Obama's election was exhilarating, a time infused with such promise for the nation in general and blacks in particular. That was a moment when all of black America was poised on the threshold of full participation. It was time to step forward and receive the acceptance, affirmation and encouragement of the nation, which is what the election signified.
We all wanted - longed - to move forward to firm ground, out of the mud of racial resentment and dysfunction that had us stuck in place after the progress of the civil rights era. Black America would not be held back any longer but would claim its full-membership place in our country.
But there was another option, and to our everlasting regret, this is the path that was chosen. Rather than step forward we all stepped back under the mantle of victimhood and self-doubt. We re-embraced the comfortable but emasculating patronage of special treatment. It was as though a young man about to graduate from college and conquer the world, decided instead to duck back into the familiar surroundings and safety of another year in school. We haven't had a better opportunity to really break free since then.
Yes, elements of discrimination remained, but I fault Obama and Eric Holder for resuscitating the dying corpse of racism in that moment. Instead of building on the significance of the election of a black president, they chose to emphasize the shortcomings and the distance left to go. Their glass was eternally half-empty, but they needed to keep blacks resentful and unconfident lest they risk losing this political base.
They basically scolded the nation back into the old black-white paradigm and encouraged blacks to simmer in old wounds and resentments instead of exercising the strengths which, through Obama's election, the nation was already celebrating.
The worst enemy of black America is not some KKK straw man. The biggest obstacle to black America is that cohort of black spokesmen and "representatives" for whom racism is the only card they can play and is their path to personal enrichment. These people will never let racism die because they would be out of power the minute black America decides to stand independently on its own.
I'm a devoted listener/reader but am writing because i REALLY want to know more about the blues opera - I'm a live theater/music producer - how can I find out more/get involved?
Obama got what he and Michelle (mainly) wanted ...rich!!! That was the "CHANGE" he HOPED for. Period. He used the race-bating, gaslighting sociopath Democrats the same way they used the Blacks and Latinos. Blacks have been used worst than anyone (even by their own people) to enrich themselves. It's so obvious, only TDS blinded morons who can't see passed their own smug arses don't see it.
The famous Henry Louis Gates-Obama-Cops Beer Summit (July 2009) occurred long before Trayvon Martin (Feb. 2012). Obama had made a total mess of it instantaneously by accusing the Cambridge cops of "acting stupidly" and speaking of a long history of black-cops encounters, etc. He realized his mistake and did try to make up for it with the Beer Summit. This incident shows two things. Obama's lost chance to deal honestly with the race issue took place a few months into his presidency and long before any social media pressure could have made any difference at all. Secondly, his partial effort then to right the wrong he had committed makes clear that he well understood that what he did was wrong. It was his choice to unlearn what he knew and revert to race hustling when the later incidents occurred. I am with Glenn totally on this. Obama was the biggest disappointment in the history of the modern civil rights movement.
Bottom line: Obama had a chance to truly build on what was improving race relations in 2008. Instead, he made every wrong choice possible and left office in 2016 with race relations back in 1890. He deserves every bit of scorn because of this fact alone.
There's something wrong with your Youtube channel. When I hit the bell icon for notifications it says "This action is turned off for content made for kids [LEARN MORE]". I think the content of the channel has been marked as for kids
Thanks for the heads-up, trying to figure this out. It's strange because (1) the channel is definitely set up as "not for kids" and (2) I was able to subscribe and use the bell button without any problems using my personal account. Might some kind of a glitch, reaching out to Youtube support now.
I tried a second account and it worked. I tried again with the first account and it still did not wok. I tried unsubscribing and resubscribing and it finally worked. It felt like a bug more than anything. Thanks for the support.
Obama was an ambassador to an older white America, but he was a tragedy for Black American schoolchildren. Agency is pretty important- if there is such a thing I had plenty of it- my father was USAF and my mother was an English Schoolteacher. Agency- I'm sure there is a more modern word for it...
Ha! Maybe not more modern, but how about "Suck it up and deal." This is a message every single individual on the planet, of any race or color whatsoever, needs to hear at key points in life's tricky course.
I don’t live in NYC, but I prefer Eric Adams to the other candidates. Appears that he is concerned about the actual lives of New Yorkers. Even the perceived concern of “doesn’t work well with others” is preferable to machine-candidates. How much of the critics’ concern is real and how much is fear?
