Am I being overly sensitive ..... ?

[Stinky The Clown]

Every time I hear some right wing talking head discuss Obama, they all start off with only slightly varied versions of "he's cool, he's a gifted speaker, he has a great family, and he has a great story" ....... and then they launch into their spew du jour.

I read this as being racially tinged. They have this almost pathological need to start off by being complimentary.

We didn't do that for bush.

They didn't do that for Clinton.

We didn't do that for Poppy or St Ronald.

They didn't do that for Carter.

We didn't do that for Ford or Nixon.

They didn't do that for Johnson or Kennedy.

[ErinBerin84]

1. I think it's their way

of dismissing Obama's poll numbers....aka "Sure, his poll numbers are high, but that's only because people like his personality. They'll tank once people realize his policies are SOCIALIST, blah blah blah!" At least, that's what I always think. But I don't put anything past them.

[bliss_eternal]

2. no.

i would call it, "observant."

on edit:
"overly sensitive" is generally a label placed by those that don't understand the intricacies of cultural (& gender) diversity or the ways in which bias is frequently displayed to those that live in such skin. it's easier for them to make the problem your's than to dig deeper and see that the system is inherently flawed.

[NMDemDist2]

3. yah, maybe

they use the kid gloves then add the brass knuckles

it may be a bit racially tinged, but i don't lose any sleep over it......

YMMV

[MercutioATC]

4. Yes, you're being overly sensitive.

Presidents have historically been white, stodgy, and privileged. Kennedy and Clinton "broke the mold" by just being white and privileged.

...so when we get a "cool" black guy from a middle-class upbringing, people talk about it.

(ON EDIT) As has been pointed out (twice) below, Clinton wasn't "privileged". My central assertion remains unchanged.

[rvablue]

13. Clinton was "privileged"???

Are you kidding me?

Barack Obama grew up in a comparatively wealthier family -- as far as Obama's grandparents versus Clinton's mother go -- than Clinton.

And Clinton was certainly worth considerably less upon entering the White House.

Careful with the revisionism there.

I agree with the BS pointed out by the OP, but facts are facts.

[bliss_eternal]

17. it's called "white privilege."

look it up sometime.


edited to correct spelling error. :)

[Captain Hilts]

20. He was 'white trash'. That's what his mother was called in DC. Hence the coded language whenBroder

and Sally Quinn said in '95 the Clintons had 'trashed' DC.

[bliss_eternal]

23. white "trash" is higher on the scale...

...than brown.

many of the southerners pre-civil rights were also "white trash." but all believed themselves to be better than brown people because they held the position of privilege in the country at that time. they held the rights--and some will always look back to that as the measure.

ask a white supremacist if white "trash" is better than "brown"? guess how he/she would respond.

you have to look at it from the position of privilege.
look at media reports. last i checked there is still a "black on black crime"....still no "white on white crime" though such crimes are committed everyday.




sorry--edited for clarity. :)

[Synicus Maximus]

41. Actually you are wrong

I grew up in the 50's and someone who was considered white trash was considered much lower on the social scale that anyone who was black. The thought there was no reason for a white person not making something of them selves. A black person who was successful and or wealthy was looked upon as a little lower than a equally successful white person. But a poor black person was higher on the social scale than a person who was classified as poor white trash.

[bliss_eternal]

43. (on edit) you said....

quote:
I grew up in the 50's and someone who was considered white trash was considered much lower on the social scale that anyone who was black.

were those black people, that you claim were considered higher on the social scale than 'white trash' allowed to drink from the same water fountains as whites?

could they sit wherever they wanted to on the bus....in restaurants....?
could a black man date a white woman at that time, without being lynched?



we both know the answer to my questions.
and given those answers, your response to me falls flat. sorry.








apologies for edit--responded while distracted.
edited for clarity.

[mitchum]

28. I'm no fan of Clinton, but you are absolutely right...

that was shortly before the republicans adopted "the common man" ruse, and they tried to get mileage out of Clinton being perceived as "white trash"

[kwassa]

33. How was Barack's family wealthy?

Tell me more.

[rvablue]

48. Try this: go look up "comparatively" in the dictionary. n/t

[Captain Hilts]

14. Bubba came from a lower income background. nt

[bliss_eternal]

25. but Bubba was still "white."

...priviledge is about more than "income."

on edit--when a black, hispanic or asian dude that is as dumb as gw bush is able to enter the white house then these arguments will be valid in my opinion. until then--sorry. no.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

5. They're weasel weenies -

they're the classic cowardly passive-aggressives.

