Originally Posted By RoadTrip OK. Let's call it like it is. Obama is being trashed by the right wing because he is Black. There is no other explanation for it. They can't SAY they hate him because he is Black, so they throw everything else they can think of at him. When you side with the conservatives please be aware that you are siding with the worst kind of racists. The assault on Obama far exceeds anything he would deserve even by his greatest critics. This ain't based on his politics. It's based on the color of his skin. Anyone who would claim otherwise is either blind or a liar.
Originally Posted By Mr X There does seem to be an inordinate amount of vitriol directed at a new, extremely charismatic President who thus far seems to have been trying hard to compromise with his opponents.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt I really don't want to think this is true, but I can't imagine what else would motivate the right to be so unreasonable.
Originally Posted By Mr X Unreasonable? Apoplectic is more like it. I can appreciate your not wanting to believe it, Hans. It was just recently that I commented here about the alarming fact that Obama receives 4X more threats than Bush did (er..yeah, cause HE was so popular right) and actually got an argument from someone claiming that racism likely had nothing to do with it. I sincerely doubt that.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 I think the far right would be throwing a lot of this crap at any Democratic president - they pretty much hated Clinton from day one, after all, and they're better organized via the web and noise machine than they were then - but yeah, I think racism is part of the new vitriol too, even if it's unconscious with a lot of people. I said in an earlier thread that there's definitely a species of older, white, often (but not always) southern American who feels that "they" are taking over. Sometimes this feeling is conscious, sometimes it's unconscious. Sometimes it's just this vague feeling that - even if their own circumstances are decidedly modest, at least they belonged to the dominant group in America, so at least there was that. But now, the President himself is a member of that "other" group, and that feeds a feeling of powerlessness and fear. In reality, of course, they're no more powerless than they were under Bush, say, but they FEEL somehow they are because their group is no longer in unquestioned control. I'm related to some of these people. When I was out there earlier this year, I could sense the barely submerged racism when some talked about Obama. (And just so you don't think my family is irredeemably redneck, some of them like Obama.) There's this vague feeling that they've "lost" something and it scares them, even if they can't articulate it.
Originally Posted By DAR Is some of the criticism due racism? Sure, but you will never see the President play the race card, he's too smart to go down that road. However crticism(and trust me a lot of it hasn't been valid) just comes with the terrority of being President.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder I would really like to vehemently disagree with this, but when so much of the criticism of Obama to date is based on manufactured outrage, lies and distortion, it leaves one with no other choice but to seriously consider this as an option. With Bush, the harsh criticism didn't start until he invaded another country. Obama was hearing before he even took the oath. For me then, if his critics want to prove this isn't based on race, then abandon these absolutely ridiculous cries of Hitler, socialism, death panels, etc., and talk real substantive issues without draping themselves in the flag while they do it. It is possible (shudder) to want Obama to succeed and still be a "true patriot". (GASP!)
Originally Posted By DAR Well I did say a lot of it wasn't valid it's just part of the job. And he's a big boy and can handle it.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>Well I did say a lot of it wasn't valid it's just part of the job. And he's a big boy and can handle it.<< You mean like the police officer Obama said acted stupidly? Oh, wait, the reaction was quite different then, wasn't it. I don't remember anyone saying the officer was a "big boy." The hypocrisy knows no bounds.
Originally Posted By barboy ///OK. Let's call it like it is. Obama is being trashed by the right wing because he is Black./// I just don't know about that--- could be though. Just for fun let's substitute J.C. Watts for Obama as president. Would the right have come up with everything including the kitchen sink to throw at Watts? I just don't see it in the slightest. What if we substituted Clarence Thomas for Obama? I don't think Rush and Co. would do it to him either; I just don't. What if Hillary were Chief....... I would bet that the right freaks would come unglued, perhaps even more than they are now.
