Substance abuse
Sir: I looked up Venetia Thompson on Google and was not surprised to see, given the lack of any evidence or other proof offered in support of her comments about white men and Obama (‘Obama is a modern-day Othello’, 23 February), that she does not appear to be a psychologist, anthropologist, sociologist or, indeed, any sort of statistician who might have some knowledge about that of which she speaks. There is also no indication that she has spent enough time in America to have established credible anecdotally based opinions. I did, however, see that she has studied creative writing.
Ms Thompson seems to think that Mr Obama is found, especially by white American males, to be ‘lacking in substance’ because they feel their manhood threatened and, it goes without saying, they are innately racist. But Obama is found lacking in substance because he is lacking in substance. As a 60-year-old naturalised American, who lived at least ten years on four different continents before settling on this one, I offer a couple of observations which I consider to be at least as scientifically rigorous as those of Ms Thompson. Firstly, there are more white male Americans who will vote for Obama because his father happened to have been a Luo from Kenya than there are those who will vote against him for that reason. Secondly — and perhaps understandably — black Americans in 2008 are far more racist than white Americans.
I will not vote for Obama, because of his naive and potentially destructive political views. It is deeply offensive to me that Ms Thompson would suggest this reasoning is ‘racist’.
Geoff Hawkins
Cary, North Carolina
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