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In the year of our lord 2012


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Has anybody not seen this hilarious video??

http://youtu.be/-qv7k2_lc0M

Check out the below commentary on the Arizona governor finger-pointing incident.

Jan-Brewer-and-Barack-Obama-620x489-430x320.jpg

1.) He is the President. She is being disrespectful. As hell. Period. Point Blank. End of Discussion.

2.) White privilege conditions white people not to see white rage. However, it makes them hyper-aware of Black threat. Newt Gingrich is white rage personified. And for it, he gets loads of applause. So is Jan Brewer, but usually we think of white rage in masculine terms. Gender stereotypes condition us not to see white women as being capable of this kind of dangerous emotional output. We reserve our notions of female anger for Black women. Such hidden race-gender logics allow Brewer to assert that she “felt threatened,” even though she was trying to handle the situation “with grace.” Now look back at the picture: who is threatening whom? Couple white rage with white women’s access to the protections that have been afforded to their gender, and you have something that looks ironically like white female privilege. Yes (yes, yes), the discourse of protection is based upon problematic and sexist stereotypes of white women as dainty and unable to care for themselves, and yes, these stereotypes have caused white women to be oppressed by white men. But remember, gender does not exist in a racial vacuum. It is performed in highly racialized contexts, and history proves that what constitutes oppression for white women in relation to white men, dually constitutes privilege for white women in relation to Black men. (I’m not spoiling for a fight today, so anybody who feels uncomfortable with such assertions should probably go read some Patricia Hill Collins, Black Sexual Politics and then try again.) What I know is this: 100 years ago (less than, actually) a Black man even standing that close to a white woman would’ve gotten him lynched. (Seriously, I just discovered that even accommodationist Booker T. Washington was beaten in New York in 1911 for talking to a white woman.) And I know that if a Black woman had wagged her finger at Bush II or even Bill Clinton, we would have seen her faced down, handcuffed, with Secret Service swarming. When your race and gender grant you opportunities to be treated with dignities that others don’t have or conversely, to heap indignities on those people, that is what we call privilege. Deal with it

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Oh my Gawd don't get me started on this mess right here!!!! I was just telling my husband the other day that President Obama has to put up with so much disrespect that it isn't even funny. Regardless of what people thought about Bush, nobody would have dared wag a finger in his face. Nobody would have boo'ed any of the other first ladies at a NASCAR race. Nobody would have turned down an invitation to go to the white house & meet w/the president based on "political differences" (hockey player Tim Thomas). If I'm wrong, please somebody correct me with some examples. And people are still in denial about the racism that exists in this country today? Really?

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Cynique, Luther looks like a Cory Booker (Mayor of Newark often compared to Obama) that spent a little too much time in 'hood.

At the end of the day, Obama was elected president. I think that speaks more for the country than some malcontented ignoramuses who don't give the office the respect it warrants because a man who is 1/2 Black holds the office.

I think anyone who believes any no other president was disrespected is simply forgetful or too biased to see the truth. Writegirl some presidents were shot, another had a shoe thrown at him.

My God, what would Black people do if some white person threw a shoe at Obama?!

The issue of some old white lady wagging her finger in the president's face has already taken up too much press and reflects poorly on her not on Obama.

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Come on, Troy. The guy who threw the shoe at Bush was an irate Arab at a foreign press conference. In addition to the instances Writergirl cited, no president in recent history has had their veracity disputed by a senator during a state of the union address. Yes, there have been disgruntled wackos who have made assassination attempts on presidents, a few of which were successful, but the "old white lady" getting in Obama's face was the conservative Republican governor of the state of Arizona. Not only did her stance endear her to a certain segment of the population, but by blemishing the tradition of respecting The Office, if not The Man, it also offended many white citizens. Its polarizing impact in an election year is why it remains newsworthy.

This woman has now become the poster girl who will go down in infamy for doing what an assassination would not have done: Instead of turning Obama into a martyr, her demeaning gesture turned him into a "dissed nigga".

If black folks have overreacted to this gaffe, it's because such incidents reinforce their perception that racism is at the core of Republican opposition to all of Obama's proposals.

432196_358350594175186_100000007455977_1421935_923947542_n.jpg

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Cynique money and power is that the core of Republican opposition to Obama. Racism is a useful tool in their arsenal, but lets be clear: this is all about power. Republicans would be and have been against all democratic Presidents. Obama has the disadvantage of being susceptible to the race issue.

We can go back and forth all day with me giving you an example of a President being dissed more than Obama and you can others can give me examples of why that was not as bad as what this white lady did or what some dumb congressman did by yelling you lie.

Kennedy had his head blown off. I think that is far worse than Obama will ever encounter, because Obama will never do anything signification enough to disrupt the current balance of power.

The Governor from the state of Arizona got mad at Obama and acted out - so what. Do you think Obama handled it properly? Should he have punched her in the face? Or should he have handled it the way any gentleman who is disrespected by a woman?

