I think everyone should watch Obama’s unscripted remarks about the Florida verdict. He was thoughtful and respectful, while still being thought provoking.
On the other hand, here are some conservative pundit responses to Obama’s remarks:
If you ever had any doubts, Obama is the first Racist in Chief
I like living in a country where a black president elected twice complains about racism.
Did they even watch his remarks? How could anyone seriously think Obama was complaining about racism?
But my favorite comment is from congressman Joe Walsh (R-IL):
President Obama is making this all about race. All. About. Race.
Why would Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman even be news if it weren’t already All About Race?
13 Comments
IK- once in a while when I listen to President Obama speak, like in the case of this video, I can see and hear his greatness. I certainly admit that I have disagreed with a lot of what he says and does, but that’s more when he’s campaigning which is lot of the time. When he speaks from the heart I’m proud to call him my President.
To all the right wing nut jobs out there, you don’t have a clue and you need to get one.
To all the left wing loonies who want to whip up divisiveness, anger and the gang mentality, just stop it. Listen to the wise man in the Whitehouse.
The president is right, things are improving, but they need to improve more. I’ve had the privilege to work in one of the more racially diverse organizations in the country today, the US Army. I’ve have a higher amount of black Soldiers in my units then the black to white demographics. I’m proud to inform the public that these Soldier are outstanding and ambitious and motivated. I’ve been a Sr. enlisted leader for a while now and get great pleasure from pushing all my Soldiers to follow their dreams. I get young 18-19 yr old kids from neighborhoods that white folk would fear to tread from families that would cause people to shake their heads and say it’s useless. Yet somehow they have managed to make it to me. Why, because they wanted a way out, something more and they grasped out the outstretched hand and took it and I have to tell you it’s not easy. While their with me they must always conduct themselves professionally, dress and keep their hair according to regulations. They learn to maintain discipline even when getting their butts chewed by a old white guy. I meet their parent or grandparent and occasionally parents and I ask their permission to stick my boot in their backside and ask for their help on the home front in keeping up the pressure. In return I make their sons and daughters get enrolled in college, take the necessary certifications to start working and tell them to follow their dream.
I run a Guard unit and I train and work my Soldiers hard, but I work just as hard. I have a Soldier finishing her PHD, another in a Masters program, 3 in nursing programs, one who graduated law school, 2 others who became a physicians assistants and one who is a MD with a PHD in neuroscience. I have many others non-black who have or are doing the same. It’s peer pressure, the good kind. 80% of my Soldiers are in or finished college and if you’re not you get picked on by me, my NCO’s and your fellow Soldiers.
I see the unwed mothers and only a few make it. I’ve seen the results of violence on the home front and I’ve held those Soldiers in my arms. The few who make it to me are the minority for their citizen peers. I sometimes feel if we were to bring back the draft or even require 2 years mandatory service for all young Americans we could help more or at least give them a chance. If we could just help 10% of the whole change the lives how much better off would we be?
Well said PS
Thank you – both for your comment and your work.
IK, it should be ‘FORMER’ Congressman Joe Walsh, the good people (and others) in congressional district IL-08 sent him packing last election.
Note to conservative commentators:
A majority (that’s just a hair over 50%, if any such commentators read this) of voters looking past race to elect someone over two of the weakest campaigners in living memory =/= the end of racism.
Though I agree with everything PatriotSGT posted, I have to say it’s more the “left wing loonies” that are driving me nuts. Maybe I’m desensitized to the right saying terrible, ridiculous things, but I’m just not shocked by the callousness described in the original post. I have, however, been disturbed by the almost patronizing tone of liberal commentators on the continuing existence of racism. It isn’t wrong to decry the fact that it exists, that’s necessary, but the apparent glee some (on MSNBC, for example) take from pointing it out to try to hurt republicans is just sad. They’ll say it’s time for an “honest discussion” on race and then just dive back into divisiveness.
But I guess we should know by now that the discussions that follow calls for “honest discussions” are hardly honest and barely qualify as discussions.
Interestingly enough, Obama pretty much said exactly the same thing you did in your last line (in the video — did you watch it?)
Ah! I didn’t see that bit. I was listening to the speech at work and thought I’d caught it all. Maybe I did hear it and didn’t realize it.