Originally Posted By skinnerbox <<Sometimes it's just this vague feeling that - even if their own circumstances are decidedly modest, at least they belonged to the dominant group in America, so at least there was that. But now, the President himself is a member of that "other" group, and that feeds a feeling of powerlessness and fear.>> Excellent, Dabob2. If you don't have an advanced psychology degree, you should consider getting one. It wouldn't be difficult. Peeling back the layers of powerlessness and fear in these older white American males, I believe you will find an inner core of feeling betrayed. The racism is present, and intermixed amongst all of the other complex beliefs and emotions, much like the fat marbling in filet mignon. But at the very core, I believe, is betrayal. They're feeling betrayed by the white American male leadership, both political and business, whom they've supported their entire lives, who promised their followers a better, richer life if they supported their causes and voted along their party lines. But thanks to selling out of middle class America by the conservative corporate masters and their political flying monkeys, these old white guys are worse off than their fathers were, and are basically treading water. They have real, genuine fear about their futures, as do all middle class Americans. They bought the party line and voted for other white guys their whole lives, only to find the end of the rainbow absent of any gold or riches. These old white guys feel betrayed, but do not have the courage to consciously accept the betrayal. Admitting to one's self that you were foolish and/or stupid to be hoodwinked, to be gullible enough to vote against your own best interests, is very difficult and painful, so much so that most individuals cannot do it without hard work and determination, and usually with only professional psychotherapy of some kind. Since most folks don't have enough self-realization to recognize negative emotions such as betrayal and powerlessness, it seeps out into their behavior as anger, rage, paranoia, and sometimes outward violence directed at others. Now toss racism into the mix and you have a very dangerous combination. This is why I asked about the ethnic identity of that woman and toddler at Wal-Mart in the other thread. I'd bet you that the mother and little girl were non-white. If so, then I believe the old white guy was in the grips of displaced aggression, much like the overworked father who comes home from a humiliating day at the job site and kicks the family dog. The guy isn't really pissed off at the little girl for crying; he's actually feeling betrayed by his white brethren, and expresses this as racism directed towards those who look like Obama. The old white guy cannot control the electorate who voted Obama into office, but he believes he can control the little girl who's crying (which, of course, is a false sense of power). Like the poor unfortunate family dog, the little girl becomes the recipient of his bottled up negative emotions through displaced aggression, much like what's being expressed in town hall meetings, with old white guys shouting down anyone who expresses agreement with Obama's policies.
Originally Posted By mele <<What if Hillary were Chief....... I would bet that the right freaks would come unglued, perhaps even more than they are now.>> Well, their hatred for the Clintons knows no bounds, that is definitely true. But I also think a lot of people hate Hillary because she is a woman who got a little too uppity and isn't feminine enough, in their opinion. (Cookie recipe anyone?) It's hard to tell w/Hillary as I do think people hate her for so many reasons.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt "What if we substituted Clarence Thomas for Obama? I don't think Rush and Co. would do it to him either; I just don't." That's because Clarence Thomas isn't really black.
Originally Posted By barboy As for the prospects of President Hillary taking a nasty beating from Rush & Co. because she is female I don't see that. Let's not forget how that faction took to Sara Palin---- they love her.
Originally Posted By Princessjenn5795 Sarah Palin is an attractive, charming, folksy woman who has a hard time putting a cohesive sentence together. Hillary is an older, tough, often outspoken woman who has no problem standing up and getting her point across. Who do you think Rush & Co are going to feel more threatened by? Sarah Palin was safe because they could walk all over her if need be; she isn't strong enough in national or international politics to worry them. Hillary is very politics savvy and can stand up to them. Differences in political views aside, the right liked Sarah because she drew people in and was not a threat to their dominance.
Originally Posted By barboy I don't buy your theory, Princessjenn. Effectively you're telling us the right freaks take to Palin because she is stupid("hard time putting a cohesive sentence together")? I don't see it like that at all. Rush takes to Palin because she: is against abortion, is for "less gov't", attacks Obama, carries the 'R' instead of 'D', likes Joe the Plummer and so on.