Polarizing?! At the end of the day. The behavior of the woman in no way diminished the love and respect Obama supporters have for him. Maybe her behavior even strengthened their resolve. Again, the Arizona state governor's behavior only hurt herself and her constituents. It in no way changed the balance of Obama supporters or detractors.

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Troy, yep, I know about the throwing of the shoe & the other presidents who were shot at and assassinated. But I'm referring to the at home nit-picking done by supposedly stable-minded Americans; the petty b.s. that I keep noticing surrounding President Obama and the First Family. And although I'm sure he is brushing it off and saying "oh I expected it...I'm not surprised...just a day at the office..." I, on the other hand, am irritated by it. I think certain ppl just want to aggravate the Obama family to the point where the First Lady will snap off and get in somebody's face and become "the angry black woman." That way ppl can say, "SEE!!! I TOLDYA SO!!!"

************

Btw, does this (see link below) fall under the category of death threat?

http://thinkprogress..._source=message

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Well, Troy, it can't be said that the presidency is the tool of corporate America which was proved by how Obama bailed out the banks and the auto industry, and then make the claim that Republicans oppose him because it's all about money. Seems to me that politics is what it's all about, and the best tool Republicans have in re-capturing the white house is to appeal to the fear and baser instincts of white American voters. Race still matters.

Kennedy got his brains blown out and he became a martyr by default. HIs short time in office was riddled with missteps and vascillation and tainted with infidelity and cronyism. Because of his death, we'll never know whether he would've lived up to the myth that keepers of the "Camelot" flame have crafted for him. And he may have not even been re-elected because of the Vietnam war, a conflict which was escalating because of America's need to portray itself as the good guys with a mission to destroy the Communist boogie men. Extricating this country from that war proved to be a formidible task as LBJ found out, - all of which is why he declined to run for re-election. Agreed, Kennedy's terrible fate was bad for him, but great for his legacy. Obama may yet live out his life, safe and sound, but destined to go down in history as an ineffective head of state who failed in his mission to bring change for the better.

And polarizing is not about alienating Obama's followers. It's about pitting the left and the right against each other, creating a state of affairs that is not in the best interest of America's future progress.

So what if the governor of Arizona acted out? As an elected official she should've known better, but her disregard for respecting her commander-in-chief came across as a courageous gesture to anti-government right-wingers, and her finger-wagging played into the simmering resentment of Republicans, frustrated with an uppity black president who has threatened to override certain Senate rulings.

As for Obama's reaction to this incident, he did what he had no choice but to do. Which was to walk away because he didn't dare retaliate against "Miz Ann". He at least tried to preserve the dignity of the office.

Yes, every president is vulnerable to personal and physical attacks by those who know how empowering it is to bring down the holder of the highest office in the land. So, it's about symbolism. That's why there is so much outrage when protestors burn the American flag. Once you start devaluing what this country stands for, the nation is in deep trouble. I am not a rabid patriot or an Obama champion but if America falls, it will begin with acts defiance against the esteem of the presidency. And if America falls, the proverbial shit will hit the fan.

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writegirl, would you believe I've recieved a death threat for running this site? I posted it on these board few years ago. Death threats, unfortunately, the come with the job (as President). Ronald Regan knew what he signed up for when he took the oath of office.

I agree with you people want Obama to fail miserably. But how pathetic would Obama be if he lost his cool over Miz Ann getting her panties in a tangle?

Cynique, Obama being used by Wall Street and the Republicans wanting him out are very much compatible. To the truly rich and powerful parties are incidential. Party affiliations are what poor people fight over while they are being fleeced, but the rich. You know Wall Street plays both sides of the fence, right?. They don't really care who wins; they can manipulate Obama can be as easily as Gingrinch.

Cynique, the symbolism you speak of is what you choose to ascribe to the situation. Miz Ann's reaction is merely a reflection of our current state -- not the cause of it. We need to remedy the more profound problems of the nation. Chasing after every fool who flies off the handle or assigning more value them than they are worth it is a waste of time. Put this in the same category as "beer-gate".

Obama can not afford to give Miz Ann and any attention. He has far more serious shit to deal with.

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Don't underestimate the power of symbols, Troy. They are the pillars of an empire. Wars have been fought and power usurped under the banner of symbols and what they represent. The cross is probably the most powerful symbol in the western world.

Or am I suggesting that Obama give Miz Ann any undue attention. Obama is not the problem. Nobody is disappointed because he exercised restraint. One symptom of the "current state" of which you speak, is embodied by the conservative Republican governor of Arizona who, in her zeal to scold the president, ended up debasing the presidency. Obama-haters may love this, but concerned parties see this as a breakdown in tradtion that could be the start of a bad trend. Some kind of decorum has to be maintained to preserve the sanctity of the government, just on a matter of principle.

I didn't need too much encouragement to sit out this upcoming election, but you certainly make a good case for doing so, since putting Obama back in office will just be an exercise in futility inasmuch he will be beholden to the monied. Sounds like it makes more sense to vote for somebody like Romney who won't be at odds with Wall street, and can then get the country back on track because a healthy economy is good for capitalism and what's good for capitaism is good for the rich, Whatever. I'm done...

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