The Problems caused by Racism and Prejudice in this country
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I think this is probably Obama's biggest failing. Race relations appear to be worse now.
I think they are undoubtedly worse. Who is to blame is like almost everything in life, a joint achievement. I think Obama bungled almost immediately when he got involved in the situation with the professor from Harvard, Gates. That was dumb. It wasn't race in my mind, it was a cop called on by a citizen to investigate a situation. If anything it was about class. A rich guy getting po'd that he had to show his ID. Obama was too preachy in that incident.
But, the Republican leadership has been shameful. Our own Chuck Grassley stood silently by when fellow members of Congress, and fellow Iowan's cast aspersions on Obama's religion, and made derogatory racial comments. I'll never forget Grassley's comments that, "He had no reason to doubt Obama's Christiantiy", or something like that.
Stuff like that opened the gateway for the loonies.
But, the Republican leadership has been shameful. Our own Chuck Grassley stood silently by when fellow members of Congress, and fellow Iowan's cast aspersions on Obama's religion, and made derogatory racial comments. I'll never forget Grassley's comments that, "He had no reason to doubt Obama's Christiantiy", or something like that.
Stuff like that opened the gateway for the loonies.
I'd posit they only appear worse now that more are paying attention.
I think you people spend way too much time worrying about "race"...I can promise you most minorities could care less...well not in the way you guys do.
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Worse, but I don't think it's really Obama's fault, as others have pointed out.
I also think race relations could take a great leap forward in the near future, due to the pains we're seeing now. People are much more willing to question police treatment of minorities and government systems that disproportionately hurt minorities (mass incarceration and the war on drugs) than they were 10 years ago.
I certainly hope something good comes from all the turmoil recently. But I'm sure we'll get distracted by the Duggars or something soon enough.
I also think race relations could take a great leap forward in the near future, due to the pains we're seeing now. People are much more willing to question police treatment of minorities and government systems that disproportionately hurt minorities (mass incarceration and the war on drugs) than they were 10 years ago.
I certainly hope something good comes from all the turmoil recently. But I'm sure we'll get distracted by the Duggars or something soon enough.
I don't necessarily think it is "his fault" either but he promised to bring the country closer together and "change the way America works". He threw down the gauntlet and said he was going to do it. So I think it is fair to question whether or not it has happened.
I never said it wasn't. He's failed based on how you posed the question.
I think he underestimated how racist a lot of the country still is. Like I said, hopefully the turmoil we've seen helps lead to better relations in the future, and not worse. I think we're at a point where things could go either way.
Not to confuse anyone with science but there's a well-recognized phenomenon in behavioral science called "the extinction burst." That's what we might be seeing. Racism IS coming to an end, but the racists are going through their extinction burst phase.
[from Wikipedia]
In the operant conditioning paradigm, extinction refers to the process of no longer providing the reinforcement that has been maintaining a behavior.
While extinction, when implemented consistently over time, results in the eventual decrease of the undesired behavior, in the short-term the subject might exhibit what is called an extinction burst. An extinction burst will often occur when the extinction procedure has just begun. This usually consists of a sudden and temporary increase in the response's frequency, followed by the eventual decline and extinction of the behavior targeted for elimination. Novel behavior, or emotional responses or aggressive behavior, may also occur.
[from Wikipedia]
In the operant conditioning paradigm, extinction refers to the process of no longer providing the reinforcement that has been maintaining a behavior.
While extinction, when implemented consistently over time, results in the eventual decrease of the undesired behavior, in the short-term the subject might exhibit what is called an extinction burst. An extinction burst will often occur when the extinction procedure has just begun. This usually consists of a sudden and temporary increase in the response's frequency, followed by the eventual decline and extinction of the behavior targeted for elimination. Novel behavior, or emotional responses or aggressive behavior, may also occur.
Well, the science is solid.
Humans are just as governed by operant conditioning rules as rats and pigeons and most other animals - EXCEPT that we have ways to screw up the results, thanks to our memories, our technology and, in cases like this, our media. Most of those things don't affect animal behavior in the wild, but some of them have been successfully simulated, so we know they can somewhat modify the results but don't usually change gross outcomes. The main difference is that we may stay in our extinction burst longer than would otherwise be true.
Plus, if we should happen to turn back the clock on advances in eliminating racism, we could get ourselves into something like the yo-yoing we see when people repeatedly diet and then fall off the wagon. It would be pretty awful to come this far and have that happen. But my guess is that it won't because the younger generation really seems "over it" already, for the most part, on racism and on sexual identity, as well.
Irony is as irony does, Forest. Except when it is hypocrisy.
Or maybe you mean too much time is spent worrying about problems of minorities, as opposed to worrying about the problems caused by minorities.
Touché...maybe it would have better for me to say certain races should take control of their own behaviors...and focus on improving them...then maybe we wouldn't have a need to sit around discussing "race problems".
The funny part is Obama wants to claim racism for so much when the cold hard fact is he only got elected because of his skin color. If he was white he never would have gotten where he is.
Elaborate because quite honestly I don't think that was a factor at all. I doubt very seriously the man would have gotten to 1st base if he were a Republican. I know whites in my part of the country that live in towns that hate blacks and would be hostile to blacks living there that voted for him. The reason...he is a Democrat. That was the trump card for Obama. Now did blacks and white guilters come out and vote for him...sure...but they would not have voted for him had he run as a conservative. Once again the needless emphasis on race.
