Wikipedia Unsure Whether African-American Should Be A A, A-A, A-a

[Doug_Harris]

Geez, we finally got _that_ cleared up!
Further speaking to the general ignorance of the 'lady' who said Barack is
"an Arab" is the fact that an Arab, as such, as opposed to being, say, a
hyphenated American with Arab roots, isn't eligible to run for president,
either.
Regarding the 'not black enough' issue, I'm sure you were referring to the
likes of his viewpoints, attitudes and so forth, as opposed to pigmentation.
There is, though, as you know, diametrically opposed views within the
so-called black society, regarding the issue of skin color. On the one hand,
there's the view that -- as Cassius Clay said to me one day, before he
became Muhammad Ali -- "the blacker the berry, the better the fruit": A
prejudice against lighter-skinned blacks. At the same time, some within
that community seem to favor people of pinker pigmentation within their
community. I believe similar light leanings exist as well in communities
where the (pinkish)'white man' isn't a dominating issue. Strange, that.
dh



Benjamin Barrett wrote:
After looking back, I see what the problem is. I said that Barack is a
recent immigrant when I meant that his immigration roots are fairly
recent. I thought that meaning is clear because immigrants are not
eligible to become president, but I should have been more careful. Mea
culpa.

Getting back to the point: The conversation was about African-
Americans descended from people from Africa from more than 100 years
ago versus recent immigrants from Africa.

I said that the term "African-American" more easily accommodates
recent immigrants from Africa that the term "black", and another data
point that supports this is the people who claim that Barack isn't (or
might not be) black enough. This indicates that people feel there is
something different between having African roots and being a member of
the black community.

Expanded disclosure: I have an aunt who use to pal around with
Governor Palin several years ago at the gym and I myself have lived in
Wasilla, though it was so long ago I can't remember how many "l"s it
has. BB

On Oct 20, 2008, at 8:42 PM, Doug_Harris wrote:

> FightTheSmears.com says:
> "The truth is, Barack Obama was born in the state of Hawaii in 1961, a
> native citizen of the United States of America."
>
> Answers.com (with about as good a definition as can be had) defines
> immigrant thusly:
> "A person who leaves one country to settle permanently in another."
>
> Barack Obama is _not_ an immigrant -- recent or otherwise.
> dh
>
> Benjamin Barrett said:
> It was me. Are you saying that Barack Obama's father (and essentially,
> by implication, Barack) isn't a recent immigrant? Barack Obama, Sr.,
> came to Hawai'i as a student when he was 23 years old. Since he was
> born in 1936 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama,_Sr.), that
> would be circa 1959, which is *very* recent for immigration.
>
> And I certainly do *not* believe that Barack pals around with
> terrorists!  BB
>
> On Oct 20, 2008, at 4:14 PM, Doug_Harris wrote:
>
>> I can't tell from the back-and-forth who said this
>> __ African-American also has the potential to include recent
>> immigrants such
>> as Barack Obama and his father__
>> but whichever of you it was, and I'm betting it wasn't Wilson,
>> probably also
>> believes BO also "pals around with terrorists."
>> Come ON!!!! Recent immigrant, my foot!
>> dh

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org