Ebola in the USA: Are You Concerned?

[UNI88]

Is "improving race relations" something you genuinely care about a President doing?

Typically no but Obama had a unique opportunity to reshape the dialogue on race in this country and he didn't take advantage of it. He did bring the perception of dignity to the office that it hadn't seen since the first Bush but otherwise his presidency was one of missed opportunities.

I almost voted for him simply because I hoped his election would be a step forward and help heal racial divides. I didn't because I knew his mentor and knew that despite his outer facade, he was a Chicago politician.

[∞∞∞]

The race relations thing against Obama is a construct purely invented by angry white conservatives.

The disappointment in Obama is that he didn't do more to improve race relations. Saying that it "is a construct purely invented by angry white conservatives" means that he did improve race relations. Can you tell me what he did to improve race relations with examples?

Absolutely. First of all, the candidacy and election itself could have been a great moment in race relations. Socially, he used his position to speak up about minority issues and disparities. Politically, his administration increased funding for issues which disproportionately effect minority communities (housing, healthcare, education, etc.). He also tried finding practical solutions, such as increasing funding for better police training, body cameras, and diversity in police organizations.

Obama took the side of victims and against corruption in society (ex. private prisons, police forces). Often he instructed his administration to look into evidence of civil rights violations around the county. All things that in practice, should mend race relations.

Of course that's not how a certain portion of white America took it; the actions were perceived as anti-police and anti-white. They were ok with other races as long as they stayed in their place, and Obama had stepped out of his acceptable place.

Then we got mostly white conservatives protesting and calling the President all sorts of racist slurs.

How are other races supposed to take that? A President they love (and saw themselves in), who's fighting real injustices, is being attacked because he tried to make things better for minorities.

Angry white people simply couldn't acknowledge the systemic issues minorities face on many fronts, and instead of seeing the problems Obama was tackling (which would have helped race relations), demonized issues important to other races.

[∞∞∞]

Additionally, the only people I ever hear criticizing Obama for not doing anything to improve race relations are typically white people who had issues with his Presidency. Plenty of minorities have other issues with Obama (including myself), but race relations was never one.

Angry white conservatives made it worse; Obama tried improving things but the solutions were never accepted.

He never stood a chance.

[dbackjon]

The disappointment in Obama is that he didn't do more to improve race relations. Saying that it "is a construct purely invented by angry white conservatives" means that he did improve race relations. Can you tell me what he did to improve race relations with examples?

Absolutely. First of all, the candidacy and election itself could have been a great moment in race relations. Socially, he used his position to speak up about minority issues and disparities. Politically, his administration increased funding for issues which disproportionately effect minority communities (housing, healthcare, education, etc.). He also tried finding practical solutions, such as increasing funding for better police training, body cameras, and diversity in police organizations.

Obama took the side of victims and against corruption in society (ex. private prisons, police forces). Often he instructed his administration to look into evidence of civil rights violations around the county. All things that in practice, should mend race relations.

Of course that's not how a certain portion of white America took it; the actions were perceived as anti-police and anti-white. They were ok with other races as long as they stayed in their place, and Obama had stepped out of his acceptable place.

Then we got mostly white conservatives protesting and calling the President all sorts of racist slurs.

How are other races supposed to take that? A President they love (and saw themselves in), who's fighting real injustices, is being attacked because he tried to make things better for minorities.

Angry white people simply couldn't acknowledge the systemic issues minorities face on many fronts, and instead of seeing the problems Obama was tackling (which would have helped race relations), demonized issues important to other races.

[UNI88]

The disappointment in Obama is that he didn't do more to improve race relations. Saying that it "is a construct purely invented by angry white conservatives" means that he did improve race relations. Can you tell me what he did to improve race relations with examples?

Absolutely. First of all, the candidacy and election itself could have been a great moment in race relations. Socially, he used his position to speak up about minority issues and disparities. Politically, his administration increased funding for issues which disproportionately effect minority communities (housing, healthcare, education, etc.). He also tried finding practical solutions, such as increasing funding for better police training, body cameras, and diversity in police organizations.

Obama took the side of victims and against corruption in society (such as police forces). Often he instructed his administration to look into evidence of civil rights violations around the county. All things that in practice, should mend race relations.

