The New White People, you can't scare them!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Yesterday Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama won the election for President of the United States of America. His election is a historic moment because he is the first black president of the United States of America, so this time is a very special one. Today while getting ready for school in the morning I was talking to my roommate about the win. He commented that as a black person he was extremely happy about this turnout; he said that he could hardly believe that it happened. When he asked me (also a black person) if I felt the same way I replied to him that I was not surprised that it happened. He went on further to say that he sees more truthfulness in the old American saying that “You can be anything you want to be in America.” Before the election of Barack Obama he said that he did not believe in the saying, that it was just bullshit. Now he is more hopeful than ever. I can guess that many other black people today feel the same way that he does.

I conflicted with my roommate on both his standings. First I was not surprised that a black person won the presidential election. Secondly I did believe in the saying that you can be anything you want to be in America. Now I may agree that if you are a black person, obtaining your goals may be more of a struggle for you than for another race, but overall the goal is still attainable. I knew that it is possible for there to be a black president. The real question is when? I remember when Obama was first being heard of. All you heard from black people is “please, nobody is gonna vote for him.” By “nobody” black people basically meant “white people” who make up the majority of the population. But why wouldn’t the mass of the white population vote for a black person? Two basic reasons are racism and the more important, an inferiority complex.

The white race has been preaching inferiority of the black race through much of American history, and a lot of people believed the lie. It was part of societal culture to think that way. However, it is hard to keep a lie going without some rational people realizing that it is a lie. The older white population grew up during a time of segregation where they had a different view of the black race than the younger generation. The younger generation experienced and learned about the extent of the 60s and a time of integration. The old lie about black people being inferior was not holding up too well from the ‘60s and up. Those old effective arguments about blacks started to gradually evolve into irrational bickering. The evidence was not there for the younger white population to believe that black people were inferior to whites. It was the younger generation whites who put Obama in office, no doubt. Even though we still have white people with the inferiority complex or who are just racist against blacks, there influence and abundance has weakened over time. This led to a black man finally being able to achieve the highest office of the executive.

Maybe the only reason for me to be astonished is that it happened so soon.