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Many in the U.S. are celebrating election of first black president. Let us look at it more attentively. Imagine that you discovered that the new president has color of eyes so unique that no other president before him had the same color of eyes and you decide to celebrate this as a remarkable national achievement. Everybody would say that you are complete idiot because the color of eyes doesn't matter. Now, replace color of eyes by the color of skin. The mere fact that you are celebrating with serious faces means effectively an admission that color of skin still matters and you are nothing but a bunch of bigots, who claim to have overcome their bigotry.

Now, let us look at whether you really have overcome your bigotry. Almost half of electorates voted against Obama, and this is in the situation where country is two losing wars, with bankrupt and broken economy, and all this was done by Republican administration. Obama in this situation should have won by 99% majority, not 52%.

Here is yet another example for you: recently France has elected a Jew whose parents immigrated from Hungary. It seems to be the first Jewish president and I do not recall anybody celebrating this, and I believe this is the right attitude. Why should anyone care of what his religion is? Do you think USA would ever elect a Jewish president?

   

What war-time president lost an election?

   

I was like WTF? Bush couldn't have run again if he wanted to.

   

Off the top of my head, I believe Vietnam and Korea both saw a party power switch. If not presidency, at least congressional majority.

Anyway the OP is basically correct, although nothing can or will ever be done about it. Racism was a very bad thing. Fixing the problem required striving for equality and ignorance of skin color. Accomplishments by those of different skin color, however, are still blown out of proportion.

I don't think it's anywhere near as irritating as real-world reverse discrimination, but it's bothersome to see. Ideologically we should be better than that.

   

This is interesting do you really see racism as a past issue that has been resolved?

   

Well if 50 or 60 years ago you could have been denied access to a public school, forced to sit at the back of the bus or possably lynched in some parts of the country simply due to your eye colour I would agree.

Hell you don't even have to look back that far, racism is alive and well in many parts of the US.

   

Reverse discrimination is missing a promotion because management wants to hire a mexican woman to meet the lauded American Corporate Quota system that requires them to have minorities at high levels of all companies of a certain size. This is the most common type of example, that I've seen myself and nearly all C-level employees are terrified of.

It can also mean you get into a "He-said She-said" situation and lose by default, because it's easier for a minority to get a lawsuit passed.

The elimination of Affirmative Action is basically to make "equal" really mean "equal." Finally.

   

Sorry for the technicality. That is what we call it here. There is no officially recognized discrimination against white males, ever. I believe even the state courts here have titled their cases "Reverse Discrimination." Whether or not that makes the term correct or not I don't know, but that's what I've heard it called.

   

Well said, it doesn't matter how you dress it up or sugar coat it, hiring people on anything other than their qualifications is discriminatory no matter what you call it.

   

And yet it still happens. I remember police forces in Canada stating in their ads that no white males will even be considered for hiring, regardless of their qualifications.

   

Time out!

Hiring from all sectors of society helps prevent the cycle of unemployment and poverty in all of our communities.

Had hiring, education and opportunity always been equal for all members of our society then we would not have his problem now, would we?

Furthermore creating role models and pulling groups of people off of welfare and off of the system is good for everyone.

So excuse the momentary swing of the pendelum in this direction but it is not always a bad thing and there is a reason and a goal in diversity and equity programs.

Ok, time back in and Klan meeting back on! Ya, I'm joking enjoy the irony ...

   

It's a fact that standards are lowered when quotas have to be met.

   

That ^ (top post of the page) is an example of reverse discrimination, basically. More than that, even.

I want things to be equal. He says Klan. If a black man wants an UNFAIR advantage over a white man, he generally gets it. Same for a woman.

Yet, for the white male, even suggesting parity is grounds for accusations of rampant violent racism. Arg.

   

Silence, you are just another cracker tryin' to keep yourself on top everyone else down.

   

One day we'll all get along just fine and Race/Sex/Other won't be a determining factor in how we function. Until that day, some form of Affirmative Action will be necessary.

   

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