Now that we're done with the election, does anybody feel that President-elect Barack Obama is not acceptable as a close member of one's family? 

As a social being we're prejudiced one way or the other, hence our propensity to intolerance. When it comes to (Bengali) matrimony, this prejudice is no better expressed than in the ads. I've not seen an individual, particularly women, advertising to have a very dark complexion ("ghor krishnabarna"); at worst a person has brightly dark complexion ("ujjol shyambarna") - what an oxymoron!

In a marriage of "inequals" - social, economic, individual, or otherwise in nature - one party is always fearful of "losing out" that could manifest as shame or guilt. This fear may sometime lead to adverse situations, but more often both parties learn to accept each other through mutual tolerance.    

Sen. Obama never ran on race (nor did he run away from it) and the ones among us, the Bengalis, who voted for him were not swayed by his complexion (judging from our predisposition).  Thus, linking our support for his political endeavor to our prejudice-laced social behavior is misplaced in my opinion.