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Obama's Secret Weapon In The South is 129 Million Years Old

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41–50 of 318 posts

Re: Obama's Secret Weapon In The South is 129 Million Years Old

#41
I think this is a great answer to people who ask why we still need things like affirmative action. Here you have a continuing demographic phenomenon that can be traced directly back to slave ownership patterns hundreds of years ago. It should be noted also that the black belt is also a terribly poor stretch of the country.

Unfortunately, it appears that socioeconomic patterns are imprinted more deeply than anyone would want, and more deeply than a lot of people would like to admit.

Re: Obama's Secret Weapon In The South is 129 Million Years Old

#43
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fertile land in the south did definitely correlate with Obama votes, as the article made clear.

Yeah, just like slabs of thick bedrock in lower New York correlate with Obama votes, since it enabled large highrises to be constructed in a small, densely populated area. How far back are we willing to go to draw these correlations?

IT was more than a correlation. He traced the connection. What has bedrock to do with New York voters? I'd be interested to hear that story.

Re: Obama's Secret Weapon In The South is 129 Million Years Old

#44
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think its quite cool. I had no idea this blue band in the south existed. The history behind the fertile land and slavery migration I found particularly interesting. It does make an unwritten assumption that more black people = more democrat votes. But I guess that is probably a fair assumption to make.

In recent US politics, it is a fair assumption. More than fifty years ago, it was not. Historically, the Republicans were "the party of Lincoln" and the Democrats were the party of the segregated South(1). One might attribute the beginning of the polar reversal to Truman's integration of the military services, but by the time of the Kennedy administration sent paratrooper's to Oxford the seeds from which the Dixiecra…

Having lived in the North for most of my life (or at least above the Mason-Dixon) and having lived an extensive stint in the South, nowadays the Northern cities seem far more segregated. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that there was not forced integration there in the 60's. Look at a city like Chicago or New York where some of the largest population areas are almost entirely black. Check out Kozol's book Savage Inequalities, it's pretty shocking if you didn't grow up in a large northern city. If you did, then well, you know all about what I'm talking about.

There's a lot of elitism from the Northern states still about how they are so progressive but I saw way less racial hostility and more interracial interaction on a daily basis in New Orleans or Atlanta than I do in cities like Chicago or even Saint Louis, a lower midwest town where you can cut the racial tension with a knife.

Re: Obama's Secret Weapon In The South is 129 Million Years Old

#45
I find it pretty funny that it sounds like the author's implying black people will vote for Obama.

Then again, he did win somewhere from 90% to 98% of their vote [1], so the assumption is based in truth somewhere.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2229225/Presidential...

Re: Obama's Secret Weapon In The South is 129 Million Years Old

#46
post #35

I guess the conservatives get to reap what their racist, pro-slavery ancestors sowed.

This an ignorant comment plain and simple. You are implying that because someone is conservative in the south, their ancestors owned slaves? And even if they did, that their views should be discounted because of the fact someone they had positively no effect on made a mistake 150 years ago? I find this highly offensive.

Re: Obama's Secret Weapon In The South is 129 Million Years Old

#47

Considering that Obama was trounced in those states and thus won no votes in the Electorial College, it is hardly a "secret weapon." Were it one, the consistency of its Democratic lean in previous elections, would call into question that it was his. The article just promotes an ignorant sort of racial understanding while missing the really curious relationship between agriculture and his campaigns. Obama's secret wea…

Well he does say himself in the article that the headline is nothing more than linkbait, not to be taken seriously.

Re: Obama's Secret Weapon In The South is 129 Million Years Old

#48
post #14
post #3

This article is nothing more than blog spam. Yeah, it provides a link back to the original post, but that's about it. Even most of the images are lifted.

It is very interesting, but it comes up every election cycle now: http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/Research/Elec2000/GeolElec2000.HT...

And if it didn't, I'd have never known about it. I just learned this today.

Re: Obama's Secret Weapon In The South is 129 Million Years Old

#49
post #41

I think this is a great answer to people who ask why we still need things like affirmative action. Here you have a continuing demographic phenomenon that can be traced directly back to slave ownership patterns hundreds of years ago. It should be noted also that the black belt is also a terribly poor stretch of the country. Unfortunately, it appears that socioeconomic patterns are imprinted more deeply than anyone wou…

Although I agree with you, I get the impression that someone who doesn't think affirmative action should exist even after learning about the gang violence, intense poverty, substance abuse, neglect, and trauma that surrounds children growing up in housing projects and "bad neighborhoods" -- even after all of that, if someone still says no, then you could probably trace this back to the Big Bang and they'll still say no.

Re: Obama's Secret Weapon In The South is 129 Million Years Old

#50
post #4
post #3

This article is nothing more than blog spam. Yeah, it provides a link back to the original post, but that's about it. Even most of the images are lifted.

The original article being: http://deepseanews.com/2012/06/how-presidential-elections-ar...

Title: How presidential elections are impacted by a 100 million year old coastline

-- Much better title.

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