Former president Jimmy Carter's stated this month, "There is an inherent feeling among many in this country that an African-American should not be president" in reference to racist attitudes regarding Obama's presidency.
There is certainly a possibility that Obama's presidency faces racist opposition. All presidencies face opposition for one reason or another. However, I personally feel that society today likes to pull out the "race card" way to much. Whenever, there is some kind of problem in society a lot of people like to blame their race or the race of others for it.
For example, a lot of African Americans are quick to say that the reason they were stopped by a police officer, or turned down for a job is because of their race. In some circumstances, this may be true, however certainly not in all of them. Caucasian people are not exempt from this either. A lot of white colored people like to complain about "reverse discrimination." For example, giving African American's special scholarships for college some whites feel is unfair because there are no special scholarships just for them.
What I am really trying to get at, is that racism is an easy answer to a problem because it is something that had been around since humanity has been in existence and thus is one that everyone understands and most can even relate to on a personal level. While I do believe that there are those people out there who think that Obama shouldn't be President just because he is black, I also believe that society as a whole is slowly growing more tolerant, especially the younger generation. This can be seen in our very own school. A club like GSA (Gay, Straight Alliance) would not have enacted or even allowed fifty or even twenty years ago. Now, it has formed, has members, and is respected by the faculty and student body. Why? Because most people are starting to not care about sexual preference differences. The same I believe is true for racial differences. Overall, I believe most of society is accepting to a black president and the reason there is controversy is because the media during the campaign and now have emphasized the fact that he is “The FIRST black president" just to gain more viewers and to write a better story.
So, then the question becomes, " If its not racism, than why is there animosity toward Obama?" The same reason that there is animosity toward any president. He's the opposite political party that that person supports. Or there could have been a decision he made that some people might not agree with. Or maybe its just because hes just not a good speech maker (*cough* George Bush *cough*) <-- (No Offensive Republicans) Either way, there are numerous reasons that a person does or does not like a President and I think we and everyone else should start thinking about those reasons instead of simply throwing the race card around just to make a good news story.
Works Cited
http://thefuturebuzz.com/2009/01/02/gen-y-observations/
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/stephen_a_smith/20070201_Stephen_A__Smith____Using_racism_as_an_excuse_.html
http://www.theaquarian.com/2009/09/22/reality-check-the-race-illusion-jimmy-carter%E2%80%99s-insult-as-excuse-making/
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I would agree that most of the criticism of President Obama is based on genuine disagreement on matters of policy as well as intense partisanship, but I do think Carter is correct to some extent. While the criticism of President Bush and President Clinton (and Carter for that matter) were certainly extreme, you did not see members of Congress yelling out, "You Lie!" in the middle of their speeches. Such actions suggest some people believe President Obama is not deserving of the respect generally accorded to the office of the presidency, REGARDLESS of their policies.
ReplyDeleteI find it to be astounding that you think the animosity shown towards our President is completely based on his policies and principles and has nothing to do with this race. Even though i would like to hope that this was the case, it can be clearly seen through the disrespect that this animosity is to some extent fueled by racism. If Senator Hillary Clinton or Senator Joe Biden had won the Democratic nomination and had become president, and had imposed the exact same principles that President Obama has, it is almost certain that they would not have received the same disrespect and animosity that President Obama has received. I find it hard to believe that someone could actually think that racism could not possibly be at play in the disapproval shown towards Obama. In recent times even when a president's policies are ridiculous you have never witnessed the complete disrespect that has been shown towards Obama when Joe Wilson shouted "you lie" at a congressional setting towards the President. This would never have happened to our previous president George Bush who had a much lower approval rating than that of Obama. Anyone that says the democrats are just trying to play the "race card" are just refusing to except that racism unfortunately is still present in America..
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ReplyDeleteI agree that racism issues are becoming less and less. I also obviously agree that the comment, "You lie!" in the middle of a speech is way out ot line. However, I was also completely appalled when my U.S. 20th class went to see the movie, "W." which basically pokes fun at George Bush, his life, and his presidency. (And I would feel the same way if the media did that for Obama.. or any president for that matter!) I am in no way condoning the statement made by the Republican, I am simply saying that there will always be Republican/Democrat rivalry, and I don't see how the comment was any different (though it shouldn't have been made.) I truely believe that if Obama was a white president, proposing healthcare that many Republicans don't agree with, the comment still would have been made - solely because they disagree with the plan, not because of race or background. I also think that Annalicia's points about how the "race card" is pulled often were very well stated. I agree that racism just becomes an easy escape or excuse for anyone. It is much easier to target something when they have such a simple reason.
ReplyDeleteKyle, I didn't say that the animosity toward Obama bad NOTHING to do with race. I've mentioned in my response that I'm well aware that there are people in Congress who believe that Obama shoudln't be President just because he is black.
ReplyDeleteTo respond to both your and Ms.Field's statements on the "You Lie" comment,while I feel it was definitely unwarented and disrespectful there is no way to fully know whether the comment
did or did not have racial undertones. We can asume so however political oppostion disagreements are also just as likely a cause.
I definitely feel that the same would have been said if it had Joe Biden or Hillary Clinton in Obama's place. Hillary Clinton, had she had won, would have been the first female president. It would have been very likely that the Republican's in Congress would have done the same thing to her because they feel a woman shouldn't be President.
Courtney, thanks for the support. :D