from a mixed heritage but only because I put the planet first over country, state or party.

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Abraham Lincoln freed the black slaves and passed legislation to liberate polygamists enslaved by their religion. He didn't live long enough to enforce the ban on polygamy. How ironic that we now have a black presidential candidate who may return Lincoln's favor by freeing the white women & children enslaved by polygamy. To find out more about the 10,000 polygamists (FLDS) in AZ, UT, TX and elsewhere, check out the recent alarming documentary, "BANKING ON HEAVEN . COM". Quite an eye-opening film.

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This is the type of thinking that drives open minded people nuts, reducing everything down to race. On the question of experience. Both Biden and Obama are LAWMAKERS, they write laws, this is also true of McCain. Mayors and Governors are EXECUTIVES they make decision like CEOs do. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH COLOR, IT HAS TO DO WITH THE JOB. It is why Clinton, Reagan, Carter even Bush get elected, they have run States as GOVERNORS. Presidents dont make laws they make decisions. There is no experience that can prepare anyone to be President, because there is no job like it, except possible Vice President. The closest thing to it is to be a GOVERNOR of a State.

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This was sent to me in an email today, and it seems fitting here:

"I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight...

*If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're 'exotic, different.'
*Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers; a quintessential American story.

*If your name is Barack, you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.
*Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you're a maverick.

*Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.
*Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.

*If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on
the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.
*If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.

*If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.
*If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.

*If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.
*If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.

*If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's.
*If your husband is nicknamed 'First Dude', with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.


OK, much clearer now."

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I have to stop you there Karl because statistically the number of white families on welfare outnumber people of color by at least 10%. The media do a good job of making it seem like the welfare mothers are not of the Caucasian diaspora but they're wrong. What you said is in itself an expression of white privilege. The people of color who sit in their houses eating arugula are there because they worked ten times harder than their white counterparts; they didn't just marry someone rich. Everyone has to work hard in this country to move up but social stigmas and age-old institutions create more barriers for some than others.

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What about being another legacy student, this time at Annapolis, and finishing in the bottom 5 of his class and still being elected Senator and now nominated for the Presidency?

Haven't we had enough of legacy students at fancy east coast Universities?

I know Annapolis probably doesn't have legacy admissions like Yale but you can't tell me that having a Admiral for a father and another for a grandfather doesn't make it easier to get in.

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It is true that Americans are international whiners about the leadership it places in office. Is it not the goal of every militarized and penal society to place cowboys and soldiers at the head of the table? Was it not evident that after 200 plus years of either a frat good ol’ boy or war vet to run the strongest nation on earth? Our first President was an actual Commander in Chief who would be seen today as a liberal by Karl Rove for knowing some native languages, both tribal allies and foes. The commanders and generals of past were men of true character and unfortunately our warriors today have turned into corporate executives ran by profit gauges and numbers.

At this point in history I think it wise the American people pull their heads out of their American Idols and start to think about just really happened globally in the last 20 years. Most Americans could give a flying %^&* about the rest of the world and continue to live in this bubble of superficiality and material externalism that keeps everyone in a state of Pavlov Dogs. Everything from buying the newest ipod and cell phone to whatever the Spears dears are wearing, we deserve all the crap we get and God forbid we get in a jam and need world support, they might turn on us and then what? Remember, many Johnny Come Lately haters put Bush in the White House. Religious leaders, Corporate Execs, Law enforcement business leaders and the Military are to blame and we are to blame allowing them this fatal path we are on economically, internationally, militarily and socially.
And about this White Privilege thing, yes, its true folks, the media have a history beginning in film before Reagan was Chairing the Actors Guild in Hollywood. I couldn’t stand Reagan then, but after the Bush infections, I miss Ol’ Dutch! And I’m about as liberal as an ointment on Ghandis’ feet! There were propaganda films attacking every imaginable ethnic group or in the least, the depiction of with film in general thanks to DW Griffiths and L “OZ” Frank Baum writings. Irish, Germans, Italians, Japanese, African Americans, Latinos and of course, the oldie but goody, American Indian were always and to some extent, still living in American minds through the media and film. Drumming public support (and money) yet you know what? The public agrees through entertainment value! The divisions in society have not been more apparent and visible since the 1950’s.
My take is not about race, but the divisions in working people themselves and that is sad. That is when the rich have really eaten then excreted the poor. Much of America cannot see beyond race and are willing to take a chance but would rather vote for successful “looking” men with Stepford Wives and somewhat “normal” and “clean” backgrounds. We find out too late into the affair and gripe at the pump and when we get home, we grab the remote and surf for the Survivor series.

