No, Amy, it's not.
I have made a concerted effort to be more analytic in my thinking on Barry these past few weeks, but today's speech represented a landmark for American politics.
Amy is a hater.
It's a tradition as old as slavery. For every one of us busting our ass in the fields, there's one in the house saying we could be working harder and it's not that hot outside.
Let's knock down some of her statements together!
Amy:
..My first reaction? Race speeches are rarely good, and this was no exception.
WRONG. I've never seen a race speech where the speaker called out blacks and whites saying that both had legit beef, but both needed to move on. Never seen that.
For all of Obama's new talk of change, courage, politics you can believe in, I heard a whole lot of liberal boilerplate dressed up in euphemism and offering no fresh solutions.
WRONG. Telling whites that their beefs about affirmative action, and the idea that they are being punished for something they didn't do (the basis of ALL conservative talk radio) IS LEGIT...
...but must be surpassed for the good of the nation. Hardly a liberal idea.
He slid by the issue of welfare saying it only may have worsened inner-city poverty. White people need to invest more in our schools and communities, i.e. more money to failing public institutions. White people need to provide "ladders of opportunities," i.e. affirmative action. And black people should feel sympathy for white people who have lost their jobs to overseas competition. Social justice means we have all suffered oppression in one form or another. Therefore, we should bind together, white, black, and brown alike, in our mutual distrust of large corporations. Government, properly directed, can ensure for the welfare of its citizens.
WRONG. I mean, okay, that's ONE way to interpret what Barack said, albeit a pretty backward one. I'm pretty sure non haters would say that Barack said, rightly, that we cannot dismiss each others grievances, nor can we continue to believe that the nation can improve if we don't work together. But, I believe in reason so maybe Amy's right on this one.
Obama called out his own grandmother for admitting to her, now, not so secret fear of young black male strangers. He said that when he was growing up her remarks sometimes made him cringe. Well, for my part, hearing him compare a woman who sacrificed for his well-being to a pastor who's only benefited from his association made me cringe. Real courage and real candor is Chris Rock standing on stage telling a packed black audience that seeing young black men on dark lonely night near the glow of an ATM can make him feel nervous, too.
TRANSLATION. White racism is okay with Amy. Black racism is not.
(Okay, did one of you black guys dump her in a bad way or something? Did one of you black girls not let her play double-dutch?)
She wants us all to fear black racism. And I'm pretty sure that's not what Chris Rock said, (in fact he spoke of the ATM as something all Americans worship more than they do a real Church).
Amy is one of those who saw Rock's "Black & White" and thought, "yeah, black people do suck, even other blacks hate them". Meanwhile Chris was speaking more about our community not tearing each other down...AND he was asserting that the vast majority of blacks are hard-working, taxpayers who struggle with some elements in our midst. Sorry to be nuanced...I know Republicans hate nuance the way Amy hates First Fridays.
Further Barack was saying that ALL OF US have racists in our families. I have one aunt who is very mistrustful of whites...to put it mildly. Honestly, if you come to dinner at my aunt's house, you'd think white people planned to destroy the sun. I don't agree with my aunt but I love my aunt and would give my life for her. She has been there for me more times than I can recall. Helped me before I could help myself.
Like Barack's grandmother.
So, cutting to the political chase: Where does this leave Obama? Not much better off than where he was 24 hours ago. Pastor Wright has singlehandedly turned Obama into the race candidate. For every person who listened to Obama's speech today are a hundred uncommitted voters who haven't yet seen the video clips and who will be shocked and appalled when they do. He can't spend the rest of his campaign explaining this away. But he can't let the video clips speak for themselves.
YOU KNOW WHAT...I can't even comment on this. If you could watch the first real nuanced and accurate discussion on race in America for decades and come away so cynical...I just don't know how to help you.
But on the larger issue, this country has been without a real leader for so long that we've forgotten what it looks like. We treat with cynicism and mistrust those who tell the truth. History has always worked that way. The woman who says the emperor has no clothes is the first one hanged.
But Barack is a leader. He speaks truth to power. He told the black community at a Church in Atlanta to stop being homophobic. He told a crowd in 2003, when invading Iraq had a high approval rating that it was the wrong thing to do. He certainly finesses the language at times...but he's not afraid of the truth. And I'm pretty sure, after eight years of Bush sycophants, a little truth telling won't hurt us.
My only hope is that people watch the speech, and decide for themselves rather than listen to Ms. Holmes.
"Hating keeps me on television, yay!!"
---
ps - Barack his twisting and turning to make lemonade of these lemons...and NO ONE has held McCain's feet to the fire of his spiritual advisor's far more inflammatory remarks. Twice as hard to get half as much I guess.
10 comments:
I blame myself.
I DID dump Amy Holmes awfully hard.
At First Fridays, no less.
Hey, the bitch is double handed. No way could she double dutch with me and my crew.
Amy don't do black. Looks like she got an injection from some old, conservative , white penis again.
I believe Amy's comments and association with conservatism are in keeping with her desire to disassociate from the African American race. She just can't understand why Barack won't do it.
She reminds me of my young bi-racial niece who told me she doesn't like herself because her white mother tells her her hair is kinky and difficult to manage.
I pity her.
I can not say I would kick Amy Holmes out of the bed for leaving her political opinions on the sheet, if you get what I mean. Though I believe this is more of her trying to down Obama for the sake of mccain, rather than an attack on blacks.
Please check out this Youtube video of my special bond w/Chris Rock
http://youtube.com/watch?v=BFlyZ7D8kkc
It's funny that she said these things since I just watched a local public affairs show where she said she might consider voting for Obama despite differences on issues such as taxes. She thought his election would go far in helping the country heal its racial divide.
Maybe she's shifted over the past two months.
Maybe the old white guy Amy's with isn't doing it for her anymore, and looking at six feet of caramel chocolate brotha articulatin' on race issues in America is probably too much for ol' girl to handle.
She don't do brothas, and would have long ago crushed on Bill Maher, but his problem is that he likes real, self-respecting sistas and not one who's into self-hatred.
Oh, and wearing her hair in those naps does not mean she's "down" with Black people. She has to wear her hair like that because the white salons can't do a press and curl, and the sistas would deliberately burn her scalp for selling out.
Both John McCain and Huckabee have defended and praised Obama during the last news cycle, although for different reasons (McCain probably wants to mitigate any damage from Hagee, while Huck wants to use Barack's words to redeem the Fawell/Robinson camp). Whatever their motives, though, if these old white Republicans can dig Obama's words, I don't see how anyone can't.
She don't do brothas, and would have long ago crushed on Bill Maher, but his problem is that he likes real, self-respecting sistas and not one who's into self-hatred.
Like Superhead?
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