The Misguided Issue of Racial Politics: Especially Where “White People” Are Concerened

The election-related political chatter is in full tilt as we approach election day. And this morning the “talk back” topic on CNN is about race and voting. In particular, asking why Obama is polling so poorly with “white voters”: https://www.facebook.com/CarolCNN

As somebody who studies cultural context for a living, I always get a little perturbed when issues of ideals and ideas and values and preferences are boiled down to “race”: which in our American culture is tantamount to skin color: as though all white people come from the same cultural, socio-economic or ethnic context. I get similarly annoyed with the lumping of any “demographic” group. For example: the assumption that “Hispanic” somehow sums up the vastly diverse set of Latino ethnicities and cultural traditions / heritage that occupy North America.

I suppose my issue is in seeing this type of conversation promoted on a news channel. Isn’t it the obligation of media to show us the light and not muddy the waters? If you want to understand the “white vote” you really do have to dig a bit deeper…as with anything. The truth of the matter is that it’s not a black/ white / hispanic / asian / “other” issue. Politics is about a whole set of issues: what people value – their dreams, fears concerns, needs, challenges and day-to-day realities. A single mom working a blue-collar job has a far different reality than an upper middle class married professional or a twenty-something recent college grad.

Lets not pollute the airwaves with pedantic pontificating about race. If you want to be strategic about your analysis of politics then give us something to really think about / talk about.

Thank you,

The Narcissistic Anthropologist

Some of My Best Friends Are White People (thenarcissisticanthropologist.com)
Huge racial disparities in political journalism (salon.com)
White Analyst Calls Out Republican’s Veiled Racism With New Book (newsone.com)
LA Times : Always Blame White People First (stevengoddard.wordpress.com)
Romney Campaign Plays The Race Card With Powell Endorsement (thedailybanter.com)
Could Obama’s struggles with white voters cost him the election? (cnn.com)

One thought on “The Misguided Issue of Racial Politics: Especially Where “White People” Are Concerened”

Greetings:

You are invited to read a fresh, fascinating and timely contribution to the current topical issue of inter-racial families.

Johnny Williams, a debonair likeable young graduate student, raised by a loving adoptive elderly couple started his life journey as an abandoned one day-old, in a basket left at a Westchester church-front. His birth mother was a teenage blond blue-eyed student who returned to her university in California; unable to find peace, even later as a professional magazine editor. Due to Johnny’s hair being peculiarly tangled from birth, he’s forced to permanently keep his hair in braids and to adopt the name DADA because he firmly believes his birth mother must have been from West Africa. His university degree course in Social Anthropology may have been subconsciously driven by his burning desire to find the mother that abandoned him at birth. His fascination with the Yoruba culture leads him on some adventurous travels with many twists and turns while he is also privileged to meet and make friends with some elderly intellectuals along the way.
JOURNEY OF HOPE OR DESTINY adopts Yoruba philosophical worldview to narrate a story that reflects the global influence of race and social construct on different cultures.

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You may also borrow to read from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de and Amazon.fr.
It is an ideal eBook title as supplementary reading in Social Anthropology, Sociology and Humanities.

Best Regards
Raymond Ladebo