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Old 03-21-2008, 10:01 AM
 
3,566 posts, read 3,720,105 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by montanamom View Post
So much of the criticism of Barack Obama seems to be that because his speeches sometimes move people emotionally, many of his supporters are blinded by this "phenomenon" and are not focusing enough on Obama's "substance". People argue about the so called "experience" factor, and worry that Obama supporters are not aware of the major issues that need to be addressed. As a supporter of Barack Obama, I assure you, I am aware of the huge and very real issues and problems facing our country, and as a mother, I am extremely concerned about the future of our country and what it holds for my children. I worry about my Social Security and future medical costs, my children's job opportunities, and the possiblity that my teenage son may someday be called to serve in this horrific war.

Yes, we have major problems that need to be addressed, and urgently. But I also submit to you today, that we are a nation of people who are hurting and discouraged. If you disagree with me, if you're happy with the way things are going in this country and things are going your way, that's great. You must be one of the privileged few. But I think most people are more than a little frustrated right now. We have been fed nothing but lies and superficial bull crap for the past 8 years (and before) and are wondering just where our countrys' humanitarian foundations have gone.

Anyway, I honestly tried to watch Obama's speech in Philadelphia in it's entirety with an open mind, and a clear head. I've been very disheartened in recent days to hear some of the sound bytes of Obama's former preacher from the pulpit of his church in Chicago. I am white and was raised in an upper-class, white family in the suburbs of D.C. in the '70's and '80's. I have never been knowingly racist, and have always felt that all that "racial" stuff happened "before my time".

But when Barack started talking about his white Grandmother being scared if she saw a black man behind her when she was walking down the street, the recognition set in. I know I'm not alone in being a white women who, upon seeing a Black male behind her, clutched her purse a little tighter, walked a little faster... In spite of myself, I found myself in tears by the end of the speech, and I am NOT A CRYER!

The next day, I saw a picture of a black man who was in the audience listening to Obama's speech that day, and tears were rolling down his cheeks as Obama spoke as well. I wondered how it felt to know someone was afraid of you just because of what you looked like.

A person can be the best speech writer in the world. But for most people, an emotional reaction cannot occur without a truth being touched.

I support Barack Obama for President - now more than ever. The truth hurts - but the truth also heals. And Lord knows, our country needs a lot of healing right now.
Listen. Obama's speech was all about white guilt and you ate it up. Race pimps have been feeding guilt-ridden liberals that toxic brew since the late 60's and they, like yourself, fall for it every time. That thing about his grandmother? Think about it. He was essentially calling her a racist. How noble of him! But do you know what? Jesse Jackson said the very same thing as Obama's grandmother. He said that walking the inner city streets at night he feared getting mugged. And if he heard footsteps behind him and turned around to find that the approaching person was white he breathed a sigh of relief. Did that make Jackson a racist? No, he was admitting an uncomfortable reality that a lot, if not most, of the crime in this country is committed by young black men and very often the victims are themselves black. Obama has shown himself to be able to use race to his advantage with the best of the race hustlers. Clear your eyes of the stardust and you'll see it.
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Old 03-21-2008, 10:11 AM
 
Location: SE Arizona - FINALLY! :D
20,460 posts, read 26,225,145 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JimMe View Post
Listen. Obama's speech was all about white guilt and you ate it up. Race pimps have been feeding guilt-ridden liberals that toxic brew since the late 60's and they, like yourself, fall for it every time. That thing about his grandmother? Think about it. He was essentially calling her a racist. How noble of him! But do you know what? Jesse Jackson said the very same thing as Obama's grandmother. He said that walking the inner city streets at night he feared getting mugged. And if he heard footsteps behind him and turned around to find that the approaching person was white he breathed a sigh of relief. Did that make Jackson a racist? No, he was admitting an uncomfortable reality that a lot, if not most, of the crime in this country is committed by young black men and very often the victims are themselves black. Obama has shown himself to be able to use race to his advantage with the best of the race hustlers. Clear your eyes of the stardust and you'll see it.
Sorry, but his speech was not about "white guilt". He made abundantly clear that racism exists on BOTH sides - which it does. Racism is not even an AMERICAN problem - it's a HUMAN problem. Racism exists all over the world and throughout all of history. His point was that ignoring racism and pretending that everything is just peachy keen and lightness and sweet doesn't solve anything. Racism is alive and well in America today - institutionalized racism has been pretty much elimated (much to our credit) by Federal and State laws here in the US, but everyday racism continues to exist everyday. Sometime's it's subtle, sometime's it's not so subtle - but it's there, and I suspect it always will be to some degree or another.

