At base, my argument is this: There is no way to distinguish "Black" from "White" on any kind of biological basis. There is no hard, genetic code corresponding to these terms. There is no sample group that could even be tested. Consider: one hundred years ago, the only "Whites" in America were WASPS. Yet now the term is thought to include Irish, Jews, Italians...
Apparently Barack "isn't black"
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At base, my argument is this: There is no way to distinguish "Black" from "White" on any kind of biological basis. There is no hard, genetic code corresponding to these terms. There is no sample group that could even be tested. Consider: one hundred years ago, the only "Whites" in America were WASPS. Yet now the term is thought to include Irish, Jews, Italians...
nomadthethird
more issues than Time mag
I've never been to the U.K., but every other European country I've visited felt worlds away from the U.S. culturally, some of them better some worse.
The first thing I noticed was that in Europe people obey laws. It doesn't matter which laws, or how trivial they seem, people do what they're supposed to, even when it comes to things like jaywalking! In Germany this was especially striking--they didn't just obey laws, they seemed to have a strict social code of conduct that was adhered to without question at all times. For example, I would simply cross the street when there were no cars at whatever point I liked and people looked at me like I was just out of my mind. Don't talk to Turks. Never ask "how are you?" unless you really mean it. In the U.S. nobody obeys laws, no matter how important they are, unless the fear of recrimination is tangible and the punishment severe. Law and law enforcement are there to protect you from harm, not keep you from doing whatever you want to do.
The second thing I noticed in Europe was that people all eat meals at regular times, and with their families. I don't really know anyone who does this in the U.S. except my ultra WASPy boyfriend's family. (well, I don't know, they're German and his dad's Jewish, but they act WASPy) And when they do it's awkward and there's lots of forced conversation until everyone gets sufficiently drunk to deal with each other. Also, Europeans didn't snack or eat nearly as much junk food as Americans. Europeans on average are much thinner than Americans, which is nice.
The third thing I noticed was that people in Europe take their own religion (or in England's case, I imagine, social etiquette, which is sort of like its substitute for religion since historically no one took the Church of England seriously) seriously but not as a set of beliefs, more as cultural tradition. This is very refreshing to me. It's fun to look at pretty cathedrals, not so fun to listen to fundamentalists thump the Bible.
The fourth thing I noticed was that European people all assume that others are nice, good people for the most part, or at very least respect others. Neighbors are tolerated not sued. People know their neighbors or are at least friendly with them when they see them. Once I left my wallet in a cab, with lots of money and an ID, and I thought for sure it was gone forever. Someone else called the cab authority for me and the guy brought the wallet back full of money! I tried to give him $50 for his trouble and he wouldn't take it, he couldn't understand why I'd want to give him money. In the U.S. not only would that have been stolen, but my identity would have probably been thieved, too. Here people assume the worst about everyone.
There are a lot more but those are the ones that struck me the most. They sound pretty minor but they add up to huge differences.
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nomadthethird
more issues than Time mag
Well, so am I. Therefore I am a black non-celebrity!
Tall people are great. The taller presidential candidate has won more than 90% of the time. Another thing Obama had going for him!
craner
Beast of Burden
Craner - I skip a lot on here
I must admit, I sometimes look at the When Saturday Comes message board. They have some smart, funny fuckers on there.
I have nothing to add to this debate though - it's an arid one. He's a Democrat Senator from Chicago who is now Presidant of the USA. That's what's important. Race is a sideshow.
I must admit, I sometimes look at the When Saturday Comes message board. They have some smart, funny fuckers on there.
I have nothing to add to this debate though - it's an arid one. He's a Democrat Senator from Chicago who is now Presidant of the USA. That's what's important. Race is a sideshow.
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nomadthethird
more issues than Time mag
I don't know, this did seem to open that last door for black Americans...it's symbolically significant at least...
Mr. Tea
Let's Talk About Ceps
craner
Beast of Burden
Yes, it's moving to an extent. But.
For example, listening to Bonnie Greer on QT tonight, swerving from hatred of Bush to adoration of Obama, it's clear that these kind of humanities intellectuals have no clue about politics or, more importantly perhaps, politicians.
