This along with the hatred in the inaugural benediction. Then just to stir the pot you’ve got the unbiased Tom Brokaw…
Its odd,
I expected you to be selling some tasty unicycle parts…
There’s a local teacher who wants to take To Kill A Mockingbird, Huck Fin, and other books with the N-word off the reading lists now that Obama is prez.
On one of the radio talk shows a caller explaned the difference between N-er adn N-a: Turns out N-er is bad, but N-a means brother.
I’ve been reading the equally unbiased David Icke on Obama.
It’s way more fun.
I just want Obama to be a good president. I don’t care about his genetic background, I care about his abilities as a leader. I hope that he succeeds and that the USA benefits from his leadership.
A co-worker was upset because she thinks that he (Obama) is going to take her money away and give it to “those” people (apparently, poor African-Americans). WTF? (I’m in a pre-dominantly chalk-casian office, and am a chalky myself - still, no excuse for such an ignorant statement)
Which is funny, because they were originally banned for being sympathetic to blacks and fighting racism.
Has the local teacher READ those books?
I tried to watch that video but could only hear parts. I’ve no doubt that there was racism expressed there. And I condemn it.
Could you be specific about the hatred expressed in the benediction, please?
As for Tom Brokaw, I don’t think much of him either way and I don’t know what specifically you’re referring to.
But here’s my question. Are you concerned that as a result of Obama’s election that white people will no longer be able to get loans at the bank? That white people will no longer be allowed to rent apartments or buy houses in certain neighborhoods? That white people will be turned away from jobs? That white people will be unable to join the most exclusive country clubs? Are you concerned that white people will be dragged from their homes, lynched, and that law enforcement will do nothing about it?
It is my hope, and initial impressions are good, that Obama is setting a table and asking everyone to sit down at it. One can argue about the prominence granted to each, but I believe that is why he invited both Gene Robinson and Rick Warren to participate in his inauguration.
I hope so as well.
When I made my earlier post I had only heard a portion of the discussion on “The Commentators”, a local radio show with both left leaning and right leaning hosts, on my car radio yesterday afternoon. I find it quite entertaining.
Here is the teacher’s Guest Column. He doesn’t want to ban the books, he wants the N-word taken out of high school curriculum.
Here is the “Schrammie”, a dubious award by Ken Schramm, the left leaning Commentator.
Hey, he stole my last name!
My bad, he has only one “m”.
the fact that we make such a big deal out of obama being president means we are racist. if we aren’t racist, he should be viewed the same as any other president.
Nice? Nifty? Neat? Nerd? Nouns? Never-never-land? Necrophilia? Needy? Naive? Nubile? Noteworthy? What is this N-word of which you speak?
Clearly there is a difference between reading and comprehension. But then we learned the recommendation is just to remove the questionable word from those books. I wouldn’t. And I bet Obama wouldn’t recommend it either. Those are historical texts, using that word in a context that makes it a good place to learn about what it means or meant. Newer publications probably shouldn’t include that word, and shouldn’t need it unless they are about similar topics.
Nice one. I like that analogy.
CORRECTION: It means there is still racism out there. Do we sound like racists in this thread?
Certainly racism didn’t suddenly end with Obama’s election, but the topic has given us a good chance to bring it out in the open again and examine it. What’s its status in America today? For those who thought it was gone, they get to see it is clearly not. Racism is a companion of ignorance. And ignorance will never go away completely. The best way to combat racism is to call attention to it whenever it happens. That means we have to talk about it.
For the guys in the video at the top of this thread, that content is inappropriate for a general audience. It was probably less inappropriate for the audience for which it was presented, but that doesn’t mean the whole audience agrees with it. It’s not for me, but I didn’t grow up black in America.
A very similar issue in the US is xenophobia. One of the most prominent forms is xenophobia of Arabians, and specifically Islam. While I’m no supporter of any religion, I don’t respect peoples opinions, or assumptions about the Islamic faith when they cannot tell me any of its basic tenets.
I don’t care what person fills the seat, just as long as they do a good job in serving this country, and are a good representative of the citizens of this country to the rest of the world.
I’m highly skeptic of any great changes, because the powers that be are still corporate, self-serving entities that cater to the plutocracy first and foremost. I’m no donkey or elephant. If we want some real change we should quit voting for two tired parties with the same old false promises.
I really hope Obama breaks the mold, and proves me wrong. So far he has been a liar, and Hilary Clinton too. Recently he said that he didn’t think that Bush was all that bad. Wasn’t the point of his campaign to cause progressive change to fix the things that the Bush administration screwed up? Excuse me if I’m wrong, but the impression that I got from his campaign was that the Bush camp didn’t do things the ‘right’ way on more than one occasion. Bush was also a liar, and lied to the American people numerous times (think WMD’s). Obama and Hilary spent a lot of time talking negatively of one another, and now she’s in his cabinet?
I don’t think we are in a post-racial America, although that time could not come sooner. The very fact that we have to ask that question should be a sufficient answer. There are pockets of civilization in our country where racism is still very much present. Without rambling on, I will say that IMO, Mexicans and other Latinos have also been subjected to a good dose of unfair racism, although I am not condoning the practice of illegal immigration(because some Mexicans do immigrate illegally).
I wish I knew for sure but that’s how I always hear it myself. All I know is you can’t say it or spell it in certain company.
I think they used it in Blazing Saddles, might be Nietzsche.
Lowery:
“Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around … when yellow will be mellow … when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen.”
I too hope the day will come when the black will not be asked to get in the back and we caucasians will finally embrace what is right. sarcasm
The above paragraph tainted an otherwise decent “benediction”.
Lowery’s words to me just seem to be anything but building bridges of harmony between the races. I find it hard to believe that the above “prayer” was sanctioned be the inaugrial commitee.
Rant Alert: Hmm… yeah, I don’t much like that paragraph from the benediction. I’d like to know WTF he means by “when yellow will be mellow”. My wife is Chinese and my child is mixed. I don’t like how that sounds. And as a chalk-casian, I’m not too thrilled by the suggestion that I haven’t embraced what is right. That makes me want to give him a big FU.
So all “yellow” races need to become gentle and relaxed, and all “white” races need to embrace what “is right” FU Lowery, FU!
Just talked to a co-worker. He didn’t find it offensive, because little, old Lowery was an adorable, little man delivering the benediction, and that made it just fine. My opinion has not changed.