Ken
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Old 03-21-2008, 10:15 AM
 
3,695 posts, read 11,337,720 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sunshine Chick View Post
Problem is you cannot heal the country when you teach hate from one side.
If anyone needs healing it would be his pastor and Obama failed to even heal him from his racist mind and heart, how would he heal an entire country when people like his pastor are teaching racism of the worst kind?
The OP wasn't talking about the pastor - she was talking about Obama, who has already repudiated and rejected the pastor's statement. Can't you focus on what Obama himself said instead of using these cheap rhetorical tricks to try to smear him?

Obama isn't responsible for what Rev. Wright said, nor does he agree with it. If your side can't win the election by being honest and truthful you really need to think about exactly what it is you are standing for.
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Old 03-21-2008, 10:16 AM
 
27,206 posts, read 46,541,014 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LordBalfor View Post
Sorry, but his speech was not about "white guilt". He made abundantly clear that racism exists on BOTH sides - which it does. Racism is not even an AMERICAN problem - it's a HUMAN problem. Racism exists all over the world and throughout all of history. His point was that ignoring racism and pretending that everything is just peachy keen and lightness and sweet doesn't solve anything. Racism is alive and well in America today - institutionalized racism has been pretty much elimated (much to our credit) by Federal and State laws here in the US, but everyday racism continues to exist everyday. Sometime's it's subtle, sometime's it's not so subtle - but it's there, and I suspect it always will be to some degree or another.

Ken
His speech was about a lot but not about what really matters and why he was there and very late actually (to let everybody wait for 25 min.!). Another hot air speeach with some good quotes from others. He is good at the copy machine.

He did answer any questions!
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Old 03-21-2008, 10:17 AM
 
3,695 posts, read 11,337,720 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JimMe View Post
Listen. Obama's speech was all about white guilt and you ate it up.
Hogwash. Read it again and you'll see that he says that the problems facing the black community come from within as well.
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Old 03-21-2008, 10:25 AM
 
Location: SE Arizona - FINALLY! :D
20,460 posts, read 26,225,145 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bentlebee View Post
His speech was about a lot but not about what really matters and why he was there and very late actually (to let everybody wait for 25 min.!). Another hot air speeach with some good quotes from others. He is good at the copy machine.

He did answer any questions!
So what exactly were the quotes from others - other than the opening line "We the people, in order to form a more perfect union" - which he didn't steal but merely referenced that they spoken across the street 200 years before?

...or is it that you didn't even bother to read/see the speech before making your pronouncement?

Ken
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Old 03-21-2008, 10:26 AM
 
Location: SE Arizona - FINALLY! :D
20,460 posts, read 26,225,145 times
Reputation: 7621
PS to bentlebee -

Whoa! tardiness. Now THAT'S a good reason for him not to be President.

LOL

Ken
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Old 03-21-2008, 11:31 AM
 
3,566 posts, read 3,720,105 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LordBalfor View Post
Sorry, but his speech was not about "white guilt". He made abundantly clear that racism exists on BOTH sides - which it does. Racism is not even an AMERICAN problem - it's a HUMAN problem. Racism exists all over the world and throughout all of history. His point was that ignoring racism and pretending that everything is just peachy keen and lightness and sweet doesn't solve anything. Racism is alive and well in America today - institutionalized racism has been pretty much elimated (much to our credit) by Federal and State laws here in the US, but everyday racism continues to exist everyday. Sometime's it's subtle, sometime's it's not so subtle - but it's there, and I suspect it always will be to some degree or another.

