"We're votin' for the n***er!"

[nosmokes]

What is it, politics and strange bedfellows? I think we have lived under so much fear and distrust and anger and hate and disillusionment that it's now simply more than the human condition can put up with any longer.The Democratic Party let so many people down when it took control of the congress and then capitulated to Bush on every major issue, nullifying impeachment before even being sworn in and then getting clobbered over the head w/ the financial crisis and people tossing around sums of hundreds of billions of dollars that it just became too much. I think Obama could probably be outed as a post-op transsexual w/ a fraternal twin secretly living in that part of Russia you can supposedly see from Alaska and still stomp McCaint in three weeks.

original-fivethirtyeight

On the Road: Western Pennsylvania

<...>

So a canvasser goes to a woman's door in Washington, Pennsylvania. Knocks. Woman answers. Knocker asks who she's planning to vote for. She isn't sure, has to ask her husband who she's voting for. Husband is off in another room watching some game. Canvasser hears him yell back, "We're votin' for the n***er!"

Woman turns back to canvasser, and says brightly and matter of factly: "We're voting for the n***er."

In this economy, racism is officially a luxury. How is John McCain going to win if he can't win those voters? John Murtha's "racist" western Pennsylvania district, where this story takes place, is some of the roughest turf in the nation. But Barack Obama is on the ground and making inroads due to unusually strong organizing leadership.

In Washington County, a bellwether in this traditional swing state that John Kerry carried by a mere 552 votes out of over 96,000 cast, the Obama campaign's mood is optimistic but very cautious. The campaign has registered over 4,000 new voters in this county, and enough statewide since the primary season to push the Democratic registration edge to over 1.2 million.

Still, Barack Obama wasn't competitive in the primary, and getting volunteers, knocks and phone calls was tough over the summer. "After the primary many of the Obama supporters were tired and were enjoying their summer," according to longtime resident and Obama Neighborhood Team Leader Greg Roth, whose house was used as a staging location during the primary. "Also, it took some time for some of the Hillary supporters come around."


~snip~
.
.
.
complete article here

[barack the house]

1. I think it's more the truth is so undeniable that faux just can't cover it up anymore. Time for>

change.

[ClayZ]

2. Bless their little hearts!

We will take those two votes! :crazy:

[d_b]

3. lol

whatever it takes!

[Essene]

21. YEP! and if people comfortable with that bigoted language can joke about it... if they vote obama..

so be it.

they are outing their own bigotry in humor. i am OK with that.

[jesus_of_suburbia]

54. I agree... but I still detest them. I'll take their votes, but what that woman said was SICK

And of course, it's sick that she had to ask her husband.



Assuming this story is true. Which I halfway doubt. It could go either way.


However, I do know there are people like that. So it could be true. It's so sad though.

[Joe the Liberal]

4. Wow...

I would never have imagined racists voting for a democrat much less a black man, I guess anythings possible!

[Th1onein]

25. We are all racist, here in the South.

Or rather, people of a certain age, in the South, are racist. It is how we were raised. But, many of us overcome our upbringing.

[donco6]

50. Wow! Two Wrongs DO make a Right! n/t

[Th1onein]

52. You're not making any sense.

What is your point?

[donco6]

62. OK, I'll spell it out . . .

Wrong number 1: Calling Obama the "N" word.

Wrong number 2: Having your wife ask her husband how she is voting.

And together they elect Obama.

Get it?

[Th1onein]

80. I get it,, but I don't know why you directed it to me.

What does it have to do with anything that I said?

[JohnnyRingo]

5. Sounds like a guy I know here in NE Ohio...

after he got his 401k statement last week, and found out McCain's going to tax his health care.
...he told me he finally understood why I've been so supportive of Democrats and Obama all this time.

He's still a racist, and that's not going to change soon, but he's tired of voting to get his pockets picked clean.

Take 'em where we can get 'em, I guess.

[4lbs]

7. It's amazing how even racists will vote for a black man if they truly understand he'll be better for

their pocketbook.

:shrug:

[frogcycle]

73. not the least bit amazing

I had a relative by marriage of a relative by marriage describe SEC football a few years after it was integrated as "now it's our n*****s can beat their n*****s" He still went to the games, and still rooted for his team. He wouldn't have associated with the players, but he still wanted to win.