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To borrow a 50 Cent song title, this particular "club" of White privilege is troubling; that two people and those who kowtow to these tenets can maliciously castigate a whole group of people who aren't like them.
What's the solution? Well most minorities can't change their skin color or live a life like McCain or Palin. Why not, one might say? Because most of us don't have access to political power. You give us "community organizers" whom you so eloquently admonished in St. Paul a few weks ago. THAT IS our scope of political access at times.
I'd say we should avoid frequenting this nightclub and try another venue on the outskirts of the United States.

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Why is it so hard for the some whites to admit america has given you built in advantages that people of color for the most part do not have? 1) Turn on your tv right now and tell me what people's images you will see predominately? 2) Pick a large company in any industry and tell me how many have a person of color as ceo or president. 3)Pick any affluent neighborhood in your city, what people do think own the majority of those homes? 4) If a child of color and a white child grow up in similar backgrounds which child is going to face more obstacles in getting a college degree? I'm not excusing people of color for any lack of responsibility on their part but the system is slanted like the effel tower for a certain people to reap most of the benefits.

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When was it you respected McCain? When he was one of the Keating Five, doing favors for S&L bustout artist Charlie Keating and Lincoln Savings and Loan? When he supported ending responsible regulation of the S&L industry as a paid hack for Keating and his cronies?

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This article is a piece of shit ! Republicans and Democrats get plenty of air time to host their dumbshow but not other parties and candidacies ! And then you people wonder why half the country doesn't bother to vote ! It doesn't matter if Obama or Mccain is in the White House ! This country is FINISHED and

GOD WILL CONTINUE TO SEVERELY PUNISH AMERICA TO ETERNAL DAMNATION FOR DESTROYING OTHER COUNTRIES AND STEALING THEIR RESOURCES AND/OR LABOR THROUGH "FREE" TRADE SCAMS AND WARS !!!! RRRRRRRRAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRR !!!!

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THE MONEY!!

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I won't buy into this guilt trip. Racist trash !

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This kind of race baiting drivel is why white working class citizens despise Obama supporters. The 'privilege' you attribute to them is illusory. Fools......all.

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I prayed some radical wierdo white power group would not make fools themselves.
I prayed some our there kkk klansmen would not have protests for the cameras to capture and to be used on the air 24/7.

I just did not think of the racist black side of our country turning this into a black / white thing.

Did the real racist just stand up?

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Another instance of preferential treatment: Imagine if Obama's 16 year old daughter had gotten pregnant! Just imagine!

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The basic Republican case against Obama is a very clear and simple one. He hasn’t worked hard enough. He hasn’t got enough experience. His resume is very thin in terms of achievements. His only achievements are that he graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law, was editor of the prestigious Harvard Law Review, a long-time state senator, a federal senator professor of constitutional law, civil rights lawyer. Democrats attempt to point out the significance of those achievements in conservative terms: ie the basic requirement to be a President is to have had at least a couple of years experience as a senator or governor; a thoroughgoing knowledge of constitutional law is a genuine positive for such a position. Having worked at a community level provides an understanding of the realities faced by working families unavailable to a significant number of politicians – especially those presidential candidates who can’t actually remember how many houses they own.

Once Democrats point this out the republicans then make the charges more subtle: Obama hasn’t apparently made a significant impact in any of his fields. So the topic moves to the meaning of significant impact which the Republicans get to frame in terms of military achievement and drilling for oil (and while we’re at it no matter the question all Sarah Palin EVER talks about is Alaska’s energy. She has NOTHING else. She really is nothing more than a paid shill for Texas oil interests in Alaska)

The tragedy here is that the Republican “argument” against Obama is not actually an argument. I’m going to call a spade a spade: it is an emotional appeal to racism. The “argument” is dog-whistle politics – it does nothing more than activate the lazy black stereotype: its appeal at a basic emotional level can, in many instances, overwhelm any objective consideration of the impressiveness of Obama’s achievements to date. It’s a very insidious little meme as can be seen from the effectiveness of the Republican “arguments” despite their complete vacuousness.

