But that doesn't have anything to do with fear of a black president. Nothing whatsoever at all.
After all, whenever white people congregate these days, high concentrations of racial homogeneity are just pure coincidence.
Right?
At this point, the feared effects of Obama's speech don't seem to have kicked in yet. As the Field Negro noticed,
so far there have been no 911 calls from middle A-merry-ca that little Johnny is trying to work on his basketball moves. And that little Heather, all of a sudden, has a crush on Bow Wow. Kids weren't walking around the school yards like Zombies chanting "yes we can."
Do you know anyone who kept their children home to protect them from our irresistibly hypnotizing leader?
[h/t: David Neiwert @ Crooks and Liars]
all this racism and paranoia against Obama is just sickening and pathetic. I'm sorry to have say it, but Americans don't deserve Obama.
ReplyDeleteyeah, because being good at school and working hard and being positive is really bad, didn't you know? crazy stuff *smh*
ReplyDeleteMy son was very moved by the speech by our President. I was so glad to that he gave this speech to our students. But I have to say that if President Bush had given a speech last year, I don't know if I would have been as excited. I would not have kept my kid out of school for pete's sake! But I would not have been as enthusiastic about it..., so maybe I could have done a better job the last four years too.
ReplyDeleteI loved the video...sad but hilarious. I just wish they can really just see themselves from our eyes.
ReplyDeleteThat parody was hilarious!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the rampant ignorance of those pre-selected by evolution to not actually evolve isn't.
As a teacher, I can assure you that other teachers were grateful that those kids stayed home. They were able to teach today!!!
Isn't it funny that it's the states with the lowest educational ratings that have the rabid parents?
that video is just so over the top it's hilariously scary!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe people reacted so to having the President tell their children to study and work hard and not drop out of school!!!
It's a bit strange. Here in Indianapolis, we had a couple of schools that decided to delay the speech so that teachers could watch it first. Then, a student group staged a protest against the decision not to show the speech.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theindychannel.com/education/20797082/detail.html
No one seems to know if there actually were any parents who actually objected.
@ Deaf Indian Muslim Anarchist
ReplyDeleteIt's not that Americans don't deserve Obama. Obama doesn't deserve the title he holds right now. His stupidity w/ the stimulus package, cash for clunkers, and now with health care show what happens when you elect a president who's campaign message isn't real solutions but hopeful rhetoric.
Not only is telling kids to work hard and stay in school a despicable thing, but black and brown kids will hear a high-ranking leader who looks like them telling them to do so! They could imitate him! The horror!
ReplyDeleteI find the vitriol around Obama completely amazing when it's compared to how criticism of Bush (who did much worse & whom we allowed to do EVEN MORE).
ReplyDeletehttp://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b58/Roxie21/story.jpg
My son's school district refused to show the speech. We live in NEW JERSEY. We watched the speech together, via the White House's website, when he came home.
ReplyDeleteI think the worst part of this fiasco is that when you point out the racist element, YOU get accused of being a racist. "Oh, you must be the one with the problem, since you're bringing race into it!" I notice that a lot with discussions about President Obama. The other thing I hear a lot is "You people forget he's half white!" So, it's impossible to have racist attitudes and ideas about the president because he's not 100% Black? That's a really weird argument.
I feel like I kind of went off on a tangent, but it's obvious to me that the root of this fear and anger and hostility against the president's policies are really emotional/visceral reactions to his race.
Racism is a heavy charge. If it can't be proven that the people who are upset by Obama's speech are motivated by racism, then what's the point in implying that they are? The best you can hope to achieve is to start a fight that no one can win.
ReplyDeleteAfter all, how exactly would any of these people "prove" that they aren't being motivated by racism anyway? Is there some sort of "no racist thoughts" piss test one can take? Lame post.
Yeah Vick, I guess that this latest example of very concentrated whiteness is just another co-inky dink. /snark
ReplyDeleteYou don't seem to get something: monolithic white gatherings are THEMSELVES racist. They're a product of racism. The members should be asking themselves something they almost never do: "Well, how did we get this way?"
Aside from that, this latest example of a very white form of collective action is clearly driven in part by racism, by fear of a black president. Your need of "proof" is evidence that you just don't get what a white supremacist culture the US still has, and how it influences collective subconscious levels. You don't get how strongly many people just don't feel right about their children looking up to a president who's black. At some level, most of them see that as a huge indicator that "their America" (a whitened, fantasy America) is being taken away "from them."
No, racism is not a "heavy charge" here. Not at all.
AE -
ReplyDeleteSimply asserting that I "don't get it" is not an argument.
This idea of a "monolithic white gathering" sounds like an academic term you picked up somewhere. Good for you. Simply invoking it, as if anyone has any idea what you're talking about, is not an argument.