So the symbolism, in the end, becomes, and is, irrelevant.
Alice Walker is already disappointed by her hero Obama. 2 days in! It won't be long before a lot of accolytes are. Does no one remember the Clinton swoon? Boom and bust! One of the reasons I adore Hitchens is because he called this fucker blue and true from the start. Politics is not the right arena for ideals and dreams. It never has been. It's a distasteful game. There's not one political hero in history. At least, not one who had power.
For example, listening to Bonnie Greer on QT tonight, swerving from hatred of Bush to adoration of Obama, it's clear that these kind of humanities intellectuals have no clue about politics or, more importantly perhaps, politicians.
So the symbolism, in the end, becomes, and is, irrelevant.
Alice Walker is already disappointed by her hero Obama. 2 days in! It won't be long before a lot of accolytes are. Does no one remember the Clinton swoon? Boom and bust! One of the reasons I adore Hitchens is because he called this fucker blue and true from the start. Politics is not the right arena for ideals and dreams. It never has been. It's a distasteful game. There's not one political hero in history. At least, not one who had power.
nomadthethird
more issues than Time mag
This isn't a self-fulfilling prophecy or anything...if people believe politics can't change the world for the better, then it probably never will.
If there's one thing they taught me good in rehab, it's that you create your own reality.
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nomadthethird
more issues than Time mag
Also, I don't think rolling back the ridiculous Bush tax cuts is some kind of lofty pipe dream, it's a pretty easy thing to do that will change things for the better over here.
And making sure people have access to health care? More like a basic human right than a dream.
It's easy for you to say over there in the U.K. where people can go to the doctor's office if they need to that politicians can't make or break a country...!
And making sure people have access to health care? More like a basic human right than a dream.
It's easy for you to say over there in the U.K. where people can go to the doctor's office if they need to that politicians can't make or break a country...!
Is this why the likes of Michael Moore and Oprah Winfrey confine themselves to the TeeVee, that if Napoleon were around today he would be an entertainer?
There's a degree of retrospective biological determinism/confabulation Guinness-book-of-Records 'achievement' evident here, though, as with the current misleading myth of The Left-Handed President (five of the last seven, including Obama, are left-handed, but overall, only 8 US Presidents out of 44 have been so).
In the same way, the average height of US Presidents is just 5 ft 10 in, which is only slightly above the average (male) height of 5 ft 9.25 in. Tom Cruise, Al Pacino, and Dustin Hoffman are still in with a chance.
John Cleese for (UK) Prime Minister!
nomadthethird
more issues than Time mag
Bush was hands down the absolute worst thing that ever happened to the U.S. Even his own party agrees. It's a problem, the country's left in a gigantic mess. But it's not a mess that can't be fixed at least in part, and to sit back and pretend that anybody who might take office is going to be so drunk with power they could never possibly do anything that's in the best interest of the country at large is self-defeating. We've all had enough of self-defeating miserablism over here.
Thank Fucking God.
Thank Fucking God.
nomadthethird
more issues than Time mag
Ha I saw John Cleese on Hardball last week. The point is not that presidents are taller than average, it's that the candidate that is taller than the other usually wins. So I've read. I imagine it's made more of a difference since debates were televised.
Tom Cruise is really short.
Mr. Tea
Let's Talk About Ceps
nomadthethird
more issues than Time mag
What I meant was that often the way we insist that "things are" says more about who we are than it says about things. People didn't just create God in their own image, they create the world in their own image.
Also, some people create choas or a miserable worldview because they like feeling overwhelmed--it's a great excuse to use, or drink, or indulge in whatever. The world can suck (if you insist on only acknowledging the negative), or it can be a neutral field (if you balance the good against the bad), or it can be great if the good in your life outweighs the bad.
It's not easy for me to acknowledge that I created my own reality, but I did. The world can be going straight to hell, but that doesn't mean I have to self-destruct. My self-destructing isn't necessarily a direct result of the world's problems even if I want to believe it is.
It's funny how people need to feel that things are beyond repair in order to justify their own lack of involvement. I'm just as guilty as anyone, but I'm trying to learn other ways.
You mean Wales is like Palin's Alaska, or Hitchens' 'inner mind'/back garden?