Where is Tammy Wynette when you need her?
Obamaholics please pass on this post. I get sick and tired of reading your e-mails and your comments whenever I am critical of your boy, and I am afraid this is going to be one of those times.
So anywhooo, it seems the O man dissed his AG for his A-merry-cans are cowards when it comes to race comments. Yep, while talking to the New York Times the O man found it necessary to chastise his top lawyer.
“I think it’s fair to say that if I had been advising my attorney general, we would have used different language,”
Why? Because he offended some conservatives and sensitive white folks? Come on O man, don't buy into what the drive by media is selling. You knew the full context of his speech and you know that what he said was dead on. So why the apology? Look, I can understand you not commenting on the subject and choosing not to weigh in on the controversy. You are, after all, the president of all the people, we get that. But why not just say no comment? Leave it alone, that news cycle is way behind us. I don't care if the NYT asked you a direct question, the proper answer would have been we have moved on, and I don't want to comment on that any further. I am quite sure that the reporter would not have pressed you. We are talking about the New York Times here, not the Post.
I have been letting his O ness slide with a lot, because unlike Rush and the repubs, I want him to succeed. I let him slide when he announced more faith based programs. I let him slide when he kept the frat boy's cuts on funding for stem cell research. I let him slide when he broke his promise and allowed lobbyist in his administration. I let him slide when he pushed back the timeline to withdraw from Iraq, and escalated in Afghanistan. I let him slide when he announced that he was not pursuing criminal prosecutions for those people who tortured captives. I let him slide when he didn't put an end to the frat boy's rendition program. And finally, I let him slide even after he refused to place windfall profit taxes on Big Oil. See, there is a lot I let him slide with, but I can't let him slide with dissing his AG. Not when the man was telling the truth.
“I’m not somebody who believes that constantly talking about race somehow solves racial tensions,.....I think what solves racial tensions is fixing the economy, putting people to work, making sure that people have health care, ensuring that every kid is learning out there. I think if we do that, then we’ll probably have more fruitful conversations.”
Okay O man, I get it: we will all still be racist, but there won't be any "racial tensions". As long as we have food, shelter, and health care, we all can be content racist. Now that, my friends, is the A-merry-can way.
67 comments:
The president's sheepish comments suggest to me that all isn't unified in the House of Obama.
It's a shame because if true, it's precisely the thing Republicans say about the left.
Obama kowtows way too much to the religious right and the GOP for my tastes. I would like to hear him tell both groups to "fuck off," but this isn't Barack Obama.
I glad someone has the courage to say this. Too many of us on the Left have let the promises he made slide simply because he's better than Bush. It's not like it is really that hard to rise above the standard that the last administration set. So far all we've been getting is minor reform, not sweeping change. If he can say he's looking forward while turning his back on the blatant abuses of the Bush administration, he should have done likewise for Holder's very truthful comments. Keep doing what you do, Field.
Kris, you're just an idiot. Shut up. Silly talk from O'ness as well. Not good leadership there O. He needs to just fire Tim if he can find a replacement. He is O's Rumsfeld.
szpork
Did you NOT read THIS part?
In an interview with The New York Times on Friday, the president said that despite Mr. Holder’s choice of words, he had a point.
“We’re oftentimes uncomfortable with talking about race until there’s some sort of racial flare-up or conflict,” he said, adding, “We could probably be more constructive in facing up to sort of the painful legacy of slavery and Jim Crow and discrimination.”
______
He basically agreed with Holder and just used different words.
And furthermore, Obama signed an executive order REVERSING the Federal Ban on funding for Stem Cell Research.
Dr President:
That is the way I saw it too. He was basically saying he could have used more tact in saying it. After all, he does represents all the people. The NYT was trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill and are part of the opposition. The opposition is trying their best to find something to kill Obama's popularity and stop him from doing what he has set out to do. A lot of the stuff that they're saying is not true. Some of it he can't comment on right now.
“I’m not somebody who believes that constantly talking about race somehow solves racial tensions,
I completely concur; talk is cheap. I've never really heard any talk about race that has done much of anything to solve racism. It's like all the talk about poverty, or economic inequality, etc. There's allot of talk, and at the end of the day, it doesn't mean much of anything.
Here's an even more important question: can racial tensions be solved? Is there a cure for racism? If so, what exactly is it?
I missed the interview, so thank you very much for blogging it, Field, so I could discuss also at my blog also.
Field, what in the Heck Article where you reading?...I read the damn and he was agreeing with Holder. Only difference is Obama choose to take a much safer approach to the topic of race. While our man Holder is bold in your face tell it like it really is in America.