On Obama, I voted for the guy twice because I use the word “We” and I thought he did, too. The President is not excused from his role as unifier due to social media effect. And in the second term, he didn’t have a re-election campaign as excuse. Thanks guys, great discussion.
At the end, John topped off a very hard-hitting segment with (implying "seemingly" or "it's as if"): "If you're black, the truth doesn't matter." Earlier, Glenn mentioned the date being in August. I had to wonder: Was this lively discussion held back so as not to coincide with the early days of John's NYT gig? If so, I couldn't blame you! To anyone reading this who hasn't yet watched the video, please note that the fireworks come in the final segment.
Now I want to defend President Obama. He said this in July 2013:
"Now, this isn't to say that the African American community is naïve about the fact that African American young men are disproportionately involved in the criminal justice system; that they’re disproportionately both victims and perpetrators of violence."
Maybe that doesn't seem like much, but it's at least broaching an uncomfortable topic, so credit where credit is due. I can't imagine any other president, Democrat or Republican, with the standing and guts to say that. Of course I agree with Glenn that Obama could have and should have done much, much more, but he did try on at least that one occasion.
I always listen, but seldom spend much time watching. Today, though, before I went into listen mode, I watched for a while. Very cool! What a view. Were you in one of the supertalls on Billionaire's Row? Maybe you don't want to disclose. At any rate, it was bright and airy and made me wish I was there just so I could look out the window. Visuals aren't my bailiwick, but this caught my eye.
As a follow on to this I suggest that everyone listen to Bari Weiss' podcast interviewing Glenn which was posted today. Both Bari and Glenn at their absolute best: https://bariweiss.substack.com
I second this recommendation. It was incredible. Bari Weiss is the best interviewer on the planet right now. She really hit the ground running with her new podcast after she left the NYT. The production values were amazing from the very first episode, and it's clear she does deep preparation for the interviews. During the interviews, she asks substantive questions that get to the heart of the matter. Basically, she fulfills my rosy-remembrance recollections of "back when we had quality media."
Dr. Loury was amazing. As the commenter above said, he was at his "absolute best." The first hour focused on Dr. Loury's background. I planned to do something else while listening (I'm going to read Glenn's book when it comes out, after all), but got caught up listening. It helps to be in a reflective frame of mind, probably, but whatever the case, I thought it was great.
If you are impatient, skip to the final 40 minutes. That's when the fireworks start. "Absolute best" is right.
It doesn't make a lot of sense to relitigate this, but George Zimmerman had no business being out that night, armed and acting like he was the law. This kind of action-movie hero posturing that a lot of frustrated suburban men are guilty of must be actively discouraged. If you want to be a lawman, join the police. If you want to serve your country or community, join the army or become a teacher or community worker, or volunteer. Don't strap a gun and go around acting tough because you want to appear like John McClane. Zimmerman's post-trial behavior proves how unhinged he was.
There had been a series of burglaries, the gated community decided to have their own neighborhood watch, and if you read what really happened, he was holding back and it was Martin who was moving in on him. I know that is counter to what is generally discussed, but it is the objective truth. When he finally pulled a gun, it was because Martin was repeatedly slamming his head into the pavement. The thing is, it was possible to look up the basics of how this played out even very early on, and understand that it made sense for him to be ultimately exonerated. It was a terrible situation and horrific tragedy, Zimmerman has huge flaws, but it is clear that he was not racist (as is apparent when looking at his life story) and that he was attacked and fighting for his life while in a situation that was not very unusual and not outside the law.
TY (thank You) for the education. TYTY. I bought "The Trayvon Hoax" and "Revolt of the Public."
I take M. Loury's word on it.
But I'll add that I'd always assumed that the reason he didn't do much (AFAIK) was because he had no EXPERIENCE on the national stage. How long in Senate? Any ability to craft legislation? I'm not CERTAIN, but I believe "not much" on both counts. ICBW.
Glenn: sorry to say, but I disagree wholeheartedly with you on Obama. He represented a TON for me. How much do I need to lay out in a response to your rant to justify MY feelings? If you & I could meet for 3 or 4 beers, we could go into it……..but just know that MILLIONS of Americans think very differently than you regarding Obama.
I promise to obey my own rule- listen to audio before responding. But, I have good news for both Glenn and John (alphabetical). I will personally train men around me to fight like Mohammed Ali. But - not with fists, with logic and science. I have already begun.
Obama's election was exhilarating, a time infused with such promise for the nation in general and blacks in particular. That was a moment when all of black America was poised on the threshold of full participation. It was time to step forward and receive the acceptance, affirmation and encouragement of the nation, which is what the election signified.
