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top 200 commentsshow all 223

[–]steno_light 41 points42 points ago

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My second favorite sketch of The Chappelle Show. First being, obviously, the blind black white supremacist.

[–][deleted] 59 points60 points ago

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In the past few weeks, Clayton Bigsby accepted the fact that he is a black man. And three days ago, he filed for divorce from his wife. When we asked "Why after 19 years of marriage?" He responded, "Because she's a nigger lover."

[–]cabface 0 points1 point ago

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Best quote to ever come out of Chapelle's show. My next favorite sketch is the race draft.

[–]HomelessCosmonaut 14 points15 points ago

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The Racial Draft is up there in the top 3 with these.

[–]ColonelFuckface 12 points13 points ago

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I would add Charlie Murphy telling his story about meeting Prince in the club back in the 80's.

[–]gregm1 4 points5 points ago

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That cat can ball, man!

[–]JeddHampton 2 points3 points ago

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And Tupac's new song that was the dopest song he wrote in '94.

[–]captshady 1 point2 points ago

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Shirts versus blouses!

[–]JeddHampton 2 points3 points ago

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game... blouses.

[–]arctprime 2 points3 points ago

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Haters Ball Has to be on for me. In reference to Rosie O'Donnell, "She wears underwear with dick holes in 'em." Then there is the classic, "Now if you will excuse me I have to go home and put some water in Buck Nasty's Momma's Dish"

[–]wassupDFW 1 point2 points ago

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The nominees are... Buck Nasty. Buck Nasty is nominated for getting his best friends girlfriend pregnant, then tricking his best friend into raising the little motherfucker. The next nominee is... Pit Bull. Pit Bull is nominated for calling the cops on his drug-dealing neighbors, not because it was the right thing to do, but just cause he was jealous of all the money they was makin. And the final nominee is... Silky Johnston. Silky Johnston is nominated for calling in a bomb threat at the Special Olympics.

[–]strobeprobe 0 points1 point ago

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Did you see the missing scenes? There was one part where Patrice O'Neal says something to Dave about his whores and Dave (as Silky Johnson) replies "I would ask about your hoes but it appears you ate them"

[–]DazzlerPlus 8 points9 points ago

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Get your god...damn hands off of ME!

[–]TheMightyDane 0 points1 point ago

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Little feet.... Big feet.

[–]mrpopenfresh 0 points1 point ago

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This is probably the best opening sketch for a tv show ever, EVER!

[–]BleakGod 36 points37 points ago

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almost a decade agoalmost_a_decade_agoalmost_a_decade_ago

[–][deleted] 24 points25 points ago

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[–]BleakGod 1 point2 points ago

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How have I never seen this gif

[–]snarkinator 3 points4 points ago

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Welcome to the internet!

[–]HP_Hovercraft 2 points3 points ago

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This is the first time I've seen it without the racist "KFC closed" frame at the start.

[–]fastredb 2 points3 points ago

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I actually saw that version for the first time yesterday. I've seen the one without it much more often.

[–]GrandChawhee 4 points5 points ago

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I've never wanted to stop time so badly.

[–]Slyder 1 point2 points ago

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That's like, what, the 90's?

[–]Rystic 0 points1 point ago

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I actually have this sketch recorded on a tape! Like, a VCR tape!

[–]grimoren189 22 points23 points ago

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Vice President Sanchez is the real key.

[–]Dr_Pepper_spray 4 points5 points ago

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Elian can stay.

[–][deleted] ago

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[deleted]

[–]trojan7815 0 points1 point ago

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It's unfortunate you only have 3 upvotes.

[–]mrpopenfresh 1 point2 points ago

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SI

siiiiiiiiiii

[–]Seraph451 2 points3 points ago

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If people actually got this reference, this would be the top comment.

Well played, sir.

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points ago

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Not because he is black, but because he is president, like many in the past. However, I cant think of anything current that is applicable.

[–]chrometoucan 11 points12 points ago

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this is inaccurate

[–][deleted] 6 points7 points ago

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[–]SirCicero 0 points1 point ago

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The Nationwide guy is the reporter!

[–]grawz 17 points18 points ago

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Then we will vote in the shade.

[–]makotech222 -3 points-2 points ago

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and you shall comment in the shade... of upvotes!

[–]nazbot 16 points17 points ago

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Being black didn't help but I honestly think that it has more to do with GWB than it does with Obama's race.

Republicans think that GWB didn't get a fair shake by democrats - the whole 2000 election and democrats making fun of GW's intelligence. They had the feeling that you 'respect the office if not the man' and that democrats had it out for GW personally.

