posted May 05, 2008 06:14 PM            

Barack Obama is being depicted as even more Black now since the Rev Wright fiasco. A lot of whites are criticizing Obama if he is all for unity, then why does he go to a Black church. Do they ever stop to think that Obama wants to get more in touch with the Black in him just like he is already in touch with the White in him after growing up with his White family on his mother's side? A lot of whites accuse Rev Wright of being a racist. How is pointing out the racism in USA being racist. All you have to do is remember that President Bush said to the NAACP about that racism is still a problem in USA. He said that you can change laws,but you can't change a heart. The American Civil Liberties Union called out USA on its racism. They noted the racial profiling that exists in USA. A survey shows that many Americans know people that are racists. Even 20/20 did a show that revealed that people with black sounding names get much less job callbacks than people with white sounding names. These are things that confirm that racism is a still a problem. Rev Wright refers to USA as the US of KKK, and people think that's being paranoid. Can you deny the fact that the KKK still exists in USA? There are 179 Klu Klux Klan Chapters across the United States,and they include 5,000 to 8,000 members. There could even be more members because independent chapters has made KKK groups more difficult to infiltrate and researchers find it hard to estimate their numbers. Some argue that KKK is different because it's not a violent organization now. My response to that is "If there is an Al Qaeda organization in USA that is not violent,should they be allowed to exist here in USA like the KKK. Should the Black Panthers for that matter? I don't believe that any organization that has roots in terrorism should be allowed to exist. Therefore,I believe that all organizations that have terrorist roots should be completely banned. Rev Wright criticized American's policy overseas, and that gets him labeled Anti-American. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr did the same thing,and even said that USA is the greatest purveyor of violence in the world. Does that make Dr. King Anti-American? I don't think so.

Barack Obama had refused to disown his pastor as he refused to disown his white grandmother. Many whites criticized him for throwing his grandmother under a bus. All Barack did was point out that his grandmother made racial remarks about Blacks. How is telling the truth about his white grandmother throwing her under a bus. It's okay for white people to point a black person's racism, but its not okay to point out a white person's racism? I just don't get that at all. It seems like a double standard. Many whites criticize Obama for not disowning his pastor much earlier. Have they ever heard of the sell-out factor? Obama would have been in a dillemma: please whites in America and **** off blacks in America for rejecting a pastor who is prominent in the Black community and who is known for doing a lot to help Blacks which would result in being a sell-out by Blacks OR please blacks in America and **** off whites in America and be called a racist by Whites. These are issues that we bi-ethnic Black,White people deal with. They are often challenged to make a choice when it comes to having affinity with whites or having affinity with blacks. Abolutionist,Frederick Douglass was the son of black woman and white man. He was married to a black woman for a long time until her death. Later on,he married a white woman. He was given a hard time by both blacks and whites. Blacks accused him of betraying Blacks by being with a white woman. Today that's being called a sell-out. His response was that his first wife was the color of his mother,and now his second wife is the color of his father. He wanted to make a point that he wasn't all black and that he acknowledge both his white and black parents. He believed that being married to a white woman shouldn't be a problem for he is half white. Frederick Douglass was the embodiment of unity of Blacks and Whites. Barack Obama has denounced his pastor, and he still is being criticized by whites for taking too long to denounce him, but he's also being criticized by blacks for denouncing him too. The conflict of the black and white halves inside him and mirrored by the outside world are very apparent.

Obama has been accused of being an elitist for talking to San Franciscans about blue collar working class Pennsylvanians about being bitter and that that they could cling to guns and religion. Obama's opponents made the elitist charge after the senator from Illinois said some small-town Pennsylvanians are understandably "bitter" over the government's failure to reverse their economic decline and, in their frustration, "cling to guns and religion." He made the statement at a recent fundraiser in San Francisco, California. Bill Clinton said something similar. He said " When their economic policies fail, when the country's coming apart rather than coming together, what do they do? They find the most economically insecure white men and scare the living daylights out of them. They know if they can keep us looking at each other across a racial divide, if I can look at Bobby Rush and think, Bobby wants my job, my promotion, then neither of us can look at George Bush and say, 'What happened to everybody's job? What happened to everybody's income? What ... have ... you ... done ... to ... our ... country?'" So why is it that Obama says similar things and is referred to as being an elist and angers the blue collar working class whites. Could the word "elitist" actually be referred to as "uppity" which is often reserved for blacks who stood up for themselves. Many racist whites believe that blacks should "stay in their place" and they can be offended by a black person who is successful. Of course, if a black person talks about the problems that they have,they could be far more offended than a white person saying it. If a white person said, he would be often viewed as being understanding and compassionate. There is something patronizing and condescending when a Black express understanding and compassion for the problems of whites.

