So, I voted for McCain.... Because he's white.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

So, a friend of mine asked me who I voted for. I told them McCain. They asked why. I responded "Because he is white."

Is it wrong to vote for McCain because he is white?

Consider the following;

1) By voting for McCain strictly based on race, I am subscribing to a VERY BASIC human quality of electing or hiring someone that is LIKE ME. We do this because it makes us feel safe. You can see a very good example of this in corporate america. It's dominated by white, homogenous, conservative men.

All of you have probably interviewed for a job. Did you conform to the culture of the employer? When I go to a job, am I going to be clean shaven and wear a business suit or am I going to show up with my 7 inch long goatee (goatfield) and wear my typical attire of HD biker boots, a wallet chain, skull rings, dark sunglasses and a lot of black? We all know the answer... People hire, support & connect with other people that are like them.

2) By voting McCain strictly based on race, I have not insulted or undermined Obama in any way. I think he will be a fine leader and he is a very successful man that should be proud of his heritage. It's just my CHOICE to not support his heritage over my own.

3) When you choose a life partner, do you choose based on race? Is that wrong in a country that says you can fall in love with, date, have sex with and marry anyone you want? (Barring the same sex debates for the sake of simplification) You're certainly not insulting or chastising the other race by choosing not to date members of it. It's your choice to date who you want, right?

What made me think about this was the unanimous support that Obama seemed to be getting from black voters. It was so strong here that black Obama supporters were specifically targeting and marketing to other black voters here on campus. I (a white male) asked for the literature that they were handing out and was ignored. At what point does racism play into this? Not that it was a big deal, but I must say that I was a little pissed off that I got ignored because I was white (or so it seemed) when I was genuinely trying to make up my mind on who to vote for. (You all know that I've been horribly torn on the issue this election)

______________________________________________

*** Of course, when I said that to my friend, I was joking around because 1) I didn't vote and 2) if I had, I'm not sure who I would've voted for. But our musings brought up an interesting question, in my mind.

I'm from a sociological background, so I'm CONSTANTLY evaluating people and traditional norms in society and either 1) intenionally violating them (Most of you who know me well can see that through a lot of my posts or 2) trying to understand, explain or link why that person/group or culture acts or reacts the way it does.

I brought this scenario up to my girlfriend that day on the way home. I even explained it to her WITH the sociological aspect at the forefront (Unlike I did with you guys, I pretty much tricked you to try and provoke a passionate response --- because that's what I want, a 'gut instinct' response) and she got really pissed off at me (She is an Obama supporter) and accused me of "just trying to start a fight" and said "I don't understand why you always try to start fights with people or just try your best to piss them off."

I told her: "What you just said illustrates to me (my opinion, nothing scientific) that you feel what I said was wrong. DESPITE the fact that, technically -- if the scenario were true, I didn't violate any serious social norms or do anything wrong. I voted for a candidate because of the attributes that I liked about him and because I could identify with him better than the other candidate."

Now, I want this to be a civil conversation. Open your mind and seriously think about what I said, then tell me what you think. I'm not looking for "a right answer" or " a means of justification" I just want raw, uncensored (but civil) opinions.

Edited November 6, 2008 by FUTURE_OF_GM

[regfootball]

duh. but enough people felt the timing was right to make this happen, now that this barrier has been broken, hopefully it won't be as much of an issue. the women will be trying hard to identify which woman they want in there now.

[Sixty8panther]

I'm happy the barrier was broken, and while I see your point

FoG if the right candicate was there with a good message &

I trully beleived in the "positive change", political or otherwise

that he was proposing I would vote for him/her regarless of

race, simmilarity to myself.

If, as a crazy hypothetical, Ed Wleburn was running for

President, knowing he is a true car guy, loves and respects

GM's rich heritage & owns a 1969 Camaro: He'd get my vote

in a NY minute so long as he did not also propose Marxist

ideals and a no-drilling-for-domestic-crude policy.

[Robert Hall]

I don't vote on skin color... I'd vote for a woman--I would have supported Hillary had she been the nominee. I can't relate to McCain--he's old and right wing, representing a party with a tired, failed agenda. No way would I want to be associated w/ the scary social conservatives that have destroyed the Republican party.

[Intrepidation]

I voted based on qualifications and the candidate's understanding of the current problems and potential ability to bring a handle on them.

