October 15, 2008

Ah, the South

Sigh.
In interviews here in the Deep South and in Virginia, white voters made it clear that they remain deeply uneasy with Mr. Obama — with his politics, his personality and his biracial background. Being the son of a white mother and a black father has come to symbolize Mr. Obama’s larger mysteries for many voters. When asked about his background, a substantial number of people interviewed said they believed his racial heritage was unclear, giving them another reason to vote against him.

“He’s neither-nor,” said Ricky Thompson, a pipe fitter who works at a factory north of Mobile, while standing in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart store just north of here. “He’s other. It’s in the Bible. Come as one. Don’t create other breeds.”
What breed is "dumb-ass?"

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This reminds me of my favorite line from "O Brother Where Art Thou!," "Those boys is miscegenated! They ain't white!"

Incidentally, I've always thought of myself as "both-and" rather than "neither-nor."

Anonymous said...

Don't you mean what breed is "jack-ass" ? I watched the PBS frontline last night summarizing McCain and Obama's political careers. I found it interesting that the African Americans interviewed about Barack continually referred to white people who supported him as "progressive whites." Yet another breed?