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It's only racially divided if you're a racist who's mad that a black man is President, or if you watch Fox "News" and believe that President Obama is racist against white people.
In my real world, the races mix freely and without issue.
Things and feelings did not change as much in this country as people thought they did. The past few years have done nothing but expose people's true feelings about things that they were too scared to express for a long time. I am glad that these feelings are now out in the open, no need to sugar coat situations. Integration only gave us the illusion of inclusion!!
Things and feelings did not change as much in this country as people thought they did. The past few years have done nothing but expose people's true feelings about things that they were too scared to express for a long time. I am glad that these feelings are now out in the open, no need to sugar coat situations. Integration only gave us the illusion of inclusion!!
I agree and think the fact that people are able to express themselves now is actually a sign that things are getting better between the races, rather than worse.
And the Ferguson riots has exactly what to do with Obama? Directly, not much. Indirectly, it's the subtle theme that Obama has been putting forth sometime now with his comments and actions over the years. However, Obama did use Al Sharpton has a liason for the Ferguson situation. That right there doesn't really send a message that smacks of justice and waiting until the facts are laid out. More on that below....
It saddens me to say it, but the President has, either inadvertently or on purpose, fostered a bit of an underlying theme of division in this country for some time now.
His comments on the Trayvon Martin case PRE TRIAL....before the facts had even been sifted through were completely irresponsible for any government leader....much less the President of the United States.
His de facto liason to the Ferguson situation pre grand jury was non other than Al Sharpton, one of the biggest race hustlers this side of the Atlantic Ocean if you know anything at all about his past. Al Sharpton??? That'd be like George Bush using David Duke's advice to quell a dispute between White Nationalists and African-Americans living in some rural community. I wonder what the press would do with that.
Regarding the Officer Gates issue, again before the facts were out...only the most powerful man in the world who you think would have a bit more self control on sensitive racial matters came out and criticized the police department and Officer Gates for the arrest he made on Henry Louis. It's Obama's knee jerk reaction to do these things before the facts have been laid out. Obama later came out and apologized for these comments realizing they were wrong to make.
Let's not forget he attended Rev. Wright's church for years. Wright is very "pro black movement" and makes many racist comments in his sermons. Many of which can be seen on video on the internet. Even if Obama wasn't overtly influenced by Wright or didn't always agree with him.....why attend a church with this kind of racially-charged vitriol being spewed from the altar??
Let's not forget Eric Holder, the attorney general who Obama appointed to be the chief law enforcement officer of the country. Research some of his past and the things he has said. A good argument for him being a race hustler could easily be made.
Obama had lent his comments to many issues regarding race in this country where he should have just kept his mouth shut. A President needs to be magnanimous in issues regarding civil rest and national unity in a country and not drop racially tinged opinions or quips....especially before....but even after all the facts are released for that matter.
As the first black president of the USA, he had such a great opportunity to be a true uniter. To be magnanimous and rise above the emotional fire that underlies racial issues in the USA. Instead, he has used his bully pulpit to often fuel that fire with ill advised comments.
At the very least, I think Pres. Obama has been irresponsible with his comments regarding race throughout the years and his appointments of various highly biased individuals like Holder and Sharpton. At the worst, it is a calculated attempt by the administration to introduce disharmony and division in this country for more illicit reasons that I wish to get into now.
My response to you is not a criticism, because at least you thought out a rather complex argument. Nevertheless, I do disagree with much of what you wrote.
1. Much of what you have said is in the eyes of the beholder. Those on the right who hate Obama, think that he has focused on race. Those on the left feel that he has been able to shine a light on race issues that continue to plague this country; and in fact, many Black voters were quite critical of him during his first term for being seemingly reticent to talk about race in any but the most sterile terms; he has become more free about talking about it the further he gets into his second term.