We all wanted - longed - to move forward to firm ground, out of the mud of racial resentment and dysfunction that had us stuck in place after the progress of the civil rights era. Black America would not be held back any longer but would claim its full-membership place in our country.
But there was another option, and to our everlasting regret, this is the path that was chosen. Rather than step forward we all stepped back under the mantle of victimhood and self-doubt. We re-embraced the comfortable but emasculating patronage of special treatment. It was as though a young man about to graduate from college and conquer the world, decided instead to duck back into the familiar surroundings and safety of another year in school. We haven't had a better opportunity to really break free since then.
Yes, elements of discrimination remained, but I fault Obama and Eric Holder for resuscitating the dying corpse of racism in that moment. Instead of building on the significance of the election of a black president, they chose to emphasize the shortcomings and the distance left to go. Their glass was eternally half-empty, but they needed to keep blacks resentful and unconfident lest they risk losing this political base.
They basically scolded the nation back into the old black-white paradigm and encouraged blacks to simmer in old wounds and resentments instead of exercising the strengths which, through Obama's election, the nation was already celebrating.
The worst enemy of black America is not some KKK straw man. The biggest obstacle to black America is that cohort of black spokesmen and "representatives" for whom racism is the only card they can play and is their path to personal enrichment. These people will never let racism die because they would be out of power the minute black America decides to stand independently on its own.
It is no wonder Glenn is frustrated!
I'm a devoted listener/reader but am writing because i REALLY want to know more about the blues opera - I'm a live theater/music producer - how can I find out more/get involved?
Obama got what he and Michelle (mainly) wanted ...rich!!! That was the "CHANGE" he HOPED for. Period. He used the race-bating, gaslighting sociopath Democrats the same way they used the Blacks and Latinos. Blacks have been used worst than anyone (even by their own people) to enrich themselves. It's so obvious, only TDS blinded morons who can't see passed their own smug arses don't see it.
We are in Obama’s third term. So now we know what he had in mind when he said fundamental transformation of America.
The famous Henry Louis Gates-Obama-Cops Beer Summit (July 2009) occurred long before Trayvon Martin (Feb. 2012). Obama had made a total mess of it instantaneously by accusing the Cambridge cops of "acting stupidly" and speaking of a long history of black-cops encounters, etc. He realized his mistake and did try to make up for it with the Beer Summit. This incident shows two things. Obama's lost chance to deal honestly with the race issue took place a few months into his presidency and long before any social media pressure could have made any difference at all. Secondly, his partial effort then to right the wrong he had committed makes clear that he well understood that what he did was wrong. It was his choice to unlearn what he knew and revert to race hustling when the later incidents occurred. I am with Glenn totally on this. Obama was the biggest disappointment in the history of the modern civil rights movement.
Bottom line: Obama had a chance to truly build on what was improving race relations in 2008. Instead, he made every wrong choice possible and left office in 2016 with race relations back in 1890. He deserves every bit of scorn because of this fact alone.
There's something wrong with your Youtube channel. When I hit the bell icon for notifications it says "This action is turned off for content made for kids [LEARN MORE]". I think the content of the channel has been marked as for kids
Thanks for the heads-up, trying to figure this out. It's strange because (1) the channel is definitely set up as "not for kids" and (2) I was able to subscribe and use the bell button without any problems using my personal account. Might some kind of a glitch, reaching out to Youtube support now.
I tried a second account and it worked. I tried again with the first account and it still did not wok. I tried unsubscribing and resubscribing and it finally worked. It felt like a bug more than anything. Thanks for the support.
Obama was an ambassador to an older white America, but he was a tragedy for Black American schoolchildren. Agency is pretty important- if there is such a thing I had plenty of it- my father was USAF and my mother was an English Schoolteacher. Agency- I'm sure there is a more modern word for it...
Ha! Maybe not more modern, but how about "Suck it up and deal." This is a message every single individual on the planet, of any race or color whatsoever, needs to hear at key points in life's tricky course.
I don’t live in NYC, but I prefer Eric Adams to the other candidates. Appears that he is concerned about the actual lives of New Yorkers. Even the perceived concern of “doesn’t work well with others” is preferable to machine-candidates. How much of the critics’ concern is real and how much is fear?
On Obama, I voted for the guy twice because I use the word “We” and I thought he did, too. The President is not excused from his role as unifier due to social media effect. And in the second term, he didn’t have a re-election campaign as excuse. Thanks guys, great discussion.
