If you've followed the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, you've heard the complaints that Obama isn't showing enough emotion.But we've been here before, as I've said.
But scholars say Obama's critics ignore a lesson from American history: Many white Americans don't like angry black men.
It's the lesson Obama absorbed from his upbringing, and from an impromptu remark he delivered last summer. Yet it's a lesson he may now have to jettison, they say, as public outrage spreads.
"Folks are waiting for a Samuel Jackson 'Snakes on the Plane' moment from this president as in: 'We gotta' get this $#@!!* oil back in the $#!!* rig!' But that's just not who Obama is,'' says Saladin Ambar, a political science professor at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
But Obama has "gone off" before and that didn't work too well for him, says Ambar.As I sqaid yesterday, the rule are different, and it's high time we stop pretending otherwise. That's starting to be the case, at least people are asking why there's this double standard, and why Obama has kept a leash on his emotion. But the simple reason that while he'll be attacked for not being "angry" enough as a President, he'll be attacked even more if he goes over the line. Skipgate, anyone? He was forced to nationally apologize over that.
During a news conference last summer, Obama casually said that police acted "stupidly" when they arrested Harvard professor Henry Louis "Skip" Gates in his home for disorderly conduct after a confrontation with a white police officer.
Obama's comments infuriated many white people, and even some black supporters. Obama had to have a Beer Summit to calm the public uproar.
"He flashed genuine anger," says Ambar. "At that moment, when he touched on the issue of race, he spoke frankly and passionately about what he felt and it got him into a big deal of trouble."
So yes, that's why he's not getting angry. Good for Blake to look into this.
During a news conference last summer, Obama casually said that police acted "stupidly" when they arrested Harvard professor Henry Louis "Skip" Gates in his home for disorderly conduct after a confrontation with a white police officer."
ReplyDeleteTerrible example, and it wasn't the fact that he said this casually, its the fact that he said it at all. He didn't have all of the facts and shot off his opinion and as a politician that can get you into a bit of trouble. Gates was seen breaking into a house, regardless of his skin color that can look a tad suspicious, wouldn't you think? The fact is, its obvious you still want blacks to be given some kind of preferential treatment. You're using his skin as a means of defending him and that's terrible. If it's gotten to this point already where you cannot simply defend him on merit and have to go to skin color, you've lost, and so has he.
Might as well say
He can't wear his hat backwards because he's black and white folk would think hes from the hood.
Skin color doesn't matter. What matters are his actions, he won't be judged in history based on the darkness of his tan, he will be judged by his actions, as it should be.
Let's put this notion of "angry black man" to bed now and start looking at the real issue. He's letting the GOP control him like a puppet. Regardless of your views on Bush he certainly didn't give into criticism from the opposition. Obama has shown time and time again that he has. They pick something to criticize him about and what does he do? Hold a press conference saying "I'm responsible" or go on TV and say I just need to know "who's ass to kick."
Stand by your principles. At the end of the day regardless of whether I agree with him or not at least I could respect the fact that he did what he thought was right. He's just like Willie Cunningham said, a "hack"
THE ISSUE OF OBAMA'S RACE IS A COPOUT.
ReplyDeleteIn two posts you have proven why are you are an intolerable bigot hypocrite: your borderline anti-semitic commentary on Israel is "fair" but any criticism of Obama is "racism"!
You're lost, Zandar. You've become what you hate so much, a "wingnut" bigot.
You need to reassess your life and fast. Your intolerance is just not acceptable in 2010.
Wow, Arcadian's even worse at mind-fucking than he is at sex with ladies in their vaginas.
ReplyDelete"Wow, Arcadian's even worse at mind-fucking than he is at sex with ladies in their vaginas."
ReplyDeleteStill need the window installed in the stomach I see...
Wow, Allan's even worse than insulting than Zandar is arguing.
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty pathetic on both accounts...