Obama Chides Holder for ‘Cowards’ Remark
According to the New York Times, President Barack Obama “chided” Attorney General Eric Holder for calling white Americans “cowards” because they’re not talking about or dealing with race the way he believes they should.
Among other things, Holder said, “Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial, we have always been, and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards.”
In response, Obama told the NYT: “I think it’s fair to say that if I had been advising my attorney general, we would have used different language…We’re oftentimes uncomfortable with talking about race until there’s some sort of racial flare-up or conflict. We could probably be more constructive in facing up to sort of the painful legacy of slavery and Jim Crow and discrimination.”
Ah, the ever-present painful legacy of slavery and Jim Crow and discrimination! The legacy-of-slavery proposition is about as useful to black Americans as a bicycle is to a fish. Slavery has existed all over the world in some form or another for millennia. In fact, human bondage still exists in Africa, the continent from which the ancestors of black Americans came. Black Americans are the freest and most prosperous group of blacks on the planet, yet some of us just can’t seem to get over past enslavement and discrimination perpetrated upon our grandparents and great-grandparents.
These retro conditions are to blame for everything from high illegitimacy rates to disproportionately high incarceration rates to the academic achievement gap. I believe Obama and Holder share the same view about white Americans being cowards when it comes to race, but Obama knows better than to insult the people who voted for him.
I’m compelled to repeat what I said before on this topic. An honest dialogue about race would require all sides to candidly discuss existing problems and examine themselves before blaming others. An honest dialogue about race would acknowledge biases that may exist, but also behaviors that might cause or confirm those biases. An honest dialogue about race would include a discussion about family structure (or lack thereof) and its effect on racial disparities.
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Sylvia Wasson
Sunday, March 15th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Talking about “cowardice”: there is nothing more cowardly — not to mention deceptive — than to suggest that dressed-up language be used to camouflage content. Yet this is exactly what our “postracial president” is suggesting.
So much for “candidate” Obama’s promise to become the “president of hope and change” for ALL Americans.