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Democrats should simply tell the truth.

The 2000-2008 Republican administration catastrophically blew the response to 9/11. Even Bill O’Reilly admits that. It was not uncommon knowledge at the time it would take an army of a million to get Osama bin Laden out of Afghanistan and then secure the country. (That million man army could then clean up North Pakistan if agreement was reached). Republicans allied with Democrats could have achieved that million man army by leading with the US army; an auxillary US volunteer force for the million man army only (ie they’re the first to leave); and armies from all around the world: given the enormous goodwill (now almost completely evaporated) the entire world had toward the US at that time. All this was achievable through diplomacy. All Republicans had to do was to do some good diplomacy and show the absolutely clear evidence that Bin Laden was behind the attacks.

Republicans never did get around to showing any absolutely clear evidence for Osama Bin Laden’s connection to September 11 (they didn’t even provide any evidence that Bin Laden was not anything more than some kind of plastic action-figure). The Republican leadership had the opportunity to build an international response to what had happened but American exceptionalism kicked in and they completely blew it.

The Republican reaction to 9/11 was to briefly poke around in Afghanistan. Then an extraordinary thing happened in front of all our eyes. Bin Laden morphed into Saddam Hussein. We heard less and less of Bin laden and more and more about Saddam Hussein and it became very confusing because there was supposed to be some sort of connection between them. Republicans never provided any half-serious explanation of what the connection was, but they sure tried to bully everybody into believe it. Republicans provided no clear-cut rationale for why Saddam was now more responsible for 9/11 than Bin laden was. Even weirder Bin laden was sort of disappearing before our eyes. Nor did Republicans provide any evidence for weapons of mass destruction: oh ... my mistake ... weapons of mass destruction were repeatedly shown on TV screens, that was the evidence.

Do I need to go on? So how often does Osama bin Laden get mentioned during this election? If I remember correctly he was the guy responsible for September 11, Republicans were going to hunt him down to the ends of the earth – that’s why the US is still in Iraq. Last I saw Osama bin Laden he had morphed yet again: now into Barrack Obama’s crazy double, that remarkable Republican fantasy figure – the punching doll Osama bin biden - the crazed black-panther communist who is going to eat your children.

Over 2000-2008 Republicans have proven over and over their judgement is exceptionally poor. Republicans have no credibility and cannot be trusted. They took the US to Iraq on a lie and have spent billions and billions and billions of dollars in doing so. The idea of maverik Republicans is getting very old now – we’ve seen Top Gun too many times. Bush was a maverik Republican – his recklessness has almost destroyed the US. ALL Republicans are maverik Republicans – that’s their schtick. Republicans are trying to get people to believe that if these latest “maverik” Republicans are elected, Republicans can clean up the Republican mess. The mess that these “maverik” Republicans are both such intricate parts of. Don't let Palin/McCain get away with pretending they're not part of the party which oversaw this mess. Republicans should be utterly ashamed with themselves.

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I am so sick and tired of the religious right claiming "We are a Christian nation." If you do a search for the Treaty of Tripoli, you'll find "...it was read aloud in its entirety and unanimously approved..." by Congress and signed into law by President Adams in 1797. In it you will find the following:

"Art. 11. As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion;"

We are a nation which has from the beginning insisted on the absolute separation of religion and government. To force Christianity on a Jew, Hindu, Muslim, Shinto, etc., is not what our founding fathers intended.

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This should be posted everywhere, because it makes it plain.

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Was just wondering if I could post this on my blog--obviously, of course, attributed to you--I just love the truth inherent in this piece. Check out my blog at http://jobychronicle.blogspot.com and let me know one way or the other.

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Liberalism in any shape or form is up against

White male prejudice in small companies in small towns:

The essentials of thinking in the barroom circuit who have marginal resources are these: Vote Republican because the less interference by Government, the less there is to fuck up.

Taxes are the greatest cause of hardship and people who don't pay their rent and welfare queens are the cause of high taxes.

Unions are run by racketeers who take your money and if your boss didn't give you a job where would you be?

The way McCain talks to a woman is the way we should treat women :i.e; “I didn’t smear . . over my face like a trollop, you cunt”

It has been my experience in small groups if this type of thinking is in majority the social pressure is menacing to any dissenter who cannot take refuge in another part of the building. The majority in such situations are types who demand that you tell them how you are voting.
Is this the average American, as complained in some of the above posts? Will the election answer this question? Or is that a generation which is dying off?

