Reply #135: An anecdote from 1988 [View All]

I was living in Astoria, Queens (NY) in 1988.
Astoria is a Greek-American neighborhood.
When Dukakis got the nomination, the whole neighborhood erupted.
Fireworks, all night parties, cheering in the streets.
Why? Because Dukakis was Greek-American.
I'm sure Dukakis got 95% of the Greek-American vote. (Can't find a source on that)

All of our Presidents have been white, Protestant males with ancestry from the British Isles.
When a Catholic or a Greek or a woman or a black has a real chance at the Presidency, the people rally.
Especially when there has been bigotry or indifference directed at that group.
It feels like pretty basic, human nature kind of stuff here.

As another poster on this thread succinctly noted: Identity politics is not racism.