Why People Are Wrong About Ferarro’s Comments

I originally thought her comments weren't racist either. BTW, I am a black male. However, after thinking about it, I have come to the conclusion that she was deriding Obama and his position that he's attained. Making his political status an issue of his race is most certainly racist.

I dunno ... to be honest, I am over the whole is she or is she not racist. There are other things we need to be worried about.

Like getting GWB out of the white house (I guess that will happen any way) and getting Obama elected!

I read your this morning and I've been thinking about it ever since and I've reached the conclusion that what she's repeatedly said is in fact racist. There's no escaping it:

http://www.scripting.com/stories/2008/03/14/northeaststyleRacism.html

Thanks for making me think through this and actually understanding that her comments were racists. I originally thought they were not.

PS: Her comment about being herself attacked only because she's white is also quite revealing in exactly the same way.

Tasteless but correct

We have a discussion on this topic at http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r20149574-
I'll restate my point, her comment was not racist, but it was tasteless.

Ok, these are Ferraro's own words from one of her interviews where she attempts to stridently defend her statements:

FERRARO: "... the question was asked, 'So why do you think Barack Obama is in the place he is today, with all these candidates and all these delegates and all the rest of the stuff?' And I said, 'In large part because he is black.' "

"In large part because he is black." That's simple and it's racist, no matter how she later tries to tweak it, or to weakly compliment Obama -- "Oh, but he's a great public speaker."

Your attempt to parse her statements for her are only helping in promoting this premeditated race-baiting, wedge issue crap that the Clinton campaign has used in desperation to swing the upcoming PA primary massively in her favour. So-called reasonable people are looking for any reason to excuse this attack and not call it for what it is.

You know, even if this is what she really believes, that somehow Obama is "largely" the beneficiary of some kind of politically correct reverse discrimination, why, unless she was seeking to play politics for Clinton, would she want to inject this kind of question into the Democratic contest? How long has she lived in America? Did she not know what her private little opinion would mean in this race? I know she's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but she's not that dumb.

It's BS, she knew what she was doing and for whose campaign she was doing it. The proof is that she made exactly the same point, word for word a month earlier and also in a previous contest against Jesse Jackson. She's a liar and she shows that Clinton and those surrounding her campaign don't have a shred of integrity left, if they ever had any.

I'm over the "racist" part of the debate. Tired of it. But, what is really making me furious is her saying that the only reason she was the VP candidate in '04 was because she is a woman. Gee... I hope all of those little girls who are listening remember that it's only through kindness, pity and guilt that a woman could ever amount to anything. Her statement is the most sexist thing I have heard in a very long time. Maybe, just maybe, it was because she was the best person for the job, maybe she made someone say "wow, she would make a great VP candidate!" No, it's only because she is a woman. Or, does she have really low self esteem? What a load of tripe.

This is a solipsistic piece of tripe. Hear me out: Jesse Jackson is ostracized and criticized because of his skin color. So is Obama. America is a racist place and Ferraro knows it.

What Ferraro said: neither Obama nor Jackson would be in positions of leadership based on merit; they're where they are because we don't expect much from black men and don't criticize them. She wasn't talking about home town fans; she was saying now and in 1998 that Obama and Jackson don't merit the support they're garnering. BTW, you don't mention her "I'm being criticized because of racism against whites" comment. Nice omission. It is you who are reacting emotionally. Climb out from under the rock and look at the facts.