Michelle Obama Tells Black Grads That White People Make Life Tough

originally posted by: CharlieSpeirs
I don't think it's possible to "play" the victim, when one has actually been a victim.


Just an observation.

She was a slave?

ID

She told those kids that all the hard work and studying and fundraising that they did will be overlooked by people with a limited notion of who they are.
Every college graduate has that issue no matter what color they are don't they?

originally posted by: blupblup
I think she's absolutely right to be honest.
Look around at the US right now and what is going on regarding Police etc?
She told it as it is.

The police? The fact that 99.9 percent of the shootings turn out, after all, to be justified once the real facts come out?

ID

I STRONGLY dislike her and her husband, and think they have sent this country into a downward spiral. But I see Zero wrong with what she said.

a reply to: ketsuko

No offense but I don't think you are that far separated from the days of the civil rights
movement. You shouldn't feel shame about it at all if you didn't participate. Just saying there are people still alive today that did.
All people ever want to talk about was the slaves, when our country as a whole treated all minoritys as sub human for decades.

And who in here is saying that people hate anyone for just the way they are?

originally posted by: FamCore
a reply to: wanderingconfusion

Michelle is helping with the division in this country. Obviously she is going right along with the agenda (understandably, she IS the First Lady).

But you are totally right, she should be helping to point out the progress we have made and how capable we are as a society to live peacefully with one another. Instead she is stirring the pot and playing the victim card once again. Shame on her

truth hurts....get over your trumped up indignation...do you think that she NEVER, EVER experienced racism?....history books already gloss over much of the atrocities of slavery and jim crow......white people need to keep it thrust in their faces...why?....because it's still going on. not everywhere, and by a lot less people, but, it's still out there. besides, do you really think that she is telling any of those black students something that they aren't aware of?....get real.

a reply to: ItalianDressing

How about growing up in a country that just decided to treat everyone the same 50 years ago?

Slavery wasn't our only dark time, MLK had to fight the institutionalized racism that was sponsored by our gov.

It was a good speech and as usual the Flotus is right on the money.

I'm a white guy, not offended at all. Of course I don't play the "poor-me-white-people-are-being-discriminated-against-victim" card either.

Show me again how being white has adversely effected your lives? LOL

a reply to: stargatetravels

Nobody was vilified.

So those were positive things done to them? So she was suggesting that the black community discriminates against themselves?

As she was saying, unless you've had people cross the street on you or suspect you of something or security follow you a little closer in stores, or seen fear in some old lady's eyes as you ask her politely the time - then you probably won't ever understand her message.

Actually I have, But perhaps you might not have seen the subtle message: its ok to stereotype certain classes of people.

Is it any worse to say that because of the higher numbers of African Americans incarcerated the old lady should take precaution?

Stereotyping is stereotyping.

Although if you think that the speech was mostly about race then you missed the point anyway.

Never said it was mostly about race, I just questioned why even bring it up?

Does it look like it is helping us move forward in peace when racism comes up in such a manner?

As a white person I think a lot of black people have put themselves in the position they're in. Nobody really cares today what color you are except black people it seems. All the laws that could be made to ensure a just society have been made. And I can tell you that I feel offended that I know that as a white person I myself am hated by the so called black race just because I am white.

While they scream racial intolerance, they themselves are racially intolerant. While they scream for justice, they desire to deprive other non whites of theirs. The real racists are those who's hearts have turned to despise those not like them because they believe they are oppressed.

I challenge everyone, black, or white, to better themselves because of who they are and not what they think they are in the sight of others. You want to be better off, better yourself by being the best "person" you can be.

As for me, I hate no one, and even though I know some blacks hate me because of the color of my skin, I will not stoop down to the same level but will do as I always do and treat everyone the same.

originally posted by: amazing
It was a good speech and as usual the Flotus is right on the money.

I'm a white guy, not offended at all. Of course I don't play the "poor-me-white-people-are-being-discriminated-against-victim" card either.

Show me again how being white has adversely effected your lives? LOL

yup, same here, I'm a white guy too, and I don't feel reverse racism, picked on, or any of that nonsense....my wife of 32 years is full-blooded Japanese, and the amount of racism she experienced back in the 50's and 60's while in school, from kids calling her a dirty jap, to not being included in any social activities is stunning to hear. I can't imagine being black now, with hundreds of years of that hate-filled history from racists whites

a reply to: InverseLookingGlass

What current abuse? You do realize that pretty much anywhere else in the world people actually have serious problems to deal with? Regardless of your skin color, you have nothing to bitch about living in the United States.

Get over yourself and learn what is going on in the world.

The university was home to the Tuskegee Airmen and scientist George Washington Carver.
en.wikipedia.org...

5 pages in, and nobody has mentioned anything about the Tuskegee Airmen, or who they were!

In spite of adversity and limited opportunities, African Americans have played a significant role in U.S. military history over the past 300 years. They were denied military leadership roles and skilled training because many believed they lacked qualifications for combat duty. Before 1940, African Americans were barred from flying for the U.S. military. Civil rights organizations and the black press exerted pressure that resulted in the formation of an all African-American pursuit squadron based in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1941. They became known as the Tuskegee Airmen.
tuskegeeairmen.org...