Obamaception.
Patriotsgt, I cried when I read your post. thank you.
Thanks Ebdoug – I feel deeply about this issue because I’m close to it. I do my little part without regard for race. I treat all my Soldiers the same and they know that. I just love when one is being a knucklehead and feeling my wrath and looks at me like a kid and says ” you’re just showing me some tough love, right?” The way they say it as a question just makes me smile as I say now get out of my sight. They listen, they learn, they grow.
Collectively, we need to do more and our leaders, particularly our civil rights leaders need to do alot more. I’ve seen statistics approaching 75% unwed black mothers. Now I know a single parent is better then 2 when it’s a bad realtionship, but I also know when there are 2 caring parents its better then one. It’s better socially and economically and greatly improves the outcome and outlook. I have a young female Soldier who had a child at 18 and the father was in jail by the time the child was born. The young lady was on her own and joined the military. She got pregnant again at 19 by someone else. She was at our 2 week training and the monster who got her pregnant beat her young daughter to death because she was hungry and crying. The girl had just turned 2. She was this Soldiers whole life everything was always about this little girl. The Soldier told me she couldn’t remember ever being hugged by her mother and barely knew who her father was. She was so desperate for love she’d take anything although she didn’t really know what love was and as happens alot mistook sex for love. She was so devestated to be 7 months pregnant with the child who’s father had just murdered her daughter. I got her some work for a couple months at my full time job and would pick her up in the morning and drop her off on my way home. She couldn’t decide whether to keep the child or put it up for adoption and we talked about it. I hoped she would choose the adoption route, but I told her she had to make the decision, no one else. I thought she could start a new life, begin a career free from being a child with a child, go to school and follow her dreams. She kept the child, but admitted about 8 months later she was struggling and didn’t love the child like her murdered daughter. Currently she has no job except the part time military, she has little to no family support, but she is deparately afraid to be alone with no one to love or be loved by.
My heart aches because this scenario is not uncommon. It’s almost routine in the urban black society an no civil rights leaders are talking about it. The rap community who are idolized by this demograhic promote women as objects to be used and discarded and that violence is the answer, not diaolgue like a civil society. There are so many shootings, gang violence, drugs and parentless children in these communities it’s almost useless. There are people trying to help and do their part, but the leaders are silent. I’d love to see Sharpton and Jackson and the President come out and speak against childhood pregnancy, gangs, violence, gangster rappers, degrading language against women. They need to get communities involved, get parents in the schools, get politicians and so called civil rights leaders in the schools and neighborhoods. An not just for a photo op speech. I mean one day a week for a whole school day, every week and use some tough love on those parents and politicans who don’t participate. If their afraid for their safety then what about the children they send there? Whats the message they hear? It’s a big challenge, but I just don’t see the leadership. The problem can be fixed not from the top down or by throwing money at the problem, but by jumping in at the bottom.
Ok, thats enough standing on my soapbox.
Having had a very good friend of African heritage I can tell you I’ve actually seen the reactions the President is talking about in the first half of this video. Further, I have been in a store with the mother of my children (she’s Korean) and while checking something out in another dept. watched while the clerks ignored her when it was painfully obvious she needed help. I walked over near where she was and one of the clerks walked around her to get to me and ask if I needed help. I told her I didn’t, but that my wife had been standing there for five minutes desperately trying to get her attention, and that we were going to another store and probably wouldn’t be back to theirs.
“I sometimes feel if we were to bring back the draft or even require 2 years mandatory service for all young Americans we could help more or at least give them a chance.”
I really, really like the idea of mandatory service, but it is very problematic. I would start by saying that it must be a one-year, non-combat service requirement with options for service in sectors other than the military. Just going back to the way the draft used to be would be terribly problematic. First, you’re going to have to find a way to prevent Fortunate Sons from escaping the requirement. Removing the risk of combat reduces the incentive to dodge.
Second, I do not want to paint the military with too broad of a stroke, but there is a documented history of two MAJOR problems: Religious bias and discrimination, most notably at the Air Force Academy, and very poor handling of sexual abuse. The former is a problem of respect for civil liberties, while the latter is flat-out troubling.
