Reality check: Obama and race relations

There's some nut on the Internet ranting about how Obama made race relations so much worse. I've seen similar comments elsewhere. Maybe I slept through eight years, but as I recall, Obama hardly even mentioned race with just a few exceptions, such as his comment that Trayvon Martin could have been his son and his remarks after the SC church shooting. I thought race became a big issue during his administration because a wave of police brutality cellphone videos made it impossible to sweep the issue back under the rug. Am I remembering correctly?


Race relations got worse because Obama's election brought out racists the same way turning on the kitchen light at 2 am in a Brooklyn apartment brings out cockroaches. 


Race became a "big issue" because of a deliberate choice by people who used the fact that an African-American was elected, in order to exploit it for their own political ends.  "Obama phone", "food stamp President", and of course "Where's the birth certificate" are three examples.


To some any advance by Black people makes race relations worse because it makes Black people "forget their place".

kthryn, 

Anyone who says such a thing is either a racist or extremely ignorant.


kthnry said:
There's some nut on the Internet ranting about how Obama made race relations so much worse. 

There's probably thousands of nuts on the internet spreading that rant.

 


He did make race relations worse, simply by being Black and being Prez.

We are a sorry, broken nation.


I don't think he made race relations worse.  I also don't really believe race relations are getting worse in this country.    Is there data to back that up?

I do think there are pockets of morons, and these pockets are amplified by the media.     

Also, is there a link to this rubbish? 



terp said:
I don't think he made race relations worse.  I also don't really believe race relations are getting worse in this country.    Is there data to back that up?
I do think there are pockets of morons, and these pockets are amplified by the media.     
Also, is there a link to this rubbish? 

 Have you looked for the data? There seems to be a lot out there.

Also, racism is either 1. getting worse 2. getting better or 3. staying the same. Do you have data supporting the latter two, or are you just hoping that it's not getting worse?

Your belief is highly unconvincing so far.

eta: I'm pretty sure that the mere fact that we elected a clearly racist Prez is all the data you need.


drummerboy said:


terp said:
I don't think he made race relations worse.  I also don't really believe race relations are getting worse in this country.    Is there data to back that up?
I do think there are pockets of morons, and these pockets are amplified by the media.     
Also, is there a link to this rubbish? 
 Have you looked for the data? There seems to be a lot out there.

Also, racism is either 1. getting worse 2. getting better or 3. staying the same. Do you have data supporting the latter two, or are you just hoping that it's not getting worse?
Your belief is highly unconvincing so far.

eta: I'm pretty sure that the mere fact that we elected a clearly racist Prez is all the data you need.

Race relations are clearly getting better.  In 1958, only 4% of the population supported interracial marriage.  There are no lynchings any longer.  Things aren't perfect, but to say they are not getting better seems odd. 

And Trump may be a racist, but he didn't win because of that.  If progressives keep telling themselves that in enough numbers I fear there are going to be some very upset progressives in 2020. 


What exactly was the common thread in trump voters? Thought I read somewhere that it was indeed racism. It certainly wasn’t family values.


I don't think it was one homogeneous block as in any presidential election. I think there were the Hilary haters(against the elite), you had the people who think the system was working against them(populists), Conservatives, anti-Politician(give me an outsider, any outsider), etc.   Oh, and those who voted that way because Russia told them to  grrr 


Perhaps the swift publicity of racially charged incidents via social media (thanks, Black Twitter) is merely pulling the veil off of a reality most white folks never knew existed. One where black people are assualted and shot by police in their own neighborhoods. One where doing things white people do (like golfing, AirBnB’ing, BBQing in a park, napping on campus, sitting in Starbucks etc) can get you a confrontation with the police. This reality isn’t new to us black folks but now white folks are seeing the injustice too. 


What seems new to me is the feeling that people who were always racist feel emboldened to speak and act on that hatred. It’s no longer taboo to be racist. 


the number of white people that I encounter on social media who claim that they "suffered" during the Obama years, and blame him for racial conflict in this country is astounding.  I know that liberals are constantly being hectored about "reaching out" and trying to understand those type of people.  But really, how are we supposed to reach out to people who are living in that kind of bubble?  How is logic, reason or reality going to penetrate?


We've never had a breakthrough in race relations without attendant backlash, often violent.


BHO didn't have to do anything but get elected.


I once sat in a group relations session in which the moderator stood up and said "I'm an Asian-American woman. Comments?" Point made. 


We've all heard comments about Trump that say something like "His main motivation is to undo all of BHO's efforts."

A major lesson of the 2016 election: Americans have been shown their collective face - and it's fcuking orange.


tom said:
Race relations got worse because Obama's election brought out racists the same way turning on the kitchen light at 2 am in a Brooklyn apartment brings out cockroaches. 

This a thousand times


terp said:
I don't think it was one homogeneous block as in any presidential election. I think there were the Hilary haters(against the elite), you had the people who think the system was working against them(populists), Conservatives, anti-Politician(give me an outsider, any outsider), etc.   Oh, and those who voted that way because Russia told them to  grrr 

 Some of those "who think the system was working against them" believe that the reason for that is because they are White and that "the system" favors Blacks. Some who are "against the elite" see that elite as favoring minorities at the expense of the White working class.

Racism was a birth defect of America and continues as a stain on American Society. 


This is not to say that you are completely wrong when you write:


terp said:



Race relations are clearly getting better.  In 1958, only 4% of the population supported interracial marriage.  There are no lynchings any longer.  Things aren't perfect, but to say they are not getting better seems odd. 

 Progress is made slowly and for every two steps forward there is one step back but the only way to ensure progress is to constantly point out problems and keep up pressure.


terp said:


drummerboy said:

terp said:
I don't think he made race relations worse.  I also don't really believe race relations are getting worse in this country.    Is there data to back that up?
I do think there are pockets of morons, and these pockets are amplified by the media.     
Also, is there a link to this rubbish? 
 Have you looked for the data? There seems to be a lot out there.

Also, racism is either 1. getting worse 2. getting better or 3. staying the same. Do you have data supporting the latter two, or are you just hoping that it's not getting worse?
Your belief is highly unconvincing so far.

eta: I'm pretty sure that the mere fact that we elected a clearly racist Prez is all the data you need.
Race relations are clearly getting better.  In 1958, only 4% of the population supported interracial marriage.  There are no lynchings any longer.  Things aren't perfect, but to say they are not getting better seems odd. 
And Trump may be a racist, but he didn't win because of that.  If progressives keep telling themselves that in enough numbers I fear there are going to be some very upset progressives in 2020. 

Yes some things are better, but others are worse. The white/black wage gap still persists. Since the War on Drugs started, millions of blacks have been put in prison. Lynchings are down, but blacks are disproportionately killed by cops for no good reason.

And if you think that Trump's racism didn't help him in this election, you're really being naive.

https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/12/15/16781222/trump-racism-economic-anxiety-study




ml1 said:
the number of white people that I encounter on social media who claim that they "suffered" during the Obama years, and blame him for racial conflict in this country is astounding.  I know that liberals are constantly being hectored about "reaching out" and trying to understand those type of people.  But really, how are we supposed to reach out to people who are living in that kind of bubble?  How is logic, reason or reality going to penetrate?

This is exactly what I was referring to in my initial post. I see enough of it that it makes me question my sanity, or at least my perception of events. They are so adamant.



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