I'm sure Obama feels the same way as Holder does. But Obama has a more to lose if he runs around screaming Americans are cowards etc... So, I understand why he danced around the topic.
I'm sure talking like Eric Holder would have got Obama elected President. I mean it worked so well for Former United States President Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton.
Black people need to worry about Obama fixing the economy. So we can get jobs like the happily employed Eric Holder.
Field,
it seems to me you've been letting O slide on far more important issues than his minor disagreement over the language Holder used. Of course O wouldn't have used those words, they were confrontational and bold. And totally on point. But O is not one to ruffle feathers, even when they need ruffling. Thats just not who he is.
The things you let O slide on are policy decisions (some of which amount to life and death). They are important things which he ought not to slide on because he promised big change, and we are getting too much of the same. His words about race or Holder don't change anything, and don't affect our lives. Might I suggest you prioritize your anger better? :)
BTW, excellent point regarding racism and racial tensions. There was no racial tension when black folks accepted their place in the Jim Crow south, but plenty of racism!!
NO, you shut up SZPORK, you talk a lot of mess, CHRISTOPHER is telling the truth, it's time for BARACK to MANUP, ERIC HOLDER was telling the truth, if not, then why doe's the PRESIDENT need so much PROTECTION, RACIST WHITE AMERICA are after him, and they make it known day by day!
The truth be told, it mattered not to me if we ever had a BLACK PRESIDENT, but, BARACK ran, and I supported him, now I don't now if he watch's the new's, but, their are racist people, that have said thing's like "the OBAMA'S are dirtying up the WHITE HOUSE" so if the PRESIDENT think's ERIC HOLDER, should have chose his word's more wisely, then the PRESIDENT should get rid of his SECURITY, get rid of his ARMY TANK, that being his transportation, and let's see how far he will get as the first BLACK PRESIDENT!
I want to know, why he has to have a bunch of YOUNG WHITE MEN with these important position's, I am trying my best to give BARACK the benefit of the doubt, but, my patient is running out!
Did anyone watch D L HUGHLEY tonight?
Field, I've thought about this, and I'm thinking, as president, I might have responded in a similar way.
As Average Blogger, I'd probably respond the way that you did, and cosign with Christopher as to how President Obama should handle the "religious right" and the GOP.
Obama himself states that "constant talk" about race will not defuse the "racial tension" that separates us.
And as long as people are hurting because the economy is sick, jobs have dried up, health care is out of reach, and our education system is lacking, they're more likely to scapegoat those they believe are getting a free ride, or "gaming" the system.
At times like this, society serves up someone to take the fall. Hitler did this with the Jews.
For this country, blacks have always filled the bill, and have been easy targets.
Obama's not saying that we should never talk about race, but that the talk should take place in an environment conducive to change and rectification.
And if we can solve some of society's more pressing issues, then we all might feel magnanimous enough to sit down and tackle those issues that divide us.
He says, further, "I think if we do that, then we’ll probably have more fruitful conversations.”
I believe fervently: If Obama, as this nation's first black president, can deliver on most of his campaign promises, and successfully shepherd this country through the economic quagmire in which it finds itself, he'll do more to establish racial harmony, and a lessening of "racial tension" than a thousand speeches, and non-stop racial dialog will ever do.
At this time, the American people need confidence in itself, and reassurance that the nation's spirit and endurance are bigger than the problem.
And calling us "whiners,"* and even cowards, whether true or not, will not give us the courage to stand up to "racism," or the economic woes that are now besetting our nation.
In this Era of Hope, call it Pollyanna or not, we're betting on the best in the human spirit, and not the worst.
We're betting on the good in human nature, and not that which is perverse.
We're betting on what's best in the hearts of our fellowman, and not the evil that has too long been our hallmark.
Some will prove us wrong, but many, I feel, will rise to the occasion, and will excel even their highest hope and vision.
And I believe it was that "vision" that allowed this nation to elect its first African American president, and it will be that "vision" that will allow all people to overcome "racial tension," and replace it with "racial trust" and goodwill.
I'm forever the optimist, but so was Martin Luther King.
*"Democrats blasted Gramm, who advises presumed Republican nominee McCain on economic matters, for saying Americans who have named the economy as a top concern this campaign cycle were "a nation of whiners."
Black diasapora:
Well said!
I was done with his n "O" ness when i heard he was backing out of the world summit talk deal becuase of reperation talk & the evils of isreal. this man is not one of us[sons of slaves]all we got out of this deal was Michelle.white amerca got a black face for continued warped policies!
