Happy Friday! I've been doing some research on President Obama's favorability numbers. In addition to being active in local politics I have finally decided to write a diary about the underlying theme of the hatred of Obama: racism.
I know you have probably seen plenty of diaries on the topic, but I would like to add my own personal narrative to the politics of race in this country.
It's simple for Conservatives. The Tea Party began after Obama became President. Living in Arizona has given me the opportunity to observe Tea Party demonstrations first hand. I went to a Tea Party Rally for the first time when I was 18. I was freaked out but I wanted to see what all of this was about. I went with my friend and her parents who were the definition of Conservative Republicans. Obama's race wasn't an issue to them. I grew up with my friend; her family called me a member of theirs and was frequently called Aunt "Young Arizona Liberal" by my friend's nieces and nephews. The people at the rally were actually quite nice to me. I wasn't met with any animosity. These people opposed "higher taxes" and were against TARP (little did they know that it wasn't Obama that signed TARP, but whatever), they hated the bank bailouts, and refused to submit to universal healthcare. Yet, in the media they were constantly painted as racists. I started reading news articles online and analyzed the comments left after them to see what people actually thought. To my surprise it was a rude awakening. Logic did not exist to conservatives. It was a deep hatred for Obama that fueled their rants against the current President. Thoughtful discussions could no longer be found and I am still looking for valid debates left by people on the right. Images like the one pictured below were all the rage. I have given up trying to understand them, so I turned to the liberal/progressive/democratic wings of American Politics.
Republicans call their party "The Party of Lincoln" but they fail to realize that Lincoln was a liberal Republican. Liberals have propelled this country forward in things like civil rights, women's rights, proper wages, healthcare, I could go on for days listing the great things about being a liberal. One thing I never thought I would equate with liberalism is racism.
Let's back up a second. 2008 was a referendum on Bush/GOP Policies. White Democrats voted for Obama more willingly than they did to his (D) Nominee predecessors Kerry & Gore. What was behind this overcompensation and how would this voting block be affected in the 2012 election? Quickly, Obama's numbers among whites diminished. He frequently was a "disappointment" and caused a lack of enthusiasm among Democrats which led to the shifting of power the House. It seems to me that white liberals have held Obama to a higher standard. It's almost as if they are saying, "We got you in the White House, and this is how you repay us?" It's no secret that here on DailyKos that people are free to criticize the President and frequently do. Criticism is healthy, but what about when the President accomplishes something worthwhile? According to Rasmussen Reports for Today, January 6th only 24% of voters strongly approve of the President's performance while 41% strongly disapprove. Instead of directing anger at congress and electing better Democrats, we let Strom Thurmond-esque tea partiers pave the way for a country in decline.
Many times, Democrats point to places across the pond and to our neighbors to the North as basis to form their arguments against conservative policies and President Obama's centrist ideals. This doesn't work!!!!!! It is so easy to say, Country X has this ___(fill in the blank) so we should to, and let's adopt their system to ours. We have a complex country, we need complex solutions to our diverse nation. I sometimes wonder if Democrats stop to think about how different people are in this country. In one city block you can find people who speak hundreds of languages, have different political idealogies, different geneological backgrounds, religions, etc. It is this diversity that makes this country different from other developed countries, it is also the cause of so much tension on the political front.
I saw a really disgusting comment today that I would like to share not only because it really hit me hard but because it reminds of us of the persistent racism in this country: (warning foul language ahead)
Niggers are given everything for free. They get welfare, section 8 housing, food stamps, free college tuition (what a fucking waste), jobs that more qualified humans would have gotten, plus whatever nigger lotto money they collect. Then they go act like the white man is trying to hold them down. Think about these niggers getting welfare. They are getting paid to fail. They are getting paid to produce more worthless niglets. Then section 8. White people are working their asses off to just scrape by in a small apartment while niggers are living in a house for free and then complaining that the house is not nice enough. I am so sick of these 600 lb sheboons wearing armani shirts that eat for free and complain that they don't get enough food stamps.
And then they get free college tuition and complain that they never get any opportunities in life to better themselves. Then, niggers can go anywhere and get a job just for being black, but instead, complain about how they can't get a job anywhere. They just don't want to get a job because they just want to sit on their asses all day and collect welfare checks. At my job, whites, mexicans, and asians come in everyday asking for jobs. But never, not once the entire four years that I have worked there have I ever seen a nigger come in looking for a job.
And on top of all that, since they don't have to get a job because they are collecting your tax dollars, they utilize that time to break into your cars and houses to steal your stuff while vandalizing everything in sight and then, use your money to do drugs and buy bling. Think about these niggers complaining about how they don't get enough money from handouts while at the same time, wearing bling and blinging out their cars trying to act all rich in front of everyone.
The only exercise that these fat as fuck sheboons get is their once a month walk to the mail box to get their welfare check.
I don't understand why this country just keeps paying for this worthless species to keep reproducing. Niggers should just be disposed of immediately.
Does this comment look familiar? The Welfare Queen image was perpetuated by the Saint Reagan and is always a talking point for the Republican Party.
I hate the N-word. I cannot even write the full word out because it still to this day is so emotionally loaded. I remember the first time I was called the word. I was in 4th grade and the boy who called me it was Hispanic. I didn't know what the word meant so I told my teacher, an African American and she jumped up and removed the boy from the class. I didn't know what it was but before I knew it I was crying and was deeply hurt. Since then, I haven't been able to take away the power of the word or the fury that it causes when I read it in people's comments.
We cannot let this continue. I'm disgusted that people who think this way could be the person on the street that I smile at that secretly hates the color of my skin, my family's heritage, and ethnicity of the current President. I hate that I have to work 10x harder just to prove myself to my white counterparts. And most of all, I hate the subtle racism exhibited by those on the left who are determined to push the country forward on their terms, and their terms only no matter how incongruous the push is. Today, only 32% of white liberals support the President. When will we learn and when will we take a look at ourselves to face the burning hatred of the man who calls himself Mr. President.