By Alan Caruba
A news
report about Oprah Winfrey said she “is going around the world telling everyone
that Americans are racist while she promotes her new film.”
She “has
been a prominent supporter of Barack Obama. She thinks that both he and the
office of President have been treated with contempt because of the color of his
skin quoting her saying “There’s a level of disrespect for the office that
occurs. And that occurs in some cases and maybe even many cases because he’s African
American. There’s no question about that and it’s the kind of thing nobody ever
says but everybody’s thinking.”
So how is
it that a racist America elected an
African American in 2008 and reelected him in 2012? How did Oprah become an
American success story if most Americans are racists?
The free
pass given to African Americans has expired and many do not realize it.
The civil
rights era of the 1960s made significant strides, removing many of the barriers
to achievement that had existed since the end of the Civil War. It is worth
noting that it was the early Republicans who led the fight against slavery in
America and a Republican President, Lincoln, who restored the union. It was
Democrats who, for a century afterword, created a matrix of “Jim Crow” laws and
fought desegregation.
In my
youth, living in Florida and while in the Army in Georgia, I saw many instances
of the indignities blacks endured. It was still a time when they literally had
to sit in the back of the bus. I can recall separate drinking fountains. They
were not welcome in hotels and restaurants.
I have no
idea why blacks in America continue to support the Democratic Party. Certainly
I can understand why, in two elections, they almost unanimously supported
Barack Obama. Indeed, it can be argued that white Americans voted for him to
demonstrate to the world that America had passed some invisible threshold of
bigotry to elect a black President.
I suspect
that, thanks to Obama, it will be a long time before an African American can be
nominated or elected President. That’s too bad because I happen to think that
Allen West, the former Congressman from Florida, would make a terrific
President.
A
generation of African Americans has grown up without being subjected to the
obstacles and ills of the past, but from my observation many still cling to the
belief that the doors to success have been closed to them. The doors have been
opened by virtue of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act to ensure
access that had been previously denied.
There are
African Americans who have not fallen into the trap of blaming racism for the
problems that plague the black community. Too many drop out of school. There
are too many in our jails. There are too many who have fathered and abandoned
their children. There are too many who “game” the welfare system, food stamps,
etc.
Even
today, the extent of black-on-white crime—assaults and even murders—is still
largely hidden from the public by the media. The numbers reveal that blacks are
far more likely to be the victims of crimes by other blacks. By contrast the
recent trail of George Zimmerman who shot Trayvon Martin in self-defense
attracted a great deal of attention, but instantly disappeared from public
notice after the verdict was rendered.
For all
the ills within the black community, there is also a generation or two of
African Americans striving to be a part of the American dream, succeeding as entrepreneurs
and professionals, serving their nation in the military.
Is there
racism in America? Yes. Is there racism throughout the nations of the world?
Yes. For African Americans the free pass of “racism” no longer has power with
the majority white community and other racial groups. America has changed and for the better.
It is a
society that elected Barack Obama President—twice. His failures should not
attributed to his race.
In his
famed 1963 speech, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said, “I
have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where
they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their
character.”
The
criticisms being leveled against President Obama today are not about the color
of his skin. They are about the content of his character.
Oprah is
wrong. It is not racism. It is realism.
© Alan
Caruba, 2013
4 comments:
Amazing! This black woman came out of nowhere to become one of the richest and most popular women in the world in a nation full of ardent fans she now calls 'racists', whose singular talent seemed to be that she was able to cry on stage.
The same country that elected someone as President of the United States, who had not accomplished anything in his life, never had a job, never ran a company, never held any administrative position in government, who grew up in a Muslim country, who was black and adopted the name of Barak Obama when the nation was being attacked by Muslim extremists.
I can see how she felt the overwhelming need to cry racism. After all, when his abject incompetence finally became obvious to the most casual observer there was no other excuse that could be used. Any racism here is in reverse.
Oprah would be a good mate for our ex-PM Julia Gillard. She didn't have access to the racist card, but she tried bluffing with the gender card, then an all-in with the misogyny card. Tony Abbott trumped her.
Thanks Mr. Caruba. It took courage to write that. You won't see the mainstream media touch this subject.
I will add that I believe Obama was elected the first time because Bush had things so screwed up. I voted for Obama the first time, he talked the good talk.
He had his chance and did nothing.
I believe he won the second time on the race card. I believe ninety-eight percent of blacks voted for him. Many whites stayed home and didn't vote. A non-vote was a vote for Obama. The rest is history with a bad result.
There is racism in America today!
Terrible racism!
Racism that kills!
It's black racism that targets whites.
It's violent black racism that is ignored by the U.S. Department of Justice.
It's black racism that is encouraged by Obama.
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