Or will the Republican party's lies keep on raising and encouraging thugs in order to keep in power?

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I disagree with the fundamental argument made here. McCain and Palin don't get a pass because they're white per se - they get the pass because they're the Republican candidates. Guarranteed, if Chelsea Clinton had shown up pregnant at 17, the MSM would have been outraged - outraged! - at the Clintons' poor parenting skills, lack of values, etc., etc. It's a complete double standard across the board. (notice how nobody has been impeached lately for starting wars under false pretenses, committing felonies (e.g., torture/wiretapping wtihout warrants, and so on) as opposed to that BJ thing? When it's a Republican, it's just "different," somehow....

Sickening....

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I enjoyed what has been written by all, so here is my two cents, we all participate in some form of racism, some more than others. I have done and said somethings I should'nt have but never to extent that affected a person or their family. I do agree with some of things that has been said; but the bottom line is that blacks are still subject to a double-standard and when they bring it up, it's their fault or they are too sensitive; so here is my take, a large majority of poor whites don't want to find common ground with the working-class of all races. They would rather live and die with the myth of their innate superiority...and take the rest of the country down with them. The shame of it all is that the ruling class don't give-a-shit about you. The Iraq war is a classic example, its not only minorities dieing for this republician war."Country first" my ass.

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The flip side of this is that Obama's qualifications magically disappear following the words "I'm not a racist but". We then learn that Obama is "an empty suit" who "has never done anything". Nine years practicing law and twelve years teaching the law melt away and ten years as a Senator do not signify--- Obama has no work experience but three years as community organizer (which today Rush Limbaugh defined as agitator and street thug). If the subject of education comes up, we hear why Obama was admitted to Columbia and Harvard and received his degrees with distinction: "That was only because of Affirmative Action". Other not-racists-but focus on Obama's sinister exoticism and difference (raised in Madrassa, speaks fluent Arabic, prefers juice to coffee, etc). Go hang out on conservative websites---read the posts that follow articles---for an education in not-racism-but.

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Because politics is at the center of this, it is difficult to gauge what forms of favoritism are based on political ideology and which are based on race.

White privilege clearly shows itself in areas far more important to daily survival than politics. The job market is a great example. Sociologist Devah Pager conducted a study of hiring practices in Milwaukee in which she matched black-white pairs of job applicants who applied for a variety of positions. Some indicated they had a criminal conviction, others not. Remarkably, whites with a felony conviction were called back for interviews at same rate as blacks with comparable credentials and no criminal record. Thus, blacks are born with the stigma of a felony conviction. The commonly held belief that babies are born innocent, simply doesn't apply to blacks, especially males. Many blacks like myself have always recognized this but we couldn't quantify it so clearly. We simply called it being born suspect.

This problem is obviously disturbing, but the extent of the exact same problem in the criminal justice system makes it seems trivial by comparison. There are very few upstanding people of color who have as much credibility as a white law enforcement officer.

I do believe these problems are decreased in high level politics, but I think we can be certain of one thing. Had both Bush and Obama been arrested in connection with their youthful forays into drug use, one of their lives would probably have been ruined. I'm sure you can guess who.

