Are Racism and Sexism playing a big part in this election?

The candidates are definitely bringing these issues to the forefront as was almost inevitable because of the uniquely historical nature of this campaign. In a way, maybe it's best it's all out in the open and being discussed now so hopefully we can put it behind us and vote on the issues when we choose a President based on values, judgment and the real issues and challenges facing this country. There is still racism and sexism in our country, like it or not but I'd like to think the bulk of it comes from a minority of voters.

Clearly, race and gender are playing a big part in this election cycle. It's unfortunate, however, that the national conversation cannot include frank talk about race and gender without its being automatically slammed as "racism" and "sexism." Ferraro's comment seemed mild and at least POTENTIALLY true; nevertheless, she is smeared as a racist. The name-calling makes it difficult to examine how Obama's race and Clinton's gender are genuinely effecting the outcome.

yes, and branding everyone a racist who dares make a comment regarding that effect isn't advancing the conversation any.

I don't think everyone who comments regarding race is branded a racist. In the case of Ferraro it was appropriate.

I disagree, because it has happened right here and on other Internet sites to the point where people are even hesitant to discuss his policies because they are jumped on. And what of any superdelegates who now may feel in their hearts that they wish to stay with Clinton? Will they now be called racists as well?

Maybe i'm a naive dreamer, but can't someone choose to not vote for Obama or simply not like the guy without being a racist?

I'll say right now I like Barack Obama, he seems like an honest guy, that being said I did not vote for him in my primary, does that make me racist? Does questioning his ability to be president make me racist?

It seems to me that racism and the threat of being labeled a racist is the front running giant elephant in the room this election and I wonder how long before all the media goes the way of MSNBC and puts the kid gloves on for Obama so as not to be thought of as racist.

seriously, are you serious? of course race is going to be brought into this presidential race. i mean this is america...one of the most racist nations in the world, to bring up the biggest fear white america has, a black man in charge..give me a break! gender issues are nothing compared to racial issues. white women WHICH ARE ACTUALLY THE MAJORITY IN THIS COUNTRY are the biggest benificiary of affirmative action legislation in this country first of all. second, if the pick was between a white woman and a black man or woman, america would easily prefer the white anyone!!!

the biggest isse is that this brotha is the most articulate, smartest, has the best laid plan, and people are drawn to that FOR ONCE!!! being white, hillary and her camp knows that if they want to win, the only card they have now is to bring up the biggest fear america has...black people being in charge. the decendant of slaves being ( the lowest of lows in their eyes) running thangs!! why were they so harsh to us back then? because they were scared us us. that we were gona rise up and kill them for doing what they did to us. so after all these years, racism and discrimination were the tool...keep us from access so we will continue to feel inferior...and by the most part, it has worked...unfortunately!

but this brotha, is not decendant from slaves!! his dad is first world african..not even an immigrant..he came to the states to go to school...met an obviously untypical white person in obama's momma (obviously branded a race trader back then..you know she heard that alot in kansas..i mean c'mon!!) back in the 50's? white woman black man?!! in kansas?!!!!!! and this brotha..raised by his white grandparents in kansas!!! they obviously instilled good values in him even though you know he and his white GP's were harrassed constantly....went to harvard and yadda yadda yadda....you know at harvard he was called a N**ger as if it was his first name...you know in schools in kansas he was called N**ger like it was his only name..and through all that TYPICAL AMERICAN BEHAVIOR ( lets remember that was during the 50's, 60's and 70's segregated america still) and through all that he still got through all that to get to where he is now..

you think hillary as a white woman was oppressed like that? she mainly had to deal with douchebags and assholes..HEY LITTLE LADY and BS like that, but never in the mannor of any black person coming up back then under obamas curcumstances.

there are more white women running companies in america than ALL MINORITIES COMBINED!!! THERE ARE MORE WHITE WOMEN ATTORNEYS, DOCTORS, AND PROFESSIONALS THAN ALL MINORITIES COMBINED...so you tell me that being a white woman or gender is worse than racism? how many women of colour are there running companies in the US? not many at all...and i mean NOT VERY MANY AT ALL!!! oprah, i wanna say american express was maybe....and other than that...i dont know any.

please this is america...stop acting like you dont know!

Well said Majik.

<<Ferraro's comment seemed mild and at least POTENTIALLY true; nevertheless, she is smeared as a racist.>>

Mild and potentially true?

