正文
两周前收到一个美国同事转来的EMAIL，解释在今年美国总统竞选中存在的种族歧视现象(见下边所附)。这是一个令人很“不舒服”的议题，但这个问题在美国的确仍然存在。
媒体对总统竞选中出现的种族歧视现象的报导非常小心。在第三次总统辩论中，奥巴马指出有人在麦凯恩的竞选集会中，喊“Kill him”。而在场的佩林没有做出任何制止的反应。在电视中报导中，仅见到媒体播出一个白人在麦凯恩的竞选集会中对麦凯恩说，“I'm mad. I'm really mad." 虽然没有人问/解释他说的MAD 的原因是什么，想来不少人都知道这里的潜台词，就是因为看到美国选民今年选举一位黑人总统的可能性。
两周前，我们在当地意大利节日的集会中设置了为奥巴马助选的桌子，散发竞选资料，鼓励选民登记。有人告诉我们，听到有一个路过的女人恨恨地“祝愿”极端的事情会发生。待我们试图找到这个人，以报告给保安部门时，她已消失在人群中了。想想看，这是一个大多是由天主教信徒参加的集会呀。
美国国家广播电台(NPR)的上周五播出了一个节目，York Voters Express Post-Election Hopes, Fears. 有的选民表示他们在担心，不论谁当选为美国下届总统，11月5日会发生什么。这场选举，真是对美国政府，人民，及美国宪法和民主制度的一次空前考验。
NPR:这是与在York地区，宾夕法尼亚州的选民关于种族与其在2008年总统大选中的作用的一系列谈话的第四次报告。Steve Inskeep and Michele Norris在9月份第一次与15个选民谈话。 这一次，他们又增加了两个人。他们计划在选举后再次与这些选民会晤-白人，黑人和棕色人组成的混合-来自这个在大选中处于摇摆状态的州。
如果这个国家由一名黑人来领导，国家会有什么不同？如果奥巴马输给麦凯恩的话，人们将如何反应？NPR请了15个来自York，宾夕法尼亚州地区的选民，讨论种族和总统竞选，试图探讨超过选举投票本身的问题。 对话超出了选举本身。许多请来的选民-许多是黑人，白人，拉美裔和来自南亚-他们对不管哪一个候选人当选总统后可能发生的事表示担心。
“不管本次选举结果如何，我认为这个国家都会永远改变，”一位白人退休教师Blanche Hake说，他将投奥巴马的票。 当问及如果奥巴马当选为总统后国家将会发生什么变化时，Hake说：“我想黑人自己...学校的孩子们，他们将会有一个效仿的典范。”
Leah Moreland 则有很不同的答案。Moreland坐在离Hake几英尺远的地方;两个女人通过婚姻有关联。Moreland支持麦凯恩。
“我不想听上去象是一个种族主义者，我也不是种族主义者，” Moreland 说。“但我觉得如果我们选奥巴马入主白宫的话，将会一片混乱。我觉得很多黑人会觉得这是要回报的时候(payback time)。我曾说过，我说， '你知道，以前，当一个白人走来的时候，黑人不得不离开人行道。’我觉得这将会逆转。我真的觉得令人不快的事会发生。”Moreland说，她不认为所有的黑人都会“要回报。” “我不是在谈论你，我不是在谈论他们。我指的是在街上找麻烦的人。选一个黑人入主白宫-如果他赢的话，他赢的话，我会生活在他的总统职权下，每一件事。我仍然会和想成为我的朋友的任何黑人做朋友，一切。 但我真的觉得将是一段调整的时间。我真的觉得这样。我希望我错了。我希望我错了。”
Michael Smith，一个坐在房间另一边的黑人男子，双手紧紧地抱住胸部。他扳起头，慢慢地向空中伸出食指。 “我真的理解你的话，”他说。“我想你所指的恐惧，只是变革。我们将很高兴或兴奋，显得生气勃勃， 有积极性的事实本身，是因为我们是乐于表达-expressionable 的人。”但是Moreland 似乎指的是不同类型的情感展示。 Smith 在谈论庆祝：欢呼，在街上跳舞，伸出五指击掌 。Moreland谈的是混乱，暴力，打破窗户，把人推下人行道-而不是快乐。
一个32岁的戏剧老师Cal Weary说，他担心如果奥巴马获胜后白人的怨恨。Weary 是一个加入共和党的黑人，投过两次布什的票。今年， 他支持奥巴马。“我想你越担心坏的事情发生就越害怕。我讨厌这样说，但让[奥巴马]不会胜利试试。”Weary说。他说，他“更害怕乔六包-Joe Six-Packs 在奥巴马赢得总统选举后“要回报-payback。”Weary说，如果奥巴马失去了选举，黑人可能就不接受选举结果是合法的。 “我保证，”Weary说。“我想即使是没有那样投入的黑人也会有被剥夺的感觉，'我们是如此接近，现在我们没有得到它，我很生气。’"
Margie Orr，另一个黑人，提出了另一个恐惧-一个令人生畏的，自从奥巴马成为入主白宫的认真的竞争对手以来就一直在悄悄地流传的恐惧。“你知道我最害怕的是什么？我最害怕的言论就是一直在麦凯恩的集会中听到的。”她说。“我为奥巴马和他的家人担心。对于那些在这些集会上说的事情，好像他们想找来光头仔， [三K 党] ，这样他们就可以杀害奥巴马。”“我担心如果奥巴马被白人杀害，什么事情会在美国的这些地方发生。这是我的恐惧。这是我的恐惧。这也应该是你的恐惧。”
( Michele Norris 在这里插话说，“Un-comfortable stuff。”.)