So, your post doesn't make a compelling case for anything.
Now my question for you is: how would any individual person among this "monolithic white gathering" prove to you beyond a shadow of a doubt that their objection to Obama's speech is not motivated by racism. Let's hear AE's test for "No Racist Thoughts." What would convince you? Nothing? Thought so.
Call me crazy, but I stick to attributing racism to people who actually say or do something racist.
And btw, despite what you say, racism IS a very heavy charge in this society. But the charge slowly loses its weight everytime it gets thrown around idiotically.
Vick, so according to you, racism has to be explicit and it has to be in the company of POC.
ReplyDelete*crickets chirping*
honeybrown1976 -
ReplyDeleteProve to me that the majority of the people who are upset by Obama's speech are motivated by racism.
* crickets chirping *
I bet if you polled them, over 90% of these folks would say they aren't racists. But I suppose you know their hearts better than they do.
What these people don't know is that this reaction against Obama's "brainwashing" is all part of Our Plan to Take Over America.
ReplyDeleteSee, during our Secret Research, we discovered that White folks are so individualistic, so determined to exist in the world free from any kind of influence or persuasion, that they will automatically reject any idea or course of action that does not originate with them. We have discovered a means to use this inclination to empower ourselves.
We advised Obama to tell children to "work hard and stay in school" knowing full well that their parents will instruct and condition them to do the exact opposite.
One need not be particularly imaginative (or a conservative pundit) to see where this is going. By the end of Obama's term, our society will be overrun by lazy knuckleheads. In the rush to fill the vacuums of leadership and knowledge, people will turn to those who are hardworking and intelligent.
And those individuals will not be White!
By then, White people will have been ousted from their place at the top of the world, replaced by people of color who will mete out vengeance to all undermined us thus far! Did you hear that, White America? We're taking over! And there's nothing you can do to stop us!
Mwahhahahaha!
Golly gee Vick, I'm so sorry for throwing Big Bad Words at you. I would try harder to keep things simple for you, but you see, things out there in the real world just aren't as simple as you'd like them to be. Case in point -- yes, Virginia, I mean, Vick, people really can be racist without their even knowing it!
ReplyDeleteNow toddle on off to bed, and just remember that Mommy's right here if you need her to scare away any more of those Big Bad Words again. And remember not to ask again where those bad dreams come from, because like your Daddy and I told you before, the concept of your "subconscious" is just too much for you to wrap your darling little mind around.
Vick,
ReplyDeleteIt's not my burden to proof that they aren't racists. You made the assertion that they aren't; therefore, it's for you to prove that they are simply "concerned".
Haha I do find it humorous that you've misused the "crickets chirping" meme, though as it was you that completely missed the point. But, then again, it was your assertion that cultural appropriation is cool and fair.
honeybrown1976 -
ReplyDeleteIf you go back and read my first comment, my point from the very beginning was that there is no way to prove one way or the other that the people who are opposed to Obama's speech are motivated by racism.
And all you're likely to get as a consequence of this post is an unresolvable disagreement. And voila, that's what we have.
Which is why I think this post which carelessly throws the accusation around is stupid and pointless.
That cultural appropriation thing is still bugging you, eh?
It's not bugging me, Vick. The cluelessness should bug you, though. : )
ReplyDeleteOf course, these folks will not come out and say it. That's why it's important to pick up on inference and hidden meanings/code words. Those individuals that are fully aware of the fear and hate-mongering rhetoric are more than away of how these people feel. Hopefully, someday soon, you will too.
CrazyCris sent me to check out this story. I normally don't post political essays, but posted TWO on this subject! The 'actual' crying mama on CNN was what drove me to post it!
ReplyDeleteHow did such a small segment of our society pull off such huge press? A teacher/blogger left a thoughtful comment on my post about who is controlling the school system... How did they get so many school systems to go along with this boycott? Crazy. Now, I've seen it all.
Sorry to say it, but I think those who make light of the situation have just been brainwashed themselves. I didn't see the speech, but that parody was pretty stupid.
ReplyDeleteVick:
ReplyDelete1) There is no way to prove anything in this world, absolutely. However, if we did not use overwhelming evidence of something as proof, our society would never get anywhere because opposition to change could formulate their counterargument as "prove it" and use that as the trump card to all arguments.
2) What people say and what people do in this country are very different. Being termed a "racist" is a very dirty word in our society, people can be as racist as they want, as long as they don't get branded with a "racist" label. The social norm of our time is general racial equality, and anyone who violates that norm becomes a social outcast. The social norm of back in the 1800s was general racial inequality. People who argued against that were social outcasts. (Note: I am not arguing there is racial equality, just that on generalized principles like, are all people created equal, etc., an overwhelming majority of Americans say yes, and there is data from polling sites like ANES or GSS to back this up.)
