UPDATE: Halfway across the globe Al Jazeerah reported on how race played a factor in the Democratic presidential primary. Pay attention to the first woman.
Watch, she almost says it.
"I just don't want to vote for a--"
It's a bit disheartening watching Hillary Clinton declare her Klantucky victory in Louisville considering she lost the Derby City to Barack, 52% to 44% by 12,000 votes. Growing up in Louisville, you get a lopsided perception of the Bluegrass. We forget that outside our metro oasis outlined by the Watterson Expressway is an entirely different world. A world where minstrel black-face figurines still adorn kitchen cabinets.
Especially if you're from the neighborhoods within West Louisville, which is the most densely black populated area in the entire state, you tend to forget you're in Kentucky. We're reminded about that face when the contrasts between Louisville & Kentucky are drawn after elections where exit polls illustrate a lucid difference. Using a rubric of education, age and race means that overall Kentucky is uneducated, old and white. By themselves those demographics are harmless, but combined it's a lethal equation (Barack got wiped out by 35%.)
When African-American Kentuckians travel they often hear, "They got black people in Kentucky?!?" Watching Hillary's victory speech on MSNBC and analyzing the results, I see why.
As Howard Fineman noted on MSNBC:
"There's a huge resentment between Louisville and the rest of the state and Obama became the downtown Louisville candidate"
Ironically, Hillary declared victory at the new Marriott in downtown Louisville. As my former editor at The Cardinal, Dylan Lightfoot commented:
"Just proves what we all know: The Ville is a nucleus of progressivism surrounded by a protoplasmic ooze of assbackwardsness."
After today's results where 21% of Kentucky voters openly said they voted based on race we cannot deny the writing on the wall.
I want to make something abundantly clear to outsiders. I'm from Louisville, home of Muhammad Ali and Hunter S. Thompson, and damn proud of it. The basketball team I cheer for is U of L (NOT UK). My congressman is John Yarmuth.
I love my city, but Louisville needs to secede.
3 comments:
So if 80% of whites voting for Hillary makes us "Klantucky" what does that say about the blacks who voted 91% for Obama?
The only reason Jefferson County is so "progressive" is because it is difficult to overcome a 91 - 8 vote by 15% of Jefferson Counties vote totals. If you take out the black vote, Hillary wins Jefferson County easily. I guess that makes all of the white people in Jefferson County racists as well.
not all whites, just enough. if all white voters were racist barack wouldn't be in the race. period. don't twist the words or mix up the point. check the video. or walk in the shoes of a blk person outside in the rest of the state.
if you don't believe race had anything to do with those votes, well fine, fuck it,be deaf, dumb and blind to the situation. this generation doesn't need to prove nothing to you. we know what's out there.
80% of whites voting for Hillary doesn't make us Klantucky. Having an active Klan membership and a shitload of open racists and closet racists makes us Klantucky (and Klandiana is right above us). The voting pattern is just a bit of evidence of this fact.
I'll tell you about the 91% Black vote. What it says about them is that they're tired of having to vote for old white men (and the women that support them) that care little to nothing about them. Billary is just more of the same. Black people, brown people, and white people with any sense at all see this and are voting for a change.
1) If you're white and you vote for Obama, you CAN still be racist. Voting for Obama doesn't erase past (or future) injustices.
2) 21% of KY voters are admittedly racist. How many more do you think are racist and wouldn't admit it? I'm personally glad for those 21%. It's easier to fight an enemy you can see.
4) Black people always vote in blocks. It would be interesting to see what would happen if we had two serious Black candidates. What if the two nominees were Colin Powell and Barack Obama?
5) If Al Sharpton were to run for president, he wouldn't get anywhere near 91% of the Black vote. Maybe Obama really is the better candidate.
6)Finally, if Hillary wins, the same two families will have been in office for over two decades. This is not a monarchy in which we live; there should be no royal families. That shouldn't even be possible. We should have outlawed that after the Adams. No nepotism in the White House!
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