This is just their weird and twisted version of payback. Being black just added fuel to the fire.

[–]Guano_Loco 14 points15 points ago

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Because they so clearly respected the office when carter and Clinton held it...

[–]nazbot 0 points1 point ago

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I dunno, I think a lot of Republicans respected Clinton until he got a little nookie on the side.

Frankly that's what got GW elected in the first place - 'family values' a.k.a. 'I can keep it in my pants'.

[–]captshady 1 point2 points ago

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Very well put! And that's exactly what fueled me, at first. Then Obama continued Bush policies, and people that were in support of those policies, were suddenly against them. Extending the tax cuts, bailout moneys ... all Bush's ideas. But suddenly they're wrong? WTF?

I think it's been going on longer than that, just GWB's got more attention due to the net, and more people of voting age being online with each passing year.

I've found I tend to go the opposite way, when witnessing an excess of hate. I didn't vote Obama last time, but I'm going to this time.

[–]x86_64Ubuntu 1 point2 points ago

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Their version of payback ? Bush took us into an optional war and then they start foaming at the mouth before Obama even gets to do anything.

[–]bwmcmaste 26 points27 points ago

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National leaders always get flogged for their policy decisions: it's no different for Obama, and it will be no different for the next president.

"Heavy is the head that wears the crown."

[–]johnny_pissoff 5 points6 points ago

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For those who wondered about the source, it's actually a misquote of Shakespeare. The original quote goes "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown".

[–]Hansaman 1 point2 points ago

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"Heavy is the head that wears the crown."

Kelly Bundy.

[–]manys 1 point2 points ago

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[–]johnny_pissoff 3 points4 points ago

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Hey, mister. Tell all the commies my name is Johnny. Johnny Pissoff!

Also, Shakespeare trumps Limp Bizkit. Trump Shakespeare and we'll talk again.

[–]manys 0 points1 point ago

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Shakespeare may trump LB for you, but you still caught the wrong reference. ;)

[–]johnny_pissoff 0 points1 point ago

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So you are saying Limp Bizkit did not simply use a wrong Shakespeare quote?

[–]manys 0 points1 point ago

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No, I'm saying the OP got their quote right, and they weren't referencing Shakespeare. :)

[–]johnny_pissoff 0 points1 point ago

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It's still a wrong quote if you quote someone who quoted it wrong.

[–]manys 0 points1 point ago

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Nope! It's a lyric. Take your complaints to Fred Durst if you have a problem with it.

[–][deleted] ago

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[deleted]

[–]LordCopenhagen 9 points10 points ago

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Nope, no difference, this happens with every president.

[–]-RiskManagement- 1 point2 points ago

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I blame him for proposing the ideas that he is proposing.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points ago

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Don't drop the yellow cake!

I prefer Richard Pryor's First Black President over Chappelle's though.

[–]Big_Baby_Jesus 2 points3 points ago

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For anyone that doesn't know, the white woman who asks about him being seen with white women is his wife.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

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If I'm right, Robin Williams is also one of the reporters in the skit.

[–]FuckYouItsScience 5 points6 points ago

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I feel like the real reason I keep remembering he's black is due to the fact that everyone else keeps reminding me. Can we please stop putting this down to race? You're exacerbating that divide.

You're also acting like it's the color of his skin that's behind his criticism. It's dishonest and far from having an intellectual discussion.

Having said all that, Dave Chapelle should be back on the air. :/

[–]reverendrambo 1 point2 points ago

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Can I upvote this again?

[–]JLow1864 11 points12 points ago

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Actually an accurate prediction would've been God-like praise that slowly died down as people realized he's just as bad as every other politician.

[–]sloppy 13 points14 points ago

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Look, I'm gonna say this right up front. I don't give a crap what his skin color is. What I do give a crap about isn't what's said. I don't look at what they mean by what they say. It's what's done. That's where I always have problems with politicians. You just have to watch what professional liars do. Whatever you do, don't believe them just because they said it.

[–]CaptainToast09 12 points13 points ago

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I don't believe you

[–]cabface 49 points50 points ago

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Right, people only criticize Barack Obama because he is black. Has nothing to do with his policies.

[–]crashtopher9 27 points28 points ago

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Les be real here, it doesn't matter what his policies are or what the color of his skin is. Anything that goes wrong gets blamed on the president. Sometimes the blame is rightfully place on him(or her in the future) but a lot of times he/she is just the scapegoat.

