Categories: just-life
Date: 21 January 2009 13:25:39
For those of you who had your heads buried in the sand yesterday America got her first African-American President. This of course meant lots of news programmes, interviews with politicians, pundits and the general public both here in the UK and over there in the United States. There was one comment that kept being repeated*. "I never expected it to happen in my lifetime..."
What I don't understand is why not?? Surely racism isn't at such a level in The States that the idea of a non-white president is out-of-this-world?? After Martin Sheen (The West Wing) the most popular US President is Morgan Freeman (Deep Impact) and he's black. In Bruce Almighty he was even God and let's face it, after those two roles what's left to do??
I have a funny feeling that as with the furore over the Prince Harry and the "P-word" there is a lot of reaction from people who were in the thick or the race riots of the sixties, seventies and early eighties**. There has been a whole generation of people who have known much lower tension levels between whites and blacks. The thought of "A Black President" doesn't seem alien. Gee-whizz, if it hadn't of happened this time I would have been surprised if it hadn't of happened in the next two elections (2016).
I will also be surprised if there isn't a female president in the next five elections (2028) and as for a Muslim (other faiths are available) president... well, that might take a little longer, but if it is happens sooner I wouldn't be too surprised. Though I imagine that there will have to be some sort of peace in the Middle East before it'll happen.
* - including a black, children's tv presenter on Newsnight
** - not withstanding the race riots in the summer of 2001 in Oldham, Burnley and Bradford and in the nineties in The States with police officers