33 & 1/3 King.
Field? Stop.Yourself. Where was your Bush List of what YOU "let" him slide with during his nearly decade-long destruction of the U.S.???! Negro, please! Sit.Your.Azz.Down.
Porkie,
You calling anyone an "idiot" is the height of irony. Apparently, you haven't heard the term, "pot, meet kettle."
Time after time, you crawl to this blog to spew your moronic and sophomoric comments and time after time, you get your ass handed to you, yet you return for more beatings.
You're the resident Rhianna.
Meanwhile, after dropping to his knees to fellate the 400lbs. junkie and pedophile, Rush Limbaugh, RNC chairman, Michael “MC” Steele, has taken down his blog.
Come on, all together now: awwwwwwwwwwwww.
Steele took some serious heat on his blog in over comments he made about Limbaugh. But Steele quickly learned to survive at the GOP country club, you don’t diss the de facto leader of the Republican party and told Limbaugh he was sorry for his comments.
Anon. 1:18 AM,I was reading the same article you were. And yes, you are right about the stem cell funding, looks like he will sign a bill lifing the ban on Monday (Bout time!)so I am wrong on one out of seven of the things I listed. And trust me, I had quite a few more.
And I don't care what he said in the interview. What were the headlines? That's my point of the entire post, he should have known that the Times were looking for a story. He is smart enough and savvy enough with the press to know better.
"Here's an even more important question: can racial tensions be solved? Is there a cure for racism? If so, what exactly is it?"
Classical One,that is a good question, but it is one you should be asking his O ness. My point is if you provide all those things that he is implying will solve the problems of racial tensions, will it still change people's hearts? I don't think so. At least if we talk about it we will know where we stand with each other.
Anon. 6:05AM, didn't I tell you not to read this post.
"..Where was your Bush List of what YOU "let" him slide with during his nearly decade-long destruction of the U.S.???!""
And are you serious with that question? Did some of you Obamaholics just start reading AFTER January 20, 2009?
thank you, mr. president (poster above).
also, obama is biracial. i think he's been thinking in a non-racial way his entire life, so -- out of context -- his comments are understandable. he's post-racial. he didn't have the upbringing holder had.
if you're gonna blog, tho, don't twist shit.
Sorry anon. 1:18 AM the first part of my comments above were directed to "Mr. President".
Just a little food for thought....
Let's look at some clues. Barry enrolls at Occidental and transfers to Columbia two years later. We haven't seen transcripts from either place, but we know even intrepid reporters have been unable to find a single person who remembers him at Columbia. His senior thesis has never been found, though it is known to be radical in nature.
He then fails at community organizing on the South Side, but manages to ingratiate himself with the "right" people and is introduced to a wealthy Saudi radical, Khalid al-Monsour, who is friends with major Harvard donor, billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. The man with the undistinguished record during college and after is now matriculated at Harvard.
He is known to have been a sort of "compromise" candidate for Harvard Law Review president, and an offering of sorts for black radical campus groups that had been protesting the usual grievances just prior to the HLR election. He was not, repeat not chosen because he was the top student in his class. That practice was done away with years before. As president he pens one short note on a case and no significant articles whatsoever. Without checking, I would suspect he wrote fewer words for his own journal than any other president before or since.
While in law school he summers he works at a major Chicago law firm, but doesn't work there afterward. Normally--and especially during the period he was there--these firms fight very hard to recruit summers for permanent jobs as associates after graduation. For some reason, Mr. Smooth was not wanted at Sidley & Austin, (nor was his future wife). Odd for such a brilliant legal mind, isn't it?
Instead he joins the leftwing Davis Miner, where he is again undistinguished in everything except the radical nature of his clients, such as ACORN, on whose behalf he sued Citibank.
He again becomes active in South Side activism and befriends a state senator named Alice Palmer. She decides to retire and "gift" her seat to him--a sadly common practice in Chicago politics. She later changes her mind and Barry decides to (quite ungratefully) run against her anyway. He is subsequently elected to two more terms as state senator. He distinguishes himself by voting present over 140 times. He sponsors no major legislation. If you will do a Dataquest search on this period you will find fewer than 20 stories on him (excluding his memoir), including the black Chicago newspaper, the Defender. No legislator ever had lighter footprints in the state Senate than him.
I am sure you are familiar with the rest. This man is the emptiest of empty suits who has ridden his way to glory and fortune on greasy rails of affirmative action and the largesse and friendship of fellow radicals like Frank Marshall Davis, Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers, Bernardine Dohrn, Khalid al-Monsour and George Soros. The man is a walking paradox: a dangerous nothing. If Joe Stalin played the role of Chauncey Gardner in Being There, this is what it would look like. He must be stopped.
