Letters to the Editor
weeping for brunnhilde
Published Letters: 1150 Editor's Choice: 3
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@ seesall
[Read the article: Moving beyond Obama and race]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Yes.
Agreed, wholeheartedly.
Obama's gamble that we're a people hungering to be better than we are, then we've demonstrated ourselves to be, is huge one.
But, it's also a necessary one.
Something's got to give.
We sink or swim together.
Obama's central premise is that we can't browbeat people into being good liberals (my formulation), or, as Hillary would have it, secure the boons of liberalism throw sheer gamesmanship, but rather only by creating a working majority can we move forward.
Hillary's way, the ram-it-through method might work in the short term, but runs the risk of putting in place the resentments that will only return as soon as they are able.
The sixties and seventies liberal agenda did tremendous things for this country, but we're still paying the bill, which is the Reagan Democrat, Clinton Triangulation, the Bush administration.
Obama understands that the only change, the only lasting change comes from within us. It's a cultural change that's needed.
Until we "change the mindset that got us into war," as he likes to say, nothing substantial will change.
There are no easy solutions.
In my view, though, Obama's solutions offer far and away the greatest upside, provided he can pull it off, which obviously remains an open question.
So yes, I agree with you that our lizard brained populace is not ready for the kind of change he's talking about, but I also think that someone, sometime, has to start demanding more of us, to stop pandering to us and patronizing us, elsewise the decline you mention will only continue to spiral downwards.
Of course, challenging people, as Obama does, might antagonize and thus accelerate the downward spiral too...
We have no roadmaps for the future, so who really knows?
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@midwest geezer
[Read the article: Moving beyond Obama and race]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Thanks for your contribution and your goodwill.
I just wanted to say, that speaking for myself, as a thirty-something academic black male, the stereotypes and behavior you refer to afflict us all.
Black people are just as vulnerable to racism as white people.
It's impossible not to internalize the images and attitudes of the dominant culture, that's the point.
Racism is insidious.
Jewish people have the same sorts of issues (e.g., the invocation of the "self-hating Jew" within the Jewish community), as I'm sure do members of all minority groups.
If there's one thing we should take away from all this, it's that racism destroys us all, perpetrators, victims, and "innocent bystanders" alike.
The first step (or a first step) is getting beyond the shame we all feel about racism, sucking it up and moving on.
It's shameful, yes.
But to move forward, we have to thicken our skins a little. (Not an admonition to you, per se, just in general.)
As a black male of immense talent and aspirations to excel in "white America," I have a lifetime of experience as to letting things roll off, sucking up blows, etc.
It's time for white America as well to learn to do the same rather than defaulting to a defensive posture at the mere suggestion that they may have a racist bone in their body.
This is all kind of tangential to your thoughts, but this is where I ended up.
Thanks for reaching out, though, is the point.
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@ David Sugarman
[Read the article: Moving beyond Obama and race]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]What you mean to say is "Too much good will can make me throw up."
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@JackSparx
[Read the article: Moving beyond Obama and race]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Excellent, compelling analysis.
Carville's 'Judas' remark is so, so telling.
On the heels of an administration in which the president's value of cronyism and personal loyalty have spun us headlong into disaster, Carville's caustically repudiates Richardson for failing to be sufficiently loyal, confirming the mistrust many of us have that Clinton's sense of entitlement speaks negatively as to her character.
I think of Carville as a clown, but still, what a statement.
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@unschooler
[Read the article: Moving beyond Obama and race]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Thanks for the link!
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@unschooler
[Read the article: Moving beyond Obama and race]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]That was a great piece, and blessedly short!
It exemplifies the level of discourse we deserve.
Joan might do well to read it and aim higher.
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@ David Sugarman
[Read the article: Moving beyond Obama and race]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Thanks for your opinion, David!
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@Deeper Truth
[Read the article: Moving beyond Obama and race]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I appreciate the case you're making, but I would urge you to consider that perhaps you present a false dichotomy.
Whether or not the "race card" has been played, and we can argue about that, I don't think the evidence you martial is germane.
Whether the Clintons have advocated for civil rights, employ black campaign staffers, etc. is not relevant to the question at hand, which is whether the "race card" has been played.
Your argument is more appropriate to the question of whether or not the Clintons are "racists" in some deep and sinister way.
If we are ever to be honest and reflective about the legacy of racism, it will be necessary to abandon the racist/not racist false dichotomy.
Does that make sense?
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Geraldine Ferraro is a racist
[Read the article: Moving beyond Obama and race]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]No she's not!
Yes she is!
Is not!
Is too!
Please, everyone, consider just how spectacularly unproductive this structure is.
If you really want to have an honest discussion about this, it would be helpful to define terms, for one.
What is a "racist?"
Is it something either one is or is not?
Or is it a clumsy way of expressing manifestations of a certain worldview or behavior?
I'm sorry, but it's really reckless to have such a discussion without attending to the most basic premises, laying the groundwork for consensus and agreement.
What does a talk-radio style debate avail us?
Not a rhetorical question, btw.
Really, to what end?
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@majorajam
[Read the article: Moving beyond Obama and race]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Hear, hear.
It's the fucking Scream all over again.
Ygggghhh!!
Is Dean unhinged?
Was Obama's speech enough?
Will Obama's GAFFE doom his chances with Whitey?
What is there to say, really?
We get the government we deserve.
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@ Deeper Truth
[Read the article: Moving beyond Obama and race]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Thank you for that clarification.
That's helpful and I'll bear it in mind.