In reading an article in the L.A. Times today on "the ugly side of Beyond Race" by Gregory Rodriguez, it brought to mind how Pumas dealt with racial issues before they were even called "PUMAS". Shortly after Iowa Caucus, PUMAs began to feel the first onslaught of verbal attacks involving racial prejudice from Obama supporters, and the "loving" media. Though complicated factors lay hidden behind the accusations of PUMAS being tagged as "republicans in disguise", or "outright racist", it was still a constant onslaught they countered the entire election season. For the most part, we handled it graciously, and that is largely due to the fact we knew why we were PUMAS to begin with. PUMAS didn't disagree with the issues, but by the means Obama and the DNC "manhandled" the primaries. The second point was we fervently believed and still do,that Obama is not better qualified or suited for the Presidency than Hillary Clinton.
So as we watched the election play out, the left wing hushed its insults, and we began to hear right-winged observers say that election results proved affirmative action is no longer needed, and that race issues are healed to such a degree it is hard to imagine how we ever felt differently. This could be so. Rodriguez thinks it is impossible to believe that America dealt with the race issues so swiftly overnight. True or not, the election of a bi-racial man has changed the political landscape permamnently. Proposition 8 is the tell-tale sign that begins to make this claim proof-positive. For the first time, Afican-Americans will have to deal with the attacks from the left wing in the Democratic Party. The Black population was out of step with the liberal gay section of the party. This is the demographic that had just handed its support of Hillary Clinton over to Obama. So now we have another split?
How does the Democratic Party look at PUMAS who wouldn't vote for Obama, Gays who were supported by liberal white Americans, and the African- Americans who wouldn't support a liberal issue? Amazing it is this new segmenting of the Party. African -Americans will now be held accountble for their actions along with PUMAS and evey other voting group of citizenry. This is interesting to me as a PUMA, and so much more as a woman: Rodriguez says African-Americans have not achieved equality yet, but my point to Rodriguez is- ready or not, African-Americans are responsible for their voting behavior the same as PUMAS, women,Gays and all those still looking in from the outside....Redwine