On June 8, 1946, the last class of aviation cadets graduated from Tuskegee Army Air Field. At the time they completed their requirements 2,483 persons had entered the Tuskegee pilot training program, of which, 994 completed the rigors and earned their pilot wings. Altogether, the participants in the Tuskegee military experiment (later called Tuskegee Airmen) numbered between 15,000 – 19,000 including pilots, mechanics, cooks, doctors, nurses, parachute riggers, gate guards, flight instructors, firemen, radio operators, etc. Their unit formation consisted of the 99th, 100, 301st, and, 302nd Fighter Squadrons, the combined 332nd Fighter Group, and 477th Bombardment Group, along with their service units.

The purpose of the experiment conducted by Public Health was to observe the progression of a number of diseases, particularly syphilis, untreated in black males. The official name of the study was the, "Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male." This study involved 660 men who agreed to participate in exchange for meals, transportation, health care, and burial payments to their widows.

At the beginning of the study no effective treatment was available for syphilis patients. By 1947 penicillin was readily available, but this treatment option was not made available to the unknowing participants. The travesty was that although treatment was then available, Public Health withheld this information from them and continued the program in the same vein. The study ended abruptly and inconclusively in 1972 when the Associated Press broke the news of the unethical experiment in New York and in Washington, D.C..

In 1972 a class action lawsuit was filed against Public Health in behalf of the men, their wives, children, and family members, which ended in a $9 million settlement for the victims.
www.nps.gov...

Once you know the history of Tuskegee University, you'd realize that anything less from Michelle Obama's mouth would have been sacrilege.

a reply to: wanderingconfusion

I dont blame her for thinking/saying this. Its true. Whites and blacks do make life difficult for each other. And??? Whats the big deal? Like we didnt already know this? Now heres another example. With her comments she reinforces racism and im a racist for pointing it out. Racism is SO played out. I refuse to care about being a racist or the victim of racism anymore.

a reply to: Fromabove

I completely agree.

Affirmative action is extremely racist towards everyone but blacks.

The only thing that holds you back nowadays is growing up poor. Even with that, black people have a better chance at succeeding growing up poor as they have more grants/scholarships/jobs that have to go to them due to affirmative action.

a reply to: wanderingconfusion

1. Mrs. Obama is a racist;

2. She was not elected, therefore, I pay no attention to a word she says. She is irrelevant.

originally posted by: ItalianDressing

originally posted by: CharlieSpeirs
I don't think it's possible to "play" the victim, when one has actually been a victim.


Just an observation.

She was a slave?

ID

Yeah, that's exactly what I said isn't it!

originally posted by: pilgrimOmega

originally posted by: whyamIhere
When your husband is the worst President in American History.

You have to blame somebody when everything you tried failed miserably.

Blame White People...it's worked like a charm the past 20 years.

The Chickens have come home to roost....Indeed

This is the kind of white person she was talking about.

The chickens have come home to roost, from Malcolm X.

Obama has not had the same problem as other blacks, and I can show you how...





And that's only three. Would you like more?

originally posted by: Fromabove
As a white person I think a lot of black people have put themselves in the position they're in. Nobody really cares today what color you are except black people it seems. All the laws that could be made to ensure a just society have been made. And I can tell you that I feel offended that I know that as a white person I myself am hated by the so called black race just because I am white.

While they scream racial intolerance, they themselves are racially intolerant. While they scream for justice, they desire to deprive other non whites of theirs. The real racists are those who's hearts have turned to despise those not like them because they believe they are oppressed.

I challenge everyone, black, or white, to better themselves because of who they are and not what they think they are in the sight of others. You want to be better off, better yourself by being the best "person" you can be.

As for me, I hate no one, and even though I know some blacks hate me because of the color of my skin, I will not stoop down to the same level but will do as I always do and treat everyone the same.

lol....man, you need to go down to the south and live awhile. you get out in the rural areas and the word n****r is a common description for a black person.
let me ask you something.....you just wrote the above quote...[You want to be better off, better yourself by being the best "person" you can be]...isn't that what Obama did?....he did everything republicans have been telling black people they need to do. he didn't feel sorry for himself, he went to school and stayed out of trouble, he went to college and excelled, he gave back to his own neighborhood in Chicago by working with inner city kids and adults trying to make their lives better, he married and has 2 well-behaved, intelligent daughters, he became a senator, and then he became POTUS.....and yet.....he has been the most disrespected and hated president by the same people that have told black people what they need to do to succeed........how disgusting and vile.

originally posted by: Obsrvr
a reply to: wanderingconfusion

1. Mrs. Obama is a racist;



2. She was not elected, therefore, I pay no attention to a word she says. She is irrelevant.

False...she's not a racist and 2. she has a lot of common sense. I listen to what she has to say. Not everything she says is going to right and nor will I agree with everything she says, but she's a heck of a lot smarter than 99% of anyone in congress, on mainstream tv or talk radio.

Who do you listen to that's Relevant?