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Pot meet kettle here. If I bring up my heritage I'm told I live in white privilege (when I grew up as poor or worse off than many blacks), I'm a racist and a bigot. Where's the fairness in that?
My heritage is coming from a white (and Native American) family in the South. Can I fly a Confederate flag? Absolutely not without being called a racist and a bigot or being plastered all over the news for it. That flag doesn't represent slavery or racism to my family. It represents our heritage and where we were born. But it does offend others, so we don't do it. We CHOOSE not to celebrate that heritage because it only offers to drive a wedge between our culture and other cultures and that is the last thing our country needs. Our request is that others show that same respect. Is that wrong?
How is it right when constantly reminding folks of a horrible time in history that has divided so many of us in today's time the right thing to do? It offends me. And I have every right to be offended because so often I hear about what my race did to black people. "We" didn't do anything and "we" despise it as much as the rest. Yet I get lumped in because of my skin color.
Any opportunity to stir that old festering pot is just going to cause more backlash and more division between two cultures who could make amazing strides together if that were let go. It's an embarrassing part of our history (which was very misconstrued back then and helped lead to what we see today), and yes it does make people of both races uncomfortable.
I don't have an issue with people being proud of where they came from. But that can be celebrated in many other ways. Heck, there are black tv channels, black universities, black history month, and a million other things to celebrate black culture. Is there REALLY a need to bring it up in speeches to the general public? Michelle wasn't giving that speech to a nation, she was giving it to black people in our faces and expecting us to sit back quietly. It was a slap in the face.
As another poster said, if you don't see an agenda it is because you CHOOSE not to.
It's a one-way street with progressive liberals.
"Heritage for me, racism for thee"
When it comes to bathrooms, the equalitarian liberals require you to respect and understand where the trans-person is coming from, when it comes to the complex nature of gender identity and which bathroom they feel like using.
But when it comes to you viewing your flag as a representative of your heritage and southern pride, the same equalitarian libs have no respect for your views on the complex nature of that subject. You are a racist, and that's the last word on the issue to libs.
The libs just want to use slavery as a club to beat their opponents with. Never mind that it was their Democratic Party which was the political party of slavery, segregation, lynchings, poll taxes, segregation, and required blacks to board the back of the bus.
Pot meet kettle here. If I bring up my heritage I'm told I live in white privilege (when I grew up as poor or worse off than many blacks), I'm a racist and a bigot. Where's the fairness in that?
My heritage is coming from a white (and Native American) family in the South. Can I fly a Confederate flag? Absolutely not without being called a racist and a bigot or being plastered all over the news for it. That flag doesn't represent slavery or racism to my family. It represents our heritage and where we were born. But it does offend others, so we don't do it. We CHOOSE not to celebrate that heritage because it only offers to drive a wedge between our culture and other cultures and that is the last thing our country needs. Our request is that others show that same respect. Is that wrong?
How is it right when constantly reminding folks of a horrible time in history that has divided so many of us in today's time the right thing to do? It offends me. And I have every right to be offended because so often I hear about what my race did to black people. "We" didn't do anything and "we" despise it as much as the rest. Yet I get lumped in because of my skin color.
Any opportunity to stir that old festering pot is just going to cause more backlash and more division between two cultures who could make amazing strides together if that were let go. It's an embarrassing part of our history (which was very misconstrued back then and helped lead to what we see today), and yes it does make people of both races uncomfortable.
I don't have an issue with people being proud of where they came from. But that can be celebrated in many other ways. Heck, there are black tv channels, black universities, black history month, and a million other things to celebrate black culture. Is there REALLY a need to bring it up in speeches to the general public? Michelle wasn't giving that speech to a nation, she was giving it to black people in our faces and expecting us to sit back quietly. It was a slap in the face.
As another poster said, if you don't see an agenda it is because you CHOOSE not to.
There are also white tv channels, magazines, holidays, etc. There are SO FEW things for black people that's why they have to be labeled as black.
And yes it is important that she bring it up. I suspect many people don't even realize the White House was built by slaves.
Furthermore, her speech could have gone as follows and would have had an impact on ALL cultures, not just her own. When you pinpoint a race, you openly shun the others. We are all Americans. That's all she had to say in any of the speeches she has given where she always makes sure to bring up race.
"Public education is our greatest pathway to opportunity in America. So we need to invest in and strengthen our public universities today, and for generations to come. (Applause.) That is how you will do your part to live up to the oath that you all will take here today –- the oath taken by generations of graduates before you to make your city and your world “greater, better, and more beautiful.â€
More than anything else, graduates, that is the American story. It’s your story and the story of those who came before you at this school.
So, graduates, while I think it’s fair to say that our Founding Fathers never could have imagined this day, all of you are very much the fruits of their vision. Their legacy is very much your legacy and your inheritance. And don’t let anybody tell you differently. You are the living, breathing proof that the American Dream endures in our time. It’s you.
