I'm just not seeing where he "comes to a conclusion". He's just making a statement....racism exists and is deeply rooted, and that we as a country must work hard to keep moving forward. I just don't see where that's promoting racism. Acknowledging how and why it exists isn't a problem. Ignoring it, as it has been in the past, IS a problem.

Maybe I look at it when he sends the federal investigators to both Florida and to Ferguson trying to find a civil rights violations makes it look as if he believes it's a race issue but when no federal charges are made in either makes it look as they are not race related as he and others want you to believe.

 

Ferguson had absolutely nothing to do with race yet there are protests going on around the country as they cry race because of Ferguson.

 

I think he has done nothing to mend any race relations but instead have made it worse. It is not the elephant in the room. Because Obama takes "sides" only when an incident involves an african american and a white person and inferring it has to do with race is just making things worse not better. He isn't shining the light on anything new, what he is doing is creating problems where they didn't exist by making trump upped allegations that each time are being proven wrong. How is that helping anything?

Maybe I look at it when he sends the federal investigators to both Florida and to Ferguson trying to find a civil rights violations makes it look as if he believes it's a race issue but when no federal charges are made in either makes it look as they are not race related as he and others want you to believe.

 

Ferguson had absolutely nothing to do with race yet there are protests going on around the country as they cry race because of Ferguson.

 

I think he has done nothing to mend any race relations but instead have made it worse. It is not the elephant in the room. Because Obama takes "sides" only when an incident involves an african american and a white person and inferring it has to do with race is just making things worse not better. He isn't shining the light on anything new, what he is doing is creating problems where they didn't exist by making trump upped allegations that each time are being proven wrong. How is that helping anything?

 

Let me ask you.....are you saying that there are no race issues?? While the grand jury may have found race wasn't a factor, I'm not sure how you can pin the fallout and reaction on Obama. These social reactions have been occurring for years. And the reason they occur absolutely is race related. Minorities simply don't trust law enforcement....that has everything to do with the history of race relations in our country (which Obama references), and has been around for far longer the the current president.

The fact that it has been ignored for so long is what makes these conversations so difficult in 2014. It's been ignored for so long people thought it was fixed.

 

 

It wasn't and hasn't ever been fixed.

 

Now that we are confronting these facts, our opportunity is to make further improvements.

Now that we are confronting these facts, our opportunity is to make further improvements.

 

Good luck with that. My plan is to continue to try to shape opinions with my actions as a person. I've given up on dialogue.

Good luck with that. My plan is to continue to try to shape opinions with my actions as a person. I've given up on dialogue.

 

You don't think anything useful or constructive CAN come out of the recent issues?

You don't think anything useful or constructive CAN come out of the recent issues?

 

 

Absolutely. I don't trust mankind to make anything useful or constructive come out of the recent issues.

Maybe I look at it when he sends the federal investigators to both Florida and to Ferguson trying to find a civil rights violations makes it look as if he believes it's a race issue but when no federal charges are made in either makes it look as they are not race related as he and others want you to believe.

 

Ferguson had absolutely nothing to do with race yet there are protests going on around the country as they cry race because of Ferguson.

 

I think he has done nothing to mend any race relations but instead have made it worse. It is not the elephant in the room. Because Obama takes "sides" only when an incident involves an african american and a white person and inferring it has to do with race is just making things worse not better. He isn't shining the light on anything new, what he is doing is creating problems where they didn't exist by making trump upped allegations that each time are being proven wrong. How is that helping anything?

 

That's the problem. When issues like Trayvon Martin would happen and people would call for federal investigations no one would listen. Now when Obama says I'll send investigators down to see if everything is done properly he is being called out for making race relations worse? Is this even real? This is where some white people have their blinders on and can't even recognize that all blacks want in most cases is 1.) some answers and 2.) someone with real power to at least act like they care. Those things didn't happen before Obama and now that they happen people say he is making race relations worse?

 

 

Yeah, this is why I hate talking about race. People just don't get it and they never will. And again, that's not a slam at you it's a slam at society and how we have perpetuated this myth that all is fine and dandy with race when the fact is that we are as far apart as we were in 1960. We just get to use the same bathrooms now.

That's the problem. When issues like Trayvon Martin would happen and people would call for federal investigations no one would listen. Now when Obama says I'll send investigators down to see if everything is done properly he is being called out for making race relations worse? Is this even real? This is where some white people have their blinders on and can't even recognize that all blacks want in most cases is 1.) some answers and 2.) someone with real power to at least act like they care. Those things didn't happen before Obama and now that they happen people say he is making race relations worse?

