Posted by
Shogrensus on Wednesday, April 11, 2007 1:10:28 PM
April 11, 2007
Today we again revisit the tiresome Imus mess.
Joy has an interesting insight on why the Black community is so upset: “The only thing I could come up with is that you know Obama is now running for President. It’s like, excuse me- you can’t do that now. The Black community feels empowered in a certain way, as they should. And its like for years we have been taking this racist talk. Now we’re not doin’ it any more… (Obama) is a symbol of the power that has now come into the Black community, I think.”
Does this mean that Imus can make fun of Hispanic girls because we have yet to see the Hispanic community feel empowered in the oppressive United States by running a presidential candidate? What about American Indians? What about every other cultural or religious group? Whether or not a group of people feels empowered should be irrelevant to good people making good decisions about the language they use in a public forum.
Additionally, the Black community should not feel proud that Obama is running for President. Obama is a young, middle-aged man with limited executive experience. He is not an example of a talented Black man working his way up the system and breaking through a barrier based on his talent. He exemplifies all that is wrong with affirmative action. People have pulled him up the ladder, prematurely, because he is Black, not because he is talented. This is not to say that he does not have the potential to be President. His is not the kind of success that should inspire, it should sadden.
If Obama had chosen to say "I am so proud that the American people think I have what it takes to be President of the greatest country on Earth. I want to be President some day, in fact I will be President some day. But now is not the time. I am going to work hard in the Senate and take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way to bring the people of this country together. I am going to work to expand my knowledge of domestic policy and foreign affairs so that one day, when the time is right, I will be ready to step up to the plate and represent all of the people of this fine country.Thank you all for your support and thank you in advance for the guidance and support I hope you give me in the future."
Now that would have been a man of whom we could all have been proud.