“Frustrated that some are "finally" proud of their country...Funny how I always have been!”

From: Understanding

No disrespect but even with the accomplishments of people of color over the years ... a country that promoted slavery, segregation and the legalized domestic terrorism of Jim Crow Laws didn't exactly give some of us reason 2 be proud. It was a mere generation ago that the government sanctioned blacks, whites, Jews and anyone else who stood up 4 what was right having dogs attack them and being water hosed.

Even in the midst of the American people speaking up and putting Obama in the White House I'm sure u're aware that the ugliness of racism and even classism still exists. Nevertheless ... God Bless America.

My Response:

Dear "Understanding",

While I respect your viewpoint of this current political situation (and my Status Message), and can definitely appreciate the significance of electing Barack Obama as the first Bi-Racial man to be the 44^th President, I am torn—as I have been this past week, at some of the snide remarks citizens of this country have made.

Believe me, watching Fox News declare Obama the President-Elect was a moment of elation for ANYONE who does not come from the “White Aristocratic” people that have, in the past, governed our great (and ever-evolving) nation.

Did I wish that all of those citizens of the past that were oppressed and denied their rights due to the color of their skin could see this great moment and rejoice in it as so many of their ancestors did?

I absolutely did.

But did it take electing a man that does not fit the common gov’t demographic for me to feel proud of this country and the opportunities it allows so many?

It absolutely did not.

I am a 1^st generation Immigrant to this country. My parents both came from Warring, military dictatorships that preached “democracy” but lived corruption, segregation, and class warfare…And having family in those countries still, I do have a great understanding of these things.

I am not rich. I am not white. I am not from a family that was well-off. But I was raised in an environment, by my father, that instilled values of hard-work and perseverance of one’s dreams…That is what has gotten me as far as it has. That is what makes me question motives of Obama and some of his political counter-parts…And I, as a legal American citizen, have every right to do so. Just as you are entitled to your opinion…

Am I aware that racism still exists in America today? Yes. As I am aware that Jim Crow Laws are no longer a legal part of our society today.

Attending a predominately “White, upper-class” high school, I am well aware that the social norms for people who are of color (whichever color that may be) are much different from those who are not.

I know exactly what it’s like to be the one who didn’t fit within one demographic or the other.

I know exactly what it’s like to not have someone that resembled me and my people within the body of those that govern our country.

As I know what it’s like to have people within our society today, “write you off” because of the color of your skin, at whatever the task you are trying to accomplish is.

I was always too dark to be white with a funny accent (which I was unaware I had until someone else pointed it out) and Too light to be “Brown” in the eyes of some of my own family members and people within our “Hispanic” community.

So because of that, I was challenged to build myself as a person based on my beliefs and interests. The values that my father instilled in me…

And it pains me to see that so great a portion of our “minority societies” seem to have lost sight of that.

And you are correct in that a large portion of America stood up and elected Obama as our Nation’s Leader…and hopefully it was because his value system reflected theirs.

Would I have been ecstatic to have someone that comes from a Cultural background similar to mine and the people I grew up with, representing us in the White House? Absolutely…I just wish that I could say his values were more reflecting of my own and what values my people stand for.

And I wish that rather than say “I am ‘for the 1^st time proud of my country’” for electing a “Black man” someone would say, “Wow! He reflects exactly what our people desire in this nation.” And that the voice of the people will finally be heard from one end of the country to the other. But they don’t. And that, Understanding, is where we part ways.

Do I respect President-Elect Obama for all that he has accomplished thus far? Absolutely…As I will be loyal to my nation, our Constitution, and our founding ideals—regardless of who occupies the Oval Office and how different our opinions may be.

LaGoldEyez!

NUMB. That is the best word to describe the way that I feel right now.

I am not shocked at all that Barack Obama is now our President-Elect.

Yet and still, to hear Fox News call the election for Obama at 8pm PST, to know that a Black (or should I say Biracial) man WILL be the 44th President, to see a Black woman as First Lady, was just surreal…

It is a moment that many did not live to see, and many others never believed that they would.

For that brief moment, I did not think about the fact I don't agree with ANY aspect of President-elect Obama's platform.

For that brief moment, I was quite elated…wishing that all of our citizens, who’s ancestors were oppressed, reviled and denied their rights due to the color of their skin, who lived thru segregation & all its horrors, could see this moment and rejoice in it as well.

Does this change how I feel about my country? Absolutely not.

I love and am proud of the United States of America, and it did not take her electing Obama for me to feel that way...for MANY OF US TO FEEL THAT WAY.

For those who say that they are "now" finally proud of America—I find myself torn. Almost as if you are not deserving of the bounty and rights that she bestowed on you to BEGIN with...

We should always be loyal to our nation, our Constitution and our ideals—no matter who occupies the Oval Office.

And for now, I will try to relax.

As I wait for President-elect Obama to be sworn in, I hope against hope that those in my own party are wrong.

I hope that he does NOT bring radical change to our nation; I hope that he keeps us secure at home as President Bush has (which, despite your unequivocal hatred of the man, NO ONE can argue with), and I hope that he governs as the moderate/centrist that the MSM claims that he is… I hope he does NOT choose to un-do everything my husband and others like him have fought for.

For if he does, then MAYBE, just maybe, the next four years won't be that bad.

It’s ironic that the true Conservatives are the ones who meandered thru this election as best we could with that 4-letter word…Hope.

Hope that Radical Change would not prevail and destroy the very fabric of our great nation and the ideals which it was built upon.