Dominique Ricks INT-322-90-121

09/17/12

What do most people define as racism? The belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race (Google). If this is so, does criticizing a black president makes one a racist? Yes and no, because depends on the personal opinions on why they feel that way about the president. If I were too straight out answer that question it would not be a reasonable belief. It would be racist to believe that the race of the one doing the criticizing makes a difference. Barrack Obama is our nations first African American President. It has been a debate that Caucasian people dislike him for this fact and that African American people love him for this fact. There will never be a distinct answer to whether or not this is so. The reason why there is not a straight answer is because we cannot take ones personal views and give them to another just because they share the same race. This would mean that we as humans are not individuals. Although, it may be racist for me to say the race of the one doing the criticizing makes a difference, it can be true. From the time that Africans came to American and slavery came about the idea of African Americans being inferior has existed. We have come a long way from then, but I would say that some of this feeling may still exist. This is why some may say that anyone other than an African American person criticizing a black president is racist. Then again we do not live in just a black and white world; we have other races and mixed races. So, if this was so we would have to answer two questions: How do we put biracial people in this equation and are they more one race than the other. Criticizing a black president does not make someone a racist. This question is too broad for us to give an absolute answer. The question would have to more direct to a certain person or group. Racism is making a pre judgment about a person of another ethnicity other than their own

Dominique Ricks INT-322-90-121

09/17/12

because of cultural differences. This making the statement of criticizing a black president makes one a racist is false, unless they are criticizing him because of the color of his skin.

Dominique Ricks INT-322-90-121

09/17/12

References Google <https://www.google.com/search?q=define%3A+racism&rlz=1C1AFAB_enUS481US481&sugexp=chrom e,mod=0&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8>