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All races divide within themselves as well, so the racial rhetoric is wasted energy. Yes racism exists, but historically, all races have experienced atrocity at some point. Sarah Palin is the result of a cultural transfer of Okies into Alaska during the dustbowl years. They brought their Pentecostal dancing and proud redneck heritage with them. The problem I have is this; I AM FROM OKLAHOMA AND IN OKLAHOMA, IT IS NOT THE CITIZENS THERE THAT HARBOR AND KEEP LIFE IN THE 1950’s, IT IS THE LEADERSHIP! Oklahoma has some of the highest stats in law enforcement corruption, embezzlement, high unemployment rates, substandard education, child abuse (through both DHS and parental), meth use, you name it, Oklahoma fits in somewhere! Even Palin admits Alaska reeked with corruption. How is this good for America? Do we want to send an Eva Braun to the White House?
White privilege is more apparent in legal cases and statistics, in that on the street or with a routine stop and check situation, many times, officers do not treat defendants equally or in some cases some experience harsher treatment within their group. Such has been the case in Native American law enforcement within the Bureau of Indian Affairs in boarding schools and reservations; inner city African American officers or Latino law enforcement in Mexico and Latin America. The police, lawyers, many times jurors, and most importantly, judges seem more threatened and fearful of skin color than white defendants because TV and newspapers keep Americans divided. Where blacks are more suspect and small town police target tribal tags over non-natives because newspapers, especially Oklahoma, love to print minority’s names in their newspapers or mug shots on the local news when a crime is committed but are more lenient to the white community overall. It is less profitable in terms of money to have harmony and peace in a nation of consumers that buy into convenience and luxury over weapons. Weapons that were built costing your grandkids and you billions not to sit in warehouses gathering dust. Then there is the issue of selling arms to worldwide factions keeping war as a business, so the defense industry keeps the planet soaked in blood, anybody’s blood, just as long as we keep our fat cats fat? Is this the greatest country in the world or not? We are responsible as tax payers supporting this bloodshed by not ENFORCING our tax agenda as citizens for without our tax dollars, they must pay out of pocket. We can get that money back by boycotting certain companies and products or services decreasing or eliminating their cash flow to corner revenues to basic cost such as medical, utility bills, rent, gas, generic and low brand food items (even here they may acquire our money) or grow your own food. Why not cut off utility and fuel companies by buying windmills, solar panels and reusable fuels? We pay utility and gas companies billions over a lifetime, why not invest and buy our own sources of energy. Who says the government owns the wind, the earth, and the sun? We need to get off racial divisions and start seeing our very own enslavement to corporate interests and government misuse of our tax money, something we should control, not our leadership! Please people; see the parallels in Bush and Palins “way” of surrounding themselves with YESMEN! She has a history of making people disappear. How is this, a good character trait for a leader and look what it’s done for Bush and our tax surplus?

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It would all be true if one substituted 'corporate backed' for white privilege. The corporate backed have done the same thing to Kerry/Edwards (white-as-can-be guys), Gore, Clinton, (his 'impeachment'), Carter and anyone else who dares stand up to them... Its wrong to define it solely by 'race' which can foster greater antipathy and divisiveness, something the powers-that-be can, if not gleefully, at least aloofly detachedly witness because they remain removed from the pain and suffering of the masses but seem to be entertained by watching them squirm. They are in some sense soul-less in their disconnection. They figure the commoners deserve what they get because they are not worthy of the 'in' crowd. Think high school hierarchy and you have the mean level of human development in toto so far...

Yes, this particular period in history and the formation of the United States of America began with white 'supremecy' but thats not the whole story. The beast has evolved. What it is is privilege tenaciously consuming everything in its path like any good parasite...intoxicated by its own power and addicted to the spoils of its continuing dirty deeds, which included first slavery, then marginalization of non-whites but also marginalization of the have nots in general. Influence peddling, control of the media, purchase of the people's representatives - the whole system is sick, lopsided and ultimately deadly.
If only it were as simple as black and white...

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1) A pregnant 17 yr old, no matter what race, is perceived as tragic. The irony is she needs an abortion.

2)It is obvious that a person that gets a 17 yr old pregnant doesn't have much charactor. The author ignores the serious problem of violent black youth, a problem Obama should deal with.

3)People that mess up college, regardless of race, have their own extenuating or damming circumstances.

4) A presidential candidate could choose a janitor to be vice president and get respect in my book. It is unfair Hilary presented Obama as less experienced than her.

5) If McCain looks like a fool, he looks like a fool. There is no priviledge to look like a fool.

6) There is nothing wrong with states rights, secession advocates. States would take better care of themselves were they their own federal government. This is a legitamate idea we shouldn't be prejudiced against because it is not popular.

7) There is no one I know who disrespects community organizers, they are very well respected. Moreover that Palin was a mayor, in violation of reservation of powers for the state or the people, is a real issue,and people do call her on that.

There is a difference between the people and the media. Maybe the media should be blamed for these faults and not the people.

8)McCain's choice of veep is a take on the hilary phenonoma. Hilary is a joke. You shouldn't be senator because your husband was president. That's as nepotistic as the bushes.

9) Objective people know it is bad to fire people who don't support your campaign, and that associating with bad people is what it is.
You grant a legitamacy to right wing radio.
The rancor is as bad as the view fawning over obama. We want to have obama elected, so we can not be niggardly, but real and have something to give.

