Let me tell you a secret...
Many black people and many of us in between do not really believe that a black man can be elected as president in America. We don't think that America is ready.
Let that sink in.
Don't get me wrong. I want to see Barack Obama win the nomination of the Democratic party. I want Obama to win the election.
Like Obama, I am a biracial person. My father was an African American with Indian and white ancestry. My Mother is some hodgepodge of various European ancestry. My children have a Jewish father. I am light skinned enough that I frequently benefit from the privilege of not "looking black". For this reason, I call myself biracial..not because I wish to deny any part of me but because I want to remind people that I am not the white person that they think they see.
Both of my children are voting in their first presidential election this year. I don't think that my children are naive. Like many of the youth today, they are hoping that race doesn't matter. They are both Obama supporters.
I was an Edwards supporter strictly based on policy. When Edwards dropped out, I did not really see much of a difference between Hillary and Obama. There was still no thought in my mind that I should vote for someone based on race or sex. I had many other reasons for choosing Obama. If Hillary won, I would still support her, no big deal.
Over the past month, I have begun to see that Obama was winning primaries and I began to feel it...Hope.
Over the past week, that hope has dwindled to disappointment and despair. I have been reading the right wing web sites, lurking on the conservative forum that I used to help moderate. The biggest shock for me came when I began reading the words of some who claim to be Clinton supporters. While I hope and pray that these people are not really Clinton supporters, I fear that they are.
I am asking my fellow democrats...Prove me wrong.
I hate to be harsh, but this may mean another four years of Bushism via McCain.
Some of you need to stop thinking that calling Obama black or pointing out the he is black is a bad thing. He is (really) black. He may be white too, but he is black. You are not complimenting him by saying that he is not really black. He can call himself biracial, as I do, or black, or African American. It doesn't matter. Don't say that he isn't black. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH BEING BLACK.
Don't call Rev. Wright a racist unless you fully understand the context of his words and have taken the time to understand the African American experience and the context of the African American church. If you don't get it, STFU. You are damaging your cause through your willful ignorance.
If Obama loses the nomination, let it be because of issues. Let it be because democrats have made a rational choice. If Obama does not win the nomination as a direct result of the racism that I have seen and heard lately or if he loses because Clinton capitalizes on it, I will sit this election out.
I will not be alone.