[–]cabface 1 point2 points ago

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Precisely. Bush gets rightfully blamed for shit that was his fault, but also scapegoated for some things the president really had no power over (ie the 2008 economic meltdown had very little to do with Bush, and more so to do with Congress and the Fed).

[–]manys 0 points1 point ago

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Why don't we just go all the way and say the economic meltdown was nobody's fault?

[–]manys 0 points1 point ago

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He's an employee of the banks and military, anyway.

[–]CaptainToast09 9 points10 points ago

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he's also the head of the military, so i guess you could say he's self employed

[–]manys 0 points1 point ago

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He's the as much the head of the military as any CEO is of the BoD that employs them.

[–]Papasmurf2 40 points41 points ago

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Although some people are criticizing him for his actual policies, I do believe that many people are blaming him for things that are out of his control ie. some of the debt problems facing America today. I would not put it past some people to blame it on the fact that he is black where perhaps the blame would be much more appropriately placed with previous cabinets.

[–]poompt 12 points13 points ago

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All presidents are blamed for things partially or entirely out of their control, and given credit for the same kinds of things.

[–]manys 2 points3 points ago

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Not only that, but they campaign on doing something about them! You think Biden was at all surprised by what he found once he arrived in the VP's office? They certainly don't try to set the record straight unless it blows up in their faces, like it is here.

[–][deleted] 50 points51 points ago

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I have heard people word-for-word state that they'd rather have anyone but that nigger in the office.

[–]GundamWang 12 points13 points ago

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We live in a country of some 313 million people. There will be at least enough people to play a pickup game of baseball for every possible opinion. So, at least 16 people in the US think Obama is a lizard wearing a human skin.

My point is, I don't doubt you in the slightest, but anecodotal data doesn't prove much.

[–]Rawrpew 0 points1 point ago

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Sadly I know some of those people :(

[–]torah_sam 32 points33 points ago

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That's not necessarily racist. They said "that" nigger not a nigger. They'll take another probably

[–]racism_sniffing_dog 53 points54 points ago

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...

[–]sammythemc 21 points22 points ago

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"I'm not racist, I only attack someone using their race when I don't like them"

[–]ExplainsRacistJokes 3 points4 points ago

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This is funny because despite the original comment being obviously racist (i.e. the use of the n-word to describe the current President of the United States), this comment rationalizes the phrasing as to mean that it implied only Obama himself, and no other hypothetical Black man.

[–]stinkepete2021 10 points11 points ago

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How fucking stupid do you have to be to think that someone calling a black man a nigger in ANY way is not racist?

[–]ChronicBluntz 1 point2 points ago

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Your sarcasm detector may need re-calibration.

[–]stinkepete2021 0 points1 point ago

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I see...can you recommend a good mechanic?

[–]ChronicBluntz 2 points3 points ago

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Sadly due to Poe's law most are booked solid.

[–]mikeandike1327 -1 points0 points ago

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What about when a black person does it?

[–]stinkepete2021 0 points1 point ago

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FUCK YOU.

No, but seriously, fuck you. Black people can say anything they want.

[–]manys 2 points3 points ago

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And if they didn't it's because the victor was genuinely more suited for the job.

[–]WhatTheFlux1 9 points10 points ago

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To be fair, people blame everything on the president, regardless of whether or not he is black.

[–]manys 1 point2 points ago

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Exactly, which they love when it's all good, but "OH, WELL IT'S COMPLICATED" when it isn't.

That's why I want reporters to start getting ahead of the game, asking candidates which of their promises are most likely to be broken, or which problems they don't think they can do anything about, or will refuse to. Start painting them into corners so they can't just play wishy-washy centrist. The job of President should be more difficult than it is, and a second Obama term is going to give us a glimpse at the dark underbelly of identity politics ("he seems so nice and smart"), just like we did with Bush ("he seems harmless").

[–]BZenMojo 1 point2 points ago

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[–]crimson_chin 2 points3 points ago

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I like how no one realizes the sarcasm.

Unless it's not sarcasm, in which case FOR SHAME.

[–]Lawtonfogle -2 points-1 points ago

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If it is racist, it would be due to calling a half black guy a nigger, a generally racist term. But just saying they don't want Obama may be because they hate liberals (as much Southerns seem to do), or it may be because they hate blacks (less numbers from what I have seen, but some still do). It might even be they hate his parents being a black/white couple with ties* to Islam, which is like the be all end of all of all things the South hates rolled up into a single package.

*ties need not actually exist or be anything scandalous at all. All that is needed is for people to think they are there.