They honestly believe that if you say something nice - "He's got a lovely family" - then it opens the door for them to say terrible things about him. When - as if - they're called on this spewing, they can rise up and say, "Hey, I'm the first to say the guy has a lovely family."

Weenies. Cowards. Punks. Weasels.

[Fumesucker]

42. Totally OT...

I always wondered where FZ got the idea for this album cover..

[Warpy]

6. I don't find it racist as much as classist

meaning "He's got a great story but we all know it was a fluke and he really doesn't belong in the job because he was never really entitled to reach such heights."

Of course, classism is at the root of racism, so maybe you've got a point, too.

It's absolutely hilarious that these entitled twits were salivating at the prospect of an unelected, semiliterate pinchbeck aristocrat for 8 years while they're trying to undermine a man who was smart enough to head the Harvard Law Review.

[bliss_eternal]

9. if one doesn't belong to...

...an ethnic group that is discriminated against, they are in the position of not having to recognize such things as "racist."

though i'm frequently dissapointed that more women aren't capable of recognizing racial inequalities when they can quite easily recognize when someone discriminated against their gender.

[Warpy]

32. Oh, I spot it just often enough I don't have to

to give up on myself. I especially see it in stores where white folks are waited on before black folks who have been standing there. Little insults like that have got to be maddening, especially when they happen over and over again all day long.

And yes, I speak up, "S/he was here first."

[bliss_eternal]

34. that's a start...

(and good on you, btw :thumbsup:)

...but it concerns me that so many progressives still are unable (or perhaps unwilling :shrug:) to recognize the subversive and less obvious forms of racism (and discrimination).

the op noticed what too few are willing to call society at large on....how much of what obama is criticized for this early, were prior presidents (who were white) criticized for? it's an astute observation that too many want to be dismissive of.

[Number23]

44. ABSOLUTELY

how much of what obama is criticized for this early, were prior presidents (who were white) criticized for?

You could not be more right. And some here believe that because so many of the cries are coming from "the left" that they are not racially tinged. NOTHING could be further from the truth.

[ellacott]

47. Some of these feelings are so ingrained that people don't realize it

To a person of color or other conscious people these slights are not subtle.

I had a co-worker who was very upset because her husband was suspended from his job. He got into an argument with a co-worker and called that co-worker the "N" word. She couldn't understand why that warranted a suspension. Her rationale was that, "they say that to each other so why can't her husband say it?" She got no sympathy from anyone at work.

I had another co-worker who I saw at a suburban grocery store. When I went over to speak to her the first thing she says is, "What are you doing out here?" She didn't realize that I lived within walking distance of this store. She just assumed I lived in the colored part of the city.

Many people will accuse blacks of being overly sensitive but when subjected to so many offensive comments on a regular basis will make a person sensitive.

[Number23]

49. lol That whole thing with white people and the word n*gger never ceases to amuse me

It just tears them UP that they can't use that word. And the fact that your co-worker's husband said it in an argument no less should have made it even more inexcusable to her, but instead she feigns confusion as to why he got in trouble.

[Captain Hilts]

21. Well, both his parents had graduate degrees, so that makes him entitled, actually.

Graduate schools are full of kids whose parents have phds. It's inbred just like a lot of other professions.

[bliss_eternal]

27. lol.

i'm done talking to you.
clearly you have no understanding of priviledge--white or otherwise.

if you want to learn something--look up "white priviledge' you can also look it up in relation to feminism...there are some excellent texts on it, and maybe you'll learn something.

[Captain Hilts]

37. I'm done reading you because you can't spell 'privilege'. nt

[bliss_eternal]

39. Ha!

:spray:
A look at this thread shows I'm not the only one to commit that error. Yet I am the only one you are taking to task for it. Clearly because there is little else I've said that you have any knowledge of.

Spelling errors are easily corrected (i.e. spell check, dictionary, etc.). Your issues around race and ethnicity? Not as easily corrected, obviously.

So you get back to me, when you get some diversity training. ;)

oh and here's how i spell 'privilege':

p-a-t-r-i-a-r-c-h-y.
:hi:

[Number23]

45. Captain, you have filled this site with your "pearls" before, but this one

Well, both his parents had graduate degrees so that makes him entitled

is so ridiculous, so poorly thought out and so asinine that even YOU should be embarrassed to have typed that out.