If you haven’t seen The Invisible War, I strongly urge you to do so. Here are two incredibly troubling statistics the film highlights: 20% of female veterans have been victims of sexual assault during their time of service, and the rate of incarceration for perpetrators is insanely low (of more than 3000 cases in 2010, only 250 led to convictions with only half of those leading to incarceration). Until Secretary Panetta saw the film and changed the policy, accusations of abuse had to be reported to one’s commanding officer; in many, many cases, this officer was the perpetrator.
Yes, I know sexual abuse can occur anywhere. But there is a documented pattern of poor handling of it in the military, and I would not want my daughter to serve until serious changes are made. I know there are many, many benefits that would come with serving, and I do not want to paint the military with an overly broad stroke. But still…it’s a problem.
Give people the option to do their service in other ways–say, national park service, scientific and environmental research, health care facilities, educational assistants and tutoring, construction work on state or federal properties, geriatric care facilities and other social work, and on and on–and I am more on board.
Third, this will be EXPENSIVE. There would be about 5 million people in this program per year (based on the fact that there are about 20 million high school students, both public and private). 138 million Americans filed tax returns, with about half of them paying federal income tax. So, 69 million tax payers… That means it would take about 14 tax payers per participant. If we can keep the cost to $25K per participant (providing room and board plus a stipend and health benefits), would cost each tax payer (on average) close to $1800 per year. And that is completely ignoring overhead costs.
Lastly, I am concerned about the socioeconomic justice of mandatory service. Here’s a thought experiment. Imagine an 18-year-old says to you, “I’m working two jobs right now to support my family. My grandparents live with us, and they’re both disabled. My mom stays at home to take care of my younger brothers and sisters, so I’m the only one who can work right now.” What class do you think this 18-year-old is in? What race? What would be the effects of removing that young adult from his home to fulfill his service requirement?
Again, I really like the idea of mandatory service, but I’m not sure that it can be done.
Michael – I’ve thought about mandatory service and yes it would be a shock to our society. And yes we now do quarterly sexual assault prevention training, but there are differences. Those stats are Army wide, however in the National Guard I have heard of 1 case in my state since moving out of the regular Army in the last 10 years and that was a deployed Soldier (mixed in with regular Army). The top of the DOD is lagging way behind the bottom on this. They are putting out fires, not preventing them, but they are catching up. At a leaders meeting in my state recently I stood up and told all the brass this must come from them, they have to get in the face of junior leaders and make it absolutely clear it will not be tolerated. They need to address it as the serious problem it is. It’s definitely a leadership problem and perhaps we need to get the old guard out to get in new leadership. Perhaps this will occur more rapidly when the wars are over, they have taken their toll in many ways.
The Guard could be a natural fit, because they only do 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks a year and employers are forbidden from punishing them for their service. Next the cost is substantially less then regular branches and they can serve their communities many times. I know I have been called into service during blizzards, hurricanes, floods and special security (ie. Obama’s inauguration). It’s a perfect fit, but they would need to perform their initial basic training and advanced individual training away from home. Dependent family members on the other hand would receive gratis healthcare during that time and the Soldier is paid a fulltime wage like a regular.
I also like the idea of other types of mandatory service and their can also be volunteer work. But the benefit of the military is we live under a different and stricter set of rules. You don’t show up or do your job or show disrespect there can be real negative consequences. It teaches them positive life lessons and gets them going.
There is also the conscription method that is used in many countries. Citizens must do their 1-2 yrs sometime between their 18th and 24th birthdays so they can go before or after college, but they are paid minimally. When I served in Kkorea in the 90’s their starting wage was $8 month and increased to $13 at the end of 2 years. They received barracks housing, 3 squares, toiletries and clothing. Entertainment was on the family. I had a KATUSA roommate whose father was a vice president of Hyundai.
As far as the hard luck exceptions there could be a process. If they decide to make a career out it, then they join the ranks of the volunteers and are paid regular wages and benefits. There is nothing like the experience of working together and working hard towards a common goal not to mention the skills they learn.
Mandatory service doesn’t have to be limited to the military. Seems to me there are plenty of ways youth (and even retirees or others)can serve the country.
While on the topic of service, thanks for yours, PatriotSgt.