[–]manys 1 point2 points ago

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It appears you could use with some pointers on the history of demonization:

drop of blood rule

one percent doctrine

Those are both USian, but I'm sure there are more elsewhere since they tend to be based upon religious texts.

[–]DANS331 -1 points0 points ago

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Unbelievable. Some people really need to be forced off of the internet and into the real world.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points ago

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Hearsay?

UPVOTES

[–]notmetalenough 0 points1 point ago

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OK, well, not hearsay, no... also not a court so who cares?

[–]HP_Hovercraft 1 point2 points ago

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What state are you in? Just curious.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

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Floirda.

[–]cabface -1 points0 points ago

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The thing is, I live in a Bible Belt red state, but I have NEVER heard somebody talk shit about him for his race. Now, people talk a whole lot of shit, but it's generally misinformed "commie this commie that" kind of bullshit.

Now, people on the left who support him? I can't even count how many times I've heard people get giddy with excitement that "We have a black president now, how great is that? Things are going to be so different, so much better!"

[–]PATT0N 6 points7 points ago

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Although some people are criticizing him for his actual policies, I do believe that many people are blaming him for things that are out of his control ie.

Oh you mean the same thing that happens to EVERY president?

[–]TheAustinKnight 8 points9 points ago

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Granted, a lot of the debt problems stem from both Bush and the Republican controlled Congress, but Obama shares some of the blame, too, regardless of skin color.

[–]millertime0503 2 points3 points ago

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Obama inherited a fairly static budget at a time when federal income was dropping. He spent more (stimulus) but had a lot less coming in.

The economic downturn that preceded him is the reason the defecit has gotten so much worse since he took office.

[–]Lawtonfogle 1 point2 points ago

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Presidents normally get blamed for things out of their control, it has happened with many others. Exactly how you measure it if it is happening more because he is half black, I haven't a clue, but you can't say that it is only happening just because of his skin color.

[–]BZenMojo 0 points1 point ago

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Fact: 40% of white people are racist against black people.

And this is ANDREW BREITBART sharing this study. And how many of them do you think are Republican...?

P.S. Before you say having negative opinions of every member of a race isn't racist, you should seriously try and figure out whether or not you're in that 40%.

[–]Lawtonfogle 0 points1 point ago

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I'd say it is higher than that. Racism can be broken down into implicit and explicit racism. Explicit is racism we are conscious of. Implicit is racism that results from unconscious heuristics. There was a study done where a number of black students were broken up, randomly, into two groups and given a test. The test was identical except for one small difference. One test had you write your name at the start. The other had you write your name and race at the start. Blacks who were given the test which required you to put your race did significantly worse than blacks who did not. By merely making them label themselves as black, they did worse on the test. Currently the hypothesis is that even blacks are implicitly racist against themselves. When they are forced to consciously realize their race, they subconsciously fall into the stereotypes that exist about them. If this is true of blacks, then I'm sure the same type of reasoning applies to whites who are implicitly racist against blacks.

Along the same lines of implicit thoughts, but without having to do with race, are studies where people are primed with words. One such study gave people a list of words such as sunshine, oranges, beaches, and other words that related to Florida, even thought Florida was never directly mentioned. As such, people were primed to think about Florida, which is strongly related to older individuals retiring there in our minds. In test, people who were primed with such words acted slightly more like an elderly individual (for example they moved slower).

An over generalizing statement is that if you are consciously aware and can talk about stereotypes that exist of some group, even if you do not believe them, subconsciously you will act to some small degree as if they are true due to the neural networks that contain those stereotypes existing in your brain.

They have found that giving contradicting examples of stereotypes actually combats the implicit racism that exist in people.

On some level, probably 95%+ of people are racist, sexist, ageist, homophobic ect.

[–]cabface 9 points10 points ago

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The race card is such an easy cop-out and way to demonize opposing view points. The people supporting him are more concerned with his skin color than those against him.

[–]gngstrMNKY 26 points27 points ago*

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Recall what happened at the beginning of Obama's term. The Republican base started foaming at the mouth immediately upon his taking office, forming protest rallies, seemingly over nothing. This was before any of the polices that they now object to had been formed. The fact that they couldn't articulate their grievances made many people suspect it was because they couldn't say what was really on their minds in polite society. I don't believe that the people who were talking about "taking our country back" long before any election were speaking in political terms at all.

A lot of Redditors aren't old enough to have been politically aware during the Clinton administration, but many ring-wingers become apoplectic when their party is out of power. During the 90s, the AM radio listening set honestly believed that the Clintons smuggled cocaine out of Arkansas and were involved in the covert assassinations of dozens of people. Crazy as that was, the reaction to Obama has been even worse. An increasingly charged political climate plays a part in that, but it's hard to deny the racist element.