You may be missing the point. Elections aren't decided on what libs and cons do. It's what the independents do. In 2008/2012 they held their nose and voted for him not because he was liberal, but because he was black. I'm sure there was some misplaced white guilt, causing them to cast an "atonement" vote. But overall they honestly thought he would heal the wounds of our nations past. And if nothing else their vote would nullify those who say a black man can't be the President in a white society. Sadly, instead of telling blacks, "Look, a black man is President, there are no limits placed upon you." He and his ilk did the opposite. Which just made race relations worse. He's been sending WH representatives to every funeral for a thug shot by a white cop. At the same time not a whisper on the explosion of black on black murders in Baltimore.
Being a black democrat was key. I'll give you that. Being black was by far and away the biggest factor though. Those who voted against him for his race where going to vote republican anyway. Black Americans turned out in record numbers to vote for him only because he was black though, and far more whites voted for him because of his skin color than those that did the opposite. It's plain as day. He got elected for being an articulate black democrat, there is no reasonable way to deny that.
Blacks would not have come out and voted for him if he were a Republican...they would have called him a sellout and voted for the Democrat. Now would independents have still voted for him because of the "black card"...quite possibly.
I already agreed with you that being a democrat was a factor. Nonetheless being black was a much bigger one.
Honestly McCain could have driven him into the dirt had he run the right kind of campaign...his biggest mistake was bringing in "Our Sarah". That woman is a loon...and I am conservative.
Well I learned something today. Whites elected Obama in 2008 out of guilt and not because Republicans had done a sh^tty job the prior 4 years.
Take it from someone who taught in the inner city schools...black kids cared ZERO about that...it was all the "we gonna get checks and send the white folk to the cotton fields"...I promise you.
Good point...now will the opposite occur when the voters look at the really crappy efforts of Obama the last 8...interesting proposition indeed.
this is by design: if you wish to take a country down you get the peasants to start in-fighting amongst themselves, this is obama's legacy
You're defeating your own argument now. He energized the base. You just admitted it. The republican base stayed home (many cons and independents hated the republicans in 2008, the Tea Party movement and your own hate speech toward Palin proves that). The liberal base showed up like never before in 2008/2012. That, and the independents going to Obama proved to be the difference in the 2008/2012 election. And McCain's problem was McCain not Palin. He ran against his own VP, that's how stupid he was. Romney was just McCain without the military medals. BTW, you should check out my Obama poll. You'll like the video. Oh, and to the libs claiming he was elected because of Republicans. I'll agree that the population in 2008 didn't understand that ACORN/CLINTON had more to do with the economy than Bush. But in the end simple minds bought into a simple slogan. vvvvvv
Exactly...Obama's playbook was well designed. Prepared in the 60's...they just dusted it off. Sorta like reinventing the Single Wing.
Of course the economic downturn was Clinton's thing. Granting housing loans to people that 10 years earlier would have been laughed out of any reputable bank or mortgage company.You're defeating your own argument now. He energized the base. You just admitted it. The republican base stayed home (many cons and independents hated the republicans in 2008, the Tea Party movement and your own hate speech toward Palin proves that). The liberal base showed up like never before in 2008/2012. That, and the independents going to Obama proved to be the difference in the 2008/2012 election. And McCain's problem was McCain not Palin. He ran against his own VP, that's how stupid he was. Romney was just McCain without the military medals. BTW, you should check out my Obama poll. You'll like the video. Oh, and to the libs claiming he was elected because of Republicans. I'll agree that the population in 2008 didn't understand that ACORN/CLINTON had more to do with the economy than Bush. But in the end simple minds bought into a simple slogan. vvvvvv
I think racism and prejudice had hit a level that people accepted either consciously or sub-consciously as normal and Obama's election brought more of it out of the shadows.
Add to that some in the media running with the theme of opposition to Obama was based on race and if he was white the Republicans would have embraced his policies as if Democrats would have support Bush if he would have been African American.
Plus the squeaky wheels now have more opportunity to be heard and unfortunately have taken advantage of it. Those people don't speak for the majority but they speak the loudest.
Add to that some in the media running with the theme of opposition to Obama was based on race and if he was white the Republicans would have embraced his policies as if Democrats would have support Bush if he would have been African American.
Plus the squeaky wheels now have more opportunity to be heard and unfortunately have taken advantage of it. Those people don't speak for the majority but they speak the loudest.
Congrats to your wife Tex...Teacher of the Year is quite an honor to be relished!
TW, I don't know how this response made it into this thread but thanks for the thought. It was a well deserved award and I am very proud of her.
You have again proven that to be true. At least you are a big man for admitting it!
I dont know if anything has really changed but it is obvious that we see more "race issues" on the 24 hour media cycle as well as comments made from Obama, Holder, Susan Rice, and Jarrett.
The USA missed a huge opportunity to address a big race issue. What we got instead was a President who sat in a chruch for 20 years listening to the preacher talk about how the white man was evil.
We have not had a discussion on why there is so much crime and drugs in the black communities. Why there is a big drop out rate, why there is such a huge number of babies born out of wedlock.
Instead of leaders like MLK, we see the black community rally around young black men that have long arrest records.
The USA missed a huge opportunity to address a big race issue. What we got instead was a President who sat in a chruch for 20 years listening to the preacher talk about how the white man was evil.
We have not had a discussion on why there is so much crime and drugs in the black communities. Why there is a big drop out rate, why there is such a huge number of babies born out of wedlock.
Instead of leaders like MLK, we see the black community rally around young black men that have long arrest records.