[HopeHoops]

7. Steve Martin in "The Jerk" - "My story? Okay. I was born a poor black child."

OF COURSE it is racist!!! My wife had a landlord in 1985, old blue blood. She could NOT complement a black person with out adding "BLACK". She would even correct my wife. My wife said, "He's a really good principal." She corrected her, "He's a really good BLACK principal." My wife said, "Bill Cosby is a great actor." She corrected her, "Bill Cosby is a great BLACK actor."

Racism is sadly alive and thriving and FOX is doing whatever it can to fertilize it. The real news stations don't have an excuse.

[FSogol]

10. And white athletes work hard, but black athletes are "gifted"

They think the quantifier excuses their racism.

[bliss_eternal]

11. someone else...

...is paying attention.

:applause::thumbsup: good on you!

[Captain Hilts]

16. That's the subject of a LOT of discussion in athletics, especially with the simultaneous rise

of Johnson and Bird.

If you want to read honest, thoughtful discussions of race in our society, you will find them most often in the sports pages.

[bliss_eternal]

30. lmao.

quote:
honest, thoughtful discussions of race in our society

the same sports page that found it appropriate to skewer (prosecute and punish) the black steroids users (and make examples of them) BEFORE the white steroids users?

um...yeah. right. :spray:
their honest, thoughtful discussions have the same air of truth i find here.

i'll take advisement of where to find thoughtful discussions of race from those that have a basic understanding of what constitutes racial discrimination. given your other responses in this thread (and others on this issue)...that isn't you.
but thanks just the same. :eyes:

[Enrique]

8. I think it's his poll numbers more than his race

and I think we might have done that with Reagan.

[surrealAmerican]

36. I think you're right.

I seem to remember most criticism of Reagan was preceded by some sort of compliment too.

[lunatica]

12. Probably afraid of the public backlash if they jump right in and criticize

Although I don't know where I could have ever gotten that idea...

[Captain Hilts]

18. Correct. The press has been criticized for treating Jesse Jackson like a legitimate

prez candidate for so long.

[ellacott]

46. Jackson's campaign was pretty legitimate

He won around 13 primaries and caucuses. He mobilized many minorities(not just African Americans) and those on the progressive side. He addressed issues that many were afraid to address. Many of those issues are up for debate today like Universal health coverage and gay rights. He was endorsed by the UAW and the United Mine Workers.

One of the reasons that the DLC was formed was to counter the rising influence of Jackson.

[Mr. Ected]

15. They Know If They Pummel Him In the Introduction

That they will be perceived as uncool and unaware of Obama's unique appeal. That appeal does not emanate from his pigmentation. The dude is simply cool. Period.

In high school, the varsity quarterback won us a lot of games. He was handsome and talented.

He was also a dick.

I always found myself talking about his strong points before attacking him for being an ass. That was high school.

That's the level of evolution these right wing talking heads have reached.

[Laelth]

19. I agree. It's racist, and it's an expression of guilt.

And I'll take it! It's better than their just starting off spewing hate immediately like they did with Clinton.

:dem:

-Laelth

[bliss_eternal]

22. lol.

:spray:
good point! they did hate clinton immediately, didn't they?

white guilt is less pervasive than white privilege--but it does exist.
nice to see someone recognize it.

[rucky]

24. I think it's more from them being careful criticizing a popular President.

We didn't do that after 9/11. Well, I did, but...

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

26. They ran with a "Clinton is a goofy hillbilly redneck from podunk Arkansas"

Ironic that they'd run with Bush eight years later.

So they ran the classist approach with Clinton, and the racist "he's an uppity jive talker stickin' his nose in the air and lording it over us" approach with Obama.

[nevergiveup]

29. I think it is a little bit of "all of the above"

He is smart, he is young, he is grounded, he is empathic, he is black, he has a beautiful family and he is kicking ass in opinion polls testing his likability. The Republicans do not have a clue what to do with him.

[Mike 03]

31. Stinky, my dear friend

I can't be objective, because this is the first president ever that I Love, and I'm not ashamed to say that I love this president.

I feel like, crazy though it sounds, I need hope. He's my hope now.

[Berry Cool]

35. Well, there's definitely a reason we didn't say these things about Bush.

Um...because he wasn't cool, he wasn't a gifted speaker, he didn't have a great family, and he didn't have a great story.

[Stinky The Clown]

38. Actually, on paper, he *did* have a great story

Son of a president becomes president. That really is a remarkable story. It turned out totally crapolicious, but not because of the plot line.

[Raineyb]

40. You read it right.

But they won't admit it of course.

Regards