I voted because the candidate genuinely seemed to care about the people and not just about their own personal agenda or the large corporations.

I voted for this candidate based on his proposals and plans have the potential to benefit me for once and not big business and the rich.

I voted for this candidate because he actually has the potential to fix all of the bridges we burned with our allies over the past 8 years.

I voted for this candidate because he has shown the ability to not only stay level-headed and remain calm and composed, but that he truly inspires people, something I don't think any president has done since JFK.

I voted for several other reasons.

I DID NOT vote based on something as petty , stupid, and pointless, as race. If McCain had appealed to me in the way Obama does I would have voted for him. He did not, so I voted for Obama.

I don't care what the color of someone's skin is, and it seems that the majority of America is finally seeing it that way as well.

I believe their were headlines in Europe that summed up the election results as "On giant leap for mankind." It shows that at long last we can put aside such stupid things as t eh color of our skin and make a choose based on ideas we believe in, and choosing what we feel is the most qualified person to get the job done.

Of course someone will argue that minorities voted for him based on race. Maybe so, but I'd like to point out two things: 1.) People voted for McCain based on race, as you just admitted, and 2.) people who are not minorities voted for him not based on race, but because they believe he is the best man for the job, people like me.

Edited November 6, 2008 by Dodgefan

[Bimmer325]

I can't relate to McCain--he's old and right wing, representing a party with a tired, failed agenda. No way would I want to be associated w/ the scary social conservatives that have destroyed the Republican party.

[regfootball]

I'm happy the barrier was broken, and while I see your point

FoG if the right candicate was there with a good message &

I trully beleived in the "positive change", political or otherwise

that he was proposing I would vote for him/her regarless of

race, simmilarity to myself.

If, as a crazy hypothetical, Ed Wleburn was running for

President, knowing he is a true car guy, loves and respects

GM's rich heritage & owns a 1969 Camaro: He'd get my vote

in a NY minute so long as he did not also propose Marxist

ideals and a no-drilling-for-domestic-crude policy.

you would only vote for him if pillarless hardtops were on the platform

[saturnd00d]

I, as well, am glad that the barrier has been broken. Though I'm not American, I can appreciate how far your country has furthered itself in terms of race, amongst other things.

I do see alot of Obama bashing, although I personally don't feel it's fair. The man hasn't even begun his term and already people are deeming him a failure to the nth degree.

[Sixty8panther]

Reg, you had me at "pillarless"

[trinacriabob]

People are free to do what they want to do...and for whatever reason they want to. Maybe they shouldn't talk about it.

Guess what? I DID NOT vote for President. About 3 days prior to Election Day, I realized I was disgusted with both candidates...and would have been disgusted if Hillary was the Dem's nominee.

I felt that there were enough people out there who were clearly passionate about one candidate or the other...like most of you. There were few people who processed this the way that I did, I'm sure, so I felt comfortable about abstaining.

There were enough propositions on the CA ballot that I could read and formulate opinions on, so I voted on those. When the lady at the exit looked at my ballot as I fed it into the scanner, she looked kind of perplexed as that is the first thing one sees....President...up in the upper left hand corner of the form....left blank. Probably more perplexed that I was dressed in a coat and tie. She couldn't have said anything...or she wouldn't have that job.

[regfootball]

Reg, you had me at "pillarless"

i just talked GM into cutting out the B pillar on a new 'Maro for you and I called Kate Winslet. she will drive the car over to you nude and together you can go over the details of the missing B pillar at your leisure.

[regfootball]

People are free to do what they want to do...and for whatever reason they want to. Maybe they shouldn't talk about it.

Guess what? I DID NOT vote for President. About 3 days prior to Election Day, I realized I was disgusted with both candidates...and would have been disgusted if Hillary was the Dem's nominee.

I felt that there were enough people out there who were clearly passionate about one candidate or the other...like most of you. There were few people who processed this the way that I did, I'm sure, so I felt comfortable about abstaining.

There were enough propositions on the CA ballot that I could read and formulate opinions on, so I voted on those. When the lady at the exit looked at my ballot as I fed it into the scanner, she looked kind of perplexed as that is the first thing one sees....President...up in the upper left hand corner of the form....left blank. Probably more perplexed that I was dressed in a coat and tie. She couldn't have said anything...or she wouldn't have that job.

i just found out that my dad wrote in Hillary as his vote.........