[–]MindStalker 3 points4 points ago

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Yea, but the Clinton thing shows that they will hate on any President who is a Democrat. Though yes the rabid hate of Clinton came on slowly, while the hate for Obama was quick and furious (and is slowly starting to lose steam.) I'm guessing Obama was mostly guilty of being a Democratic President while Black. Had he been a Republican President while Black, many of the racist would have contained their anger and quietly stewed.

[–]manys 0 points1 point ago

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When a President has low poll numbers, be afraid. That's when they know they can do whatever they want and peoples' opinion won't change.

[–]MindStalker 0 points1 point ago

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Wait, what??

//You do know that congress has the ability to check the power of the President, he really can't do much without congressional approval, this is the main reason for the current deadlock.

[–]HoChiWaWa 3 points4 points ago

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A lot of Redditors aren't old enough to have been politically aware during the Clinton administration

... Shit.

[–]cabface 0 points1 point ago

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Honestly, I think most of this negative backlash, and the reason it was so immediate and full of vitriol, as almost payback for Bush. Republicans had to deal with 8 years of a really terrible presidency, with every media outlet and famous figure trashing him constantly. Republicans had no way to fight back, so they finally get a Democratic sacrificial lamb and they unleashed 8 years of pent up aggression and negative feelings.

This vitriol has more to do with an increasingly adversarial and combative political climate than race.

[–]mst3kcrow 1 point2 points ago

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I will not vote for anyone that supports the Patriot Act and further curtailment of civil liberties. That said, those bitching about his policies can thank, in part, the Bush Administration for the expansion of Executive Power. Obama is an establishment approved right leaning, pragmatic centrist funded with Super PAC dollars working with a bought off Congress. Both the GOP and Democratic party have become corrupt at some level. We will not see a strong shift away from cronyism until we get rid of private dollars, effectively, buying candidates and tailor fit legislation.

[–]cabface 1 point2 points ago

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Absolutely, a lot of the issues I take with the Obama administration are that he has continued with the precedents that Bush set, but just because the previous president set them doesn't mean he should continue with the same policies.

[–]loliwearhats 1 point2 points ago

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[–]mkay0 1 point2 points ago

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[–]ForeverAlone140 1 point2 points ago

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Had to check the news to make sure an asteroid wasn't actually coming.

[–]devilsadvocado 1 point2 points ago

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If the man puts his signature on it, I don't think I'm reaching too far to hold him responsible for it.

[–]Bartleby1955 1 point2 points ago

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I miss Dave

[–]Redditledmehere 3 points4 points ago

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that's actually an accurate prediction of any American President. (Hurricane Katrina is Bush's fault)

[–]jgouse 3 points4 points ago

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No, but doing nothing in the days after were.

[–]Redditledmehere 0 points1 point ago

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True, but people blamed him for the actual hurricane. I don't like Bush, I'm just saying that hardly anyone seems to be satisfied with ANY president, black or white.

[–]Vagina_Pounder 1 point2 points ago

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Canadian rescue helicopters/planes went to Katrina stuck areas before our own. We were using our resources to murder Iraqis back then.

[–]bluexadema 0 points1 point ago

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If you want to talk about rescue helicopters. The U.S. Coast Guard was mobilized every helicopter possible to rescue people from dangerous situations. They are credited with assisting/saving upwards of 30k people. That being said FEMA dropped the ball and didn't have the resources needed to do its job, which could be considered Bush's fault.

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points ago*

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R/politics

Where pictures of Dave Chappelle get 362 upvotes

edit: 1,230

[–]LegionX2 2 points3 points ago

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enough with the fucking race card

every world leader in the history of the world has gotten flack by people who oppose his policies. until we live in a world where every issue has 100% agreement, this will continue to be the nature of politics and not a racist conspiracy.

[–]Jungian_Archetype 7 points8 points ago

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Right, because Libya, assassinating U.S. citizens, and the NDAA - NOT Obama's fault.

[–]auandi 21 points22 points ago

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Well Libya was a UN mission that went damn well without stepping foot in the country and costing less than a billion dollars. And for the first time in my lifetime, we let other countries take the damn lead so the burden wasn't so much on us. We did the first two days of air support along with Europeans and from then on all we did was supply raw materials to rebels and provide satellite intelligence that eventually was responsible for telling the British and Libyans where Gaddafi was so they could bomb and intercept him respectively. It was IMO one of the smartest uses of force in a long time and set the president that not every mission has to be US led.

