Ray Suarez/PBS plays cards: opposition to Obama a proxy for race

Posted Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 10:07 am  ·  short link
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Speaking in Michigan yesterday, PBS news anchor Ray Suarez said:
The "pseudo controversies" about Obama's background are symbols for a "racial calculus" hard at work in U.S. politics.

Opinions about Obama's inexperience, his childhood in Indonesia, and the persistent but untrue rumors of him being Muslim are stand-ins for something his detractors cannot admit, Suarez said.

Particularly, "religion has become a proxy for race," he said.

Characterizing Obama as Muslim "is a way to confer otherness on him for those people who are uncomfortable saying they're against him because he's black."

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ray suarez

Comments

eh (not verified)

Thu, 10/09/2008 - 22:13

Hey, someone should tell Suarez that the US was founded and largely built by Whites; I personally hope it will retain its white majority. So I wouldn't blame anyone for not voting for Obama (he strongly self-identifies as black) because they see it as another giant step in the wrong direction, another step suggesting the history of the US as a predominantly white nation is meaningless and can just be thrown aside: we're heading toward a majority non-white America, so why not elect a non-white President? And if Suarez doesn't like that, then he can go live in whatever Hispanic or Black nation he chooses. If he can find a decent one.

petty bourgeois (not verified)

Fri, 10/10/2008 - 15:19

Obama is not black, he is a mulatto. Big difference, because Obama is not black enough for the predominately West African people that make up mainstrean Black America either.