10)There's obviously a media bias that hasn't reported the corruptions of McCain's church. But is it race-based, or anti-democrat? And what about the hatred of Wright? Obama is more than that to me.

11) I think the prejudice is against democrats and not blacks and quite similiar to the swift boat attacks on Kerry, and any numerous manipulations by republicans. What?, did the unfairness just start now because the democratic candidate is black?

12) A man is someone who addresses the violence of blacks, that they are not better athletes yet in pro-sports, their unnecessary alianation from Africa, the different tiers of american society for whites and blacks, the complexity of being mixed race: the difficulty of being black is not a hatred of them by whites, but something more institutional and complex.

13) Hey, I am not for republicans, Obama has a unique chance to lead us right, and deal with things we don't deal with. But to say the republican becomes president unfairly only in this election, is niggardly, and not the rallying round obama we need.

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While I was there volunteering I often heard that
Milwaukee was the most segregated city so the results of the survvey are not surprising

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And here is why:

All of the statements are "white priviledge is XXXX and not being called on it".

Palin HAS been called on all of them.

And the comparisons to Obama? Hello!! Obviously all those minor sentiments didn't mean a damn thing because he kinda won the nomination, didn't he?

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The rule by white trash will be over in a generation and rule by African-Americans will never happen. Look at the names one now sees quoted as experts and authorities in the press. Who is earning the prizes and scholarships in the schools?

In Washington State, at least half the finalists in the state junior high math contests are obviously Japanese, Chinese, Korean, or other main land Asians. 7.5% of our population is listed as "Asian" and that includes Pacific Islanders who, if broken out of the total, list below African-Americans.

In other words, main land Asians are at least 7 times over represented at the top of the economic, educational, and professional lists. It doesn't matter who controls the vote because the Asians will have the high paying jobs and control of the system.

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The only people who can save America today is our young people. Those of college age and still young enough to be untainted by the bigotry and hatred of the so called middle aged and older people who were spoon fed race and liberal hating garbage while they were growing up. First time and younger generation voters have a rare chAnce to do something special for their country today. Get out and vote your conscience and drag your friends and realitives with you. THE FUTURE BELONGS TO YOU AND ONLY YOU !. ONLY YOU! THINK LONG AND HARD ABOUT THAT! Its your chance to shape it in your image. Do It please!
Save America. Its god damned obvious you are our only hope. I'm 63 years old and I fervently APPROVE this message!

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They have the privilege and the misfortune of being called racists for no reason other than they do not want to vote for a Marxist nobody. Meanwhile, Obama can get away with writing two racist books, belonging to a racist church. He and his wife can be excused from their sordid past with regard to racism and domestic terrorism and get away with it thanks to the press who can elevate any old nobody to the Demcorat nomination by making him out to be something he is not.

That's what whites have to suffer.

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They have the privilege and the misfortune of being called racists for no reason other than they do not want to vote for a Marxist nobody. Meanwhile, Obama can get away with writing two racist books, belonging to a racist church. He and his wife can be excused from their sordid past with regard to racism and domestic terrorism and get away with it thanks to the press who can elevate any old nobody to the Demcorat nomination by making him out to be something he is not.

That's what whites have to suffer.

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McCain Palin have not been give ANY pass on anything.

Now Obama, how does a completely despicable character like him even get as far as he has?

HUGE PASS.

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This should be required reading for every single registered voter in the nation.

For those folks claiming that the white working class doesn't benefit from racial privilege, or, hilariously, that this article is actually somehow racist (LOL - anti-racism is racist?), I refer you to a few primers on what white privilege actually is (and what it is not):

Shall We Talk About Privilege

Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

White Privilege Shapes the U.S.

And Wise himself wrote a sequel piece to this one, based on the voluminous response it's received, and clarifies just what he's talking about when he refers to white privilege:

Explaining White Privilege to the Deniers and the Haters

Everyone who has read and commented on this article should read all of these, if you have not already.

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I think the story white privilege was way out in left field. Not only was it out in left field but it was also racist,hateful and discriminatory. I don't think privilege has anything to do with race. It's all about money. That is why a black man called "OJ" got away with murder and used discrimination to get off. Is this Black privilege? Or,maybe just money.

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