Obama speaks at NCAAP

Defends "responsibility"


The subtext of the "dispute" between Obama and Jackson is that some in the black community suspect Obama's subliminal and sometimes overt message to Americans in general and white Americans in particular is that here is a black person who is promoting the idea:
America is not racist!
...And in this I think the Civil Rights community is correct.
Barack Obama is proving both in his personal story, and his political journey this year that:
2008 America is not racist.The vast supermajority of Americans (I would guess over 90 percent) treat people the same with respect to race. The other 10 percent are marginalized and left to try to disguise their bias in such indirect terms that it has become meaningless.
But if this is the case, the question would beg, why is the African American community still lagging behind others in practically everything good, and leading the pack in almost everything bad.
Whether its:
healthinesspoor educationperpertrators of crimevictims of crimeoverall income/wealth
when looked at as a group (dubious proposition in my opinion because of the enormous diversity), blacks are worse off STATISTICALLY.
and on things that are good like
There persists a racial gap.
The answer lies in personal responsibility.
It is politically incorrect to say this in America and especially black America.
But that is the case.
There is no longer, and hasn't been for awhile people rooting for failure or working to hurt black interests.
African Americans face similar obstacles as every other group of people. Maybe different in some respects, but no more odious.
The answer lies in an addiction to rap music and entertainment that celebrates "thuggery" and devalues education.
The answer lies in women choosing to have sex/get pregnant/have babies without being married. In fact, without comtemplation of a stable home.
The answer lies in grown men who hold on to child-hood grudges and fantasies of being a "player" rather than taking responsiblity to get educated and plan for the future.
The answer lies in a culture that distrusts law enforcement more than criminals who attack them.
The answer lies in a culture that spends on cable t.v., junk food, and looking "nice" rather than investing in the future
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Now of course millions of African Americans have personally decided to choose a positive path that diverges from the above.
Guess what!
They have on balance and in general succeeded in the American dream better than tens of millions of whites!
They have home loans, cars, go on vacation, their children are prospering in school, they have savings, etc.
They are CEO's, principals, business people, athletes, doctors, lawyers, etc.
Each one of them will tell you that they worked hard. That they sacrificed their "yesterday" for a "tomorrow".
Obama is trying to a way to say this and still be "black enough".
I respect his effort. It is a noble one.
He knows that a country that allowed him to go to Ivy league schools, write books, get elected to the U.S. Senate, and now make him the front runner in the POTUS election is a fundamentally good country.
So the trick is to express the same sentiments of Bill Cosby, and many other black leaders including Farrakhan, and yes Jesse Jackson, without losing the "black" label he needs to win.
I think obama has calculated that he can tell the truth and not fear any trouble in this election because of its' significance.
I hope Obama goes even further.
Imagine if he focuses on the thousands of murder victims and other innocent injuries due to the hands of mostly young black men in the A.A. community. He should make the case that the Civil Rights Movement has worked in terms of larger society, and that we as a community must demand to those among us to stop acting as if they were the racist ones by their criminal and backward looking behavior.
He could always mention every other line that he still supports a role for "policy" so everyone will feel a little better.
America is the greatest nation ever created. This is especially true for black people.
btw. this is true whether he wins or not.