It’s about African ethnicity more than albedo per se. GOP also-ran Vivek Ramaswamy is about the same hue as Obama but it’s less of an issue for him. Quite a bit of US racism lingers from the Jim Crow era and even the Civil War. Most African-Americans are literally descended from antebellum slavery and are still seen by some as something like escapees who need to be rounded up and put back on the farm. Obama himself didn’t have that in his ancestry (his father came to the US from Kenya, which didn’t “count”) and that helped him, I think, though of course he was still subject to racism. Basically there is a chunk of the US that misses the plantation system and wants it back.
If I do more than a few hours gardening in summer I’m darker-skinned than her 😂
This is your privilege talking. Because if someone targets you for your skin color, all you need to do is stay in the shade for a couple of weeks. “Lol!”
But more to the point, you’re right. Unfortunately, American politicians have a history of not liking non-whites in positions of power. Under Obama, the GOP shut down the government twice, and the famous “you lie!” line was uttered to him by a Republican during an official act - something that has never happened before. All because he was black.
And McCain corrected her. I don’t want to sugar coat that era, but it would be nice if Republicans today had that basic connection to simple reality and personal-level decency. One, you can negotiate with that. And two, I was a lot less worried about John McCain or Mitt Romney destroying the political infrastructure that would let their bad ideas be replaced by something better.
From the outside - I read a comment about a " possible second black president" and it took me a minute to figure out they were talking about Harris
If I do more than a few hours gardening in summer I’m darker-skinned than her 😂
Why are they so obsessed with someone’s…hue?!?
It’s about African ethnicity more than albedo per se. GOP also-ran Vivek Ramaswamy is about the same hue as Obama but it’s less of an issue for him. Quite a bit of US racism lingers from the Jim Crow era and even the Civil War. Most African-Americans are literally descended from antebellum slavery and are still seen by some as something like escapees who need to be rounded up and put back on the farm. Obama himself didn’t have that in his ancestry (his father came to the US from Kenya, which didn’t “count”) and that helped him, I think, though of course he was still subject to racism. Basically there is a chunk of the US that misses the plantation system and wants it back.
This is your privilege talking. Because if someone targets you for your skin color, all you need to do is stay in the shade for a couple of weeks. “Lol!”
But more to the point, you’re right. Unfortunately, American politicians have a history of not liking non-whites in positions of power. Under Obama, the GOP shut down the government twice, and the famous “you lie!” line was uttered to him by a Republican during an official act - something that has never happened before. All because he was black.
I will never forget that clip during the Obama vs. McCain race where a woman says Obama can’t be trusted because “he’s an arab”
And McCain corrected her. I don’t want to sugar coat that era, but it would be nice if Republicans today had that basic connection to simple reality and personal-level decency. One, you can negotiate with that. And two, I was a lot less worried about John McCain or Mitt Romney destroying the political infrastructure that would let their bad ideas be replaced by something better.