Actually, I think what he said was very good. He did stand by the content of what Holder said, and only asserted that he may have couched it in different terms. The O man is smooth.
How's the training going, Field?
"I am sure you are familiar with the rest. This man is the emptiest of empty suits who has ridden his way to glory and fortune on greasy rails of affirmative action and the largesse and friendship of fellow radicals like Frank Marshall Davis, Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers, Bernardine Dohrn, Khalid al-Monsour and George Soros. The man is a walking paradox: a dangerous nothing. If Joe Stalin played the role of Chauncey Gardner in Being There, this is what it would look like. He must be stopped."
Let me guess you voted for McCain & Sarah Palin. Because we all know those two genius would have been so much better and they are so much more honorable.
Anon @ 11:05.......when the machines take over, you'll be first.
Chistopher
"Time after time, you crawl to this blog to spew your moronic and sophomoric comments and time after time, you get your ass handed to you, yet you return for more beatings."
You're right about this of course. I'm mostly full of bean dip. But don't I get some props for comparing Tim Geithner to Donald Rumsfield? I thought that was brilliant! and I thought of it all on my own, heh... His O-ness has too many priorities for me. Focus on the economy, multitask later. He also needs to compromise his freakin ideology for the sake of the nation. Of course he won't but I can dream. Take care.
szpork
I am a white man and Eric Holder's comment was accurate and true. There cannot ever be serious dialogue about race because America has become a nation of thin skinned pansies that "pretend" to be offended because it is the politically correct thing to do. I am a guido full blooded grease ball EYEtalian and I don't give two shits what people say about us spaghetti benders. If my comments about guido's like me offends anyone I would invite you to go pound sand with your peenie. JD Brokencountry.com
I have no problem with Obama's statement. He would have used different language. Maybe he would have called them "spineless and brainless cowards".
Racial tensions are not that important to a white Joe Sixpack when he has lost his job and his house. Joe Sixpack doesn't have a clue how to fix the problem of the economy, for the past 8 years he has been listening to the GOP who caused this problem.
If a black Obama can pull the rabbit out of the hat, and fix the economy that the white racist GOP caused to end up in the shitter, Obama will have demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that the racist policies of the GOP are dead wrong. That racism is dead wrong. That when we live by racist policies, we end up losing. When we shut people out of positions where they can contribute because of their color, we end up losing what they can contribute. People who tell us to live by racist policies are losers who will bring the rest of us down if we let them.
That is why Limbaugh wants Obama to fail. If Obama succeeds, then Limbaugh is a complete failure. The politics of race and divisiveness, the only things that Limbaugh knows, are loser policies. Obama's success will show that in ways that nothing else can. If a black Obama can succeed while the white racist GOP is trying to make him fail, that shows that race-neutral liberal policies beat racist conservative policies. Maybe the millions of dittoheads that listen to Limbaugh can't recognize themselves as the losers that they are and don't have the capacity to change. Their children can, it is the people under 40, those under 30, those under 20 that are the most important to reach because in 10, 20, 30 years, they will be the majority.
Eric Holder IS right. Tired of all the tip-toeing around on egg shells. It's time for an honest discussion.
Well Field, I think you got it exactly backwards on where the pass should be given. He absolutely does not get a pass for his decisions on Iraq, Afghanistan, rendition, tax cuts for oil companies... He deserves critisism for these things. But, I agree with others that said he wasn't disagreeing with the premise that Holder was putting forth, but the way he said it.
And frankly, as someone who is willing to engage in a dialogue on race, starting the conversation by calling me a coward, or a racist, is not exactly the best way to start the conversation.
If I am trying to talk to an asshole about his assholeness in a Dialogue.. calling him an asshole will end the conversation, not start it.
Well Field, I think you got it exactly backwards on where the pass should be given. He absolutely does not get a pass for his decisions on Iraq, Afghanistan, rendition, tax cuts for oil companies... He deserves critisism for these things. But, I agree with others that said he wasn't disagreeing with the premise that Holder was putting forth, but the way he said it.
And frankly, as someone who is willing to engage in a dialogue on race, starting the conversation by calling me a coward, or a racist, is not exactly the best way to start the conversation.
If I am trying to talk to an asshole about his assholeness in a Dialogue.. calling him an asshole will end the conversation, not start it.
.................
