What is the diffeerence between having racial motivations and being racist ?

Question

My co-worker and I were in a discussion about whether racism has all but dissappeared in america since Senator Obama has earned the D nomination. Of course that isn't true but exit polls after the Kentucky primary showed that a major percentage of white voters admitted that race played a part in why they voted Clinton.

Is that racism from a traditionally racist area or is it some other definition called "racial"?

Is it not racist to vote for someone just because they look like you?

Answer 1

Racism takes on many forms.  It could be a hatred of others not of your race or a feeling that you are superior to others because of your race.

I think racial motivation is not always about race alone, it's a cultural identification.  

Those voters maybe they didn't hate Obama, but felt they could not relate to him, culturally.

In many areas of this country, people only know blacks through characterizations they see in pop culture and on TV.  

I noticed this when I went to Japan last year, everyone expected me to look and act like Beyonce because that was the only image of black women that they had seen.  

Many whites can't relate to Obama or blacks in general because they don't understand that our lives are exactly like their.

Of course some of them were also just plain racists but we can't put them all in the same category.

Answer 2

I have heard it said that people are more afraid of the idea of Barack Obama than the ideals of Barack Obama, meaning the stigma of race is very much alive in the US and demonstrated in this election.

That being said I think both sides can make an argument for whether this is "racism" or not. I think there is a tendency to see "racism" in almost every action, but disregarding these blatant forms holds greater consequence. I think the issue deeper than racism is prejudicial thought that is still rampant in the US. As far as prejudice goes there are 3 realms:

Cognitive Prejudice: Negative beliefs concerning what is true about a group. (Beliefs)

Affective: Dislike of a group. (Feelings)

Conative: The wish to discriminate against/show aggression toward a group. (Behaviors)

It is important to distinguish the different types of prejudice because it is very possible to be prejudiced in more than one just as it is possible to be prejudiced in one and not in the others. As social beings our thoughts do not always line up with our actions (One can believe all black senators to be inferior however not discriminate against them).

I realize this is a rather long answer that probably does little for your curiosity and for this I apologize, but I think it boils down to the fact that no where is it written in the Constitution that all races are 100% guaranteed the Presidents position and this is why (speaking from an objective point of view) I would be hesitant to call this a bona fide case of racial exclusion. The idea was that their character and ability to run the country would suffice, however today we rarely see past the color of ones skin.

Whether it is racist to vote for someone because they look like you is another touchy subject because of the rights of the people to decide who they want to run the country. If it was any other situation such as accepting a student to a college from a pool of applicants, yes we could easily say yay or nay on racism. However people have the right to vote for whomever they please based on whatever criteria they feel is important to them (though I do not beleive people always do). Majority rule has a tendency to rule in favor of the majority itself rather than respecting all opinions of the country and picking the right person for the job.

I think Mill's idea of the "Tyranny of the Majority" outlined in On Liberty expands on this a little more. As far as choosing the right person to run the country I like to think about the idea of pluralism in political philosophy (wikipedia has a lot on this if your interested.)

It is my hope that this, digressions and all, helps you.