NDAA passed with a very veto proof majority of 80+ Senators and roughly similar proportions in the House. If he did veto it, it would have shut down VA hospitals, veteran's benefits, paychecks to the families of those currently serving and payment to all those supplying the military that would have cost tens of thousands of jobs to end overnight. All that and his veto would still have been overridden, it would have been a pointless stand with huge negative ramifications without changing the end result.

As for the assassination of Anwar al-Awlaki (to date the only assassinated US citizen), that was an attack on someone who was otherwise outside our ability for the legal system to reach (we don't have authority in Yemen) and was an active and public member of Al Qaeda. It's not like there are snipers on the roofs of buildings picking off people the President just happens not to like.

Al Qaeda and other trans national militant groups are hard to know how to handle. As it stands there is not treaty or convention outlining how you go after them. You can't rely on the national governments where they happen to be because often the governments are in a state of failure or near failure in the areas where groups like that congregate. So the rules of war don't quite apply because it's not a nation, and the rules of criminal justice don't quite work either because they will never be within the reach of the legal system.

Reagan, Bush HW and first term Clinton tried to stick to the criminal mindset. Clinton by his second term was beginning to realize that there must be an element of military response because failed states will never cooperate with the legal system, following the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole he said that if the Afghani government does not turn over Bin Laden and other top leaders he would hold the country responsible for the next attack. Bush W rescinded that executive order, but followed it's conclusion none the less and the world was willing to hold the Afghan Government (to the extent that there was a government) responsible by sheltering Al Qaeda and so it was clear we were to invade. But Afghanistan was a unique instance, despite willingness to use military force since the second Clinton term there is still no general guideline on how to go after members of transnational military organizations. The fact that one of the people we went after had American citizenship shouldn't be seen without the context of the discussion we should be having about what approach to use.

In past times of war, when war was nation to nation and clear, if a citizen enlisted in a foreign army at war with the United States they would lose their citizenship. Treason has also always been grounds for the revocation of citizenship, but if someone fails to participate in their trial a traditional civilian court to find someone guilty of treason can't happen. There is nothing the legal system has the power to do to go after someone like Anwar al-Awlaki. That leaves two options, leave him alone indefinably or go after him militarily. Neither is tasteful but when it was as clear cut as Anwar al-Awlaki I think the right call was made.

[–]Tashre 7 points8 points ago

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NDAA passed with a very veto proof majority of 80+ Senators and roughly similar proportions in the House.

Holy fuck, THIS.

People really love to paint the president as an all powerful monarch when it comes to criticizing him despite the existence of checks and balances making the executive office no more powerful or authoritative than the legislative.

NDAA was going to pass whether the President signed it or not (unless the constituents of the members of the House and Senate took action to convince their representatives otherwise, but now I'm just being silly). So what does politician do? He makes a political decision (*collective gasp*) and figures he'll be better off signing it than not.

[–]x86_64Ubuntu 0 points1 point ago

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I disagree with your Al-Awlaki statement, mostly because I have become jaded in this manufactured war on terror. However...

NDAA passed with a very veto proof majority of 80+ Senators and roughly similar proportions in the House. If he did veto it, it would have shut down VA hospitals, veteran's benefits, paychecks to the families of those currently serving and payment to all those supplying the military that would have cost tens of thousands of jobs to end overnight. All that and his veto would still have been overridden, it would have been a pointless stand with huge negative ramifications without changing the end result.

HOLY SHIT I didn't know the bill had that many riders on it. It was poisoned from the get go.

[–]auandi 0 points1 point ago*

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NDAA stands for National Defence Authorization Act. We pass one for just about every fiscal year and it is how we fund the military and military related things. That is the core of what the bill is. It normally passes near unanimously.

What everyone freaked out about were the addition of sections 1021 and 1022 that said (respectively) the ten year old AMUF (the resolution from 2001 that basically "declared war" on Al Qaeda and those who harbor them) still applies and that the AUMF still does not apply to Americans or people on American Soil. It didn't give the government any power they haven't had over the last 10 years but it is just bringing up what I went on about that trans-national threats don't have an established standard for dealing with them.

Cause the Geneva Convention that outlines the rules of war says that anyone captured during a war may be held by that country without trial until the end of hostilities. It makes sense, for a traditional war. The allies captured hundreds of thousands of Nazi solders during WWII, spending resources on trials for all of them during wartime is an unreasonable request.