[remember2000forever]

15. The Exact Same Exclamation And Explanation From An Ohio Friend Here Is Florida

[mac56]

32. Like Harry Truman asked,

how long you gotta get hit over the head before you figure out who's hitting you?

[goodgd_yall]

82. That's why I think

when someone appears to be a racist, it often needs qualifying. I have a neighbor who if you hear some of the things he says, might be considered a racist, but he enthusiastically supports Obama. It seems to me there are degrees of racism.

[4lbs]

6. Does this mean there needs to be a new bumper sticker titled "Racists for Obama" ?

:shrug:

[Joe the Liberal]

8. ....

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: I would die of laughter if I actually saw that!

[POAS]

13. "Bitter Racists for Obama" n/t

[treestar]

42. LOL, maybe the Obama campaign can make one of their

logos!

:rofl:

[tblue]

9. Bless their little racist hearts.

That is about the craziest thing I ever heard. But, some people find that word no less offensive than saying 'peanut butter.' They don't even think twice.

[Monk06]

10. This thread is irony impaired. n/t

[electionwatcher]

11. I guess a vote's a vote regardless who from.

If "The Other One" can't even hold on to these people, HE IS IN TROUBLE!

[trashcanistanista]

12. Honestly, wtf do you say to something like

that, do you try to hide your shock and act normal? Do you say "can I put you down for a yard sign?"

[POAS]

14. That guy would probably

steal his own yard sign.

[Blarch]

17. Nice.

:rofl:

[grantcart]

40. DUzy

[chalky]

48. Seconded!

:rofl:

[RBInMaine]

16. Well, at least they're voting for the right candidate.

[mucifer]

18. why wouldn't you think they weren't trying to upset the canvassers?

I think those might have been mcstupid supporters.

[WinkyDink]

28. Exactly. The guy just wanted to mock Obama to the canvasser's face.

[Essene]

19. I LOVE IT. So... rap stars can call each other niggers but redneck Obama supporters cant? bah

god bless them

[renie408]

20. Ummm....NO, they can't. It means something a little different when a redneck calls

a black man "nigger".

Besides, my son just said that rappers say "niggah", not "niggER". He says they are completely different.

[Essene]

56. Intention & Context is everything. Here's my point...

If some well-intended red necks use the word without meaning it in a completely, intentionally nasty manner... it doesn't bother me.

They dont know any better.

If there are red necks supporting obama... still calling him "nigger" because they are just ignorant, im not gonna get all that upset.

And for the record... i dont think blacks using the word is much better.

[XemaSab]

60. Your son can just keep telling himself that

I was reading a former slave narrative, and I was surprised to see the narrator (who by that point was an elderly woman) use the word nigger to refer to some of the young punks in her neighborhood. In the context it meant "ignorant, irresponsible, and good-for-nothing." How is that different than the current usage by black people about other black people? And how is that really different than the overtly racist usage by whites?

It was a horrible word then, it's a horrible word now, and semantic arguments won't change that.

[uponit7771]

22. No, nigga is VERY VERY VERY different than nigger. If you are black and you called a black person

...the latter then it'd be almost as much of an insult as if a white person said it in the context of demeaning the persons culture.

The pronunciation is VERY important, if a white person said the first then it would denote a VERY VERY VERY close relationship with a black person and it would only be said between the two.

I don't like it, I wish the first and second word would go away but that's the way I understand it.

[renie408]

23. Where I live, if you use the -er ending within the hearing of ANY black person,

you had best be prepared to run REALLY fast or get the crap beat out of you. And honestly, you would deserve it.

[WinkyDink]

30. Yeah, you got that right: Blood can call blood whateverthehell they want.

An outsider? NOT.
And that was NO OBAMA SUPPORTER. The moron simply wanted to use the "n" word TO a supporter.

[madmax]

31. I agree with you

they are not voting for Obama.

[treestar]

44. I think you may be right

He's not voting for Obama - just said that to rile up the supporter or maybe get rid of the supporter.

