Ethnically Speaking, August 29

Larry Meeks
Sat, 29 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700
Lifestyle

Dear Larry: I am very upset with all the criticism of President Barack Obama. I think he is doing an outstanding job. He is trying very hard, but people keep trying to stop him from doing what is best for the American people.

I think people are trying to stop him because he is African-American and they just do not like the idea that a minority is in the White House. He should be treated just like all the other presidents, who have happened to be white.

Larry, I am white, and you, as an African-American, should say something about racist attacks against our leader.
Updated: Fri Aug 28, 2009

Dear Larry: I am very upset with all the criticism of President Barack Obama. I think he is doing an outstanding job. He is trying very hard, but people keep trying to stop him from doing what is best for the American people.

I think people are trying to stop him because he is African-American and they just do not like the idea that a minority is in the White House. He should be treated just like all the other presidents, who have happened to be white.

Larry, I am white, and you, as an African-American, should say something about racist attacks against our leader.

To prove my point, the other day, I saw a bumper sticker that said, "He Is Not My President." If this is not racism, what is? Racism is alive and thriving. — Grieving Citizen

Dear G.C.: I agree with you that President Obama should be treated like all the previous leaders. Failure to treat him the same because of his race is, by definition, racism.

But your example of racism is not accurate. That bumper sticker first appeared when President George W. Bush was president. President Obama is not treated the same as previous presidents. So far, he has escaped the severe criticism and analysis that has plagued previous officeholders.

I believe giving our president a pass because he is black is an example of paternalism and racism. All presidents should be challenged. This is what keeps our country from going too far left or right.

Dear Larry: I always enjoy your column, and although I agree with the advice you gave regarding Civil War re-enactments and the use of the word "Negro" rather than the racially charged N-word, I have to disagree with your assertion that the particular epithet was not as loaded in that day as it is today.

That word may have been more casually used then without all of the heat and backlash. It also was used much more back then by the so-called upper class, leaders and politicians. It always was considered crude and a putdown of black Americans. That word was used to raise the temperature and coarsen the discourse.

A perfect example is Stephen Douglas. Sen. Douglas was an out-and-out racist. He was never above using the N-word in speeches or for political race baiting. But he was also very aware of the social disapproval of the word and always had it replaced by the word "Negro" in print.

Reporters and his contemporaries reported how he could powerfully use that word with a sneer.

He is fortunate there was no YouTube in his day. — James

Dear James: What you say about Stephen Douglas is true; he was a devout racist. However, he was not much different from most politicians and leaders in those days. It was only a question of what level of racist. Using that word was considered crude and unrefined. The meaning was not something people had serious objections to, though.

In California, there was a place along the American River where African-Americans panned for gold during the 1849 gold rush. All the maps and official documents called the place "Nigger Bar." No one objected to the name.

As an aside, the signs and names were changed to "Negro Bar" in the 1970s, as America became more aware and sensitive.