I’ve been insanely jealous ever since I read on Yarn Harlot that Canadian elections last about six weeks. After two years of campaigning I figured there was nothing else for anyone to know.
This morning I was asked by a coworker to explain some political stuff to her. We were talking about some issues and I said something about what Democrats believe. She said, “And Obama’s the democrat, right?” I managed not to gape. I did say, “Ok, we’re starting at the beginning…”
Then we were joined by another person and started discussing race. She actually used the phrase, “I don’t consider myself predjuduced…” Another person busted out laughing but I kept a straight face. She kept talking about how if Obama was elected there would be black people running all over the White House. It moved into how she was afraid of black men and how she’d never met one with a lick of sense. She’d never open the door to a black man no matter how well he was dressed or even if it was Obama himself. Good thing she isn’t predjudiced.
*snort* Sounds like my dad, he always said he refused to let us date a black guy. I asked him what he had against black folks, at one time, and he started into some big, convoluted explanation about how “oh, they’re ok to be coworkers with, or even as teachers, and sometimes as friends, but you shouldn’t date or MARRY one, your background is just too different from theirs.” I asked how this could be true, if they were a christian guy (back when I was still trying to be a good little christian girl) from a family with a Mom and Dad like mine, and Dad started going on about how the racial unrest in the country would be too hard on a marriage between people of 2 different races. (He also made it clear that while he wouldn’t LIKE it if we married a guy who was asian or hispanic, he wouldn’t have as much a problem with that as if the guy was black.) *shaking head*
Nope, folks like that just don’t get it. My dad’s issue with Obama in particular, beside the valid concerns about infringements on our Second Amendment rights, is that he’s “Muslim”. Nevermind the fact that as an adult he attends and was/is a a member of a Protestant Church. The mere fact that Obama went to a muslim school for a little while as a kid, and his dad was muslim, is sufficent to convince my Dad that Obama’s a muslim, and in that line, all muslims are terrorists and shouldn’t be trusted. *rolling eyes*
Did I mention I’m voting for Obama? (Short of him doing something MONUMENTALLY stupid in the next week, that is; not that I’d vote for McCain either way.) Even given my concerns about his stance on the right to bear arms (and his thoughts on Nuclear Power), I still think Obama’s the better candidate.
Wow! I haven’t seen the vote right, vote white signs. I’m originally from rural Erie County PA so I know the attitudes you are talking about.
Oh, Heather…I think that I’d like to meet you one day. I was raised by bigots. I don’t think the deep south has ANYTHING on Warren County PA. Whenever a sentence begins with “I’m not prejudiced but…” what follows next is going to plainly piss you off. My mother is not prejudiced but she believes ‘that blacks should not be allowed to marry whites’. She also believes that if whites don’t want a black person living next to them, they should have that right. Trying to explain to her that as soon as you try to limit someone’s freedoms based on their color is exactly what prejudice IS, makes her furious…because she’s NOT prejudiced, you see. There is no sense arguing with them. Do you have the ‘Vote right, vote white’ signage going up where you are? I wrote an article, submitted it, with picture. The paper isn’t going to run it. I guess bigots buy papers too.
From what I’ve seen, it seems prejudiced people feel they are justified in their way of thinking and don’t consider themselves prejudiced. Having gone through my own form of prejudice in my life (based on religion, not race), I went through that. I’ve yet to meet anyone who proudly claimed they were prejudiced. I’ve found some, including myself, who had realized they were and were working to get out of automatic reactions they had had for years, but logically they knew better. But for those who are fully prejudiced, if you call them prejudiced, they feel you just don’t understand the situation and get offended. Or at least this has been my observation and experience.