[Essene]

58. frankly, blacks using the word is just as ignorant...

and IF the red necks support obama and used the word, it's because they just simply dont know any better.

im not gonna get indignant over mere ignorance if they are well intended.

there are a LOT of white trash types out there supporting obama, and it seems that there's a joke among them about "voting for the n*gger." ive seen it in several places now and some of them are sincere.

some of them are mocking the situation and themselves, if you see my point.

[Oak2004]

68. Yes: racists *are* voting for Obama

and plenty of them use the n-word casually. I've heard it use that casually, in particular, by older Southern whites.

No one is a one issue voter. And even racists can see the difference between the competency and agenda of Obama/Biden versus the incompetency and agenda of McOld/Joke Candidate.

[Lorien]

39. Ugh. My parents always told us that that was the most vile word in our

language. We could say "f*ck" or "Gawddamn" and be reprimanded, but the "N" word would reflect on our character in a way that was unforgivable. I've never said it to this day and never plan too!

[Essene]

55. It's a horribel word. I dont like it. But to focus on the word here, it to miss the point...

Personally... i've learned in my lifetime not to get so darn indignant over everything, so easily.

I grew up in a small town.

I know there are some genuinely ignorant people out there who JUST DONT KNOW BETTER. It is a CULTURAL thing, and i personally am not gonna get indignant over ignorance by itself if their INTENTIONS are good.

It's like some little old lady who maybe never voted democrat in her life. If she's gonna say "i like this little nigger a lot" and vote for Obama, BLESS HER HEART. Seriously...

:)

People need to realize... some of these people juts dont know better.

[Number23]

66. You are a trip!

You say the most ridiculous things. And you say it with a big ol' smile!

It is a CULTURAL thing, and i personally am not gonna get indignant over ignorance by itself if their INTENTIONS are good.

By all means! Let's use a vile, irresponsible racial slur, THE racial slur of all racial slurs, with 400 years of hate, torture and murder attached to it but because we have the absolute BEST of intentions, it's really not so bad!!one!

Did it ever occur to you that the very fact that a white person would use that word IN THE FIRST PLACE completely negates any "good intentions" they may claim to have?? There is no white person alive in 2008 that does not know the history of that word. Even white folks living in the Caucasus mountains who have never come across a black person know the hatred associated with that word. For any white person to call a black person a NIGGER is offensive and they would be very much aware of what they are saying and what they are trying to do by deliberately using that term. Why would you or anyone else try to pretend otherwise??

Your point that they are voting for Obama is understood, but they are still racists. Just because they are racists who aren't voting against their own self-interests (for a change!) doesn't make them any less disgusting. I have no doubt that if there was a way that they could vote their own self-interests and NOT vote for Obama, they'd do it in a heartbeat.

And as for your indignation that black people can call each other that word but it's not okay for white folks to do it, that horse has been beaten do death and no one is going to go dig him up so that you can play around with him.

[Essene]

78. I'll try to be more clear...

This might sound odd... but you can have people continuing racism without being racist.

There are people who have malicious will and open hate, and thus use the word knowing it's evil and intending it purely for such evil.

There are also people who grow up in backwater areas where EVERYBODY uses that language, and you have some well intended ignorant folks who grow up in that environment and just don't know better. It's not about being malicious or even intending ill will. They're just IGNORANT.

This 2nd type of person is still part of racism, but not necessarily being explicitly racist.

Now... you can read that and hit reply with more insults... or chew on it a bit and see what i mean.

:)

PS i do not think "black people can call each other that." I think it's ignorant and destructive.

[Number23]

79. That was my point

i do not think "black people can call each other that." I think it's ignorant and destructive.

This issue has been beaten to death. And any white person that still doesn't understand in 2008 why or the conditions in which black people call each other this word will just have to stay ignorant because I don't think anyone is interested in explaining it to them for what has to be the 6,987,789,342th time.