Co-Sign to what Jody said I'm still trying to figure out why Field Negro thought Obama was disagreeing. Obama just said Eric should have said it a different way. Sometimes keeping it real is to real for racist America.
BT...Please get honest with yourself about our foreign policy. Iraq and Afghanistan are lost causes and we are just wasting money by postponing the inevitable there. Obama is only sacrificing more of our blood and money because he is owned by the Israel lobby just as ss surely as the last administration was.
The first step to solving a problem is finding the root causes of it, not making apologies for irrational behavior.
FN, please no passes. I come to your blog to hear your point of views on various topics. I want you to tackle whatever lays heavy on your heart. NO ONE should get passes. Be true to yourself.
Field,
I got your back. You don't have to be an inside the Beltway wonk or have seen every episode of the West Wing to know that when the President makes even a tiny "correction" (hahaha) on a Cabinet member's statement, that idea has been well discussed with the Chief of Staff, the Press Sec. and policy/message folk. Or, in the alternative, Holder floated the balloon so O man could come in and make the more conservative statement. Trouble with the latter scenario is that white people will get pissed regardless. My take is based on an even more insidious notion...
...this was not meant to mollify the right or the Joe the Plumbers. Nah. O man's first allegiance is to the white yuppies/Gen Xers, Rahm disciples/"liberal" Jews and white Clintonistas out there who truly claim him as their prez. No reason to piss off the people who swear up and down that they aren't racists...sort of the way Hollywood claims it isn't racist.
So yeah Field, I got your back. Regardless of what the rest of the NYT piece said where Barack "sort of" came back to Holder's point. Nothing would have needed to be said.
Ernesto - The Bushsquats got us involved in two major wars...
The first, Afghanistan - unlike the adventure in Iraq to steal their oil based on lies about WMD...
Because of the Taliban's insistence on protecting, and helping the folks who flew airplanes into our buildings, murdering 3,000 innocent civilians.
One of the many crimes of the Bushit Administration was not finishing the job of destroying the international network of terrorists - some of whom found safe haven in Afghanistan, instead choosing to break the US Military, and bank on Iraq in what will likely go down in history as the stupidest move ever made by an American president.
The Bushit administration's focus on Iran was because of Israel. Iran is the principle financier of Hezboullah and Hamas, organizations launching daily attacks into Israel today.
Afghanistan isn't capable of doing anything except launching their own home-grown whack jobs to murder women and girls in their beds and schools. Many of the Taliban were trained, courtesy of the Raygun administration, which - like the banking disaster, is another pile of conservative shit that has come home to roost.
So - the connection with the "Israel" lobby...
Is at best, tenuous.
Iraq will probably devolve into Civil War, within 18 months of our leaving - resulting in the establishment of another Saddam type dictatorship. That is probably not a bad thing from a US perspective, in that the Syrians, Iranians, and Iraqis will all go back to fighting each other over the scraps...
Instead of us.
Afghanistan is a different issue, with much higher stakes. The reason we won't leave Afghanistan...
Is Pakistan. And the threat that a radical Islamic state may get their paws on nuclear weapons.
The reason Obama is willing to talk to Syria, the Taliban, Iran et al...
Is there really isn't any solution...
Short of the unthinkable.
Now, THAT's the real issue here.
Soooooo... Obama is going to pull us out of Iraq...
But don't hold your breath on Afghanistan.
BT
P.S. or maybe Holder just blew O man away, as he did with most of us. Dude was stiff as hell when I worked of USDOJ in 90s. When I heard and saw the speech, I uttered the words of Dr. Frankenstein: "It is...ALIVE!"
LOL
Hey Field - looks like they are gonna upgrade the quality of conservatives on the web, with a new version...
http://evoterinstitute.com/?p=416
I guess they can call it...
Vista 2.0.
BT
I read that article by Maureen Dowd. She was downright insulting! I wonder how she would feel if someone wrote an article about how that hair color she uses to cover up her gray hair makes her look old and hard, or inquire about how many botox treatments she's had, or why she looks so bitter. Or better yet why is so jealous of Michelle Obama or hates the fact that black people are now the residents of the WHITE HOUSE.
That was about the most tasteless article I've seen a so-called journalist write in a so-called legitimate newspapers. Did you complain when Mrs. Kennedy or Mrs. Roosevelt wore sleeveless dresses. Some folks can really be petty and downright mean-spirited.
Holder is right. However, how can you have a talk about race when we are living in a country that see no evil, speech no evil and hear no evil when it comes to the pain this country has inflicted on black people. President Obama should call a press conference and denounce every Field Negro in America so he will not be asked to do so every time someone speech the truth.