At the end, John topped off a very hard-hitting segment with (implying "seemingly" or "it's as if"): "If you're black, the truth doesn't matter." Earlier, Glenn mentioned the date being in August. I had to wonder: Was this lively discussion held back so as not to coincide with the early days of John's NYT gig? If so, I couldn't blame you! To anyone reading this who hasn't yet watched the video, please note that the fireworks come in the final segment.
Now I want to defend President Obama. He said this in July 2013:
"Now, this isn't to say that the African American community is naïve about the fact that African American young men are disproportionately involved in the criminal justice system; that they’re disproportionately both victims and perpetrators of violence."
Maybe that doesn't seem like much, but it's at least broaching an uncomfortable topic, so credit where credit is due. I can't imagine any other president, Democrat or Republican, with the standing and guts to say that. Of course I agree with Glenn that Obama could have and should have done much, much more, but he did try on at least that one occasion.
I always listen, but seldom spend much time watching. Today, though, before I went into listen mode, I watched for a while. Very cool! What a view. Were you in one of the supertalls on Billionaire's Row? Maybe you don't want to disclose. At any rate, it was bright and airy and made me wish I was there just so I could look out the window. Visuals aren't my bailiwick, but this caught my eye.
As a follow on to this I suggest that everyone listen to Bari Weiss' podcast interviewing Glenn which was posted today. Both Bari and Glenn at their absolute best: https://bariweiss.substack.com
I second this recommendation. It was incredible. Bari Weiss is the best interviewer on the planet right now. She really hit the ground running with her new podcast after she left the NYT. The production values were amazing from the very first episode, and it's clear she does deep preparation for the interviews. During the interviews, she asks substantive questions that get to the heart of the matter. Basically, she fulfills my rosy-remembrance recollections of "back when we had quality media."
Dr. Loury was amazing. As the commenter above said, he was at his "absolute best." The first hour focused on Dr. Loury's background. I planned to do something else while listening (I'm going to read Glenn's book when it comes out, after all), but got caught up listening. It helps to be in a reflective frame of mind, probably, but whatever the case, I thought it was great.
If you are impatient, skip to the final 40 minutes. That's when the fireworks start. "Absolute best" is right.
It doesn't make a lot of sense to relitigate this, but George Zimmerman had no business being out that night, armed and acting like he was the law. This kind of action-movie hero posturing that a lot of frustrated suburban men are guilty of must be actively discouraged. If you want to be a lawman, join the police. If you want to serve your country or community, join the army or become a teacher or community worker, or volunteer. Don't strap a gun and go around acting tough because you want to appear like John McClane. Zimmerman's post-trial behavior proves how unhinged he was.
There had been a series of burglaries, the gated community decided to have their own neighborhood watch, and if you read what really happened, he was holding back and it was Martin who was moving in on him. I know that is counter to what is generally discussed, but it is the objective truth. When he finally pulled a gun, it was because Martin was repeatedly slamming his head into the pavement. The thing is, it was possible to look up the basics of how this played out even very early on, and understand that it made sense for him to be ultimately exonerated. It was a terrible situation and horrific tragedy, Zimmerman has huge flaws, but it is clear that he was not racist (as is apparent when looking at his life story) and that he was attacked and fighting for his life while in a situation that was not very unusual and not outside the law.
TY (thank You) for the education. TYTY. I bought "The Trayvon Hoax" and "Revolt of the Public."
I take M. Loury's word on it.
But I'll add that I'd always assumed that the reason he didn't do much (AFAIK) was because he had no EXPERIENCE on the national stage. How long in Senate? Any ability to craft legislation? I'm not CERTAIN, but I believe "not much" on both counts. ICBW.
Paraphrasing a “Boondocks” meme:
What did Obama do to make Dr. Loury so mad?”
Whenever Obama comes up in the media Living Colour’s “Cult of Personality” jams in my head.
Glenn: sorry to say, but I disagree wholeheartedly with you on Obama. He represented a TON for me. How much do I need to lay out in a response to your rant to justify MY feelings? If you & I could meet for 3 or 4 beers, we could go into it……..but just know that MILLIONS of Americans think very differently than you regarding Obama.
I promise to obey my own rule- listen to audio before responding. But, I have good news for both Glenn and John (alphabetical). I will personally train men around me to fight like Mohammed Ali. But - not with fists, with logic and science. I have already begun.