So I want you all to go out there. Be great. Build great lives for yourselves. Enjoy the liberties that you have in this great country. Pursue your own version of happiness. And please, please, always, always do your part to help others do the same."
Why not omit the trigger words and phrases which she knew would stir a pot? This speech would work just as well as any and take no risk in dividing a nation even further.
Because Michelle is in the "business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public."
Michelle needs to whip the crowd into a froth of self-pity and victimhood, and loathing for the whites in the audience, hating the very breaths the take in. This way she can justify her follow-on speech about how new graduating students are now joining the unending fight against the evil, racist whites.
Want some examples of how Michelle uses here army of straw men to paint all whites in America, before she can justify her "us against them" speech? Here are a few lines from just two of her commencement speeches:
The world won’t always see you in those caps and gowns. They won’t know how hard you worked and how much you sacrificed to make it to this day -- the countless hours you spent studying to get this diploma, the multiple jobs you worked to pay for school, the times you had to drive home and take care of your grandma, the evenings you gave up to volunteer at a food bank or organize a campus fundraiser. They don't know that part of you.
Instead they will make assumptions about who they think you are based on their limited notion of the world. And my husband and I know how frustrating that experience can be. We’ve both felt the sting of those daily slights throughout our entire lives -- the folks who crossed the street in fear of their safety; the clerks who kept a close eye on us in all those department stores; the people at formal events who assumed we were the “help†-- and those who have questioned our intelligence, our honesty, even our love of this country.
And I know that these little indignities are obviously nothing compared to what folks across the country are dealing with every single day -- those nagging worries that you’re going to get stopped or pulled over for absolutely no reason; the fear that your job application will be overlooked because of the way your name sounds; the agony of sending your kids to schools that may no longer be separate, but are far from equal; the realization that no matter how far you rise in life, how hard you work to be a good person, a good parent, a good citizen -- for some folks, it will never be enough. (Applause.)
But unfortunately, graduates, despite the lessons of our history and the truth of your experience here at City College, some folks out there today seem to have a very different perspective. They seem to view our diversity as a threat to be contained rather than as a resource to be tapped. They tell us to be afraid of those who are different, to be suspicious of those with whom we disagree. They act as if name-calling is an acceptable substitute for thoughtful debate, as if anger and intolerance should be our default state rather than the optimism and openness that have always been the engine of our progress."
Booker T. Washington, may as well be speaking about Michelle Obama and her husband:
"There is another class of coloured people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs — partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs."
Pot meet kettle here.* If I bring up my heritage I'm told I live in white privilege (when I grew up as poor or worse off than many blacks), I'm a racist and a bigot.* Where's the fairness in that?
I am a first generation American so spare me the pot meets kettle nonsense. Nothing you claim here has anything to do with the topic at hand. You provide no context for the situations in which you have been called a racist and a bigot. Further, as you seem to find it appropriate to tell others not to talk about their history, it doesn't surprise me.
*
Quote:
My heritage is coming from a white (and Native American) family in the South.* Can I fly a Confederate flag? Absolutely not without being called a racist and a bigot or being plastered all over the news for it. That flag doesn't represent slavery or racism to my family.* It represents our heritage and where we were born.* But it does offend others, so we don't do it.* We CHOOSE not to celebrate that heritage because it only offers to drive a wedge between our culture and other cultures and that is the last thing our country needs.* Our request is that others show that same respect.* Is that wrong?
How is it right when constantly reminding folks of a horrible time in history that has divided so many of us in today's time the right thing to do?* It offends me.* And I have every right to be offended because so often I hear about what my race did to black people.* "We" didn't do anything and "we" despise it as much as the rest.* Yet I get lumped in because of my skin color.
Any opportunity to stir that old festering pot is just going to cause more backlash and more division between two cultures who could make amazing strides together if that were let go.* It's an embarrassing part of our history (which was very misconstrued back then and helped lead to what we see today), and yes it does make people of both races uncomfortable.
*
I don't have an issue with people being proud of where they came from.* But that can be celebrated in many other ways.* Heck, there are black tv channels, black universities, black history month, and a million other things to celebrate black culture.* Is there REALLY a need to bring it up in speeches to the general public?* Michelle wasn't giving that speech to a nation, she was giving it to black people in our faces and expecting us to sit back quietly.* It was a slap in the face.
*
*
As another poster said, if you don't see an agenda it is because you CHOOSE not to.
The Confederate flag is flown all over the South and whether you like it or not, it represents different things to different people. Let's not act like a flag is the end all be all to Southern culture. Not flying a flag is not the same as telling an entire people not to utter a word about hundreds of years of their own heritage. So no, it s not the same respect.
In fact, your attitude is pure disrespect for those who fought day in and day to stay alive and to preserve the lives of their families under a brutal regime. AAs should be free to celebrate the resilience of their people. That they, in the case of the First Lady, have come from cotton fields to having descendants in the White House. In fact, the whole nation should be proud of the strides that have been made in this country.
