There are still white churches and black churches in the South. Why? It's not separate but equal there, it's separate because God meant it to be that way. The white, straight men are God's chosen people. I have an uncle who still will get up and leave a café if a white woman and black man come in together. It, as he says, "makes him sick." And any woman who dates a black man is looked down upon. I've heard relatives say, "She certainly doesn't think much of herself." The South is still scared of black men. You think they don't still believe that black men want to rape white women. You are fooling yourself if you think otherwise. You think I'm wrong. I invite you to come to Texas and listen for awhile. Oh, they may not say they are prejudice in public (thankfully there are civil rights laws), but when you get behind closed doors the term "nigger" is still used in the worst sort of way by white people. Not all white people. Sure there are some liberals, if you go to Austin, but get into the heart of the South and Texas and you'll find nothing has changed except people are angrier. Poor white men are mad as hell about everything and mostly about blacks, Latinos, gays and women. You think any of them are going to vote for Hillary or Obama?
Let's not even get into gays and Latinos. They are hated just as much as women and blacks, and probably more. Latinos are swimming across the border to take welfare or jobs away from white people, who are too proud to do the crappy jobs anyway. Leave a car parked long enough and a Mexican family will start living in it. Mexicans are good for one thing-their contribution of Tex-Mex cuisine. Gays are abominations in the eyes of God. Faggots will burn in hell. They have no use, except as hairdressers and decorators. I don't need to go on about how much hate there is in the Southern United States and it is fueled by conservative talk show hosts and the churches. The thinking is that if you pray long enough, maybe God will restore the country to what it used to be-one of the most backward places on earth when it comes to justice for all. Sure, let's get back to the way things used to be-where women are second class citizens, where blacks and Latinos are not even that good and gays are (even now) as bad as it gets. Let's tie them all to a truck bummer and drag them to death. That's the way justice works in the South. The Klan isn't dead at all. Not long ago I saw a bus load of men in their white hoods outside their bus which had broken down on the way to Houston. It was after Labor Day, but they still had on white and wore it proudly.
Are there enough enlightened people in the United States that things can change? Sure, if you cut off anything but the East and West coasts. I sincerely hope that the youth, blacks, gays, Latinos, angry white women (who can remember what it was like not to have any rights) get behind either Hillary or Obama or anyone else the Democrats may nominate. Anything in this country that has moved civil rights forward has come from the Democrats. Anything that keeps us slaves to big business, war and inflation has come from the Republicans. Sure the Republicans can hang on to the mistaken idea that the United States is the greatest country in the world, but the rest of the world is pretty sick of us. I have spent part of the last years equally in New York, Texas and Europe. Bush II has made us the laughing stock of the world. However, the citizens of the Southern United States will not vote for change. A black man or a woman in the White House? It's a nice dream, but the reality is that people are cowards and change takes courage. Both Hillary and Obama have courage, but it will take a lot of angry people to vote them in. The majority will go for John McCain, because he represents the past. The God awful, stinking, prejudiced past. And thanks again, Ralph Nader, for fucking things up more. I appreciate everything Hillary and Obama are doing, but it's not enough. Hundreds of years of hate won't be changed on election day. It'll just be more of the same. I sincerely hope I am wrong.
I think your prediction will be proven wrong. Look at the turnout for the primaries, many of the independents are going to the democratic primaries, which gives the dem primaries twice the turnout of the republican primaries, and this is with just two candidates, a black man and a woman. This bodes very well for the dems come the general election. It's not about whether they can get the vote of the conservative south, who wouldn't vote democrat anyway, regardless of who was running, it's about getting the independents. The conservative south is far from being the majority of the country.
#2 by Anne Lyken-Garner Mar 10, 2008
I admire your bravery and honesty for writing this article. I am mixed race and lived in the US for a little while and I must admit that I did feel the silent pressure of racism, not when I was alone, but when I went out with white people.
#3 by Ronald Marbles (The Abacus) Mar 13, 2008
Bosco, just to fill you in. I am neither white nor black.
#4 by Ronald Marbles (The Abacus) Mar 16, 2008
Dear John, I'd rather pay taxes to go for projects rather than paying taxes for war...like what your beloved President Mr.Bush is doing.
#5 by nouran , egypt Mar 20, 2008
well,i realy like wat u've said,dear john...
obama or hilary mayb good,but still america didn reach the top of the democart to allow a back man (wiz a muslim father) or a woman 2 rule united states of america!!the country of false freedom!!
plus dat macin is old enough and have experience enough 2 rule this country,,it needs wisdom more dan any other thing 2 b ruled!!
#6 by quiet voice Mar 22, 2008
.. what a great article, raw and honest. Good job of dealing
with a sad reality. I am really thinking that Obama has appeared for a reason, what better person of black and white heritage, to try to bring this country together. I too think you may be wrong,
the campaigns are registering huge numbers of Democrats and they are voting, sometimes more than twice the amount of people who voted in the last election, Republicans who have vision, can see that there is something different about Obama, they are coming over, the young people are on a tear, they have been awaken to the prospect of something different, something real. The problem
is that the Clintons, who I totally respected until this election, did not know that Obama was going to soar like he has, they want to take him out at any cost, even Hillary basically
endorsing John McCain, as having passed the commander-in-chief threshold (what is that?), but not Obama. This is the new story of David and Goliath, and David will win again. John McCain during his trip to the Middle East, said three or four times, things that undercut his foreign affairs strong suit, more mistakes, like he made this last week, people will start to think he is slipping into seniordom a bit faster than anticipated.