These are some things that I have see as double standards of blacks and whites which are part of the ethnic divide. The perceptions,opinions,and views often differ between what a black person does and a white person does. It's always been that way,and those things have to change. I haven't use the word,race except for saying the presidential race. That's because I don't acknowledge the concept of races. I acknowledge ethnic groups. We are all part of the Human Race. In that we are the same. Therefore,we should focus more on that and less on our differences. Like Reverend Wright said, being different doesn't mean deficient. People can be different and equal, but they don't have to be separate. The unity of differences can bring about meaningful co-existence of thenic that advance the evolution of the human race.

I have talked about the issues of ethnic relations in our country. It's not about trying to divide us. I believe that pointing out things isn't dividing but waking people up. I don't believe that ignorance is bliss.

We should discuss about our differences and their similarities. Learning about the similarities to find common ground.
There could be a multiethnic,multicultural week which would be about all ethnic groups getting together, teach about their cultures and way of life even included their cuisine. There could be multicultural,multiethnic exhibits.
We could watch movies with interethnic theme like "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner","Guess Who","Soulman","Jungle Fever",and others. There could be books about multiethnic people and interethnic relationships like "Love In Black and White" by interethnic couple, Mark and Gail Mathanabe. Music based on multiethnic relations could be played like
"Ebony and Ivory" by Stevie Wonder, "Black and White by Michael Jackson",and "Take Away the Colour" by Ice MC.

There could be an annual survey in regards to ethnic relations including questions like how many know people of certain ethnic groups, how many people go to gatherings,functions that involve different ethnic groups, things like food. We could also ask things about interethnic friendships/dating/relationships. Questions about negative things should be asked including experiences of ethnic bigotry,discrimination. We could ask about fears,resentments in regards to ethnic groups. I also feel that questions of affirmative action,reparations can be part of the survey. I also believe that ethnic stereotypes need to be addressed during the survey to see how many people believe in them. After all,ethnic stereotypes tend to be offensive and they factor into ethnic prejudices. I also believe that we should make the June 12, 1967 Loving vs. Virginia Supreme Court Ruling (that struck down all interracial marriage laws in USA) ruling the day that multiethnic,multicultural week begins. We can discuss the importance of that ruling and how it has impacted interethnic relations.

These surveys can be done anonymously too. I feel empathy and tolerance can only be done through actual experiencing. I feel that you have to walk a mile in a person's moccasins to understand them. That's just my view.
Maybe that's how we can bring ethnic groups together.

I am the son of a white woman and a black father. I had half Japanese stepsisters. I have a stepgrandmother that is Hispanic who is the mother of my part Hispanic aunts/uncles. I have half Filipino cousins as the result of one of my maternal uncles married to a Filipino woman. Therefore I have a diverse heritage and background. I was even born in the multiethnic,multicultural city of San Francisco,California which is where my parents met. I grew and still live in Sacramento,California which was identified by Time magazine and the Civil Rights Project of Harvard University as the most racially/ethnically integrated major city in America. I grew up believe that we should all love each other. I grew up believing in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's Dream. God bless the day when the gap between Blacks and Whites is closed.

Here is a pictures of me and my mother http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q112/Astynaz/ray3yrsold.jpg http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q112/Astynaz/ray21whismother.jpg

I end with a poem that I wrote:

U N I T Y

Unity is our ultimate goal
for we are the same
underneath our skins
that come in many colors.
Remember our blood
is the same color.
So keep that in mind.
Don't throw away the dream
which is unity.
There are no separate races
for there is only one race,
and that is the Human Race.
We are all created equal
because we are all human beings,
and so we should unite
on our home planet, Earth.
In order for our world to survive,
we have to stop the violence
and eradicate the hate
which will ultimately destroy us all.
Eternal peace will only be achieved
through love and compassion
as we struggle to coexist.
We should love each other
for we are all related
and should be in unity.

Raymond N. Andrews

posted May 06, 2008 10:27 AM              

On Hillary Clinton's campaign stump, before the Kentucky Derby, she compared herself to the only filly in the Derby, "8 Bells," and even touted sending Chelsea to Kentucky to place a bet on said horse.

does anyone think there's any significance to the fact that the winner of the Kentucky Derby was named "Big Brown" and "8 Bells", who placed 2nd was injured so badly, she had to be put down?