Of course that's not how a certain portion of white America took it; the actions were perceived as anti-police and anti-white. They were ok with other races as long as they stayed in their place, and Obama had stepped out of his acceptable place.

Then we got mostly white conservatives people protesting and calling the President all sorts of racist slurs.

How are other races supposed to take that? A President they love (and saw themselves in), who's fighting real injustices, is being attacked because he tried to make things better for minorities.

Angry white people simply couldn't acknowledge the systemic issues minorities face on many front, and instead of seeing the problems Obama was tackling (which would have helped race relations), demonized issues important to other races.

Fair enough. Take this however you want ...

My biggest issue with Obama's presidency is that it was a shadow of what I think it could have been. Speaking up about and for minority issues and disparities was a positive. I would argue that the disparities have more to do with economics than race, poor white people face similar problems. His efforts were ineffectual. Obamacare was a nowhere near what it could have been. He continued Dubya's trend of making education worse the more the federal government got involved (and this disappointed me because of the success Arne Duncan had with Chicago schools).

IMO, the way that Obama took the side of victims and against corruption in society contributed to the (continued) demonization of police by minorities and liberals. While there are a few bad apples, the police do a lot of good. They have the ability to be a huge force for positive change in minority communities but they needed someone to help bridge that gap. Obama was almost tailor made for that opportunity but he and his administration never lived up to the potential.

Looking into evidence of civil rights violations and trying to improve equality was a positive but the problem was that it seemed like under Obama the pendulum swung past equilibrium too far in the other direction. Just as minorities didn't like getting the short end of the stick, whites felt like they were being punished for the actions of people who came before them. Obama had an opportunity to be the voice of moderation pushing the pendulum to equilibrium. By pushing the pendulum past that point, Obama made some whites angry and that played a huge role in the rise of Trump. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction is a lesson that politicians on both sides of the aisle fail to learn over and over again.

I didn't condone people calling the President all sorts of racist slurs but there is a parallel between that and people calling Trump a Nazi and similar.

I don't think of myself as an angry white person but a realist who wants to make the world a better place. I'm not some suburban white person who considers myself an expert because I have a minority friend. I might not be an expert but I am knowledgeable about this because I began studying race relations in college and I've spent time living and/or working in minority communities, trying to help people with education and job opportunities.

Obama's legacy is a tale of what might have been ...

[UNI88]

Additionally, the only people I ever hear criticizing Obama for not doing anything to improve race relations are typically white people who had issues with his Presidency. Plenty of minorities have other issues with Obama (including myself), but race relations was never one.

Angry white conservatives made it worse; Obama tried improving things but the solutions were never accepted.

He never stood a chance.

So what you're saying is that he tried but he didn't improve race relations and that it isn't his fault.

It all comes down to ...

[CID1990]

Then of course there was that time when Obama the Race Healer said “I sympathize with that shooting victim because he was black”

Actually, he said if he had a son he’d look like Trayvon but it’s simpler to paraphrase

[AZGrizFan]

Additionally, the only people I ever hear criticizing Obama for not doing anything to improve race relations are typically white people who had issues with his Presidency. Plenty of minorities have other issues with Obama (including myself), but race relations was never one.

Angry white conservatives made it worse; Obama tried improving things but the solutions were never accepted.

He never stood a chance.

He never tried improving things. Not once. At every opportunity to make us ONE country he made sure and drove the wedge deeper. EVERY. SINGLE. OPPORTUNITY.

[Chizzang]

My biggest disappointment with Trump is also race relations. Trump & Obama....cut from the same cloth.

A lot of truth to that. Many say Obama begat Trump....

I'm not sure I used "begat"
but without question, Obama's race apologetics created a ton of tension with 50+-year-old white America
apologetics is pathetic and fucking annoying in all of its forms



we're fully stocked on this forum with Christian apologist
Obama works as an excellent example for them to see apologetics in plain sight

again:
apologetics is pathetic and annoying in all its forms

[UNI88]

A lot of truth to that. Many say Obama begat Trump....

I'm not sure I used "begat"
but without question, Obama's race apologetics created a ton of tension with 50+-year-old white America
apologetics is pathetic and fucking annoying in all of its forms



we're fully stocked on this forum with Christian apologist
Obama works as an excellent example for them to see apologetics in plain sight

again:
apologetics is pathetic and annoying in all its forms

They won't see it. Then liberals will take over with their own "mandate." The pendulum will swing back and forth with neither side learning from it or the other side's mistakes. Both will be absolutely certain that their cause is just and that history will smile upon their efforts.

