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This is a perfect example of what she was talking about in her speech. No matter how much education, money, class, status you have - there is a segment of our population that is going to look at you as ghetto trash. She reminds the class to go beyond it but to recognize people like this exist.
I said neighborhood, not the entire town that you live in.
Maybe the blacks don't live in a neighborhood of their own in that town. My town has around 6000 black folks, and they don't live in their own neighborhood either.
For those of you who have heard it, I would assume most would feel the way I do. That being that not only was it beneath the First Lady of the United States to make such a divisive speech, but that she herself seems to be full of resentment (maybe even hatred). That in and of itself is a worthy topic for discussion.
However, while not discouraging such a discussion in this thread, I want to also focus on something else that is troubling in this country. Let me explain.
I consider myself a fair minded person who is willing to listen to the other side of an issue provided it is based on fact rather than emotion. By and large I need to know that emotion is not a deciding factor that cause fact and pragmatic action to be subverted.
When I hear a speech by the First Lady and it strikes me in the manner it did, I assume most other reasoned people would feel similarly. So it surprised me to be watching a report on the show "Today" where a black female reporter characterized the speech in a completely different way, almost praising it.
Granted being a white man I do not know what it is like to be a black woman, but how could we have heard that speech so differently
This was the First Lady, yet she sounded almost like a female version of the race merchant Al Sharpton(though not as bombastic). She made it seem as if she has held grievances (real and perceived) and that she has a massive chip on her shoulder.
Sure she has made some similar comments along the way, but I have tried to give her the benefit of the doubt. Now I am not so sure.
For example feeling it was a slight or racially motived when a fellow shopper asked her to reach up and get something off a store shelf that was high. Michelle Obama is after all a tall woman, so it would seem perfectly natural for a shorter person to ask a taller person for assistance. With me being 6'7", I am regularly asked for such favors/help, and I don't think anything of it. I guess if I were to think about it, my assumption is that being tall is the reason. She instead apparently defaults to race as the reason.
The point of discussion I am getting at is that aside from the partisan koolaid drinking supporters of the Obama's, how can people see that speech in any type of a positive light?
Are we so polarized as a nation now that what I perceive to be a poor example of our countries First Lady's speech, can be seen by others as something positive?
Is it related to race, in that 6+ years of racial animus stirred up by Barak/Holder/Sharpton has caused black people to see things strictly through a lens of grievance?
I have not had the chance to discuss this with my black or liberal friends yet, so I wanted see what my fellow CD posters think of the this.
PS - It would be interesting to know the race/gender of the posters if you so choose.
TIA
`
These types of threads reveal a lot about the racial ideas of conservatives and paints an ugly picture.
The idea that white conservatives are offended, angry, and want to control how black people talk about their own life experiences with racism is very very revealing.
Basically conservatives are saying that Michelle Obama has to view her own experiences in a way that doesn't offend their sensibilities or upset them.
conservatives pretend that they know Michelle Obama's life experiences better than she does, and that her understanding of those experiences are wrong and race baiting. Lol
That this utterly ridiculous discussion can go on, says everything there is to say about conservatives and how they view black Americans.
These types of threads reveal a lot about the racial ideas of conservatives and paints an ugly picture.
The idea that white conservatives are offended, angry, and want to control how black people talk about their own life experiences with racism is very very revealing.
Basically conservatives are saying that Michelle Obama has to view her own experiences in a way that doesn't offend their sensibilities or upset them.
conservatives pretend that they know Michelle Obama's life experiences better than she does, and that her understanding of those experiences are wrong and race baiting. Lol
That this utterly ridiculous discussion can go on, says everything there is to say about conservatives and how they view black Americans.
It actually ruins their platform and cost them the last two presidential elections. When we let people voice their rage it shows what they are about.
It actually ruins their platform and cost them the last two presidential elections. When we let people voice their rage it shows what they are about.
What's amazing is that what Michelle Obama discussed was extremely mild stuff.
I don't like speaking for black people even the ones I know personally, but there is not a single black person I know personally that would listen to that speech and think wow Michelle is way out there in her views on racism.
