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Did Obama grow up under white privlage or in poverty?

From the looks to me, he grew up in Hawaii after Indonesia/Kenya with white mother and grandmother.

Went to the best schools and was well educated.

Does he represent white culture or black culture more?

I doubt he grew up with "white privilege" he's not really white passing, and his racial identity is obviously black. I think he has talked about how his multicultural (and international) background has influenced him, and I don't think that this history falls well within a "white" vs. "black" binary, which I don't think exists in such a way anyways. I also don't think his family was rich per se, they seem pretty much like a middle class family.

I wouldn't say he represents either culture more, but obviously as a black person he does have to face some of the struggles that come with that.

Yea I'm not saying he was "rich."

However he attended the best schools and was raised in Hawaii.

I have lived in Hawaii, there is no discrimination against tan people. And let's face it, he's tan.

It's actually the exact opposite. If you are tan you have a one up on everyone.

The locals in Hawaii are all tan. I have extreme doubts he faced any racism in Hawaii.

Hmm, I doubt that a bit, particularly for white people it's often very hard to tell what discrimination minority groups face. And Obama isn't really tan, particular in pictures from his youth it's very clear that he is black, and I'm pretty sure racist people will not give him the "benefit of the doubt".

You are right of course, he went to the best schools, and he definitely didn't grow up in a poor, crime ridden neighborhood or anything like that, but there is lots of middle class black people he's not a huge exception in that way.

As a black person I'd say that, in regards to whether Obama had a typical black upbringing, there's no such thing as a typical black upbringing. We're not a monolith and we don't all come from the inner city ghetto or a deep south slum. I'm originally from Brooklyn and have lived in the SF Bay Area (primarily in Oakland) for the last 24 years. I had both of my parents for the majority of my childhood (they divorced when I was 12 after 19 years of marriage and 3 children). My Dad was a Building Inspector, my Mom was an Executive Assistant, my maternal grandparents were an elementary school teacher and a music writer/jazz pianist, and I went to college on a partial academic scholarship. I also have an uncle that's a veteran sound engineer for CBS and another uncle who is a sports journalist with a son that's a professional football player. Some would claim my upbringing and background doesn't fully represent "black culture" either, but I think that stems more from the preconceived notions of what it means to be black, and by that, I mean what is stereo-typically black. There's just as many, if not more, Theo Huxtable and Carlton Banks types out there as there are Boadie Broadus and Omar Stanfield types, the latter just seems to be the general perception. I'm waiting for the day when someone like Neil Degrasse Tyson or Cory Booker are seen as a typical black dude.

A person's upbringing doesn't really matter. It's his/her actions that defines him or her. You can't judge him/her solely from upbringing.

You may have lived in poverty, or an outlandishly rich lifestyle, but it's what you say and what you do and what you believe in that matter.

Regarding Obama's past, he grew up in a multicultural family. His mother was white, his dad was black, and his stepfather and stepsister were southeast Asians. If you're talking about the "stereotypical" black upbringing, "Thug Life"/"gangstah"/hood/ghetto and all that shit, then no, he did not grow up in that environment. Getting good education definitely helped shape his worldviews and perspectives.

Obama was raised in a life of amazing privilege. Very few children can the life he got.


As far as it being black or white? More like the privileges of the wealthy. Black people can be wealthy. So can white people. So can Hispanic people. Etc. etc. Obama's upbringing is a story of wealth, not color.

Yep. His father was a wealthy economist who got a M.A. in economy at Harvard.

Originally posted by dadudemon
Obama was raised in a life of amazing privilege. Very few children can the life he got.


As far as it being black or white? More like the privileges of the wealthy. Black people can be wealthy. So can white people. So can Hispanic people. Etc. etc. Obama's upbringing is a story of wealth, not color.


There's a phrase, intersectional privilege. Meaning one can be privileged in one area and not another, face hurdles due to one thing, and benefits from something else.

It's not a simple binary of privileged or not, but there's interlapping spheres.