[AZGrizFan]

A lot of truth to that. Many say Obama begat Trump....

I'm not sure I used "begat"
but without question, Obama's race apologetics created a ton of tension with 50+-year-old white America
apologetics is pathetic and fucking annoying in all of its forms



we're fully stocked on this forum with Christian apologist
Obama works as an excellent example for them to see apologetics in plain sight

again:
apologetics is pathetic and annoying in all its forms

There was no way I was voting for Hillary Clinton, but I couldn’t pull the trigger for Trump in ‘16 either. He appalled me then (and still does), but I knew from an economic standpoint I more closely aligned with him and I was NOT voting for Clinton.

Obama had an historic opportunity...truly historic. Could have gone down in presidential lore with Washington, Lincoln, Kennedy, etc. But like I said, at every single opportunity to use his office to advance race relations, he instead did the exact opposite and drove the wedge further and further in.

[Chizzang]

I'm not sure I used "begat"
but without question, Obama's race apologetics created a ton of tension with 50+-year-old white America
apologetics is pathetic and fucking annoying in all of its forms



we're fully stocked on this forum with Christian apologist
Obama works as an excellent example for them to see apologetics in plain sight

again:
apologetics is pathetic and annoying in all its forms

There was no way I was voting for Hillary Clinton, but I couldn’t pull the trigger for Trump in ‘16 either. He appalled me then (and still does), but I knew from an economic standpoint I more closely aligned with him and I was NOT voting for Clinton.

Obama had an historic opportunity...truly historic. Could have gone down in presidential lore with Washington, Lincoln, Kennedy, etc. But like I said, at every single opportunity to use his office to advance race relations, he instead did the exact opposite and drove the wedge further and further in.

It suits my pompous condescending nature to vote - but for neither proper candidate
You should try it

You'll never have to slap apologetics "Yeah... but" on any comment ever again

[mainejeff]

Then of course there was that time when Obama the Race Healer said “I sympathize with that shooting victim because he was black”

Actually, he said if he had a son he’d look like Trayvon but it’s simpler to paraphrase

If you had a son he'd look like David Duke.

[mainejeff]

Additionally, the only people I ever hear criticizing Obama for not doing anything to improve race relations are typically white people who had issues with his Presidency. Plenty of minorities have other issues with Obama (including myself), but race relations was never one.

Angry white conservatives made it worse; Obama tried improving things but the solutions were never accepted.

He never stood a chance.

He never tried improving things. Not once. At every opportunity to make us ONE country he made sure and drove the wedge deeper. EVERY. SINGLE. OPPORTUNITY.

A black President wasn't going to make us "ONE country".

Let's face it......this country has been and always will be divided short of firing squads or ovens to eliminate the other side. And even then....there will always be a group that eventually opposes the other one. The dissolution of the U.S. into smaller regionalized entities is our only hope of peaceful co-existence.

[CID1990]

He never tried improving things. Not once. At every opportunity to make us ONE country he made sure and drove the wedge deeper. EVERY. SINGLE. OPPORTUNITY.

A black President wasn't going to make us "ONE country".

Let's face it......this country has been and always will be divided short of firing squads or ovens to eliminate the other side. And even then....there will always be a group that eventually opposes the other one. The dissolution of the U.S. into smaller regionalized entities is our only hope of peaceful co-existence.

Gosh, if only we had a word for a decentralized, localized form of national governance

Has this amazing thing ever been done before?

What a great idea

[ALPHAGRIZ1]

The race relations thing against Obama is a construct purely invented by angry white conservatives.

We only got angry after your darkie fucked up the country so bad we had to elect Trump to fix it.

Oh and fuck you racist

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[ALPHAGRIZ1]

Additionally, the only people I ever hear criticizing Obama for not doing anything to improve race relations are typically white people who had issues with his Presidency. Plenty of minorities have other issues with Obama (including myself), but race relations was never one.

Angry white conservatives made it worse; Obama tried improving things but the solutions were never accepted.

He never stood a chance.

Whites elected him you bigoted SOB

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk