Are We Pitching President Obama Soft
Posted July 21, 2011 by That Teowonna!
Here are some numbers. The national unemployment rate is at 9.2 percent. Black unemployment is over 16 percent. For black teens, the rate is through the roof, at 40 percent. I know that financially, things have always been worse for black people than white. But this is ridiculous.
But where is the outcry from black people over these rates? I’ve noticed that the little outcry there is has been rather muted. The white noise seems to be limited to the hushed conversations of men as they stop for coffee at the neighborhood store during their quest to find a little day work. Or a pastor’s declaration that the ‘devil is a lie’ in early morning church services. Or women sharing their ‘out of work’ stories amongst each other while standing in one food line or another.
But no one in the black community seems to mention unemployment, joblessness and President Obama in the same sentence. It’s like the president has nothing to do with the state of the economy and the fact that Granddaddy and Miss Ann next door can’t find a job. If you believe that, answer this question: if a white republican were in office and the situation was EXACTLY the same, would you be just as tolerant? Why aren’t black people talking the same kind of smack they would be if Bush was in the White House and black unemployment was as high as it is? I find this double standard, and somewhat of a protective shield around President Obama, quite interesting.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not arguing against President Obama (that would be an abomination). He has had a number of successes. As one of my facebook friends pointed out, he killed Bin Laden (major success), ended Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, reformed the student loan program and dare I say it, Health Care Reform (the jury is still out on that one). So, I’m not knocking President Obama. I’m just saying with black unemployment rates so high and more black people in food lines than in recent history, I’ve never seen black people be this understanding and politely tolerant.I wonder why now.
Here is something else I’ve noticed. Since when has calling a president by his last name become inappropriate or disrespectful? If I say Obama instead of President Obama, it’s like I’ve committed some major offense against the Gods. “Don’t call him Obama. He is President Obama.” I agree with that. But funny how I didn’t hear any objections when I said ‘Bush’ or ‘Clinton’. It was no big deal then. Now, it means I’m marginalizing the president.
All I’m saying is, if you want Obama (oops, I meant President Obama) to be respected as president, then you have to hold him to the same standards you have every other president. When he does good, praise him. When he falls short, hold him accountable… talk your trash, just like you did for Bush. My bad, President Bush.
At the end of his term as president, you don’t want people to say that we pitched President Obama soft. That would be marginalizing him and us.
I received this article as a link on my facebook page. I’m one of those white, conservative,christian republicans (lol) in an inter-racial marriage. We get catorgoized constantly and wrongly most of the time. My husband is Hispanic. He has been a us citizen for about 1 year now. Yes, we’re proud! I am a member of my local republican party. He too, is a conservative and will vote republican because he is socially conservative and cannot and will not support the Demoratic parties stance on abortion and gay marriage to name a couple. I appreciated your article and I reposted it to my facebook page with my comment which states: Had to copy this link from this lady. This should make us ALL think when we choose to make decisions based on emotion and NOT intellect, or our own value system, no matter the subject. Just because we LIKE someone doesn’t mean they’re always right or just because we FEEL one way or another doesn’t mean we should support it because people wrongly believe there is more than one truth. I was disappointed in President Bush when he decided to bring that TARP proposal to the table because HE set a bad precedent. I was more than disappointed when politicians who called themselves republicans went to washington and spent and spent and spent and spent. I am dissappointed in President Obama for many reasons and I pray for him to have evidence around him that he is what he claims to be. My mother voted for President Obama. Many of my friends who are black voted for him. When I have conversations with them about issues we nearly 100 percent of the time agree so why in the world do they, and I’ve asked, get in a voting both and vote for people to be put in office who support values and beliefs that are the exact opposit of what they believe! Look around friends, we are burning our own house down to the ground. I could stab myself in the eye with a pencil I get so frustrated with this. In the county I live in I have black friends who tell me they are “AFRAID” to say they are conservative bbecause they will be lamblasted by the black community. What’s with that? My president, President Barack Obama has been a major disappointment to me. I believe his policies are damaging to ALL OF US! I haven’t seen evidence that this man or his family are Christians. I have prayed for his safty, the safety of his lovely girls and his wife. I don’t want us to be that kind of America however, this blind loyalty is destructive. I hate it that the liberals have hi-jacked the Democratic party and I hate it that so many people have believed the lie. Good people have believed President Obama and he gets away with just about everything. You know the Bible, yep, the Bible says in the last days people will call night day and day night, that wrong will be claimed as right and right as wrong…well we don’t have to look far to see the evidence of our country crumbling around us because good people of all races are failing to say when wrong is wrong. Thank you for doing that. This President is wrong for you, for me, for my Hispanic husband and for my Chinese neighbor and for my Muslim friend who owns a jewerly store in the mall. Thank you for having the courage to say so and thank you for allowing me to say so. Peace, Blessings and may our Lord help us all.
Kimberly, thanks for your comment and reposting. You are right about blindly following our politicians. I believe that when you vote someone into office, that’s when your support should take a back seat to holding them accountable. After all, you paid them the highest compliment… you gave them your vote!
You know what Kimberly I read my bible just like you AND I believe that it says that you should not judge you do not know if this man is a christian or not. Plus who are you to tell me who is good for me.
[...] by That Teowonna! // A few weeks ago, I challenged the notion of blind leadership when I asked, “Are we pitching President Obama soft.” In that blog, I accused a large segment of the black community of making excuses for President [...]
Well I voted for Obama the first time around because I wanted to look into my kids eyes and say truthfully to them you can be anything you want to in this country even president and mean it truthfully. But I will not be voting for him the second time around because of his destructive policies.
I am a white/Hispanic conservative republican married to a black woman who by the way told me not to vote for him because she did not trust him she voted for McCain we are from AZ and she is a registered democrat while I am registered republican wierdo couple we are LOL.
I should have listened to her but again had to look my boys in the eyes like I said.
I think Obama got many votes the first time around for the same reason you voted for him. Unfortunately, that isn’t going to work for him this time.