Ken
I agree, in part. Institutional racism has largely been addressed. And individual racism will probably always be with us. But the travesty of Rev Wright and other race pimps like him is that they refuse to acknowledge that insitutional racism no longer exists in this country. When he rails against the "USKKKof A" and white greed and white this and white that he makes no distinction between the two. It's like he's stuck in the 1950's. And, frankly, most of us are tired of hearing it. And if Obama lacks the insight to distinguish between the two he is not as smart as people make him out to be. Either that or he agrees with Wright that America is a thoroughly racist society. If so, he's not fit to be president.
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Old 03-21-2008, 11:37 AM
 
Location: Houston, Texas
10,447 posts, read 49,522,100 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ian6479 View Post
I watched the speech from here in England, with my American wife who is obviously interested/concerned over who will be the next president. I thought he was fantastic in his speech, and its delivery, and IMO just what a bitterly divided America needs. GWB would never be able to deliver such an articulation of personal thoughts, values, and ideas with such honesty and intelligence.

If he were a British candidate running for PM he would have my 100% support. I hope he is the next President.
So what you are saying is a good speech and a well spoken speech automaticly means it/he is honest?

He is a lying sack of garbage.......just like the rest of them. I dare you to show proof of honesty anywhere in his words. It is all just that.....words. And his and all politicos words are cheaper then mine and your words.
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Old 03-21-2008, 12:06 PM
 
Location: SE Arizona - FINALLY! :D
20,460 posts, read 26,225,145 times
Reputation: 7621
Quote:
Originally Posted by JimMe View Post
I agree, in part. Institutional racism has largely been addressed. And individual racism will probably always be with us. But the travesty of Rev Wright and other race pimps like him is that they refuse to acknowledge that insitutional racism no longer exists in this country. When he rails against the "USKKKof A" and white greed and white this and white that he makes no distinction between the two. It's like he's stuck in the 1950's. And, frankly, most of us are tired of hearing it. And if Obama lacks the insight to distinguish between the two he is not as smart as people make him out to be. Either that or he agrees with Wright that America is a thoroughly racist society. If so, he's not fit to be president.
To certain degree Wright IS stuck in the 50's but there is no evidence that Obama is stuck in the 50's. To a certain degree people are always stuck in their youth - for it's a time when your identity as an adult is forged. Babyboomers will always love the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, just as my mom (in her 70's) will always love Big Band music. Older folks who suffered under German or Japanese occupation will generally always live with some degree of animosity towards the people that stripped them of their freedoms and abused them. And Blacks who lived through the era of the strong discrimination that characterized America during their youth will likely always bare the scars and resentment of what they went through. It would be nice if people always forgot and forgave trespasses against them in their youth, but the fact is, that doesn't always happen.

The 50's and (especially) the 60's (and even the early 70's) were a turbulent era in race relations and many injustices were overturned - but as any stuggle does, it left emotional scars on many of the participants. And even though (as we've agreed) institutionalized discrimination was pretty much eliminated, it took a long time for subtle discrimination to fade to even what it is today. Clearly things have improved dramatically in this regard, but it's also clear that even after various laws were passed, institutionized discrimination did not simply evaporate overnight. After the various civil rights laws were passed in the 60's it still took a while for all that to truly take effect and even in the 70's - though clearly illegal - such discrimination was still occuring in very roundabout ways as those who disliked Blacks were slow to accept the fact that what they were doing was not only illegal, but WRONG. I'm speaking here about the difficulty Black families would have buying houses in certain neighborhoods etc. In the 1970's that sort of "near institutionalized" discrimination was still pretty common - and even continued to some degree beyond that point.

So, you are talking a pretty long period of Wright's life where institutionalized (whether legal or nor) discrimination was more or less the norm - so it's no surprise it's affected his life and his views. As I said, everyone is pretty broadly defined by the events of their youth and early adulthood.

Does it make it right?
Off course not - but again, these condemnations are of Wright. Obama didn't live through that. Wright is an old man (retired now in fact, as I understand it) and the member of an older generation. Obama is a young man and the member of a newer generation. Is he going to come in contact with members of the older generation that have far more polarized views? Of course he is. Are some of those people going to hold positions of importance in his life? Of course they are. My mother and father have different views than me because their experiences are different. But I'm not a clone of my mom and dad - and I wouldn't expect Obama to be a clone of his minister.

Wright is a member of an older generation, one fading into history - and hopefully taking some of their views them, just as one day you and I will pass into history and take whatever inappropriate views we have (and don't say that you don't have any, because everyone has some - except maybe for Christ himself).

Times are changing in the Black community and Obama's success is proof of that.

Ken
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