Bah. Should've known not to even bother asking.

[FlyingSquirrel]

I see my dad maybe once or twice a year, even though we live within 50 miles of each other. We don't talk a lot either. But it was my 40th birthday so we went to a baseball game today. At one point I asked the question I should've known better than to ask: What did he think of the Presidential Election?

He said, "Well at least they got that pussy Clinton outta there, but a black? What am I supposed to do? You let one of them in, now the rest of 'em will start getting all..." etc. etc. "McClain's the only one that knows what the heck he's doing." (He called him "McClain".) I didn't bother with the racism and sexism, the guy's 68 and there's no point arguing that with him. But I did ask what he thought of the Republicans having been in charge for 7.5 years and he agreed that they had screwed the whole country up. Then I dropped the subject.

I guess one good thing that I can say about this is, racist/sexist attitudes don't necessarily get passed down from one generation to the next. Thank God for that.

x(

Well I won't have to talk to him again till probably Thanksgiving.

:7

[cali]

1. it's funny, I have a really difficult time getting along with my 87

year old mother. I agree politically with her about 85% of the time. We're both supporting Obama. She's an interesting and very bright woman. She speaks several languages fluently. But she is such a ghastly snob, it drives me up the wall.

[skyounkin]

2. Yeah, my Grandmother

is like that. She doesn't want to use valet parking because of "those people"........

Me and my sister just sit back and laugh- it's a generational thing and thankfully those prejudices where never passed down to me or my syblings. We had pretty coool parents.

Anyway- Happy (late) Birthday!!

Thanx for the story. Gives me hope.

[shaniqua6392]

3. My Dad has graduated from calling them the "N" word

to calling them "Africans". That is the best he can do to be politically correct in his mind. Sometimes you just can not get a leopard to change its' spots. On a good note, he always votes for the Democrat and will vote for Obama. I know he is probably not happy about it being a black man, but he will do it anyway.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

4. My racist uncle calls him "McClane" too!

Maybe there was a memo that went out or something.

[nxylas]

11. Maybe he's getting him confused with someone else

[papapi]

5. It's unfortunate your father feels that way, but McClain can't help him.

I fight the same uphill battle whenever I meet up with the inlaws. :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :beer:

[casus belli]

6. Just make sure he votes for "McClain"

Tell him McCain is an imposter. Accept no substitutes - McClain is the real deal. If they try to give him a ballot without McClains name on it, then tell him to write it in.

[noel711]

7. It's that 'personal identification' thing goin' on...

For many folks, (the intentionally uninformed) the only rationale for voting for a candidate
is that they see themselves in them. That's why Bushie won two terms:
the masses saw themselves, their father, their neighbor in him.
That 'aw shucks' sensibility' is so damn familiar to them, it was a done deal.

I believe that's why Hillary has such fervid fans: many older women see
their unfulfilled dreams and aspirations in her.

The good news is that the younger generation has moved beyond that perception;
most folks under 35 are media savvy, computer literate, and relate to many more
people on levels that are not superificial. They find ways to identify with others.
Obama has resonated with them because he relates to so many people in so many ways..
He's like them, but he's not. And that's so darn cool...

But I do understand what you're sayin'.. my dad was the same way. After we battled thru
the '70s over his idol Nixon, and then the Reagan-diety years, I learned to accept him
the way he was. No doubt, if he were alive today, he'd be a "macClaine" guy too.
Go figure.

[mckeown1128]

8. Here is my parent story.

My mother has always been part of the "moral majority" type of thinking. She is evangelical :eyes: and had for a long time voted based on abortion. She also had a real wing nut boyfriend for 10 years. (Hannity/Oreilly watcher) She voted for Reagan, Bush, then Perot. She had slowly become disenchanted by politics(who hasn't) and she didn't even bother to vote in 2000 or 2004.

My brother came out a few years ago and surprisingly it did wonders fur her evangelical nuttiness. She has slowly but surely moderated her views. She knows we have to take republicans out of power. (I give a lot of credit to CA. Which is FAR more progressive then Louisiana which she was originally from. She really feels that CA is a better run government then Louisiana. And despite her dislike for the Governator she feels like CA should be a model for the nation)

She can't bring herself to vote for Hillary(I think it was all that right wing propaganda from the 90's) She really doesn't like Hillary. (I don't either but my problems with her have only started in the last few months and are due to Hillary's own actions in this campaign)

Anyway. My mother has quickly become smitten with Obama. She went and registered Dem. for the primary. Last year she thought he didn't have a shot in hell(due to his name and skin color) but she is thrilled that he is winning. :) She has come a long way in the last 8 years or so.

[frickaline]

9. I shudder to think what my parents are saying of Obama right now

I hear you. I go through this with every visit I make to my family. My sister is a Repub also so I'm always the odd one out. It's never easy but I'm starting to learn that you cannot change them and it's best to never talk about the elephant in the room.

[IsItJustMe]

10. People are, who they are. If you lived the same exact life as your dad. you would be the same. We

always like to feel that we are better than someone else, but it is not the case.

Too me, we are the sum total of our experiences. Something happened in your life to make you different than your dad.

I know exactly how you feel though. My dad is a straight up racist, and I want to pound my head into the wall when I am around him, because of some of the insane beliefs that he has.

I say to myself, Lord, forgive my father, and while your at it, forgive me also for all the bull shit that I believe in.


Peace

[DemocratSinceBirth]

12. Since You Were At A Baseball Game Maybe Your Dad Thought He Was The Retired Pitcher-Denny McClain

~

[crankychatter]

13. old people sometimes DO change

I've seen it

Southerners too... a little education, exposure... a lot of times the Military will do it for them...

Especially when they get to know an outstanding soldier or superior officer

My grandmother was a hope to die, old school Southern racist...

She had a room mate in the hospital once... she was quite elderly... an African American lady. Both were from Arkansas/Oklahoma... both had HUGE FAMILIES... they chatted and chatted and chatted

My uncle waited till her room mate was out of the room and asked her "What's it like to room with a n******, Mom?"

My grandmother looked at him in shock, then got angry and said "She's NO N*****!"

Every time she came up to visit from then on out... this lady became my grandmother's BEST friend. She had her over to visit... and vice versa for years. Letter writing and recipe exchanging... showing off photos of their grandkids and great grandkids.

I have to tell you... we're pretty darn "liberal" in my cellular family of origin... and we ALL were delighted.

Her way of dealing with it was to simply deny it and not even discuss it. It simply stopped meaning anything.

Obama will get some unexpected votes. Maybe even your Dad.

[atufal1c]

14. Nice story. Yep, military. And sports.

I think the military and sports have done more to improve race relations than anything.

Probably because they both require close quarters, teamwork, and are largely based on merit.

You have to be around people that are different from you.

And once they earn your respect, the barriers start breaking down.

Although, in truth, many people that are racist do manage to like black people and STILL be racist.

They just decide that the black person that they like is DIFFERENT from all of the other black people--that they still hate.

I lived briefly in a small town and was offered that deal.

I said, "no thanks".

Still, it goes to show that people will sometimes be in favor of an individual of a group that they don't collectively like.

And it's a deal that I think Obama should take.