Very quickly.
From the Progressive:
"Given Obama’s record, you might think that there might be more political space for blacks to criticize the President. Not so. Take it from me. If you dare to tell it like it is, you instantly and unsparingly get bashed and called a “hater.”
I go on a lot of talk radio programs geared toward a black audience, and whenever I point out Obama’s flaws, this is what I get:
“We ought not to air our dirty laundry in public.”
“We need to show a united front.”
“Obama can’t do everything. He isn’t Superman.”
“Obama is cleaning up the mess Bush left.”
“He got health care passed.”
“The Republicans won’t give him a break.”
“The attack by the ‘birthers’ is an attack on black legitimacy, so we must defend him.”
“He’s not the president of black America; he’s the President of the United States of America.”
“His family sure looks good. He and Michelle are good role models for our kids.”
“It’s our fault the Obama Presidency hasn’t kept its commitments. We need to ‘make him do it.’ ”
“Shut up and sit down and support the President, or there will be nothing he can do anyway.”
Morning syndicated radio show host Tom Joyner told his audience that blacks who criticize the President are “haters” and need to be quiet because Obama doesn’t need the black vote to be split. Joyner asked, “What would it be like without a black man in office? . . . If you don’t support him it will be much worse.”
And here is the money shot:
"The dilemma of black politics is whether it is about changing the system or running it. Is it about ending the empire and elitism or running the empire and somehow becoming part of the elite? And what will people sacrifice for the latter?"
That is it in a nutshell. It's no reasoning with our folks anymore. I don't know whether to be sad or glad to have witnessed this phenomenon. If I had been reading about this level of pathology (because that's what it is) in a book, I probably wouldn't have been able to fully appreciate what it is.
From the Progressive:
"Given Obama’s record, you might think that there might be more political space for blacks to criticize the President. Not so. Take it from me. If you dare to tell it like it is, you instantly and unsparingly get bashed and called a “hater.”
I go on a lot of talk radio programs geared toward a black audience, and whenever I point out Obama’s flaws, this is what I get:
“We ought not to air our dirty laundry in public.”
“We need to show a united front.”
“Obama can’t do everything. He isn’t Superman.”
“Obama is cleaning up the mess Bush left.”
“He got health care passed.”
“The Republicans won’t give him a break.”
“The attack by the ‘birthers’ is an attack on black legitimacy, so we must defend him.”
“He’s not the president of black America; he’s the President of the United States of America.”
“His family sure looks good. He and Michelle are good role models for our kids.”
“It’s our fault the Obama Presidency hasn’t kept its commitments. We need to ‘make him do it.’ ”
“Shut up and sit down and support the President, or there will be nothing he can do anyway.”
Morning syndicated radio show host Tom Joyner told his audience that blacks who criticize the President are “haters” and need to be quiet because Obama doesn’t need the black vote to be split. Joyner asked, “What would it be like without a black man in office? . . . If you don’t support him it will be much worse.”
And here is the money shot:
"The dilemma of black politics is whether it is about changing the system or running it. Is it about ending the empire and elitism or running the empire and somehow becoming part of the elite? And what will people sacrifice for the latter?"
That is it in a nutshell. It's no reasoning with our folks anymore. I don't know whether to be sad or glad to have witnessed this phenomenon. If I had been reading about this level of pathology (because that's what it is) in a book, I probably wouldn't have been able to fully appreciate what it is.
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