Anonymous said...
"Just a little food for thought....
"He must be stopped."
You're an election late on this Obama bio. Stop munching those "sour grapes;" they're beginning to ferment.
"That is why Limbaugh wants Obama to fail. If Obama succeeds, then Limbaugh is a complete failure. daedalus2u
COPY THAT!
"...this was not meant to mollify the right or the Joe the Plumbers. Nah. O man's first allegiance is to the white yuppies/Gen Xers, Rahm disciples/"liberal" Jews and white Clintonistas out there who truly claim him as their prez.C.C.
Are you saying that Obama takes his marching orders from this group?
If it's true, I wouldn't be shocked. I would wager that few presidents, if any, reached their pinnacle without a ladder of people providing rungs of support.
The question I think we need to ask, is how will that support compromise him, or prevent him from carrying out his mandate, his campaign pledges?
I'm thinking that the decisions you make while outside the foxhole may not be the decisions you make while hunkered down in the foxhole, especially since many of those decisions have already been made for you.
Think Iraq and Afghanistan, although I don't think he pledged to end the war in Afghanistan, but Iraq.
Although pushing back the timetable in Iraq doesn't set well with me, I'm willing to swallow hard on this one, and breathe slowly.
Keeping 20,000 to 50,000 troops there when we leave will be where I draw the line, and will start snarling, and huffing and puffing.
The "rendition program" may be one of those programs that will take longer to phase out--the patient is dying, but do we try an untested, "experimental drug," or do we stick with the one that's showing some promise, but is clearly causing the patient some distress?
Hard choices, where no good ones currently seem to exist.
Obama's statement avoids an outright denial the AG's statement. He only attacks the word choice, indicating he basically agrees with the content.
When people used to criticize Bush, the right wingers used to jump all over the person, and defending him even when he was wrong. They failed to see any wrong in him.
Same is true for Obama. The lefties and their grandmas are now doing the same. No criticism will be tolerated, even if it is spot on.
I keep hearing, give him a chance, he's just started. I gurantee you, we will hear that until he will be running for the second term. Then we will hear, 'Give him a chance, now he's gong to get the real work done because he won't have anything to lose.' Then, when he's going back on the promises for a second time, we will hear 'Oh, he had to think about his legacy.'
I for one, will not be voting for Obama in the second term. I will be voting for a third party. I have had it with the Democrats.
"I mean it worked so well for Former United States President Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton."
I can just imagine how unhappy you'll be if those two guys die before you, LOL.
Anon 11:05 AM. Would you be willing to say the same thing about W and Reagan? I am going to bet that no matter what you say, his O ness is smarter than both of those guys. And I am betting you thought Reagan was a pretty good president.
Thanks for getting my back yawdie, but you know how we roll, I got this.:)
"And frankly, as someone who is willing to engage in a dialogue on race, starting the conversation by calling me a coward, or a racist, is not exactly the best way to start the conversation."
Jody, I hear this from folks in the majority a lot. Why take it personal? He said AMERICANS are cowards when it comes to discussing race. I think that means black & white folks.
Field, I assumed he was talking about all americans... it doesnt change my premise.... starting off the conversation by calling folks cowards doesn't help.
Obama has been far from brave on race. He went right out of his way to denounce Farrakhan when his own church and his spiritual mentor, Rev Wright, had honored the man. Then he turned right around and denounced Father Phleger as well. I didn't see him trying open up a dialogue about Black Liberation theology or James Cone.
Sigh The Black Like Me Syndrome rears it's ugly head once again .
Anyone watch SNL this weekend?check it out on hulu, the segment called "The Rock"Obama (our fantasy that he gets ANGRY) and the one whre Steele is on the News Update. ROFLMAO
What Holder said needed to be said because it's the truth. Every Black and White American knows that. I don’t think Obama trashed his AG. He used words that supported but indicated he would have said the truth differently. Of course, he would have....Take a look at his famous speech on race.
I am sure Blacks are ready and willing to talk about racism in this country. However, why would Whites want to talk about it? This is a case of victim and offender having a dialogue about a very ugly evil. If I were White, I wouldn't want to talk about it, considering they are part of a lineage that enslaved people, exclaiming “give me liberty or give me death!” Some atrocious things occurred in the past to ‘several’ races, and guess who did it? It's much too shameful and painful for anyone to own up to. It is analogous to being an adult sex abuser in the family, who repeatedly took sexual advantage of a child in the family. Later, when the child became an adult and needed an honest cathartic talk with the perpetrator…the offender always said, "That's in the past. Let's move on." or “Why are you always ‘whining’ about the past? What good does it do now?" Or, I don’t want to hear about it. Why can’t you just forget about it?” So, unless Whites have a sudden religious conversion like Paul had on the road to Damascus…well, as they say in N.J. mob lingo, “Forgetttt abouttt It!”