尽管选民们带着惶恐的心情接近大选，也有很大的期待。但是，无论11月4日的选举是什么结果，许多York 的选民在关注11月5日会是怎样。
录音:http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=96086423&m=96090102
White Privilege
From: Dr. Gxxxxn
Sent: Fri 10/10/2008 16:33
To: Undisclosed recipients
Subject: White PrivilegeLately, people have been saying, "Gee Billi's become such a radical angry black man--and what's all this talk about white privilege.."//For those who still can't grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help.
White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because "every family has challenges," even as black and Latino families with similar "challenges" are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological, and arbiters of social decay.
White privilege is when you can call yourself a "fuckin' redneck," like Bristol Palin's boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you'll "kick their fuckin' ass," and talk about how you like to "shoot shit" for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.
White privilege is when you can be like John McCain and have no one question your character, when get engaged to your 2nd wife before your divorce is final from your first wife, who you divorced because she became handicapped---although she waited for you while you were a prisoner of war.
White privilege is when you can graduate 394th in a class of 397 from the Naval Academy--- when your father is an admiral, like John McCain, and have nobody question your intelligence or motivation---whereas a black man can graduate with honors from Columbia, then go onto be a constitutional law scholar at Harvard and be scrutinized for being too intellectual---and out of touch with the people--even though he worked his way through school, and rose from the ranks of the enlisted personnel.
White privilege is when you can lie and say you can't go on the David Letterman show because you have to rush to Washington to help with the bailout---when actually you're doing another television show across town---and have no one question your integrity.
White privilege is when you can sing, "Bomb bomb Iran" publicly and have people not question your judgement.
White privilege is when you can be attacked by terrorist from Afghanistan, and declare war on Iraq because of it and destroy one of the oldest civilizations on earth, and feel totally justified.//White privilege is blaming America's lack of response to Hurricane Katrina on the Hurricane victim's inability to help themselves.
White privilege is raping, pillaging, stealing and cheating American Indian tribes out of their land---then giving them a patch of dirt by the side of the freeway in California, Arizona and New Mexico that is so barren it won't even grow bacteria--and then when they build casinos and start making money---those state governments have the audacity to want some of the money.
White privilege is when you can dress like Cindy McCain and have people not think your a blind drag queen who recently escaped from Drug Rehab.
White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in because of affirmative action.
White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be president, and people don't all piss on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S. Senator, two-term state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means you're "untested."
White privilege is being able to say that you support the words "under God" in the pledge of allegiance because "if it was good enough for the founding fathers, it's good enough for me," and not be immediately disqualified from holding office--since, after all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and the "under God" part wasn't added until the 1950s--while believing that reading accused criminals and terrorists their rights (because, ya know, the Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law school requires it), is a dangerous and silly idea only supported by mushy liberals.
White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people immediately scared of you.//White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member of an extremist political party that wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto was "Alaska first," and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family, while if you're black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately think she's being disrespectful.
White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and the work they do--like, among other things, fight for the right of women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end to child labor--and people think you're being pithy and tough, but if you merely question the experience of a small town mayor and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a class she took in college--you're somehow being mean, or even sexist.
White privilege is being able to convince white women who don't even agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your running mate anyway, because all of a sudden your presence on the ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women, and made them give your party a "second look."
White privilege is being able to fire people who didn't support your political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being a typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being black and merely knowing some folks from the old-line political machines in Chicago means you must be corrupt.
White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God's punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you're just a good church-going Christian, but if you're black and friends with a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on black people, you're an extremist who probably hates America.
White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked by a reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you such a "trick question," while being black and merely refusing to give one-word answers to the queries of Bill O'Reilly means you're dodging the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced.
White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW has anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while being black and experiencing racism is, as Sarah Palin has referred to it a "light" burden。
And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly allow someone to become president when he has voted with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing, people are losing their homes, inflation is rising, and the U.S. is increasingly isolated from world opinion, just because white voters aren't sure about that whole "change" thing. Ya know, it's just too vague and ill-defined, unlike, say, four more years of the same, which is very concrete and certain.
---yeah--- I'm pretty angry.
• 如果O8被种族分子挂了，白等比佩林强的可不是一点半点。 -CinYon- ♂ (0 bytes) (14 reads) 10/26/08
• dou -可亲可近- ♀ (0 bytes) (3 reads) 10/26/08
谢谢分享看法。
McCain cannot defeat Obama, according to the poll statistics (too large a gap to catch), but racism can:
by assassination or by Bradley effect, one is blatent racism, and the other is invisible racism.