Very well thought out. I don't think anyone of sound mind can make the blanket statement that at least a small portion of the disdain for Obama is not driven by race. Race and appearance will ALWAYS influence human perceptions - just at it did when GWB was President. GWB had the most racially diverse cabinet in history, yet no credit was thrown his way. He made Condolesa (sp?) Rice arguably the most powerful woman and the most powerful person of color on the earth, yet no credit. Heck, the African American community did everything it could to distance itself from Condi, as they continue to do with Clarence Thomas.

Good point. Condi Rice is one woman I wish would run for president.

While I share many of the sentiments of Robinson's article, I more or less agree with your post here. I think he raises some relevant questions, but the broad strokes used to paint the opposition ensure they remain unanswered and dismissed out of hand. It's an issue that has to be tackled with a certain degree of nuance that draws a distinction between typical partisanship and something more sinister.

 

Here are the questions, distilled down, that I believe Robinson to be asking:

 

• Would a not insignificant number of people believe Obama to be a closet Muslim (where being a Muslim is a very negative thing), a Marxist anti-colonialist, un-American, fraudulent citizen, radical terrorist sympathizer if he were white and had a name like Ben Smith?
   
  
• Very little has changed between the Bush and Obama administrations, if people truly feel the country is being usurped from them why were they not there before and why are they especially scared of the latter president?
  

 

Now, these counterfactuals are unanswerable one way or another, but I think they are fair to ask. At the very least, they bring attention to what many people consider the issue of race to be with this president, rather than simply paint the opposition with a broad brush.

Your two questions are very legitimate, whether anyone wants to admit it or not ...

I know quite a few of them, none which are racist. There are racist people of all parties, not just one. Bottom line, the vast majority of people that have a problem with Obama aren't racist, they simply don't like his politics.

As do I and worked with the movement for a little bit. I found things to be different...hence why I don't work with them anymore.

 

To dismiss race as at least partially the reason many don't like Obama is pretty foolish if you ask me. Say blanket statements and close the door on the issue all you want. I think many will see it otherwise.

Your two questions are very legitimate, whether anyone wants to admit it or not ...

Most will choose to keep their head in the sand.

Your two questions are very legitimate, whether anyone wants to admit it or not ...

 

Skin color doesn't play a factor into people questioning his faith. His name does. I don't care what color you are, someone with a name that sounds somewhat Muslim is going to have people more likely to think they're Muslim.

 

If you met a white male, named Muhammed Sharaf, wouldn't you be more inclined to think he's a Muslim than a guy named Ben Smith?

Skin color doesn't play a factor into people questioning his faith. His name does. I don't care what color you are, someone with a name that sounds somewhat Muslim is going to have people more likely to think they're Muslim.

 

If you met a white male, named Muhammed Sharaf, wouldn't you be more inclined to think he's a Muslim than a guy named Ben Smith?

 

It may be ignorance on my part, but before President Obama, I knew of no one with that last name, so I would have no reason to attribute any religion to them. I would not assume that they were Muslim.

It may be ignorance on my part, but before President Obama, I knew of no one with that last name, so I would have no reason to attribute any religion to them. I would not assume that they were Muslim.

 

Nor did I know of anyone with that name. But I'd heard of Barack before & also Hussein.

 

Please don't misunderstand me...I don't believe for a second that Obama is a Muslim. Just tying to point out that at first glance, when you see the name for the first time, a person would associate it with an Islamic name.

Don't judge a book by its cover ... unfortunately, some in the Tea Party movement tend to do with with Obama.

Skin color doesn't play a factor into people questioning his faith. His name does. I don't care what color you are, someone with a name that sounds somewhat Muslim is going to have people more likely to think they're Muslim.

I don't doubt that your statement applies in most cases ... unfortunately, some of us have seen and/or heard enough to know that race does play a role in some of the anti-Obama chatter.

Nor did I know of anyone with that name. But I'd heard of Barack before & also Hussein.

 

Please don't misunderstand me...I don't believe for a second that Obama is a Muslim. Just tying to point out that at first glance, when you see the name for the first time, a person would associate it with an Islamic name.

 

I understand. I've also never been a fan of those that point out his middle name in an attempt to get the uninformed to jump on the anti-Obama bandwagon.

I don't doubt that your statement applies in most cases ... unfortunately, some of us have seen and/or heard enough to know that race does play a role in some of the anti-Obama chatter.

Just as some in the pro-Obama camp which support him strictly because of race. I am not a Tea Party guy, but the generalizations which have gone along with the movement are unfair, imo.

While I share many of the sentiments of Robinson's article, I more or less agree with your post here. I think he raises some relevant questions, but the broad strokes used to paint the opposition ensure they remain unanswered and dismissed out of hand. It's an issue that has to be tackled with a certain degree of nuance that draws a distinction between typical partisanship and something more sinister.

 

Here are the questions, distilled down, that I believe Robinson to be asking:

 

 

• Would a not insignificant number of people believe Obama to be a closet Muslim (where being a Muslim is a very negative thing), a Marxist anti-colonialist, un-American, fraudulent citizen, radical terrorist sympathizer if he were white and had a name like Ben Smith?
  
• Very little has changed between the Bush and Obama administrations, if people truly feel the country is being usurped from them why were they not there before and why are they especially scared of the latter president?
  

 

 

Now, these counterfactuals are unanswerable one way or another, but I think they are fair to ask. At the very least, they bring attention to what many people consider the issue of race to be with this president, rather than simply paint the opposition with a broad brush.

Really? Maybe I missed something, but Bush Jr. was hammered from every single angle on a lot more personal level than Obama. There was an extremely vocal opposition to the previous administration, just not as organized as the Tea Party. I think many are afraid to attack the President on a personal level because of the fear of being deemed racist. The Tea Party was an attempt to hit upon the issues and not the Presidency (whether you agree with their positions or not). The racist fear mongering has followed.

Just as some in the pro-Obama camp which support him strictly because of race. I am not a Tea Party guy, but the generalizations which have gone along with the movement are unfair, imo.

 

Really? Maybe I missed something, but Bush Jr. was hammered from every single angle on a lot more personal level than Obama. There was an extremely vocal opposition to the previous administration, just not as organized as the Tea Party. I think many are afraid to attack the President on a personal level because of the fear of being deemed racist. The Tea Party was an attempt to hit upon the issues and not the Presidency (whether you agree with their positions or not). The racist fear mongering has followed.

Spot on with both posts! :thumb:

Really? Maybe I missed something, but Bush Jr. was hammered from every single angle on a lot more personal level than Obama.

More so than Obama? I would disagree.

 

They've both been hammered quite a bit, just as Clinton was before him. Some of the criticism of Obama, in my opinion, has been more ridiculous than his two predecessors.

Some of the criticism of Obama, in my opinion, has been more ridiculous than his two predecessors.

 

Some has, though I would put the "GWB is responsible for 9/11" to be close to some of the "birthers" or that "Obama is a closet muslim."