The Race Card

If you did not stay up to watch the election on March 4th, you may have missed something interesting that happened in Ohio. The polls were supposed to close at 7, but the Obama camp went to court to get an injunction to keep the polls open to 9. Ohio law is very clear on what it takes to change the closing times for the polls, there needs to be a clear problem stopping voters from making it to polling places. However on the 4th, when Obama’s people asked a judge to hold a few precincts open, he granted it, without any evidence of hardships (proving once again, judges have too much power). The issue was that the Clinton camp was not happy, but they would not make a public stink. The problem for Clinton was that the precincts held open were primarily in black neighborhoods, and so Clinton could not say anything without making it a racial issue. This lies at the very heart of the problem. Obama has played an honorable game (yes I do not agree with him, but I respect what he is trying to do), he has yet to play the race card. There have been a few opportunities where he could have used race and did not. When the Clintons referred to him as a slumlord, had he said as a black man he was offended, that would have hurt the Clinton campaign. I respect him for not doing it. Yet, the race card is still a problem for the Clintons. If a white candidate was trying to keep polls open to help their chances, Hillary would have been all over it, but with a black candidate, she needs to be careful what she says and does. The worst thing you can be called in politics is a racist. Cheat on your wife, pardon rapists, and accept money from crooks, no big deal. Say something racist and you might as well drop out. This is one area where Hillary or any candidate is at a disadvantage.

I know there are will always be race issues in this nation, and living where I do I have become more away of what it is like to be a minority. Everywhere I go here I am a minority, often times being the only white person in a store or wherever. Just the other day I had to go visit someone. I was meeting another guy at her house and was early so I waited for my friend in my car outside her house. I was coming from church so was wearing a white shirt and tie. As I slowly drove down the street looking for her address I noticed how strange all her neighbors were looking at me, not used to see a big white guy looking at their houses. When I stopped in front of her house, I waited for over ten minutes. Every neighbor on the block came out to check up on me. One finally came to my car to see what I was doing. I know back home a black man waiting in his car outside a house in my neighborhood would draw the same attention. What I think needs to happen is for everyone to stop looking for racism. Too many minorities are looking for the chance to accuse others of racism. This primary was a perfect example. The Clinton camp can not come down as hard on Obama on few issues because she can not afford to look racists. To me that is the very definition of racism, treating others different because of their race. The only way to stop it, is to not go around looking for it.

I have been very impressed by Tiger Woods. An announcer said that other golfers should lynch him. The black community has been up in arms, wanting her head. Many have been just as mad at Tiger because he just let it be, he did not take offense. Was the statement wrong, maybe. I say maybe because of her intent. She is close to my age, and using the word lynching does not mean anything to her. She is too young to understand what happened in the 1960s. We want a world without racism, yet villainize girl for talking and not being sensitive of race issues. Is that not what we want, a world where we do not see Tiger as black golfer, but just a golfer and can talk openly without fear. In a way her comment is a good thing, in that we have come so far, that a young girl does not remember a time when blacks were lynched in this country. Yes there is still racism, but we have come a long way. The most popular TV personality in the World is Black (Oprah) and we may have a black man for the President of the United States. Yet as long as Clinton and McCain have to be more careful when debating Obama than they would a white candidate, there will always be racism.