The black president some worried about has arrived
There's this thing people sometimes say down South.
So-and-so is "acting brand new." Sometimes that's a reference to someone behaving like they don't know old friends and family -- that they have evolved past their old crowd. Sometimes that's Southern speak for the emboldened, someone behaving like they either don't know the rules or have outright decided to disregard them.
In the past four weeks, we've seen President Obama take up residence in a place that sits somewhere in-between.
He's spoken off the cuff about race relations on a widely circulated podcast (even using the n-word) and then eloquently followed that with what can only be described as a sermon on race relations in America before breaking into song. He's challenged America to go deeper in its support of equality than retiring symbols of slavery (like the Confederate flag) and impolitic words (like the n-word).
While eulogizing a slain minister and state lawmaker allegedly killed by a white supremacist in Charleston, S.C., he outlined a whole raft of ways in which discrimination remains and inequality continues to grow. And now he's gone and announced two major reform packages -- housing last week and criminal justice on Tuesday -- in the span of two weeks that could, if ultimately implemented, be of particular benefit to people of color in the United States.
Here's the thing: This Obama might look or sound "brand new" to some Americans. He might even sound a little something like the black president that some white Americans across the political spectrum feared (or hoped for). But to people who watch the White House closely, this is the President Obama that has been developing for some time.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/the-black-president-some-worried-about-has-arrived/ar-AAd1dxi
= new reply since forum marked as read
I assume this article's sentiment is about more than race, ie, Iran deal, commuting sentences. I confess I didn't read beyond this snip.
For myself, I think it's important to not always see a racial undertone (there I go again?). Perhaps my use of words is subconscious, or perhaps it's OK to use a term such as "free" when referring to an African/American person without subjectively attaching meaning that wasn't intended? This is the criticism of PC. I prefer to take things at face value (interpret that as you will), at least initially. I think it's good to trust. But you are certainly at liberty (sorry) to interpet as your own brain and conscience guide you!
people that had nothing to do with race were either blocked or disrespected. Much of that was because he was a black president, even though some of his actions would have benefited all people. We all wish that some would have ignored the race issue from the start of his administration. Talk to John Boehner and his boys about that, then extend out to the greater population with its hate groups.