So a white woman, who has no idea what it's like be a person of color in this country, grandstands and whittles 20 years of work and strategy down to someone's race, and that's MILD and POTENTIALLY TRUE???

You must be kidding me. No, really. What's so potentially true about this situation?

If his race was such a great factor in the decision, then he would have been in this position a very long time ago.

I like how no one is saying how he truly captures peoples' imaginations, or how, after years of war and terror, people might actually be RESPONDING to Barack's message.

My mother, a black woman, was a Hillary Clinton supporter. After South Carolina, she changed her mind when Hillary and Bill decided to equate Barack's run with Jesse Jackson.

Many older voters were on the Clinton's side, as many younger voters were on Barack Obama's side. Now, it seems, the elders have joined the younger generation. Are we all just marveled by his "biracial good looks"? I'm shaking my head right now. Just thought I'd share that.

I find it interesting how you are essentially IGNORING how Ferraro said the same thing about Jesse Jackson during his presidential race in 1988. Is every black man just some quota to be filled to her? I'm sorry. At 23 years old, I see the world in a different way. I didn't know the Clintons. Bill wasn't my "man", I don't really have any feelings towards Hillary. But Barack, it seems, speaks for ME. And that's why he is in the position he's in...because he's making us see a different path for Americans.

Barack Obama is in the position he is now because of his HARD WORK and DEDICATION. Just like HILLARY CLINTON.

I see no one really stating that it's potentially true that Hillary Clinton is in this position due to her gender, or, quite simply, due to her last name.

All this is quite maddening.

Of course race and gender are more involved in this election. How could they not be? These are still sensitive topics for many Americans. Disagreeing with someones points or ideas does not mean you hate women or are racist. Even if you just didn't like the individual, it doesn't mean you hate all of the people like them. If I got in a fight with someone with green eyes, it doesn't mean I hate people with green eyes. I think it is good we are bringing these issues up because we all have a lot of growing up to do.

I really don't think these issues influence the voters as much as they do the media, who would rather talk about anything other than the serious issues we face as a country and a global community. Issues like global warming, poverty, health care, water and energy shortages, and so on, are less polarizing and controversial, so they do not have the soap opera power that ratings whores love so much.

I don't think Ferraro's comments were meant to be racist WHATSOEVER, she admitted in the same breath that she didn't thik she would have been VP nominee were it not for her gender. Nothing infuriates me more than when statistics showing certain things (positive OR negative) about a race, creed, color, gender, etc are merely mentioned the race, creed, color, gender, etc card gets thrown about like it's going out of style.

Uroborus8

While I agree for the most part, in my state 18% of people chose race as their deciding factor for voting...and 3/4 of them voted for Hillary Clinton.

That's a sad fact.

In my mind, this is as good an example of abusing political correctness as we may ever see in our lifetimes.
I'm sticking to what these candidates represent in content and remembering that there's still plenty of time before I cast my vote.

<<abusing political correctness as we may ever see in our lifetimes.>>

Can you explain that?

i honestly think that most of YOUR (because im not white...MOSTLY a white phenomenon..dont flame me please.) parents and grand parents are more upset about the younger white generations acceptance of people of colour in everyday society because they were raised that we were less than they. I think that MOST older white people cannot get past the colour of a mans skin regardless of whether or not he is the best man for the job. It will always be another N**ger taking a "white mans job". to be honest, I do have a problem with only old white people because on a grand scale, they ALLOWED the evils in america to continue for as long as it did. The older generation of white people benefited from the way it was and created the tensions and problematic tone here in america today. you know those people with the black lawn jockey out on the front yard or porch!

the reason we are still talking about this is because unfortunately your grandparents and most parents are not dead yet...and i seriously cannot wait until they do. I do not like, support, or back the united states in anyway, but i am starting to get hopeful..to be honest. Race in this country is the largest problem in this country not gender politics. lets remember, there are 2 genders in every race..and if you hate a race well it doesnt matter what gender you are.

hillary wasnt the front runner because she was white or a woman, it was because of who she was...obama didnt get all this praise because of his blackness..most black people didnt even like him until later last year....it was because HE GAVE ONE HELL OF A SPEACH AT JOHN KERRY'S DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION!!!!! he showed his ass and since that day people were buzzing about him. not because he was black, but because he is inspiring...white people forgot he was black and was like..DAMN THIS CAT MADE ME SMILE AND HOPE!!

and at that time..if you look it up..tom brokaw himself said in his own words that we should probably keep an eye out for this guy in 08.

he didnt say keep an eye out for this BLACK GUY..he is a good one!