And you can cling to your idea that there are folks who live in backwaters so deep and so far away from anything even remotely resembling civilization that they genuinely have no idea that calling someone a nigger is an insult of the highest order but I don't buy it. Sorry. They know exactly what they are doing and saying by using that word. It may be a socially acceptable term where they live and may be one that every one of their neighbors and friends uses frequently, but you can dive UNDER the swamp in just about any "backwater" as you so delicately call them, and those folks know exactly what calling a black person a nigger means. They know it, I know it and everyone else does too. And as I said before, why you would choose to try to pretend otherwise makes little sense to me. But that's your choice. Take care.

[AllentownJake]

76. My father too

He'd beat the shit out of me if he ever caught me using that word and he was very Republican. He also had to be restrained from tearing up a Southern bar in the 60s when they wouldn't let a black army buddy in.

[MrsBrady]

24. i remember a couple of months ago, like July or August....

while listening to Stephanie Miller a guy called into her show.

Apparently, much of his family lives in rural appalachia.

He said that he thought things might look good for Obama.
He said much of his family was racist.
He said after talking to his aunt that weekend over the phone, she said the same thing to him that was quoted in the op.

[XemaSab]

26. We are officially WAAAY down the rabbit hole

n/t

[undeterred]

27. We have the first openly gay congresswoman in the country

here in Madison, Wisconsin. (Tammy Baldwin) She has been in office for 10 years and her sexual orientation is not an issue. She talks about the issues that concern the district. There are still people outside of our very liberal city who probably are uncomfortable with homosexuality but they have learned that she can represent their interests- and they are probably less homophobic now than they were when she first ran.

This is how people change.

[PDittie]

29. I apologize to everyone

but for the last five minutes I have been laughing so hard that the piss has gone right through my pants and is now puddling in the pockets of my executive leather chair.

If you only knew how much I wish I could hear these words come from the mouth of some of my relatives...

[RamboLiberal]

33. Murtha and Rendell know what they are talking about

Just not helpful to Obama here in PA when they say it out loud. I love Western PA and Pittsburgh area but Archie Bunker sure would feel comfortable living here.

[Diamonique]

34. As a woman, and an African American,

.. I'm actually more upset by the fact that the woman had to ask her husband who she's voting for.

But that's just me.

[Left Is Write]

35. No, it's not just you.

That appalled me also.

[ruggerson]

37. touche

and notice no one even touched on that in the piece.

[Lorien]

41. Not just you. It upset me too

I loathe that mentality; you see it all over here in the South. :-(

[progressoid]

46. It's upsetting to us white men too,

Plus, I gotta wonder if he is really going to vote for Obama or if he's just being a loudmouth.

[Raine]

61. That really blew my mind...

I'd be darned if I had to ask someone else how "we" were voting! :wow:

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

36. Good for them. A vote is more important than a word.

Just think of the millions who would never say 'nigger' and genuinely cringe at the ugliness of the word, yet who will find excuses to not vote for Obama.

[camera obscura]

38. There was an excellent point...

... made by Chris Matthews (he has his moments) a while ago.

There are a core group of people who will never vote for a black man - pure racists. But there is also a larger group of people who are wary of black people and hold racist thoughts, but are still willing to root for one if he's on "their side". Like they root for football players or watch Will Smith movies. Or, to use another example, they think Colin Powell is a hero.

If you can convince those people that you're on their side in spite of their ingrained hatred then you've made a huge leap.

[grantcart]

43. In a related story Comediain/Activist Dick Gregory was rushed to the hospital

for breaking 3 ribs laughing his guts out.


For those under the age of 50 Dick Gregory, the first black satirist/comedian to gain national recognition wrote a great little book called

"Nigger

- Momma everytime you hear that word you know that they are just advertising my book"

[EffieBlack]

70. He also said that if he picked up a book and called it a bicycle, it didn't make the book inferior

or crazy. HE would be ignorant and crazy for calling the book something it wasn't. So, he said, if a white person calls a black person a "ni*ger," the black person should not internalize it because it is the white person who is crazy.

Dick Gregory is a national treasure.

[starroute]

45. Partly it's that racism isn't what it used to be

You look back at stuff from 80 or 100 years ago, and blacks were considered literally subhuman -- the missing link between apes and men.

You look at stuff from 50 or 60 years ago, and the arguments of the segregationists were more cultural -- that blacks were "different" and it was better for everyone if the races didn't mix.

