<p>Um, Younghoss, maybe you don’t realize that Jesse Jackson is black? His remarks are offensive, certainly, but they aren’t really racist, at least not in the way they would be coming from a white person.</p>
<p>Obama talk about absent fathers is nothing new; Bill Cosby has been making this argument for years. I am surprised everyone is behaving like this is the first time this topic is being discussed.</p>
<p>Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Barack Obama, no difference between these people, they are all different faces of the same coin.</p>
<p>Jesse does need racial sensitivity training, but not for this. The remark wasn’t about Obama’s race, it was about Jesse’s envy.</p>
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<p>Oh please…:rolleyes:</p>
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<p>And so has Obama.</p>
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<p>I agree with you Zoosermom. Remember how Bill Clinton caught flak for reminding how Jackson had won in South Carolina? But Jackson did not make it all the way through the primaries. Obama has. For a publicity hound like Jackson, Obama’s ability to attract crowds and to get so far must be galling.</p>
<p>I’m guessing that Fox News turned those mics on early with the hopes that something like this might happen. Very smart.</p>
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<p>Worse yet, Obama doesn’t owe Jackson anything, and that’s exactly what he can expect to receive from the Obama administration.</p>
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<p>I’m sure ole’ Jesse consoles himself by thinking of himself as “the giant” upon whose shoulders Obama stood to reach such heights.:rolleyes:</p>
<p>“Any fool can have a child. That doesn’t make him a father.” Obama, from Father’s Day speech. Does that remind Jackson of someone he knows?</p>
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<p>Was he all over the news talking about this issue? Or did he start talking fervently about this issue after he won the nomination?</p>
<p>When he needed the black vote, he did not talk about these issues. For me, that was the best time to talk about this issue, it would have shown a sign of a leader. Talking about this issue after the nomination does not show a sign of a good leader. </p>
<p>He does not take a hard position if it is going to hurt him politically, he comes in after the fact to claim credit.</p>
<p>Are biracial individuals who are raised in the household with their caucasian parent, not allowed to identify with their caucasian background, genetics, upbringing?</p>
<p>I believe --and I hope-- that Senator Obama has a little bit of Bill-Cosby-styled common sense in him.</p>
<p>“Was he all over the news talking about this issue? Or did he start talking fervently about this issue after he won the nomination?”</p>
<p>Before Obama ran for the Senate, he published a book about what it was like for him to grow up without a father in his life. The issue of male responsibility for being fathers has long been a heartfelt cause of his.</p>
<p>There were a series of articles this week in all the major papers listing all BO’s right direction moves–endorsing capiltal punishment in non-death crimes, endorsing individual gun ownership rights, providing aid to church related NGOs, taking another look at Iraq stance, etc etc.</p>
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<p>He was not “all over the news” because the MSM did not think he was that newsworthy. But he made similar speeches last year. </p>
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[Obama</a> Stumps for Responsible Fatherhood](<a href=“http://fatherhood.about.com/b/2007/03/15/obama-stumps-for-responsible-fatherhood.htm]Obama”>http://fatherhood.about.com/b/2007/03/15/obama-stumps-for-responsible-fatherhood.htm)</p>
<p>Friday, June 15, 2007
Barack Obama’s Father’s Day Message
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<p>[The</a> Rambling Prophet: Barack Obama’s Father’s Day Message](<a href=“http://ramblingprophet.blogspot.com/2007/06/barack-obamas-fathers-day-message.html]The”>The Rambling Prophet: Barack Obama's Father's Day Message)</p>
<p>See also:
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<p>“Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Barack Obama, no difference between these people, they are all different faces of the same coin.”</p>
<p>A coin with three faces? It must be annoying to Republicans that Jackson’s blunder will make it even harder for them to make this silly argument.</p>
<p>Yes, Hunt I did notice Jesse is black. In fact he has been black for years as far as I know. I expect he will be black for years to come. But I still believe he made a racist statement. I don’t feel his skin pigmentation or his ancestry give him a “pass” on statements that other politicians or national figures of a different ancestry aren’t entitled to. If I were a national politician and IF I said “All Irish are drunkards” am I permitted that without reprisal because I am caucasian and some of my ancestors were Irish? Is my caucasian next-door neighbor not permitted to say that because he is of Polish ancestry?
Is it considered a hate crime if someone burns a cross on an Alabama black family’s yard? If a swastika is painted on a New York Jewish synagogue? Most would say yes. But what if a Catholic Mexican man did those deeds? Or an agnostic Korean man? Is it only a hate crime if those acts were committed by a caucasian of European ancestry? Be clear- I’m not saying the Reverend(?) Jesse is guilty of any hate crime. I only use those examples to demonstrate my belief that any American of any ancestry that says a black guy (although actually of mixed ancestry) is “acting white” and should [be castrated] is more than just an idiot. He is also IMO spouting racist comments and should be held equally accountable as if it had been John Mc, Hillary, Esteban Torres, Grace Napolitano, or radio man Imus who said those words. My opinion is more tolerant of say, comedian Carlos Mencia- an equal opportunity offender who is only putting himself out there as entertainment. </p>
<p>I’d also like to see the media press Jesse on defining what is “acting white”? How exactly is that not a racist statement? Does “acting white” mean being able to pronounce the word “ask”? Does it mean being able to conjugate “to be” properly? To say that only white Americans can do such things IMO is silly, and to say a black American is “acting white” if he speaks well is just as silly.</p>
<p>I agree with younghoss’s comments.</p>
<p>I was very impressed by Jesse Jackson Jr.'s comments as reported by the NY Times:</p>
<p>Obama’s candidacy has served as an example of a generational and stylistic shift in black political leadership in America. The remarks drew an unusually stern rebuke from Representative Jesse Jackson Jr., Democrat of Illinois, who also serves as a national co-chairman of Obama’s presidential campaign.</p>
<p>‘‘Rev. Jackson is my dad, and I’ll always love him,’’ the congressman said Wednesday evening in a statement. He added: ‘‘I thoroughly reject and repudiate his ugly rhetoric. He should keep hope alive and any personal attacks and insults to himself.’’</p>
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<p>Really? Obama has been talking about this as early as 2005/6 - which is what attracted me to him in the 1st place.</p>
<p>While Obama wants better schools/more jobs available to poor urban or rural areas - he also understands that these things don’t have much of an impact w/o a father figure and/or some stability in a household.</p>
<p>Obama understands that success depends not only on better programs/opportunities, but individual responsibility as well.</p>
<p>And I guess Obama never did bring up gay/lesbian rights while speaking in front of crowds in rather socially conservative regions such as the South or Great Plains states (not to mention speaking out against homophobia w/in the black community while speaking at a historic black church).</p>
<p>Obama was praised by gay/lesbian groups for having the gumption to talk about gay/lesbian issues in front such crowds - while Hillary, in contrast, got criticism from the gay/lesbian community for only bringing up gay/lesbian rights when speaking in front of gay/lesbian groups.</p>
<p>Jesse may have said Barack was “acting white”, but I think what’s really bothering Jesse is that Barack’s mother was white.</p>