Like, to use video game terms, different areas of privilege are akin to separately adjusting 'enemy difficulty,' 'encounter rate,' 'item drop rate,' and 'how strong your character is.' So wealth is one of those dials, skin color another, and so on and so forth.

This does bring up an interesting question though. Can a black person..living with whites, get any white privilege? Would such a person face less discrimination or more?

Originally posted by dadudemon
Obama was raised in a life of amazing privilege. Very few children can the life he got.


As far as it being black or white? More like the privileges of the wealthy. Black people can be wealthy. So can white people. So can Hispanic people. Etc. etc. Obama's upbringing is a story of wealth, not color.
That's very true, at the same time, someone like Obama can't escape his skin color in America. I think it's irresponsible to say with any kind of certainty that Obama wasn't treated differently, for good or ill, because of his race, even if he otherwise had opportunities that plenty of poor white (and black) children don't get.

White privilege and economic privilege, to use MMORPG terms, are buffs that stack.

Originally posted by Q99
There's a phrase, intersectional privilege. Meaning one can be privileged in one area and not another, face hurdles due to one thing, and benefits from something else.

It's not a simple binary of privileged or not, but there's interlapping spheres.


Like, to use video game terms, different areas of privilege are akin to separately adjusting 'enemy difficulty,' 'encounter rate,' 'item drop rate,' and 'how strong your character is.' So wealth is one of those dials, skin color another, and so on and so forth.

True, but wealth/class privilege trumps all other privileges combined and it really shows.

The oppression Olympic believers are far crazier than those otherkin tumblrites.

Originally posted by ArtificialGlory
True, but wealth/class privilege trumps all other privileges combined and it really shows.
Of course. Money is integral in real life, just as it is in games. It's a privilege that makes life/games easier and more convenient.

Originally posted by Henry_Pym
The oppression Olympic believers are far crazier than those otherkin tumblrites.

Which really says something because those people have crazy running through their bloodstream 24/7.

Originally posted by ArtificialGlory
True, but wealth/class privilege trumps all other privileges combined and it really shows.


Even if the drop rate is low and random encounters are high, an overpowered class can still be a gamebreaker





I will note a lot of privilege stuff is not remotely about playing 'oppression Olympics,' just acknowledging things that exist. I mean, should it really be shocking to anyone that different major aspects of one's life affect likelyhoods in what one does or doesn't face? Especially when a lot of it does show on a statistically level.

If people here think Obama encounter racism in Hawaii they are sadly mistaken.

Also it is well known he was much more part of white culture then black.

Originally posted by Time-Immemorial
If people here think Obama encounter racism in Hawaii they are sadly mistaken.
Could you explain your reasoning here? Like, have you actually lived in Hawaii for a decent period of time or do you just assume there isn't racism against black people in areas with large non-white populations?

I myself assumed Hawaii was full of nothing but surfer dudes too stoned to really like or dislike anyone.

Originally posted by Surtur
I myself assumed Hawaii was full of nothing but surfer dudes too stoned to really like or dislike anyone.
Not really. For instance there are lots of native Hawaiians who resent non-native Hawaiians.

I myself am not sure if Obama would be counted as a haole (he clearly wouldn't be considered native), but I think TI's idea that everything is hunky dory in Hawaii is probably wrong and based on nothing.

I think you are lying and that Obama somehow is connected to the movie Surf Ninja's.

Originally posted by Q99
I will note a lot of privilege stuff is not remotely about playing 'oppression Olympics,' just acknowledging things that exist. I mean, should it really be shocking to anyone that different major aspects of one's life affect likelyhoods in what one does or doesn't face? Especially when a lot of it does show on a statistically level.

I would argue that outside of academia, that is entirely what it is about.

Originally posted by Q99
Even if the drop rate is low and random encounters are high, an overpowered class can still be a gamebreaker

Well, that hardly matters if you can just buy all the best gear from the get-go and join all the top raids.