The problem is that applying that Geneva Convention's language of holding them "until the end of hostilities" (the language the AUMF also uses) is troublesome because hostilities against a non-state may never fully end. There's no Al Qaeda capital city we can capture, there's no one with the authority to surrender on an aircraft carrier. But as I was pointing out before, having no forceful intervention (ie leaving it as a criminal matter) means they will never face trial because they live in regions beyond the law's ability to reach and because crime is considered a national rather than international matter. If a government doesn't want to or isn't able to act, military force is the only option. If we treated it as a purely criminal matter we would not have been able to act on almost anything in response to 9/11. Al Qaeda would have been largely untouched.

Military action is needed, but I agree it's troubling that there is no rules on how to deal with something like a transnational military. There really needs to be a new international convention, but no one seems willing to get into these discussions of legal and ethical grey areas (particularly because any convention would likely start to undo the very concept of unquestioned national sovereignty for the first time since the Treaty of Westphalia).

[–]everbeard 0 points1 point ago

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Yes, because assassinating a few people and aerially bombing a dictator for a few weeks is as bad as warrant less wiretapping, Guantanamo, the economic crisis and sending 6000 US citizens to their death.

[–]Lunch_B0x 10 points11 points ago

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I think we can all agree none of those things are good.

[–]Ikimasen 1 point2 points ago

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I don't think that I agree that bombing a dictator is inherently bad.

[–]grande_hohner 0 points1 point ago

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This is a huge problem in politics and life - judging people on a comparative scale instead of their own merits.

[–]Vagina_Pounder 0 points1 point ago

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Why do people always put these 6000 people (who didn't choose their nation/color of skin/language) as something to be put on a pedestal whilst millions of others get killed for being at the wrong place at the wrong time who also didn't choose their nation/color/language etc?

[–]stcalvert 3 points4 points ago

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I love how the NDAA, a bill conjured up by the Republican-led congress, is Obama's fault.

[–]ObamasTruthTeam 0 points1 point ago

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Thanks civilian. This is the official story.

[–][deleted] ago

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[deleted]

[–]loliwearhats 9 points10 points ago

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If obama ever boinked an intern it would be worse. Clinton left himself open to attack.

[–]torah_sam 5 points6 points ago

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and his zipper open for a suck

[–]PornoWizard 2 points3 points ago

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This is politics?

Are you a fucking 10 year old?

[–]gr00ve88 0 points1 point ago

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Lol its funny because its not true.

[–]hperez1432 -1 points0 points ago

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It's actually worse than that. I couldn't believe all the hype that went into getting this mans birth certificate. They would never do that to a white president. I am ashamed of most Americans for the way this man has been treated.

[–]corby315 1 point2 points ago

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This is getting out of hand. Does anyone realize that Obama simply hasn't lived up to his promises? That maybe he isn't the guy who was going to save the day?

Go ahead and say it was all Bush's fault. Act like Obama didnt extend the tax cuts to the rich, didn't close Gitmo, and didn't end pull out of Iraq until this year.

But I guess anything bad about Obama is considered racist.

[–]x86_64Ubuntu 3 points4 points ago

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...Does anyone realize that Obama simply hasn't lived up to his promises?

I wonder if that has anything to do with the obstructionist Congress we gifted him with when we stayed home in 2010.

[–]corby315 1 point2 points ago

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Once again, someone not putting the blame on Obama. He had a Democratic congress for his first two years. The majority shifted because voters were not happy with Obama and congress.

His first two years were the time to live up to some of his promises, and he really didn't even come close. Then he blames everything on the Republican congress. Ridiculous.

If you look at the numbers, he is on pace to spend the most money ever in the history of the United States. Gas prices have risen 80% since he took office. Unemployment is not seeing any strong dip in the numbers.

[–]x86_64Ubuntu -1 points0 points ago

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...He had a Democratic congress for his first two year

Dems don't vote along party lines near as much as Republicans do. The term majority differs between the 2 groups because some dumbass Dems are always going to stray, whereas Republicans know damn well to not break rank.

[–]corby315 0 points1 point ago

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Actually, the numbers are pretty close, if not more for the Democrats. Look at the Tea Party for example. Those were Republicans that tended not to vote along party lines, and many Republicans who were closer to the middle did not agree with them. I have no idea where you get your information from, but you are not nearly as close to right as you think you are.

[–]4221 0 points1 point ago

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[–]Vagina_Pounder 0 points1 point ago

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Imagine what would have happened if he indeed ran for President back then.

[–]HerbertSnow 0 points1 point ago

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I think he was just making fun of that movie.