Compared with that, these days racism is running on fumes. It's run out of pseudo-anthropological arguments and has become just one element of a generalized fear of minorities, foreigners, or the poor. It has a lot more to do with lower class economic insecurity than with the kind of warped arguments about racial "purity" that used to sustain it.

This is not to say that racial discrimination is not still a problem in everything from employment to police harassment. But it's a far cry from the full-on racism of previous eras. And it creates the unusual situation where people who might not be ready to hire a black person in their own businesses are reluctantly willing to vote for one for president.

[CitizenPatriot]

47. I think they ARE voting for Obama

I've had a few of these conversations here in GA.

A friend of a friend told me that he was voting for the "black guy" because he figured if Obama was going to help poor black people, he'd be next in line as a poor white person.

I almost laughed myself silly. Of course, I could have responded that Obama never said he ONLY cared about poor black people, but what would have been the point? they're voting for him and in some greatly ironic way, their logic is pure even if the facts are wrong.

I think it is tremendous, because it shows they really are voting past skin color and prejudice. They're clinging to the lexicon of their upbringing, but that isn't stopping them from seeing the issues. This is a huge step in the fight to end racism.

Also, my grandmother, who still uses the word "colored", even about a family member's SO who is African American, loves Obama.

It isn't perfect, but I'll take it. Change comes slowly and it is important to see the glimmer of hope and goodness in people who are fighting all of their "beliefs" to determine who is the best candidate.

It really is touching. When I read this, I laughed my ass off -- sent it to all of my friends -- and then had a real moment of joy.

Yeah, you do that. You vote for the n*. better than voting for the old white guy with a mental problem.

(and this is coming from someone who does NOT tolerate the use of that word normally and has ended "friendships" and family dinners over it)

[crispini]

63. My grandmother, bless her, used that word til the day she died.

She didn't mean anything bad by it.

And, yes, if that's what it takes, I'll take it. :D

[ClayZ]

74. Well said!

[ellie]

49. My husband's sister

and her husband said that in their neck of the woods in Tennessee, this is what people are saying.

[Berry Cool]

51. It's their "Archie Bunker loves Sammy Davis Jr." side coming out.

Archie had no problems with Sammy Davis Jr. being in his house. It was a big thrill...although he got the shock of his life when Sammy kissed him as they posed for a picture together.

It's funny. These people hate and mistrust the everyday black people they see around them, but that stereotypical "clean, articulate, well-spoken" black guy they see on TV, the one who talks smart and who's running for president...to some of them, he doesn't seem so bad. And when they're in dire straits because of the kind of guys they've been voting for in the past, they just might give him a chance.

Of course, it will backfire on Obama big time if he doesn't do something that causes a change in their circumstances right away...but if he actually starts acting on his campaign promises and they perceive that their lives are changing for the better because of it, they'll be saying his name in their prayers for years to come.

[jesus_of_suburbia]

53. I'll take their vote, but I still hate them. There is no excuse for that shit.

[BlooInBloo]

57. Fuck I can't wait for my trip to Peechin's, and shove "President Obama" down their racist hick.,...

fucking throats.

[FVZA_Colonel]

59. Why does this make me think of the movie "Blazing Saddles?"

[grantcart]

64. life repeats Mel Brooks lol

[Essene]

65. hahahaha

[grantcart]

67. your brilliant comment inspired this thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=7511527&mesg_id=7511527

[Starbucks Anarchist]

71. This whole election reminds me of that movie.

Obama = Black Bart
Biden = The Waco Kid
McCain = Hedley Lamarr
Palin = Governor LePetomaine

[high density]

77. Yeah... I'm waiting for Blazing Saddles 2 anytime now

"The president is ... "

"What?"

"He said the president is near!"

"Strike up the band!"

[EffieBlack]

69. That's pretty funny . . . n/t

[Starbucks Anarchist]

72. Thank you?

:shrug:

[Laelth]

75. "Racism is a luxury." That's brilliant!

And so true. It's a luxury we can't afford. Spread this meme.

:dem:

-Laelth

[LisaL]

81. OMG.

[goodgd_yall]

83. Funny

and I like how the canvasser just acted unfazed. :7