 

 

Yeah, this is why I hate talking about race. People just don't get it and they never will. And again, that's not a slam at you it's a slam at society and how we have perpetuated this myth that all is fine and dandy with race when the fact is that we are as far apart as we were in 1960. We just get to use the same bathrooms now.

 

I keep thinking that it;s 1968 all over again.

Let me ask you.....are you saying that there are no race issues?? While the grand jury may have found race wasn't a factor, I'm not sure how you can pin the fallout and reaction on Obama. These social reactions have been occurring for years. And the reason they occur absolutely is race related. Minorities simply don't trust law enforcement....that has everything to do with the history of race relations in our country (which Obama references), and has been around for far longer the the current president.

No. I'm not saying their aren't race issues at all. What I'm saying is we as a society need to discuss solutions etc about actual race issues instead of making something that isn't about race into something about race. Am I the only one that see's that?

 

there are ma y race related incidents and those are the ones that need addressed, not making events that have nothing to do with race into a race incident just to get attention.

Ferguson is the perfect example. If there are issues with police and black relations then let's talk about those incidents. Let's not make an incident that has nothing tondo with race into one of them. Michael Brown's death was not because he was black. To make him out as a martyr is the wrong message to send.

 

Maybe im the only one who knows the difference. I hope I'm not.

The roots of racism in this nation goes back to almost the time of its settlement and it branched out. Yet a digging up many racism roots began in the last century and have been severely cut back, but not eliminated. I believe a lot of people think of it today as the deeply, spread out roots of the 1950's, not as the tap root surviving and trying to hang on. Maybe one day it will be ripped out completely, but then maybe the haters will hang in there until the 'end times'.

I think maybe the President is so lame duck/powerless right now that he would have trouble moving the needle on anything. Even membes of his own party think he is toxic.

Absolutely. I don't trust mankind to make anything useful or constructive come out of the recent issues.

 

I tend to agree but because no one on either side of conversation really want to discuss anything. It's accusations and name calling .

 

If a cop was in the wrong in any case there are ways to discuss it without making it seem all cops are evil and racist.

 

If the cops were in the right there is a way to say that without being insensitive to a plight , a race of people feel.

I tend to agree but because no one on either side of conversation really want to discuss anything. It's accusations and name calling .

 

If a cop was in the wrong in any case there are ways to discuss it without making it seem all cops are evil and racist.

 

If the cops were in the right there is a way to say that without being insensitive to a plight , a race of people feel.

 

Exactly. :thumb:

Lest anyone think racism is a strictly American problem, let me relate an incident that happened in Viet Nam over 40 years ago. We had three maids who worked in our hooch--two women and a teenager. I worked the night shift, so I probably saw them as much as anyone. Being young and male...not to mention being in a war zone (though not on the front lines)...I never considered their relationship to each other. They all did their jobs and went their way. We all spoke daily in friendly fashion.

 

And then one day when one of them was not there, something sparked the other two to speak of the absent one with spit literally flying from their lips...at which time I discovered that the missing woman was Chinese, the two present were Vietnamese.

 

Does anyone suppose race relations between the Vietnamese and the Chinese has improved since that time? I would guess not.

 

Ravi Zacharius says there is tremendous racial strife between those from Northern India and those from the Southern part of the country. One group is lighter skinned that the other.

 

And the problem goes all the way back to Biblical times. We know Abraham had at least two sons (of different mothers.) One (the son of a concubine who was an Eqyptian) was the forefather of the Palestinians; the other (by Abraham's wife) was forefather of the Jewish race. And what has been happening in the Mideast for oh so long between those two groups is based on racism.

 

I agree with Saints tight end Benjamin Watson who said, "It's not a skin problem; it's a sin problem." If we could see each other (whatever our differences) as God sees us, it would make all the difference in the world.

 

Unfortunately that won't happen on this earth. But someday....!

I have insight into racism in other countries as well. I have two children adopted from Ethiopia. They are very dark skinned. The tribe they are from were the original slaves in Ethiopia. Yep, black people had black slaves.

 

While we were in Ethiopia, we had gone to a mall one day. We were walking and a lighter skinned man grab one of my daughter's arm and said something that upset her. As I stepped towards the man to confront him, one Ethiopian men with us, about the size of The Rock, grabbed him by the collar and spoke with him and sent him on his way. To this day my daughter will not tell me what the man said to her. Our friend that grabbed the guy said the man made a racial slur towards my daughter.

 

I won't give up on trying to make race relations better. I do it in actions and words.