I agree with everything you said except when you lumped all of the older generation into one stereotype. They're a majority, probably, can't argue with that, but a couple of people on this particular site are of that generation of whites and brought up by parents with an entirely different mindset. And I'm sure the reverse is true in the black community towards whites. Some families perpetuate differences and some perpetuate sameness. We don't have to wait until everybody dies - we have the responsibility to make changes to the backward thinking here and now by speaking out. ;-)

Majik, That's not fair. I'm older than dirt. My father was from Texas, my mother was from Oklahoma. I grew up in California. I wasn't raised a racist and didn't raise my children that way. That kind of thinking comes from stupidity. There are no stupid people in my family, never was.

chique, i said MOSTLY for a reason...i understand that there are the VERY FEW and even you have to agree that there were/are VERY FEW compared to those that are...even those subtlties are often dismissed..and if you think hard you will understand what im talking about. it is different in the black community, and white people cannot for some reason grasp this ...its the racism vs bigotry because of anger, argument. racism is perpetuating one race over another. point blank..no difference in portugal or australia or old S africa, or isreal today (moreso in isreal). black people ( AF-AMER) have a distance or anger or bigotry towards white people because of the treatment we received for so many years. but we are not racist because we dont have the power in this country to put our race above anyones... nuff said point blank...and in many ways even you have to agree or at least see the plausibility of agreeing with that argument. If our history wasnt what it was/is in this country then we wouldnt have a reason to distrust all the way to the point of hatred. is it right? overall as human beings, no its not right..god didnt put us here for that reason..or if you dont believe in god..we did not evolve specifically to hate each other. we were put here/evolved to survive. hatred is a purely man made phenomenon. segregation, bussing, jim crow, plessy vs ferguson, brown vs board, birth of a nation, willy lynch, kkk, jdl, lapd, civil rights act of 1964 and 65, affirmative action, one of the issue during the civil war, recontruction etc...we didnt ask for or do any of that. yet we are hated because of them. most of those hurting in the sub prime housing market are minorities..because of crooked mort brokers. and practices towards us and older minorities ( i was a banker so i know why and how) tuskeegee experiment, WWI, WWII, the bell curve, freddie the greek...do i need to continue?

af americans are playing catch up and yes because of competition, those situations where its suitible or possible...race is quietly and very subtley injected, but not so loud to wave the flag..but those who pick up on it, know it when they see it. like GI's in nam calling vietnamese charlie, or in somalia calling them skinny's or in iraq calling them haji's. when you say that cover name everyone knows wht you are talking about..but since it's the common enemy..everyone is cool with it.

america is rampant with it..and america knows it. i hope obama does win. funny thing is his upbringing is so atypical of most of us unless you are an immigrant. and because of that, most of the norms are not applicable to him. I mean we all know hillary, bill and most of your parents whom are white have called a black person a N**ger..not in anger, but in happiness. we all know that there are MORE white people that have at least a subtle issue with black people than dont. many of you..in fact probably MOST of you...and to be honest..thats ok. its when it gets in the way of progress where it becomes a huge problem.

If Dennis Kucinich was a black woman, we would have our nominee!!

hahaha!!! yea, the other person!

I believe sexism plays a part in this election. The one thing Barack has over Hiliary that puts him in the good ol' boy genre, is his penis!

I'd say this is why Bush stayed. Those predudice people probebly said this to themselves: "hhhhm...no, he's black...she's no good either....ok, let's go for the stupid white man we hate." ...abd THAT'S only the nice way of putting it to thier believes.

majik, was it 'abd'?

I were saying about those previous elections, on why we were all saying worldwide "WHAT? HOW the heck is BUSH still here?!

Predudice people votes. Now?

steadward? that made no sense!! flawed..bush stayed because obama was no good and hillary is a woman? well neither were running bro. but i think i get it?

thier believes system im sure ....wait i cant do it....its too easy!!

common bro...tighten up that spelling!!! i know i miss spell words all the time, but you can still get what im talking about.....oohh i cant stop laughing....please come back and edit that!!

