Why do people call Obama "half-black?"?

Question

"Black" in America does not refer to ethnicity or skin color. "Black" refers to an old paradigm of American politics in which a person who was politically enfranchised was considered "white" and a person who was politically powerless was considered "black."

Aside from Africans, the Irish, the Chinese and the Italians were all considered "balck" at one point in US history.

That being the case, what does it mean to be "half-black?" If you had no idea of Obama's parentage, and you saw him on the street, would you think of him as "half-black?" Is the term "half-black" not just as offensive and racist as the term "mullatto?"

Answer 1

You boggle me with "not just as offensive and racist as mullatto"



how is ithat offensive and racist?



how about if i wanted to be called italian american,



or 99% italian 1% african



would you laugh? why not call him half white? and more importantly, is this really important?



> The wikipedia entry i thinkyou may have seen has been severly disputed.



The term your thinking is muaTo, not MulaTTo, which is thought to be the spanish derivitive, but the term itself goes back further even among arab, spanish and italian ancestory. Americans are the only ones here that think of the term in an offensive light. the root creators of the word do not.



Another derivitive is mulo in Spanish according to the Real Academia Española is "a person characterized by strength and vigour,



so again it depends on what your trying to take it as.

if looking for trouble, you can find it anywhere. but agian the foundations of the word do not imply offense.



>> thats what im saying, in some circles, yes its considered offensive and really only in amercia, in fact how many things now are considered offensive and yet are trivial, only in amercia that wernt as early as 10 years ago... but still its only some that consider it. i consider being called caucasian offensive since my family is nowhere from the caucaus mtns, but then agian i dont get upset about it nor do i offend easily. it is what it is. should white people get upset if they get called white?



Why call someone african american if their not from africa?



its political correct BS, that people use as crutches and chokes this country.



but even back to the origional point of your question, the terminology white and black now adays dont mean the same thing as they did once. and yes, im first gen italian. so i know what your saying. words are only words. people give them or take their power.



growing up, noone cared what you called someone else. we were what we were. my Best friend called me white, i called him black. now adays, people get upset over something so trivial. why? IMHO, Politics.

Answer 2

Because he could now not be white even though his exceptional grandpa used to be black and every body else used to be white. White men and women made up that rule, so you realize ;) He has a black spouse and black youngsters, too. There is not anything improper with being white, however white genes are more often than not recessive. So extra of the African genes could go to a youngster of combined descent.

Answer 3

I call it like I see it. If your black, your black. If your white, your white. Obama is black or more notably, African American.



Chinese were considered chinks, Vietnamese gooks, Italians as wops or guineas, African Americans as n**gers, Hispanics as Spicks



Basically if your not "American" white, your getting that racial crap thrown at you.

Answer 4

By the bigots' standards my kids would be half white as well. But they would be an embarrassment to myself and my country if they ever referred to themselves as anything other than Americans, unless its in reference to a medical issue where their Latino blood may actually impose differences on them

Answer 5

Up until Tuesday, he was African American, now he's Mr. President elect.

Answer 6

BECAUSE HE IS, SILLY.



OH- and Obama calls himself this as well. "I am half black and half white" quote from Obama.



It is called a colloquialism.

Answer 7

He is as you say half Republican and half Democrat and his mother was white Republican and his father was black Democrat.

I hope this helps..::))

Answer 8

Because they can't deal with the idea of the President of the U.S. being a BLACK MAN.



It's very pathetic.

Answer 9

I call him Mr. President too.

Answer 10

Who cares?

Answer 11

Exactly... If the KKK was still hanging black people, they would not pass by Obama....

Answer 12

Mixed nuts.

Answer 13

pink, orange, purple, i dont care im colour blind

Answer 14

I call him Mr. President.

Answer 15

because it's more PC than calling him 1/2 intelligent.

Answer 16

They're in denial.