Obama and racism: "It's a great time to be a racist"

[Maraya1969]

Racists have officially lost their minds. In recent weeks, the venom spewed at President Barack Obama would leave one to believe that we are in the midst of a racist renaissance. "A dick," "jackass," "tar baby, "your boy" -- you name it and the president has been called it. For some reason, some people are so enraged by how this country is purportedly being run that they cannot separate a real critique of the president's decisions from mean-spirited name-calling related to his race.

http://www.theroot.com/views/its-great-time-be-racist?page=0%2C0&wpsrc=OB00000001&wpisrc=obnetwork

I see a real difference between the level of hatred that is spewed and the actual actions of our President. It is very disheartening. In 2012 all the racists that didn't bother voting in 08 are going to be out in full force after having to be an "underling" to the highest office in the land. They just thought of him as a contender before, now they seem the military salute him and I think those sights drive some people crazy.

Again I would like to remind people that the civil rights act was only as far back as 1964. We watch re-runs of TV shows from before that time. To think a generation is going to completely change people's minds is just not that accurate.

[HipChick]

1. What Obama is experiencing..AA have to deal with on a daily basis

and prob have done for most of their lives..think on that..

[Solomon]

4. yep

'Bout time somebody acknowledges that.

[RZM]

2. 'Dick' and 'Jackass' are not racial terms

I'm sure every president has been called those terms as long as they have been in use. Every president is hated by many people. There is a racial element to this, but it's not like everyone on the right would be so much more respectful if Hillary Clinton or John Edwards were president.

[Solomon]

5. But

they would be more respectful.

[RZM]

6. Are you sure?

Do you remember the right's attitude toward Hillary Clinton before Obama supplanted her as the main symbol of the Democratic party?

[treestar]

15. They would not have used dick or jackass

come on

[Raine]

20. Demcrats have always been called "jackasses"

one reason being because of the donkey symbol.

I remember from 1972 there was a bumpersticker of a donkey taking a dump an underneath it said "McGovern has spoken". My neighbor at the time had it on his car. :puke:

[chill_wind]

22. True.

I'm sure none of us at DU ever called junior those things in those long eight years.

As for Hillary, many of the things she was called on RW sites, even when she was simply First Lady were as unfit for print then, as now.

[Maccagirl]

3. Laws do not change peoples hearts or a culture

They give the agrieved legal standing, and that's important, but to say they do anything else is simply naive. Hey, MSM, how's that "post-racial" America meme working these days?

[AndyTiedye]

7. k/r

The teabaggers like to claim they are some new American Revolution, but they actually hearken back to a more recent and less successful revolt.

[hughee99]

8. I remember on guy, on TV, said he wanted to cut Obama's nuts off.

How did that not rate a mention in this article? Really, if you want to talk about all the awful things said about this president, how do you miss that?

[Maraya1969]

9. On regular TV? Or on a cable new? Either way that is awful and it is awful

that they let it show.

[RZM]

10. I think the poster is needling a bit

It was actually Jesse Jackson who said that:

http://articles.cnn.com/2008-07-09/politics/jesse.jackson.comment_1_obama-campaign-jesse-jackson-black-voters?_s=PM:POLITICS

Ironically it was quite similar to Halperin's 'dick' comment. Both were not intended to be heard by the public and were inadvertently picked up.

[hughee99]

12. Yes, I am a little...

However it was just about the worst thing I've heard any public figure say about Obama. The article in the OP gives a number of examples of things that are not, on their face, racist and then suggests that there are racial components to them.

"If it isn't because President Obama is black, then what is it? There is plenty to criticize about the current administration, but the inability to do so with respect for the man or the office is the giveaway."

But Jesse gets a pass because HIS comments don't fit in with the template of the story, which is that criticism of the president is racially motivated.

[hughee99]

11. It was on Faux news. n/t

[Mimosa]

13. Obama is called 'this guy' 100s of times on MSM and other terms which seem to be code.

Hillary was reviled in sexist ways during the primaries. But many people on the right are enraged that a black family is living in the 'White House.' I don't think most will admit it, though.

[QED]

14. Here's a ridiculous example of this:

I was in line at the bank yesterday and had on a Chicago Bears shirt. I was talking to a guy with a Packers hat on - a friendly rivalry kind of thing. A woman interrupted... praising the Pack and their game Thursday night. Then she said, "My husband used to be a die-hard Bears fan but no more." I asked why and she said, "Because it's Obama's team. He doesn't want anything to do with Obama." The way she said it I just knew...

Give up allegiance to a sports team because someone else likes them? The word stupid is too weak.

[lunatica]

17. The only thing that's surprising about that is that she said it to complete strangers

and in a public place. Ten years ago she would have only said it to friends and in private while covering her mouth so no one else would hear it.

[QED]

18. I absolutely agree

They used to be able to keep their racism bottled up in public but their rage at having an African American president forced the cork out of the bottle and it bubbles and froths up all over the place.

[lunatica]

16. To the black community this is just the outward manifestation of

what they've known and experienced all along. It's not surprising that Michelle and Obama never rise to the bait. I believe they fully expected it.

[The Backlash Cometh]

19. Jon Stewart claims there is no racism.

He is caught in that PC mindset that claims that talking about racial matters loses the argument.

[Rex]

21. The GOP is the party of the Confederacy.

They love racism and hate any skin color that isn't white (and preferably male). Repukes are one of the lowest forms of life on Earth.

[PatSeg]

23. I've sensed that racism is coming back out of the closet

For some time, many people only expressed their racist feelings to like-minded people, but now they are getting more and more daring.

Though many of the things the president has been called are not necessarily racist, they are uncommonly disrespectful. They are words you'd expect to hear in a neighborhood tavern or a small gathering of friends, not on national television. Because public figures feel it is okay to say such things in the media, it often comes across as racist to me or as code language for their racist followers.

"Socialist", "communist", or the whole "other" meme are code language for cruder remarks, but now many are just bypassing the code words and saying what they really mean.

[Worried senior]

24. We live in a very small community

so when we went to vote for Obama we knew we were one of the few but heard my next door neighbor who is about 80 that she never votes but couldn't stand the thought that a black man could be president. Made me sick but I did consider the source.

[PatSeg]

25. How sad

There are some people who have racism burned into their bones with hatred and are unlikely to change.