The trouble is, until we are able to talk about it, we will remain a neurotic mess as a nation, just like a dysfunctional family.
As Carl Jung said, “Neurosis is always the substitute for legitimate suffering.”
I have serious issues regarding the need for dialogue on racial issues. Currently the focus seems to be on the racism of whites. In my personal experience, I have experienced racism from all non blacks. I have worked mostly with other minorities and their racism is just as damaging if not worse than white racism. But I rarely hear of that racism being addressed.
Given the changing demographics, I think it is rather late to keep focus on white racism and demanding dialogue. Its now a system that has a life of its own. And mere dialogue between black and white America won't achieve much.
Whites today could decide to collectively end discriminatory behavior and Blacks will still have to deal with discriminatory behavior.
My personal belief is that as long as you have dark skinned people in this system, this will remain so, dialogue or no dialogue.
It is so ingrained in people that a person can live their whole life being racist without even knowing it.
IMO, the focus should be on the improvement of Black livelihood through education, health and employment. Calls for social integration are a waste of air time and resources.
If blacks were intellectually and economically empowered across the board, it would take some damage off this society's racism.
And if we spoke ,we would be truly heard. But if your own house is in chaos, why should anyone else care?
Question;
When black bloggers and public figures are talking about fighting racism, who exactly are they speaking for? The black community? If so, who is in the black community and who is the defacto leader of this community?
Greta, like I said, "Forgetttt abouttt it!" Unfortunately, this is not going to go away. But I agree with you that racism is in America's bones. So, let's not talk about it.
As far as Blacks being heard, Holder has been heard...I guess. It's just that no one wants to talk about it...esp. Whites. Is it because Whites have serious issues with black racists? Does that include black policemen shooting and brutalizing Whites? Is there police racial profiling of Whites? White monkey cartoons? Hangman nooses? What is it?
Let's see...before black racists became an issue, the reason for not talking about racism was...?
@Greta,
"When black bloggers and public figures are talking about fighting racism, who exactly are they speaking for?"
All Americans.
Anonymous at 8:46pm
"...considering they are part of a lineage that enslaved people,..."
I am sure that there are some human cultures that do not and have not had slaves, but most of them did and still do. The Esquimos come to mind for not having slaves, but I am not sure.
Slavery did not lead to racism, racism happens all on its own, and as far as I can see, every where.
Slavery does not really have all that much to do with racism. 70% of the blacks sold in the Americas were sold to white slavers by black African slavers.
According to current statistics there are more people enslaved now than every before.
http://matadorchange.com/10-shocking-facts-about-global-slavery-in-2008/
And slavery in Africa today
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_modern_Africa
Ah Field they can't handle the truth. Yes you got a few examples wrong but we get the point. Obama is trying to be race transcendent President. Let's evaluate how much worse Blacks are doing in two years and see how much they're still talking "My President Is Black".
Lady-Cracker-
"Slavery did not lead to racism, racism happens all on its own, and as far as I can see, every where."
“Slavery does not really have all that much to do with racism. 70% of the blacks sold in the Americas were sold to white slavers by black African slavers.”
I understand your point. However, whether it is 'racism' or 'slavery', they both are an outrageous insult to human dignity. Racism shames and stifles the creativity of its victims, and corrupts its perpetrator psychologically, emotionally and spiritually.
No good comes from this persistent and baneful evil. If America is to realize it's true glory, it will have to face it head on. We cannot hope that it will somehow magically disappear because it won't.
Thanks for the info on slavery. Indeed, humans who buy and sell human flesh don't understand what it means to be human.
Oh we need an honest talk about race alright.
I knew it was only a matter of time but certain white conservatives are talking about secession because they just can't accept the results of the most recent POTUS election.
One of my conservative colleagues passed this e-mail around the office and you don't have to read between the lines to figure out that the author can't deal with black folks in the White House.
"Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists and Obama supporters,
We've stuck together since the late 1950s, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know that we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly this relationship has run its course. Our two ideological sides of America cannot and just will not ever agree on what's right. So let's just end it right now while we can do it on friendly terms. We can smile, shake hands, chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and each go our own way.
So here's a model separation agreement.
Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by land mass, each taking a portion. That's going to be the difficult part, but I'm sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy. Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate taste. We don't like redistributive taxes so you can have those. You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU. And since you hate guns and you hate war, we'll take the firearms, the cops, the NRA and the military. You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell. But you are going to be responsible for finding a biodiesel vehicle big enough to haul them around.
We'll keep the capitalism, the greedy corporations, the pharmaceutical companies; we will keep Wal-Mart and Wall Street. You can have the homeless, the homeboys, the hippies and illegal aliens. We will keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, the greedy CEOS and all of the rednecks. We'll keep the Bibles and we'll let you have NBC and Hollywood.
You can be nice to Iran and Palestine and we'll retain the right to invade and hammer anybody that threatens us. You can have the peaceniks and the war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we will provide them with security. You won't have to worry about it. We will keep our Judeo-Christian values. You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism and Shirley Maclaine. You can also have the UN, but we will no longer pay the bill.
We will keep the SUVs, the pickup trucks and the oversize luxury cars. You can have the compacts, the subcompacts and every Subaru station wagon you can find. You can give everybody healthcare, if you can find any practicing doctors. We will continue to believe that healthcare is a privilege and not a right. We will keep "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and the national anthem, and I am sure you will be happy to substitute in their place "Imagine." I'd like to teach the world to sing "Kumbaya" or "We are the world." We will practice trickle-down economics and you can give trickle-up poverty your best shot. And since it so offends you, we will keep our history, our name and our flag.
Would you agree to this? If so, please pass it along other like-minded liberal and conservative patriots. And if you do not agree, just hit delete. In the friendly spirit of parting, I'll bet you ANWAR which one of us will need whose help in about 15 years.
Sincerely,
John J Wall
Law student and an American
P.S. You can also have Barbara Streisand and Jane Fonda"
BT
Wasn't that a great game?
I think Tolliver and Coleman could play in the NBA.
You're right.
The Lady Terps are the only game in town in the DC area right now.
The larger point is that, while the administration is tackling so many big issues, the president doesn't want to be distracted by no-win discussions about race. And the President would have used different language. The President is attempting to keep his eye on the prize. He's not going to be your race man.
Race IS a big issue my friend and Holder's point is that this nation has never dealt honestly with it.
Too many white folks think that the passing of the Civil Rights Act should have been enough for black people.
Meanwhile discrimination just went from overt to covert.
Now white conservatives say that the election of Obama, WHICH THEY OPPOSED, should mean the end of race discussions which for conservatives always end up being rants about crime and illegitimacy.
It's still a problem in America and running from is not going to help.
Uptown Steve said, "It's still a problem in America and running from is not going to help."
Racism is a problem everywhere that I have been or have read about, this is not just a U.S. problem. It has different targets in different places, but it is the same old problem.
Speaking of "Standing by Your Man"...
Uncle Mikie is feelin' the heat!
Steele Rejects Calls For His Resignation: ‘Not Me Baby! Not Happening’
In a memo to her fellow RNC members yesterday, Dr. Ada Fisher said that their newly elected chairman, Michael Steele, is “‘eroding confidence’ in the GOP and that members of his transition team should encourage him to step aside.” She reiterated her argument on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show last night. Fisher’s memo echoed reports in Politico that anonymous “key party leaders” are beginning to feel that “the GOP has made a costly mistake.”
This morning, Steele indirectly responded to the call for his resignation as he guest-hosted Bill Bennett’s conservative talk radio program Morning in America. A caller said to Steele, “I hope that Paul Bagalla and Emanuel and Carville don’t convince you to resign your position.” Steele responded, “Not me baby!“:
STEELE: It’s been a good week, it’s been an instructive week.
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/03/06/steele-not-me-baby/
BT
Honestly, I'd love to live in the Colored section of the A-T-L, awesume history, Soul Food, and just try to get a decent Jerri Kurl in Cherokee County...but y'all N****** are Crazee...!!! I thought South Central was bad...
field negro said...
Anon 11:05 AM. Would you be willing to say the same thing about W and Reagan? I am going to bet that no matter what you say, his O ness is smarter than both of those guys. And I am betting you thought Reagan was a pretty good president.
I've had to think about this for a while. If Reagan had proposed tax increases in 1980 during a recession, then of course I would be against it. If he proposed an increase in gas and home utility rates, I'd be against it. And you know, Obama promising the poor that he'd help them with their heating bill, Fuck you asshole. 2010 is coming and 2012 is not far behind. Wow, the negroes are gonna be so pissed and it's not about the color of his skin and never was.
And stop it with the smart stuff, you hire and delegate and you make deals with allies.
szpork
Right on Field. Peace
Nemo
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