President Obama, I Wouldn’t Apologize Either
Posted by Mitch Mitchell on Jul 24, 2009
Yes, I'm taking a stand here.
There's been this big outcry over what President Obama said Wednesday night regarding the story of Robert Gates and the police office in Massachusetts. President Obama said he felt the action of arresting this man while he was in his own home was stupid, admitting he didn't know a lot about the case but that Gates was his friend.
Since then, that seems to be all anyone can talk about. On one side, people have seen this issue and commented, saying the same kinds of things have happened to them. On the other, people are saying President Obama shouldn't have said anything at all without knowing all the facts.
There's a few realities here that I just have to state. One, racism isn't over, and it probably never will be, unless there's a world problem where everyone has to stand together against an outside threat. I don't see that Independence Day scenario happening in our lifetime.
Two, there's this thing called loyalty, which I've written about, which says you back up your friends no matter what, unless they've committed an egregious act, in which case they violated their loyalty to you to be someone trustworthy, and thus didn't fully earn that loyalty.
Three, there's this history, what I like to call "track record," of people of color being abused by "the man", and whether this police officer acted in accordance with principles or not, and whether this police officer did it because of race or not, he was in the position, having been someone who supposedly helped to teach race relations to other police officers, of not only knowing that had to be coming, especially since by the time he arrested the professor he knew the man really was in his own house, but had the knowledge to anticipate how this man might react based on his own possible history.
Back in my late teens and early twenties, I was pulled over a few times myself in the area I live in now. There weren't a lot of black people in this area, and I didn't drink (never have had alcohol) or do drugs, and didn't drive wildly either. They would pull me over, ask for ID, ask why I was there or where I was going, then tell me to be on my way. I never talked back because I knew where I was, and knew that I probably wouldn't win if I did mouth off. Dolemite might have been able to get away with it, but I wasn't taking any chances.
All that, and with the country just coming off three big racial incidences (the kids and the pool incident, and the black police officers suing the city because of a racist website being run by other police officers, both in Philadelphia; the protest over another dragging death of a black man in Texas) in the past week, I personally believe President Obama was well within his right to say something.
I would have. And on Facebook earlier today, when someone I'm connected with said the President was wrong, I wrote him back and said if it were my friend I'd have done the same thing, and if he said he wouldn't have done it for a friend I wouldn't have believed him. He wrote back saying for a close friend he would have done the same thing, but he would have been wrong. Oh yeah, he's white.
And that's my basic premise here. Every person I know would side with their friend in something like this immediately, and unless they totally overstepped their bounds, wouldn't apologize for it either. In my mind, this incident with the President really is more of an issue of race once again; what, a black man, even as president, isn't allowed to state an opinion? Who here really believes the police are always working in our best interest? Been to New Orleans lately? Dallas maybe? Tenaha Texas?
President Obama did call this police officer and spoke to him. He called Gates and talked to him also. He's invited both to the White House for a meeting if they want to take him up on it. This incident should be closed now, and let everyone get back to the task of governing this country. But let's not forget what has really brought this on; we still have a very long way to go.
Regardless of what the President said I really hope that racial prejudices could be minimized.
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It’s a nice hope, Danny. I don’t know about all that happening, but if it helps to open dialogue on the topic, it could move things forward. And that wouldn’t be a bad thing at all.
Hey Mitch,
I certainly do believe that a man/woman should say what they mean and mean what they say. If you are going to take a stand, never apologize for your beliefs or feelings.
But, on the other hand, Mr. Obama holds the highest position in this country and is (ideally) supposed to be the median between all sides in public. Although his decision to speak up and defend his friend was admirable, he must also remember that as the president his every word will be judged and scrutinized.
Am I saying that he should hold his tongue and censor his speech? Heck No! I am simply saying that the president and all of those supporting him should realize that his words and actions will always put a heavy weight of responsibility on his shoulders.
He was not wrong in his actions and words but perhaps the choice of words is what may have really stung. This is the first time that I have witnessed Mr. Obama use words that even made me gasp. But, perhaps, these are the very words that will continue to make the country sit up and pay attention to what really going on in this country.
Hi Nikki,
I didn’t gasp once; what I finally felt was a true emotion, and I liked it. I think sometimes our politicians decide to play things so far down the middle that they forget what it was that made them appeal to people in the first place. I thought it was about time he opened up on something, and I liked the loyalty part.
You are right, though, when you say that people need to realize that everyone isn’t going to take their words the way they’re meant to be taken. So the right wing got its moment; personally, I wouldn’t have cared less. Until one of them has stood in my shoes, they have no right to comment on anything.
I, too, do not believe that President Obama’s reaction was wrong; however, I was a bit surprised because he is aware how his response could potentially be exploited by the media. There are always those who would use these type of statements to manipulate public opinion…even when it bypasses reason and logic.
Hi Rachel. I think they caught him in an impromptu moment and got the real Obama, who probably surprised himself later on once he thought about it. I can understand how it works, and as long as he didn’t go too far beyond the line, which I don’t think he did, then it should have been a non-issue.