Obama vs McCain, Obama wins, white or not, young people and/or people in general, are not following a 72 year old man, who will age tremendously in office, from the stress, he does have a touch of cancer, over a 46 year mixed race, black and white man. Who by the way is smarter than smart, just ask the members of the Harvard Law Review who made him President. John McCain sweet heart and hero that he is, graduated third or fourth from the bottom of his class, butttt, that didn't stop W did it? This is the way Hillary will lose, even if she gets the nomination. Hardly any of the African-Americans will come out to vote for her, she needs the black vote to win. The young people will stay home enmass, because they took their dream in Obama away. Independents in Obama's corner will surely move to McCain. And there you have it, another four years of sos, with a 100 year war in Iraq, and bombings going on in Iran, to start something that we have neither the money or the manpower to finish.
Sorry to write so much, but I get crazy looking at the things that are going on. We all need to grow and stop trying to be stuck on stupid, as my sister says sometimes. At least you've got people talking. Should be a little less heat, and a lot more civil discussion. Good show!
#7 by Ronald Marbles (The Abacus) Mar 23, 2008
Quiet voice, you could not elaborate more on the subject and the way you wrote this piece shows me (and others) that you really know what you are talking about. It is such a relief to find someone who is so open minded and not scared to show his/her opinion.
It was a joy to read what you wrote and hopefully, the USA will really become the land of freedom, because honestly, under the Rebs in charge, it was never the land of freedom. It was the land of war. I was in tears this week when I read that the number of dead soldiers in Iraq reaches 4,000. Innocent lives dying over something so stupid and destroying their families. And why? Because (and I say this from the bottom of my heart) G.W Bush has no brains and he is the most stupid, idiotic man that God ever created. Having said that, John McCain is not exceptional in this matter either.
#8 by jan Apr 21, 2008
if you are not white or black then you must be latino, muslim or none of the above, anyways who cares. america is not afraid of change what america does not want if for losers like you to spew nonesense very similar to the other two losers snobama and hitlary. america needs a leader and neither one of them are qualified.
#9 by LRPharm54 Apr 22, 2008
Obama is bad news. Hillary is bad news. I have been around long enough to see the decay in the U.S. Gas prices are outrageous, the mentality of the people between 20-37 has reached a plateau of ignorance unequaled in 10 centuries. The education system has no use any longer. Most can't spell, read well, articulate a complete sentence without pauses, and ask them a simple math, history, or geography question and they give you the look of a deer with headlights projected in it's eyes.
I have no compassion for Bush and his poor ethics and inability to run the country. He has done nothing to improve anyone with an income below $100,000 a year. Veterans are all but ignored and given little support as well, and you think Hillary or Obama will imrove that situation...dream on.
Disappointment runs rampant in the U.S. on our so-called leaders and I frankly have nothing good to say about any of them. I wouldn't vote for Hillary or Obama for dog catcher. They are elitists and like most politicians are out to improve their lives and the conditions of their friends and relatives and really don't give a flip about the rest of the United States.
Germany and other European countries are looking good to me and I am thinking of leaving the U.S. and let the people continue allowing our government to run them. The Winston Smiths of our country can just go on with "Big Brother" and get what they rightly deserve. I am a fighter and never let the government run over me. They are big, powerful and do what they want, but I resist them in most cases and don't follow like a blind sheep.
Go ahead vote for Hillary or Obama and enjoy your miserable life. It will only get worse. Don't believe me? Just watch. I have seen too much for over 50 years and I have yet to miss on a prediction. Just remember the U.S. doesn't care about you and your cell phones your hummer, your VIP account at Gold's Gym and your maxed out Visa card from expensive dining out. Just prepare for crash and burn time..it is coming.
McCain is not a choice either. It's like having to choose between Lex Luther, Osama Bin Ladin, or Malcolm X. No matter who you pick you are screwed. I frankly quit voting. The government makes sure they get who they want. Surprise!!!!
#10 by John Smith May 15, 2008
So throughout your whole spill standing atop your irrational soapbox, you down graded how most southerns think and live. If this is any way to help win a vote for Obama or Hilary, it didnt work to well. I was born and raised in the south and proud of it. Most of the things you said may be true, but you put it in a bad context that makes it sounds unreasonable. Just as everythig else, I see nothing wrong with putting God first and letting a woman be a good housewife. I may not agree with the way people believe and live in other parts of the states, but I have no right to say you are wrong for believing the way you do. Just because you have an opinion doesnt make you right or me wrong. There is nothing that says a belief is wrong, that is why it is a belief and not fact. It just comes to show what kind of characteristics and traits you hold as a man when you talk obliviously about others just because you dont agree with the way they live. And by the way, yes you are right, I will vote for McCain because of the CHANGE he will bring to this country. If you dont think he has a plan for change, then that shows just how much you really know about this topic.
#11 by haha Nov 4, 2008
wow you were wrong!
#12 by freeman Nov 5, 2008
Obama did 3 things:
win by the second largest plurality of the past 75 years;
inspire more people to register to vote in the last 6 months than have ever registered in any 6-month period in our nation's history;
inspire more people to cast ballots than have ever cast ballots before in the history of the united states.
And, of course, he won the election quite handily, so much so that every major newspaper and tv station called the election earlier than they've ever called a presidential election before.
You can vote for whichever white candidate you prefer, but the rest of us voted for the one who has revitalized the party.