[–]Raptormoses75 0 points1 point ago

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M.A.R.S Mars bitches!

[–]valeyard89 0 points1 point ago

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Yeah, he also said he'd have a Mexican VP, just for insurance.

[–]SuperDuper-C 0 points1 point ago

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"You always try to distract people with the war, and try to skirt all the " real" issues.... Gay people are getting married, folks! Yes. Nasty."

[–]daroofa 0 points1 point ago

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Which part did he get right? When has the media blamed him for anything?

[–]YeahItSucksbut 0 points1 point ago

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Almost all politicians are subject to corruption....some are incorruptible, I know of 3 politicians that will refuse bribes and special favors. 1 of those guys is running for frickin president! Guess which one.

[–]TechnicianofSound 0 points1 point ago

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Wait a minute. I thought he is biracial. Not black.

[–]Aetheus 0 points1 point ago

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He made a vague joke that is a little amusing and somewhat true?

He is the messiah. Bow before him. Heed his words.

[–]YeahItSucksbut 0 points1 point ago*

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[–]candyjar43 0 points1 point ago

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Did anyone else read that and think "who cares if a steroid is coming?

[–]Tombug 0 points1 point ago

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Obama has been a gigantic sell out to his base. You are not gonna get those people to come back to him by calling them racist. You really haven't learned squat from the 2010 election where a big enough chunk of the base stayed home and the Dems got massacred. When you lose the ability to learn you take on the same kind of alternative universe existance as cons.

[–]uploadcomplete 0 points1 point ago

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"I ain't gettin' blamed for shit!"

[–]ninsei 0 points1 point ago

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Or he makes fun of the movie Deep Impact with Morgan Freeman?

[–]spongemonster 0 points1 point ago

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Presidents (leaders) are always blamed. Skin color has nothing to do with it.

[–]HappyGlucklichJr 0 points1 point ago

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OK, love Dave, he's a genius riding the meme of Obama Black. But sober up. Obama is half Black and half White. That makes him White.

[–]umann99 0 points1 point ago

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Can someone tell me what Chappelle predicted? The fact that the president always gets blame for everything? I guess anything post that mentions Dave Chappelle is automatic karma

[–]unamenottaken 0 points1 point ago

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America's Republicans' treatment.....

[–]sickpharaoh 0 points1 point ago

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Right, anybody who criticizes any of Obama's policies must just be a racist. Nevermind how many of those policies are effectively the same as the previous president.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

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I don't see why people resort to saying he is seen as a bad president because he is black and implying that people who disagree with him are racist, if anything the people pointing out his race are the ones discriminating, even if it's in a positive manner. Presidents get judged on policies.

Keep in mind who voted him in.

[–]RedditorPredditor -1 points0 points ago

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Yeah I saw an interview on Piers Tonight where Morgan Freeman said Republicans simply "want that black man out of office." Really?! Is that why Herman Cain was once the frontrunner?!

[–]leftyscissors 0 points1 point ago

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Do you honestly think he had a chance? They have had so many front runners I can't even joke about GOP Idol anymore.

[–]RedditorPredditor 0 points1 point ago

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You are missing the point, Republicans are often criticized about disliking Obama because he is black rather than disliking him for his policies. This was proven wrong when another black politician came forward with different, more conservative policies and a great deal of Republicans agreed with them.

Race is not the issue here.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

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This wasn't proven wrong, but was rather reinforced by the language Cain often used in asserting himself to be the real Black man during the lead up to his entry into the presidential race. Some Republicans can very well dislike Obama for his policies. However, the placement of people like Cain (and others like Allen West) as a means to sidestep not only the concerns of Black voters by calling them brainwashed or on the Democratic plantation, but also the nearly ubiquitious questioning of his loyalty to the U.S. makes it hard to ignore Obama's race in the treatment he gets from the GOP.

[–]Brtbrwn -1 points0 points ago

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the darkness!

[–]BinaryShadow 1 point2 points ago

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Darkness, everyone, the darkness is spreading!

[–]mouthbabies 0 points1 point ago

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Here's an undeniable fact: more people hate this president solely for his race than any other president in history.

[–]idoshitwrong -3 points-2 points ago

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this was hella on comedy central like 2 days ago

[–]ikeed -1 points0 points ago

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Muhammad Ali on the same subject 41 years ago.

[–]sempire -1 points0 points ago

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Pretty true.

I love watching him get blamed for all the Bush era stuff.

Apparently Iraq, and Afghanistan are his fault.. The economy is his fault too. The fact that bush was printing money and blowing billions a month had nothing to do with it..