Because He is Black

Posted on July 26, 2011 by George Scaggs in Opinion

In the battle over the nation’s debt ceiling, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)recently took to the floor of the House to claim that Barack Obama is treated “disrespectfully” merely because of his race. Though Lee’s latest rant did not garner much mileage, perhaps it would be instructive to discuss the matter in a broader context.

Let’s cut to the chase – Is Barack Obama treated differently because he is black? You bet he is. Has he been treated “unfairly” simply because he is black? That would appear to depend solely upon what one might consider unfair.

Though Ms. Lee, and others who share her point of view, would have us believe that Mr. Obama is treated with disrespect due to his race, one could also make the case that he is more readily treated with kid gloves because of it. The nation’s dual obsessions with racial identity and political correctness have seen to that.

Indeed, the congresswoman from Texas, well known for not only generally outrageous behavior but cries of racism around every corner, has long sought to manipulate these tendencies, aiming to cement her name alongside America’s premier “Racialists” (promoters of racial division, self-victimization and segregation) – Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Louis Farrakhan move over.

Never mind that Ms. Lee and many of her buddies on the left side of the aisle routinely savaged Obama’s white predecessor, going so far as to accuse him of mass murder, burning him in effigy and even publicly calling for his execution.

When serving the racialist cause, facts are ignored just as readily as they are turned upside down, such as the delusion that Republicans stood against Civil Rights legislation, though recorded history tells us it was Democrats.

No doubt, Attorney General Eric Holder’s 2009 admonition that America is “a nation of cowards” when it comes to discussing race was right on the money, albeit probably not exactly as the nation’s top cop envisioned it.

Racism is an ugly business to be sure, and yes, it should be honestly discussed but when it comes to genuine cowardice much of it appears to stem from white Americans who are afraid to criticize anything said or done by “people of color”. After all, such behavior would automatically earn one the disqualifying label of “racist” from the likes of Ms. Lee.

It is not difficult to conclude that open dialog will continue to elude as long as the reins of the conversation remain in the hands of those who consider it impossible for whites to legitimately criticize someone of another race without prejudice.

Ironically, while many of Obama’s racialist defenders promote themselves as racial purists it is more than obvious that there is more than the president’s darker skin at play.

Clearly, even within the broader Democratic group regarded as America’s homogenous “black community” Mr. Obama’s treatment is not predicated on his skin color alone. His liberal Democrat creds are also of critical import, for liberals are not so much for the advancement of blacks as they are strictly for the advancement of blacks who share their point of view.

To achieve the perspective necessary for a real and substantive dialog, perhaps we would all do well to walk a mile in the shoes of black conservatives. To whatever extent racism still exists, they are subject to the same mindless hate as all blacks and other ethnic minorities. But they carry an additional burden.

In having the temerity to think for their selves and ultimately reach different conclusions than most people who happen to share their skin color, these brave souls are routinely savaged by most members of their own race. Largely regarded as traitors, they are treated considerably worse than their white counterparts.

In other words, they are treated unfairly simply because they are black. Interestingly, there is a nary a peep of objection from Racialists over the disrespectful treatment that black conservatives suffer from their racial peers.

Among our nation’s best and brightest are the insightful minds of Doctors Thomas Sowell and Walter Williams, inspiring orators such as Herman Cain, Apostle Claver and Kevin Jackson, courageous leaders such as Star Parker and Congressman Allen West; men and women who should be held on high by all peoples but are ignored, if not outright castigated by those from within what the federal courts have codified as their own “communities of interest”.

Conversely, misogynists who advocate killing cops in an expletive-laced rhyming fashion may be celebrated and exalted, at least as long as they vote the right way or stay out of political matters altogether.

So blinding is this dedication to racial identity among the nation’s liberal ethnic minorities that one does not even have to genuinely accomplish anything in their interests to garner support. Apparently if you are Barack Obama, talking the talk in that decidedly Sunday morning preacher tenor once in awhile will do just fine.

Obama has very little in common with most black Americans. While he is reported to be Christian the evidence is rather lacking. Publicly, he is more prone to show disdain rather than respect for the religion of the vast majority of our black countrymen.

When examining the public record; all he has said and done, his family’s background and those who he surrounds himself with, his beliefs seem to embody a mixture of atheistic Marxism, Black Liberation Theology and the Muslim faith. There is barely a trace to be found of the God who is worshipped by a broad majority of the nation’s blacks.

Though the black community consistently polls in opposition to homosexuality at a higher rate than any other ethnic class, true to his hard-left ideology, Obama vigorously courts the Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transsexual lobby. Not only does he seek to overturn our military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, he is wavering on the legal definition of marriage as we speak.

When it comes to education, the popular Washington D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program, beloved by the city’s low-income black families, was previously shutdown under Obama’s leadership.

As far as jobs go, we find perhaps the most troubling betrayal of all. Since Obama has been in the White House, the nation’s unemployment rate among black Americans has soared from 9% to 16.2%, though it stands at only 9.2% for the nation as a whole.

While black Democrats are fond of demanding that the government act solely and specifically on behalf of their own race, curiously, a review of the current White House occupant’s record turns up a blank slate.

Given that polling consistently indicates the POTUS still maintains 90% support among black Americans, it would seem that many black Democrats treat Obama differently simply because he is black. On this count, the silence among the otherwise vocal racial identity crowd is deafening.

Tags: barack obama, debt ceiling, race, Sheila Jackson Lee