Further, Mrs. Obama's speech was given in City College in NYC. If you know anything about the so-called black people in NYC, it's likely that the majority are immigrants or recent Americans, with no history in the United States. City College is full of Latino, Asian, West Indian/Caribbean and then other students. So the idea that Mrs. Obama was giving the speech to "black" people/AAs make no sense whatsoever. Neither was the speech about slavery but about pursuing the American dream.
Honestly, it seems that you are fighting to create some agenda that does not exist.
There are also white tv channels, magazines, holidays, etc. There are SO FEW things for black people that's why they have to be labeled as black.
And yes it is important that she bring it up. I suspect many people don't even realize the White House was built by slaves.
There were some slaves used in the quarries along with local white workers, there were also Scottish masons and other immigrants that built the White House. Michelle would have you believe that it was built entirely by slaves, which is false, she needs to get her facts correct before making such a statement.
I am a first generation American so spare me the pot meets kettle nonsense. Nothing you claim here has anything to do with the topic at hand. You provide no context for the situations in which you have been called a racist and a bigot. Further, as you seem to find it appropriate to tell others not to talk about their history, it doesn't surprise me.
*
The Confederate flag is flown all over the South and whether you like it or not, it represents different things to different people. Let's not act like a flag is the end all be all to Southern culture. Not flying a flag is not the same as telling an entire people not to utter a word about hundreds of years of their own heritage. So no, it s not the same respect.
In fact, your attitude is pure disrespect for those who fought day in and day to stay alive and to preserve the lives of their families under a brutal regime. AAs should be free to celebrate the resilience of their people. That they, in the case of the First Lady, have come from cotton fields to having descendants in the White House. In fact, the whole nation should be proud of the strides that have been made in this country.
Further, Mrs. Obama's speech was given in City College in NYC. If you know anything about the so-called black people in NYC, it's likely that the majority are immigrants or recent Americans, with no history in the United States. City College is full of Latino, Asian, West Indian/Caribbean and then other students. So the idea that Mrs. Obama was giving the speech to "black" people/AAs make no sense whatsoever. Neither was the speech about slavery but about pursuing the American dream.
Honestly, it seems that you are fighting to create some agenda that does not exist.
Oddly enough I'm not the only person to see the agenda.
I have no disrespect for anyone. I have disdain for people like MO, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Jeremiah Wright, Donald Trump, and anyone else who chooses to try and stir up race relations by constantly making the statements and then throwing in the little jabs here and there. Call me what you will, but the pot meet kettle comment is valid. You cannot tell one group of people that they are racist for celebrating their heritage while commending another group for celebrating theirs. It doesn't work that way. My family grew up poor and working right alongside these very people in fields farming and trying to survive. The only people who see that, are the ones that were there with my family. Not people who never had to suffer it with them. How does that make us different people, and why shouldn't we ALL give and receive the same respect?
If we all want to move forward as an all encompassing society, we better be doing it as Americans without any ties to a specific heritage. Because there are those who despise the heritage of all of us and are always looking for opportunities to throw that back at us. There's no denying that when people raise that flag (which is absolutely a part of their heritage) it is met with sneers, and protest regardless of what it means to that person. So fine..... here's my proposal. Since that flag plays a huge part in identifying people with racism and reminding people of slavery, we won't fly it and won't discuss it. That's fair. We will remove the symbol that many can't stand. In return, there should not be anyone bringing up slavery or calling whites racist people. We should then judge people only by their actions and what they say. (But that likely won't work for you, because them MO and BO will absolutely be vilified for their past speeches and actions) Keep remembering that THEY said all the quotes above. Not someone else. To try to spin that into being something other than what the country saw it for is ridiculous.
If you want context, I used to work for a delivery company that delivered party supplies to a local college weekly, which is a predominately black college. I was told on multiple occasions (including by their own campus law enforcement) that "white folks don't need to be here after dark" and to get unloaded and get off campus. I also lived right down the street at the time in a neighborhood that had turned predominately black. I got robbed at gunpoint on my front porch one evening because (and I quote) "White people down here are either stupid or rich. I'm gonna find out which one you are." I've had multiple accounts of being told I am a racist because I have said that I don't think it's a conversation anyone should be having. Since I didn't identify nor apologize for what people did decades before I was born, I am a racist.
Yet, I still feel the same way about all the people who said these things. I'm far from a racist and wish no ill will nor harm to anyone of any race. We could do so much as a society if everyone (and I mean everyone) would let go of the past and start living in the present. Constantly trying to remind people that they came from slavery (which in their eyes is only whites enslaving blacks) just perpetuates ill feelings towards us. How do you think it will ever get better if no one is willing to change? And why should only one group have to change? We all have to.
There were some slaves used in the quarries along with local white workers, there were also Scottish masons and other immigrants that built the White House. Michelle would have you believe that it was built entirely by slaves, which is false, she needs to get her facts correct before making such a statement.
That doesn't fit her narrative so she won't mention it.
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