So, why would a person who thinks being branded a racist will hinder their ability to function in society call themselves a racist? If you give me a great answer for that, then I will concede that we should believe someone when they claim they are not racist. Until then, I am going to look at actions and/or opinions to measure racism.
Ask those same white people that you are defending what their answer to the question "are there racial differences due to lack of will?" and see what they say now that there is less of a chance of violating the social norm.
I can tell you, actually.
Go to:
http://sda.berkeley.edu/archive.htm
Click on the top one (GSS 1972-2008)
In the row, type in RACDIF4.
In the filter, type in RACE(1);YEAR(2008)
Note this is very rough data, all I filtered was race and year, not income, residence, etc.
51.5% of white people in 2008 felt that other races did not succeed because they did not try hard enough.
Now, can you prove that those white people are incorrect? No, you can show countless studies that emphasize context over race, or income/wealth over race, but you can never definitively prove ANYTHING.
Still, if there is overwhelming evidence for something, at some point you should be able to recognize people for what they are. This is NOT an innocent versus guilty type of thing. I don't see how admitting you are a racist is a bad thing. You either clarify your intentions for your "enemy", or maybe you change your behavior. So I do not feel like if these people act repeatedly in a fashion that suggests racism, it is terrible to call them what they are/strongly appear to be. At some point, you have to go from asking people to give more proof that they are racist to asking the alleged racists what it is they have done to make you think otherwise.
You know, a lot of this nonsense actually comes from the county where I live.
ReplyDeletePlease excuse me while I go bang my head on my desk a few times.
1. This is how you deal with people like Vick: Avoid having an argument about what motivates people's behavior and instead have an argument about the behavior itself. I mean seriously Vick, it's possible that the Ku Klux Klan doesn't have racist motivations. Maybe all of this cross burning and epithet yelling behavior is motivated by good will towards people who aren't White. We can't prove it! We don't know their hearts! (Check the illdoctrine blog for more on this point)
ReplyDelete2. I agree with honeybrown1976 that racism does not need to be blatant or explicit in order to count as racism.
hey John -
ReplyDeleteWhat is so racist about not liking the idea of a President directly addressing school students?
Vick-
ReplyDeleteThe fact that this is the first time this has ever happened. None of the other white Presidents were ever accused of brain washing children.
Or do you think that is a coincidence?
Vick
ReplyDeleteNone of these people objected to the speeches given by previous Republican presidents in the 80s. Unless they have never attended school (which kind of seems obvious), the racism is showing poorly.
Ochre, honeybrown1976 -
ReplyDeleteActually, Democrats did complain on similar grounds when GW Bush's dad gave a similar sort of speech back in the nineties, so there goes your double-standard argument.
Look, if you listen to what they actually said (rather than to what you imagine their motivations are) the whole kerfuffle was a hyper-partisan, Repubs vs. Dems, attack based on the issue that Presidents shouldn't politicize the schools for their own advantage.
What is there to gain by making it about something else? Bringing race into it appears just as hyper partisan in turn. Cynical too.
Vick,
ReplyDeleteThey're not similar cases. In the case of Bush, you had *some* Democrats who objected and complained about how much money it would cost. With Obama you have public outrage, worries about Obama indoctrinating the children, and mothers crying on CNN.
I personally am tired of being called racist because i dont like our President, I liked him at first, but alot of things happening seem rushed dangerousally so, Healthcare reform is nice, but during a recession? we dont have the money for it right now, I dont look at the color of a person's skin when i say i dont like him, so why I am racist because i dont like the person? When was that deemed not ok to look at the person but the color, that in itself seems racist? It seesm the Theme right now is, if you dont like the President your racist? wtf?
ReplyDelete@John.
ReplyDeleteMothers crying at CNN? In case you didn't notice this example is a parody. And Vick in this case is right. How do you know that every white person that is against the president giving a speech in front of the kids is racist? Maybe they just don't like the idea of paying for someone else's bills? And so just don't like his political ideas.
John, you say "people like Vick". That means that you think to know him. And I assume that you think he is white and ignorant. And thinking he is white, by the way he thinks or says things, means you have connected white people to a certain way of thinking. That means you're racist!
Do you see? I have come to the conclusion that you're racist by connecting things together, that I don't even know are true. That is what is being done here. Assuming that you know everyone’s motives by just looking at their actions.
The thing is, you don't know for sure. There could be one or maybe 2 or even all of them that thought that way. But you don't know. That is why you shouldn't just jump to conclusions and call everyone who is against Obama racist.