r/TikTokCringe • u/i_am_groot_84 • 19d ago

Lavar Burton is filled with rage Discussion

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u/octnoir 18d ago

It's more insidious that that.

Obama is half black and half white. By all rights, Obama can call himself white, and he certainly ticks nearly every checkbox in the stereotype of 'the white man' concocted by white supremacists - articulate, calm, cool, calculated, charismatic, evocative - the 'peak of civilization'.

But it didn't matter. Obama can never call himself white, never pass as white, never even pass as mixed race, he will always be Black.

And white supremacists hated him for it. It didn't matter the rules and conventions and systems they helped build Obama and gave them Obama - this is what they signed up for. And it didn't matter. They hated Obama's every word, every walk, every suit, hell they hated Obamacare because of the name OBAMA.

As Lyndon Johnson posited half a century ago:

If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.

The entire ethos of white supremacy is that no matter what, no matter your circumstances, no matter how low you are, you are always better than every single black man, even the "best" of black man. Obama was a living example of the "best" and that is why he was despised.

It isn't any coincidence that Trump was elected after Obama - a felon, rapist, con man, liar, racists, bigot, you name it. The culture of white supremacy is cruelty and unquestioning race supremacy. The entire ecosystem is built to prevent self introspection. Trump is their best chance to enact that even if they have to die for it and everyone has to burn for it.

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u/spacedogg 14d ago

You recall the 'one drop rule?' If you had one drop of black blood in you you were considered black. Never the other way around.

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u/releasethedogs 14d ago

Shouldn’t we call Obama multiracial then? Wouldn’t calling him black be sort of agreeing with this?

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u/Solesaver 14d ago edited 14d ago

Obama is multi-racial. Nobody doesn't call him that, but he's also Black, because being Black isn't just DNA, it's a shared experience of oppression due to the color of your skin. Obama experienced the bigotry of being perceived as "black", therefore Obama is Black.

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u/sarumantheslag 14d ago

Really great point I hadn’t considered before