She’s already broken barriers, and now Kamala Harris could shatter several more after President Joe Biden abruptly ended his reelection bid and endorsed her.

Biden announced Sunday that he was stepping aside after a disastrous debate performance catalyzed fears that the 81-year-old was too frail for a second term.

Harris is the first woman, Black person or person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president. If she becomes the Democratic nominee and defeats Republican candidate Donald Trump in November, she would be the first woman to serve as president.

Biden said Sunday that choosing Harris as his running mate was “the best decision I’ve made” and endorsed her as his successor.

  • ccunning@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    And first Indian or non-white President as well. Don’t know why people have trouble saying that.

    If she was Indian she wouldn’t be eligible to be president; they did say “South Asian decent” though.

    And are you saying Obama was white? I must be missing something here.

      • ccunning@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        So some words we’re going to take strictly literally but some words were going to take with simple intention?

        • TachyonTele@lemm.ee
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          4 months ago

          Why would you think she’s literally from India? What tf are you even talking about.

          Did you also want to see Obamas Kenya birth certificate lol

          • ccunning@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            I was talking about the poster I was replying to expecting people to take “non-white” in a very literal way, meanwhile using “Indian” in a non-literal way.

            Like, who complains about a news outlet not referring to her as Indian when they did say “South Asian decent”?

            Anyway, they’re no longer the top comment and have been downvoted appropriately, so I’m not really worried about it any more.

            Sorry if I offended you, though. Wasn’t trying to be offensive.

            • TachyonTele@lemm.ee
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              4 months ago

              Ah gotcha, I see what you mean now.
              Oh no worries my friend. Same here.
              I really have to stop going into political posts for a few months.

              Enjoy your evening

    • just_another_person@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      There are TWO people in here not knowing something that should be known. What in the actual fuck.

      Also, how old are you? I’d like to know so I can place my mental shame on whatever generation doesn’t know who is eligible to be president in the US. It makes me awfully sad.

      • kescusay@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Dude, it’s a matter of linguistics and ethnic identity. Everyone here knows Obama has a white mother. You’re just being intentionally combative and taking advantage of the fact that most people - including Obama himself - identify him as black.

        • just_another_person@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          Yes, I’m obviously being combative by pointing out that Kamala Harris is non-white, and would be the first such President and it’s a big deal, and then giving shit to the few who tried to bring up Obama and didn’t realize he was half white.

          • Ech@lemm.ee
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            4 months ago

            Figured this is what you meant. Imagine invoking the reverse One Drop Rule and thinking you have the superior position.

              • qprimed@lemmy.ml
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                4 months ago

                bright spot. a bunch of readers knew exactly what you meant and went “huh! thats pretty cool.”

                • just_another_person@lemmy.world
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                  4 months ago

                  Thank you for being the optimist at the party. We need more of you just hanging around and bringing the right vibe to the conversation. 🥰

          • kescusay@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            Again, this is just linguistics games. Obama is the first non-white president if your definition of “non-white” is something like, “A person whose ethnicity/ethnic identity is something other than white.” Assuming she wins, Harris will be the first non-white president if your definition of “non-white” is something like, “A person whose ancestry does not include any Caucasians.”

            Or rather, she would be if her father didn’t have any Caucasian ancestry. But he does. You knew that, didn’t you? Didn’t you?

            • just_another_person@lemmy.world
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              4 months ago

              No, Obama was the first Black President, sure. But he was not the only non-white President.

              Maybe to you, but it’s not. It’s a huge thing that she is the first non-white President. Nobody in the populous gives a shit what they identify as. In her case, she’s black and Indian, and any voters who identify with that will feel less disenfranchised about her winning.

              What you’re describing is some weird Rachel Dolezol shit. Nobody wants that.

              • kescusay@lemmy.world
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                4 months ago

                Oh, for fuck’s sake… No, what I’m describing is a logical problem with your statements.

                First, let’s get this out of the way: Race is a social construct. We differentiate between “black” and “white” in large part because of racism. Ta-Nehisi Coates has written a lot about how without racism, we wouldn’t perceive each other as different because of such a tiny variation as the color of our skin, and I tend to think he’s right. Concepts of race, as opposed to minor genetic variance, are predicated on racism.

                With that said, when you call someone “non-white,” you can mean it in the technical sense of not having Caucasian ancestry, which applies to neither Obama nor Harris (which I’m positive you didn’t know until now, since you’ve been calling her “non-white” in this sense), or you can mean it in the sense of a social construct, which applies to both Obama and Harris.

                There is no definition of “non-white” that applies to one, but not the other. Both have some Caucasian ancestry. Both are perceived socially as non-white because of how their bodies express certain alleles. Pick one definition and stick to it.