Majik: I'm not disagreeing with you. Historically, I cringe to think about all of those things and know I can only imagine what it must have been like. And I'm ashamed because as a nation we took too long to stand up to it and its taking way too long for us to narrow that gap.

And I see Obama as a black (and white) man who worked hard to become the man he is today - - something all of us who work hard can relate to - - with the integrity and character we need to bridge that divide in a huge way. I see him as having more integrity and sincerity than the majority of rich white men we've elected to office and I support him 100%. This is one man I feel will work with all of us and for all of us - - not our corporations. Let's hope.

I agree with keesha. Hillary has been getting way more crap from the media for being a woman than Obama has for being black. When Obama fights back against criticism he's just defending himself, but when Clinton does the same, people call her a bitch. I've heard people say they don't like her because she wears too much makeup. And God forbid she actually shows emotion, because then she's weak.

Both candidates face extreme stereotypes. However, I think Hillary has it worse, just because she doesn't have a penis. It's a scientific fact that men's and women's brains work differently. Hillary gets criticized because she literally thinks differently than all the men running for election.

In all logic, I believe Obama got 90% of the black vote in Mississippi and a larger segment ofit in other states at least in part because he is black. That blacks feel pride at seeing one of their own "make it" and want to support that based on that alone is not so farfetched, and it is not racist to observe that. But also to be fair, I do believe there are also whites and blacks voting for him because of his policies as well. But I don't think you can discount the other part to that argument in having some influence in the results he has seen.

How many Irish Catholics do you think voted for JFK? How many Jews do you think voted for Al Gore because Joe Lieberman was on the ticket? Wasn't it admittedly designed exactly to get those votes? Is it not the MO of political parties to get votes from certain groups by putting up candidates that represent who they want to vote for them? The Democratic party leaders I am sure have also read that within the next two decades whites will be in the minority in this country... so who do you think they will want running for office to get the votes of the majority? That isn't racist to observe either BTW, that is a fact of political demographics.

Do I think what Geraldine Ferraro said was thought out properly or expressed in a way that could have avoided all of this fallout? Hell no, and I think it was good she stepped down because of it. However, is she a racist? I don't believe she is. I think as a WOMAN who admitted she herself was selected for a ticket because she was a woman (which Keith Olberman conveniently left out of his speech) she knows a bit more about how party insiders work. I do believe there are blacks voting for him because he is black, and I also believe there are white people not voting for him because he is black... And people voting for Clinton because she is a woman and not voting for her because she is a woman because whether people here want to admit it or not, sexism exists in this country as well.

So perhaps the conversation we should be having is how to begin to address the deep sociologic divides that exist in this country without only using them as political wedge issues to get votes and to label others. Perhaps that would be a good topic to actually put to the leaders of both parties that absolutely do it and have deeply divided this country in the process.

janforegore...ok. well leave the election out of it for a sec then. and politics have alot of meanings.. so say you have a college admissions board that interviews. you have a white dude or woman that comes from the burbs..did community svc and was the pres of the young republicans. and scored a 32 on his/her a.c.t. great candidate..looked good, they talked about summers and skiing with the family and what their families did. then they get a brotha or sister in there. both scored a 32 on their ACT. neither wore a suit because they didnt have one. but they dressed in what they thought was nice. they came from unfortunately single parent homes. and all they talked about was helping the community because where they came from was not necessarily ghetto, but it was the old neighborhood that all the white people moved out of. in their free time they worked. did not community svc because they had to take care of their brother or sisters.. and o'girl is named nakia and the dude is named rashad. who gets admitted?

the sociological divide is systemic and so deeply rooted that its the mindset that needs to be changed. we talk about colleges being where the change is going to happen, well i will tell you this, THERE IS MORE RACISM IN COLLEGE THAN YOU THINK! fraternaties are MOSTLEY split upon racial lines..the clubs are usually too. this country is built upon oneupsmanship. capitalism is designed to build your wealth on the backs of others..well success is measured by your passing others or doing better than others...well if you want to stay ahead, you will always try to pull YOUR people more than others. JEWS do it 150% of the time. asians do it all the time too. latinos as well. black people dont because we didnt immigrated here and we for some reason think success is pouring crystal all over chicks....stupid if you ask me..but for some reason we do.