2. Yes, Al Sharpton is often over the top. Even as a Democrat, I dismiss a great deal of what he has to say. But he has a following, particularly among the Black population, so he gets a soapbox. As does Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, and Rush Limbaugh. And let's not leave out other "reverends" that lean sharply to the right, such as Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. All politicians use such people. I often wish they didn't, but its certainly not restricted to Barack Obama. And by the way, as much as I sometimes dislike Sharpton, he's hardly the equivalent a former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. And just for the record, I listen to Sirius POTUS often, and frankly, I wish MSNBC would take Sharpton off.
3. In regard to his comments during racial strife, what do you expect him to? Reserve his opinions for a year or two after potential trials are over? And what you may have forgotten is that he was being pushed by many to say something, and criticized for being too passive by others. Presidents can't wait until a crisis is history to say something, and none of them have...whether Democrat or Republican.
4. "Sensitive racial issues..." That's an interesting phrase. We've had 44 presidencies. 43 have spoken from the White perspective. Now, 1 has spoken from the Black perspective. 43 -versus- 1.
5. It would have been better for Obama not to have attended Wright's church. No doubt about it. And he'll have to take the criticism for it, just as GOP presidents have taken criticism for relationships with Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson.
6. In terms of Eric Holder, I don't know a lot about his past, but I think he did a decent job at the Justice Department. Conservatives and Republicans will disagree. That's the way it is with almost every presidential administration. We Democrats were none to happy with John ******** or John Mitchell or Richard Kleindienst.
Before day 1 of the first Obama term, Republicans were plotting against the first Black president. Mitch McConnell, head Republican in the Senate. Now let's see. What was he elected to do? Paid to do? To be Senator and work on various aspects of legislating. But instead, out of his own slurring mouth came what his # 1 purpose was -- to defeat Barack Obama in the next election ("The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president"). In other words, we will ruin his presidency so that we take power next time around.
Now, what I would like you to understand is that while you have your perspective, and have every right to it, just as many (perhaps more) people in the country have the opposite perspective. Their perspective is not more important than yours, nor is it any less important. It's why we hold elections.
Before Obama was elected, Limbaugh stated that race relations would deteriorate under Obama. Have you ever seen the country so racially divided?
I wasn't alive in the 60s and don't remember the Rodney King riots, but I've never seen the country this torn apart by race, and I think Ferguson finally blew the lid off the pressure cooker.
It's been a steady drumbeat of racial issues the last few years. The Skip Gates arrest outside his home a couple years back, Trayvon Martin, and now Ferguson. In each one of those cases, the media and the "advocates" seem to want to drum things up and get people upset. It's certainly worked.
Do you think race relations are going to continue to deteriorate? I'd say this is the worst it's been since the 60s.
You can hardly blame Cambridge, MA for that. They're not acustomed to seeing African bushmen outside of Boston Globe coverage of Roxbury.
2. Yes, Al Sharpton is often over the top. Even as a Democrat, I dismiss a great deal of what he has to say. But he has a following, particularly among the Black population, so he gets a soapbox. As does Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, and Rush Limbaugh. And let's not leave out other "reverends" that lean sharply to the right, such as Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. All politicians use such people. I often wish they didn't, but its certainly not restricted to Barack Obama. And by the way, as much as I sometimes dislike Sharpton, he's hardly the equivalent a former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. And just for the record, I listen to Sirius POTUS often, and frankly, I wish MSNBC would take Sharpton off.
Please notice something: Every man you mentioned is a Boomer, albeit Beck barely so. It's proving true, "As the twig is bent, so grows the tree" and "raise up a child in the way he should grow and when he is grown, he will not depart from it." I myself was in the 7th grade before I even knew a white kid by name--the last time I sat in segregated movie seating was July 20, 1969.
The Baby Boom generation was the last American generation born and raised in apartheid, and it's the Baby Boom generation that is still in firm control of American politics, media, and industry. All the policies and rules--the framework of the nation--has been written by the last generation raised in apartheid.
Things will change when the Millennials are in control, but that won't be for another 25 years or so.
Things will change when the Millennials are in control, but that won't be for another 25 years or so.
You may be right!
As a middle school principal in Virginia until my retirement, the kids didn't care much at all about race. It seemed irrelevant to them, which is good.
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