In fact dare I say that most of the black people I know wouldn't even think of the speech as one being about race.
They'd think, she is just relaying what every black person understands you have to navigate people's negative thoughts about you and define yourself for yourself.
That so many conservatives see her speech as this huge race speech and are outraged by it is extremely revealing.
For those of you who have heard it, I would assume most would feel the way I do. That being that not only was it beneath the First Lady of the United States to make such a divisive speech, but that she herself seems to be full of resentment (maybe even hatred). That in and of itself is a worthy topic for discussion.
However, while not discouraging such a discussion in this thread, I want to also focus on something else that is troubling in this country. Let me explain.
I consider myself a fair minded person who is willing to listen to the other side of an issue provided it is based on fact rather than emotion. By and large I need to know that emotion is not a deciding factor that cause fact and pragmatic action to be subverted.
When I hear a speech by the First Lady and it strikes me in the manner it did, I assume most other reasoned people would feel similarly. So it surprised me to be watching a report on the show "Today" where a black female reporter characterized the speech in a completely different way, almost praising it.
Granted being a white man I do not know what it is like to be a black woman, but how could we have heard that speech so differently
This was the First Lady, yet she sounded almost like a female version of the race merchant Al Sharpton(though not as bombastic). She made it seem as if she has held grievances (real and perceived) and that she has a massive chip on her shoulder.
Sure she has made some similar comments along the way, but I have tried to give her the benefit of the doubt. Now I am not so sure.
For example feeling it was a slight or racially motived when a fellow shopper asked her to reach up and get something off a store shelf that was high. Michelle Obama is after all a tall woman, so it would seem perfectly natural for a shorter person to ask a taller person for assistance. With me being 6'7", I am regularly asked for such favors/help, and I don't think anything of it. I guess if I were to think about it, my assumption is that being tall is the reason. She instead apparently defaults to race as the reason.
The point of discussion I am getting at is that aside from the partisan koolaid drinking supporters of the Obama's, how can people see that speech in any type of a positive light?
Are we so polarized as a nation now that what I perceive to be a poor example of our countries First Lady's speech, can be seen by others as something positive?
Is it related to race, in that 6+ years of racial animus stirred up by Barak/Holder/Sharpton has caused black people to see things strictly through a lens of grievance?
I have not had the chance to discuss this with my black or liberal friends yet, so I wanted see what my fellow CD posters think of the this.
PS - It would be interesting to know the race/gender of the posters if you so choose.
TIA
`
I haven't seen the speech and please don't make me watch the video. I would have the same reaction if this post was about Hilary Clinton and the speech was one of hers.
I don't need to listen to Michelle to understand what you are conveying. I've seen enough facial expressions in photos of her to know, she has this look about her eyes, that tells me what's really going on behind the scenes.
Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. Men see things where as women feel things.
People's level of conscience is not depicted upon a person's gender or color. Those two things are just a person's outer shell. A person's action, more so than their words, will tell more about who they really are, to the rest of the world, who comes into contact with that person.
Prejudice is just as the word is defined, pre judging. Some people tend to judge a person by the outer shell, rather than the level of conscience they have shown by their actions. Those people will like a person for the same reason, without getting to know the person first.
As the Bible says, we know each other by our fruits. That is true, regardless of the century it was said.
I said neighborhood, not the entire town that you live in.
So in other words, you won't respond, just deflect.
Figures.
There's a HUGE military base here. Plenty of blacks serving in the Army. Lots more in the major university just a few blocks down the street. So, about 25,000 AAs in the entire town. You?
The students appeared to enjoy it quite a bit. Hell, so did i.
Look, you don't get to decide the content of intra-black conversations, and we're not taking suggestions. If you don't like what she said, it's a strong indicator that she probably didn't go far enough in her comments.
She could read the phone book and you'd swoon, so I'm not surprised you were thrilled.
Michelle painted the portrait of American life as if the only obstacles in life are nasty white racists, inflicting their daily racial slights.
Michelle is nothing but David Duke in a dress. I'd be posting the same responses if David Duke had given the exact same racist diatribe, making blacks out to being the mean little racist enemy, standing in the way of success.
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Hell, so did i.
