Obama's Youtube Video: "Our African Americans for Obama video was a failure, so here's one about

Here we have it, another video put out on the BarackObamadotcom youtube channel targeting racial minorities, this one depicting Asian persons supporting Obama (funny though, because the video title reads "Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders for Obama," and I didn't see any of my cousins in there).



The people in the video speak of how Obama is like "family":

"The President's sister is half Asian, and so when he talks about the AAPI community he's not just talking about us as a constituency group, he's talking about us as family.

Queue music

Obama is "very clearly" the right choice to make:

"More Asian American cabinet members than any other President in history."

"Double the number of AAPI federal court judges."

"We need to get the word out about how to get involved in the process"

Yeah, I'll believe that when the comments on the channel's videos are no longer censored.



What are your thoughts on this video? I noticed that it (currently) has a positive like/dislike ratio, unlike their previous "African Americans for Obama" video.

The racism is killing me on the inside.

Beat this OBAMAR

Every politician has a target audience. No one complains on ads that focus on women.

reply to post by RealSpoke

No one complains on ads that focus on women.

I do. Government doesn't exist in order to divide us into groups and pander to what they think that group wants to hear. My problem is with the politicians that always pretend to try and bring us all together yet they always address us as groups. As if because I am part of a gender or a race that somehow I am in agreement with every person in that gender or race.

It is demeaning and insulting. It is the very definition of judging a book by its cover. Just my opinion though.

Originally posted by RealSpoke
Every politician has a target audience. No one complains on ads that focus on women.

Let me see if I've got you're reasoning correct.
You contend that race is equivalent to gender. Liberal thinking holds that gender is a matter of personal identity and subject to change on how you feel on the inside. So, I think I'm black or yellow, therefore I am?

One of the above things is clearly incorrect.

Silly points aside. Every politician has to pander... so.... nbd

Originally posted by RealSpoke
Every politician has a target audience.

I have no intention of debating that, because it's true, but my problem with the video is the way that it appeals to minorities.

Oh, and ads targeted at women do catch my concern, btw.

"The President's sister is half Asian, and so when he talks about the AAPI community he's not just talking about us as a constituency group, he's talking about us as family.

Yes, because he has a relative who is half-Asian, that automatically means that he shares a personal bond with you, almost as if he were your... brother.

"More Asian American cabinet members than any other President in history."

"Double the number of AAPI federal court judges."

Yes, because he intentionally picks minorities for government positions (instead of picking all whites) he is very clearly a better choice than the guy who would just appoint the whites.

When I see things like this it's hard not to see it as playing on race warfare.



Also, I'm curious as to how the makers of the video define "Pacific Islander." I was seriously expecting to see a distant relative in that video.

Originally posted by sageofmonticello
reply to post by RealSpoke

 

No one complains on ads that focus on women.

I do. Government doesn't exist in order to divide us into groups and pander to what they think that group wants to hear. My problem is that politicians always pretend to try and bring us all together yet they always address us as groups. As if because I am part of a gender or a race that somehow I am in agreement with every person in that gender or race.

It is demeaning and insulting. It is the very definition of judging a book by its cover. Just my opinion though.

edit on 4-5-2012 by sageofmonticello because: (no reason given)

I beg to differ on this... Government is meant to divide us.. that is exactly what the government does at its very base... Republican vs Democrat, then it pushes division with taxes, races, sex, religion, class... the only thing the government knows how to do is DIVIDE

reply to post by Doalrite

I beg to differ on this... Government is meant to divide us.. that is exactly what the government does at its very base... Republican vs Democrat, then it pushes division with taxes, races, sex, religion, class... the only thing the government knows how to do is DIVIDE

You are missing the point I am trying to make.

That might be what the government is doing and I don't argue with that but it certainly isn't what the government is meant to do nor is it a valid function of government, which is more what my point is. Show me where it says in the constitution that "government shall divide us into groups and pander to those groups".

You are talking about the effect of government, I am talking about the function and role of government.

reply to post by MeesterB


What does a liberal line of thought have to do with anything? Both parties use these methods. Gender and race share similar characteristics, at least when it comes to advertising.

Race, gender, class, age, location and many more are all target audiences that any advertisement or political campaign uses. This is just advertising 101, if you want to be successful, you need to appeal to a target audience. Every single form of media you will ever see in your life has a target audience.

Consumer behaviour is influenced by internal conditions such as demographics, psychographics (lifestyle), personality, motivation, knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and feelings. Psychological factors include an individuals motivation, perception, attitude and belief, while personal factors include income level, personality, age, occupation and lifestyle.

Behavior can also be affected by external influences, such as culture, sub-culture, locality, royalty, ethnicity, family, social class, past experience reference groups, lifestyle, market mix factors.

en.wikipedia.org...
en.wikipedia.org...

reply to post by sageofmonticello


All governments do is divide their people. Just about every country that isn't totalitarian has multiple parties which perpetuates the US. vs THEM mentality. It's not like it is only government dividing us either, its the culture of consumerism that created all these marketing strategies.

How the hell can any Japanese Americans ever vote Democrat?

Oh now who was it who threw their ancestors into internment camps and dropped 2 nulear bombs on their homeland?

Yep pander pander!!!

I am unfortunately unable to view videos at the moment, but after reading some comments I felt i would like to add.

Governments are constructs. Clearly, in most cases, the policies and legislation of governments are not intended to separate us.

Politicians are people... actors, actually, and frankly they DEPEND on separating people.

I wouldn't confuse governments for politicians... just as I wouldn't confuse nationalities for personal character.

However... it is critical to note: Governments CEASE being governments when they begin to become corporations... then it's a whole new ball game, with exploitation being the key... it is nearly impossible to exploit an entire nation of people without first getting them to fight against each other and oppose each others interests....

Big Politics - Big Corporatism - exploitation and control...

solution:

Small Government - community enterprise.

(notice collectivism and class structure are not compatible with the latter.... eat that Rand!)

Originally posted by RealSpoke
reply to post by sageofmonticello

 

All governments do is divide their people. Just about every country that isn't totalitarian has multiple parties which perpetuates the US. vs THEM mentality. It's not like it is only government dividing us either, its the culture of consumerism that created all these marketing strategies.

I couldn't agree with you more. All I am trying to express is that it is a sleazy tactic to win an election, not a function of government. Do governments actions divide us? Obviously. Is it the purpose of government to divide us? Obviously not. The purpose of government (at least in the USA) is to protect our freedom, liberty and property.

It may even be a byproduct of government, all I am saying is it is not the function of government. Whether government does it or not is beside the point. Of course they do it, who is arguing that they don't?

You are talking about the effect of government, I am talking about the function and role of government.