black people need to stop blaming (ALL THE TIME). we will never change white people, so we should stop expecting you to like us and just do for self. our success is not based upon your acceptance. white people need to stop thinking less of us. we dont need affirmative action per se, what we need is to get rid of those white or whomever people that try to select that guy or girl that looks like their family members..just because its more comfortable. jews need to stop ....hell that aint gona happen so i might as well not even try. Latinos need to stop thinking they re compeating with black people...just do your thing...you dont realize that you actually have a leg up on us. and have more community capitol than we do. and asians..well there need to be more asian chick, because YALL ARE HOT!!

also jan...black people in general didnt like obama until about december. many of the most ridiculous didnt think he was either black enough, or we had this stupid belief that because of his family dynamic, he didnt know how "REAL" african americans lived or came up. the struggle so to speak. his father was african..not african american. by and large obama isnt african american...he is afro-caucasian. like a white person from zimbabwe that is an american citizen now isnt considered an african american. (check the census bureau for confirmation..its a fact) but they should be.

obama is getting large black vote partly because he is black, but mostly because we are turning on BILL. trust me..a little inside story here about black people...the black people that do vote, are usually more intuned with whats going on than white people that vote. we just usually vote for that one person that did something we percieve to have been good for us at one time...so as long as they dont call us a N**ger to our faces. you could have been a douche to us, like johnson was..and JFK (which never did anything for black people, yet we love him for some reason!??) so dont say black people are inherantly vowed and attached to obama....thats what the spin is. infact i think the media is subtley trying to spini the ..."hey"...(whispering) "tell them that black people are voting for the black guy to rustle up the white folks" and the news says this over and over again....and makes a story when there isnt one. problem is...in utah, and wyoming and montana...( i think they had montana already) and iowa ( which really surprised me, because iowa is CRAZY RACIST like nebraska) so your logic is flawed momma...

"mostly because we are turning on BILL." Great. Nice to know that issues matter so much. And please, I'm not your momma.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4443788&page=1

Hmm, I wonder if Obama will be held to the same standard for things people he knows says as Clinton is. And personally, I may not believe the official story about 9.11 myself, but I would never infer that those killed that day deserved it. I think his comments are disgusting.

Wow...well, the only true racism that's apparently running rampant lives and breathes in the heart and soul of okinawamajik. But isn't that what you are railing against? Maybe not. I guess you feel that you have a right to be racist? Sure you do. But why bitch about others being racist when you are, by your own self admission, racist?

why would yoou think that? what about anything i have said makes me even remotely close to having racists attitudes?

and jan..( sorry about the momma..i say it to everyone..) yea we are a tad upset with bill. you yourself have to admit that a hillary presidency is a joint effort. and with bill playing surrogate hillary on the road...his BS about JJ and that johnson was the reason for the CR act of 1964 didnt go over very well..we kinda have a soft spot for Dr king. in case you didnt know. so when bill did that, and she didnt say anything about it...we paid attention...and she lost black people in droves! she finally said something today...and maybe 2 weeks ago, but that two weeks ago was crazy wack.

again sorry aboout the momma....but how am i a racist..im being as candid about black people as i can be.

robin49: I agree with you on that. Notice also that she basically only wears pantsuits, because God forbid you wear a dress in the political world of men. That would just be considered too "provocative." She has to act tougher as well because in politics if you are a woman who wears a skirt or tries in any way to show your womanhood you are deemed "weak." And yes, whatever you do, please don't show any kind of emotion because then you are either called "menopausal," "emotionally distressed," "depressed," off the deep end," "on the rag," or some other phrase designed to downplay and demean it.

It is a flawed perception but nevertheless I think it explains in part why we don't see more women in politics even today. It took women until 1920 to even get the vote in this country. Black men even had the vote before women did. And we are still maginalized regardless of our race in workplaces and in politics. Women who are strong are seen as bitches, while men who are strong are seen as heroes and fighters. The sexism in this campaign is there however subtle on the part of some for sure, and I think it is just as deplorable as racism.

My logic is not flawed honey, i know what i'm talking about. Intuned my a$$! I go to the polls in MS and the uneducated or the so called new midddle class(money cars and clothes all a brother knows) vote democrate without even really knowing all the issues. I was working a a local shell Station and The twowomen that were working with me wanted to vote for Barack(cause he's black) and had the nerve to say basically Hiliary (white woman) basically needs to stay in her place. Power and money hungry. And, that a black woman doesn't want to be president! What! What about