"I'm not sure America is ready to have a black president.
I think they might kill him." - 50 Cent on Obama as President.
That is something many wonder about but no one wants to talk about it openly. It was brought up once when Ted Kennedy was on The Early Show. It was eluded to, not overtly but still, the issue was poked at. Kennedy was asked if he was worried about Obama’s safety because he is a “JFK-like-figure.” It was a crude question, but how do you approach the subject? Michelle Obama has said she worries for her husband’s safety and he was reported to have the biggest secret service detail out of all the candidates. Or maybe he was the only candidate with any at all. Colin Powell’s wife had the same fear when Colin’s name was being floated as a possible candidate to run in 2000.
50 Cent is a successful businessman, has said he liked W. within the last two years, does not have a conscious message in his music, but still sees a problem with a black president. His instincts get right down to the nut of the whole thing. Will this man with the crazy name, almost like Osama but instead Obama, make it or get gunned down like usual? The anniversary of MLK’s assassination was just a little bit ago, have things changed enough in 40 years? It is hard to know, but we are thinking about it. We worry for Obama’s safety and root for him. We want to believe. We can taste it. We are ready for it. Let’s do this.
Bill Clinton knew exactly what he was doing when he brought up Jesse Jackson winning South Carolina twice and still losing the nomination. Bill is not dumb or insensitive to race, but that was his way of swatting down the black community. It was a signal heard loud and clear like “states rights” with Reagan or W.’s whisper campaign about McCain’s black baby in 2000. Or the rumor about Obama with his hand on a Koran during his senate swearing in ceremony in 2002, and the picture with Obama in traditional Ethiopian garb. Those were all lies but also signals to let White America know this one is not to be trusted. Chris Matthews believed the red phone ad the Clinton team put out was a classic ploy to show who will keep the kids safe, be scared of the black man he will not be the one to keep your family safe he lurks in the night.
50 Cent knows the limitations he has seen it too many times, the built up distrust and fear of blacks in the white community runs deep. Obama is half black, his mom is white yet he still is in the black column. A big part of me believes that The Establishment will make sure he is not the nominee. Watch, the Clinton’s will clamp down.
FOX has been attacking Obama and that usually means the rest of the news media is due to do the same. Recently ABC’s George Stephanopoulis used questions suggested to him by Sean Hannity and historically other networks fall in line behind whatever FOX is focused on. Not sure if there is an organized effort to do so or if it is cultural, a top down sort of thing, like proper etiquette, but in the 2000 election, all the networks declared Gore the winner and then FOX said it was W. and the rest flipped the switch.
The black thing looks like it may be the straw that breaks Barack’s back, early on in the 2008 primary I thought we might finally forgo beating a candidate purely because of his blackness, but it does not seem to be so, as the campaign drags on. Recently Bill Clinton accused Obama of throwing the race card at him, ironically Bill pulled out the freaking race card in the first place with his infamous Jesse Jackson South Carolina comments.
It has been hard to watch Obama as he refused to get down and dirty. He has been criticized for it, by me and many others, we think he should have been punching back much harder. Sheesh, I would have grabbed Hillary by her soccer mom mullet and thrown her off the stage ten debates ago, but Obama has been about as cool, calm and collected as a man can be with these charges being thrown his way. Remember John McCain has White Supremacist supporters and even as a Senator from Arizona, he has a history of not celebrating MLK Day.
I took the pictures of the Obama van near KeyArena when Obama visited Seattle during the 2008 Democratic primary.
2 comments:
I think that all in all our country, and much of the world, has come a long way in the past 40 years in regards to racial toleration and equality. There are still hiccups that have never been worked out, as well as the 'reverse racism' phenom that was either born or increased with the assasination of Dr. MLK.
However, I have to believe that in this day and age when the majority of people want their 15 minutes (and our media is more than happy to give it to them) there will always be someone willing to do the unthinkable in order to gain fame. As a result I don't think that any President or leader is safe from assasination, but the fact that Obama is a minority definately increases the risk. At the same time, Hillary probably has just as much risk being a woman.
Until we deal with the problems of attention via sensationalism in our society and the media, nobody, including our leaders, will be safe from fanatical nuts.
Well put Broton.
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