down with those rich people

Walking to a dinner a few blocks away from my house this evening, I stopped at a light. Two runners jogged on the spot next to me. Here's the bit of their conversation I overheard:

Moustached one: Well, obviously I'm supporting Obama. I mean, I can't support Hillary and I definitely couldn't have supported Edwards.

Spandexed one: Oh really? Why not Hillary?

Moustached one: I don't trust rich people. They're out of touch.

Spandexed one: Isn't Obama rich too?

Moustached one [scoffing noise]: What, like you've heard of rich black people?!

[They run away.]

OK, so Magic Johnson, Oprah Winfrey, Clarence Thomas, Will Smith, Colin Powell, Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson, Mobutu, Allen Iverson, Michael Lee-Chin, Condoleezza Rice, Quincy Jones, Denzel Washington, Kanye West, Sani Abacha, Donald V. Watkins, Samuel L. Jackson, 50 Cent, Ludacris, Bob Johnson, Reginald F. Lewis, Robert Mugabe, Sheikh Mohammad Hussein Al Amoudi....

I've temporarily run out of examples, but you get my drift.

I should also add that some of the people I know who are very well-off financially are the most connected to those at the opposite end of the spectrum, for various reasons (e.g. dedication to volunteer work). Does it matter if your candidate is rich or poor, in absolute terms? Doesn't it matter more if he or she gets it?

RainyBow

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SunnyShine note: Let's set aside the obvious black people are po (some ebonics for you) foolishness for a sec. What is interesting is that neither Hillary nor Barack grew up with money - they're self-made. Sure, Hillary benefits from the Bill Clinton bottom line but don't forget that he grew up very, very poor. They didn't have much money until he was a much sought-after speaker after his presidency. I don't know that anyone should accuse Hillary or Obama of being out of touch. There are plenty of other arrows to sling, but that one seems to have a rubber tip.

Speaking of out of touch, some people grow up with silver spoon in their mouths and get handed oil companies and baseball teams to run/ruin. Then, they put on a war and get even richer than they were in the first place. I'm digressing, sorry.

ps. It's Black History Month. Go to an event. Educate yourselves: Nelson Mandela, underground railroad, black inventors, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr., Sharpeville Massacre, Hector Pieterson, apartheid, Steve Biko, Montgomery Bus Boycott