Barack Obama - So Fresh and So Clean

[Birdman9]

this is a waste of a news story. being attractive and "clean" is part of what makes a candidate electable. biden shouldn't have said anything, but i really only fault him for the bit about being "articulate." Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are better with words than any political candidate we've had in YEARS, and that goes for both parties. Sharpton is witty and one of my favorite politicians cause he doesn't bullshit. Him and Jackson were not mainstream candidates though and that is what Biden was really getting at. Obama is a state senator. End of story. Biden didnt need to point out the obvious. I agree that this will hurt his campaign big time.

are you high? reverend al is a charlatan. he's the very definition of a bullshitter.

Only 37% of the black community looks upon him as "favorable" [2000 poll, latest I could find]. I saw him on CNN trying to get airtime for some woman that didn't get seated in a restaurant for 30 minutes and now is filing charges against the chain. There was no overt racism AT ALL. Her only evidence of racism was not being seated and it taking a long time to get their food. That's it. So Sharpton leaps into action to get her "story" on the air. Thank god for him, or we might not know that a certain restaurant has poor service. Kudos Reverend!

I think(feel free to correct me if I am wrong) that was the recent Denny's incident, and the woman in question was Chris Rock's Mom. Now, historically Denny's has had A LOT of issues with race over the course of many years, so given the high profile of the offended party(and I believe she would disagree with you about the overt racism) it seemed little surprise that Sharpton would find his way into the story. I seem to remember that Rock's Mother brought him into it, not the other way around.

 

[Big_Stacks]

Hey,I don't about the rest of Black America, but I'm not particularly fond of Al Sharton. I consider him an "ambulance chaser." Black folks need a REAL leader instead of faux ones like Al and Jesse.

Does Black America really need a "LEADER"? I think that's been one of our problems. Waiting for another "messiah" to embody our "collective" ideals. Maybe many leaders on many local fronts working on all levels to help make progress. Al & Jesse have done their share of good thangs and by no means should be expected to be the "voice". The concepy of THEONE" is a antiquated idea that doesnt mesh w/ a Black America that has grown more multifaceted.
Great points!!! The grassroots movement of what you speak would seem to better address the myriad concerns of Blacks folks, rather than trying to advance a singular group agenda. Ultimately, the issue revolves around economic empowerment of our communities which flow, in my opinion, from educational inequalities. I don't think a "one voice" approach, as you've said, would suffice in addressing such problems. And yes, I do acknowledge the work Al and Jesse has done, but also, there appears to be problems with their credibility in the mainstream. In the end, all efforts will have to go through the mainstream to be successful, so there is a need to have the acumen to manuever those waters (sounds like higher education too). This is where Obama shines. Addressing Black concerns and maintaining credibility with the mainstream is definitely a balancing act. Dr. Martin Luther King was the ultimate in this regard.

Peace,

Big Stacks from Kakalak

 

[CousinLarry]

I think(feel free to correct me if I am wrong) that was the recent Denny's incident, and the woman in question was Chris Rock's Mom. Now, historically Denny's has had A LOT of issues with race over the course of many years, so given the high profile of the offended party(and I believe she would disagree with you about the overt racism) it seemed little surprise that Sharpton would find his way into the story. I seem to remember that Rock's Mother brought him into it, not the other way around.

I think it was a Crackerbarrel.

 

[faux_rillz]

Only 37% of the black community looks upon him as "favorable"

I love how this is cited as if it's a hard fact.

"Thirty-seven percent you say?!"

 

[Birdman9]

I think(feel free to correct me if I am wrong) that was the recent Denny's incident, and the woman in question was Chris Rock's Mom. Now, historically Denny's has had A LOT of issues with race over the course of many years, so given the high profile of the offended party(and I believe she would disagree with you about the overt racism) it seemed little surprise that Sharpton would find his way into the story. I seem to remember that Rock's Mother brought him into it, not the other way around.

I think it was a Crackerbarrel.
I stand corrected. Do they not serve Black folks too?

 

[keithvanhorn]

this is a waste of a news story. being attractive and "clean" is part of what makes a candidate electable. biden shouldn't have said anything, but i really only fault him for the bit about being "articulate." Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are better with words than any political candidate we've had in YEARS, and that goes for both parties. Sharpton is witty and one of my favorite politicians cause he doesn't bullshit. Him and Jackson were not mainstream candidates though and that is what Biden was really getting at. Obama is a state senator. End of story. Biden didnt need to point out the obvious. I agree that this will hurt his campaign big time.

are you high? reverend al is a charlatan. he's the very definition of a bullshitter.

Only 37% of the black community looks upon him as "favorable" [2000 poll, latest I could find]. I saw him on CNN trying to get airtime for some woman that didn't get seated in a restaurant for 30 minutes and now is filing charges against the chain. There was no overt racism AT ALL. Her only evidence of racism was not being seated and it taking a long time to get their food. That's it. So Sharpton leaps into action to get her "story" on the air. Thank god for him, or we might not know that a certain restaurant has poor service. Kudos Reverend!

So you watched a 2 minute clip on CNN and can now say with definity that there was "no overt racism AT ALL"?? oh, and i guess that clip also shows that Al Sharpton has never done anything positive and that he is wrong for speaking up for someone who claims to be the victim of racisim...but clearly isn't based on all the evidence. Thank god for you're analysis of CNN or we might not know the real truth.

 

[whatwhat]

Biden sounds white

 

[sabadabada]

Fat Al lost a defamation suit for the things he said during the Tawana Brawley hoax. And, don't say he was just speaking up for someone who claimed racism, because when he lost, he turned around and tried to sue her for damages.

 

[Rockadelic]

Fat Al lost a defamation suit for the things he said during the Tawana Brawley hoax. And, don't say he was just speaking up for someone who claimed racism, because when he lost, he turned around and tried to sue her for damages.

For those not familar with this case it's worth hitting it up on Google.....I was amazed that Al(or anyone for that matter) could come out of that disaster with their credibility unscathed.

 

[Guzzo]

Biden sounds white

ummm he is

can you clarify what "sounds white" means to you?

 

[LaserWolf]

Biden sounds white

ummm he is

can you clarify what "sounds white" means to you?
It is an off repeated joke on the strut. Does it offened you?

 

[LaserWolf]

Addressing Black concerns and maintaining credibility with the mainstream is definitely a balancing act. Dr. Martin Luther King was the ultimate in this regard.

Peace,

Big Stacks from Kakalak
I think you are old enough to remember that Dr Martin Luther King did not have credibility in the mainstream.

Letter from 8 "liberal mainstream" clergy while in the Birmingham Jail.

Repeatedly jailed.

Vilified for speaking out against VietNam.

Getting stoned in Boston and Chicago.

Never in the mainstream. That he was mainstream and the majority of Americans were for peace and justice is revisionist history.

Rereading what you wrote, I think you were refering to a different mainstream. I think you might have meant someone who could unite people across a spectrum.

 

[LaserWolf]

Fat Al lost a defamation suit for the things he said during the Tawana Brawley hoax. And, don't say he was just speaking up for someone who claimed racism, because when he lost, he turned around and tried to sue her for damages.

For those not familar with this case it's worth hitting it up on Google.....I was amazed that Al(or anyone for that matter) could come out of that disaster with their credibility unscathed.
Al Sharpton has very little credibility in the mainstream. Largely because of the Tawana Brawley affair. The mainstream media loves interviewing him because he always has a good quote.

I did recently hear him on ORieley's radio show. He held his own very well while ORieley was screaming about his dad being a police officer and how dare Al say a police officer would shoot an innocent person.

 

[profeign]

this is a waste of a news story. being attractive and "clean" is part of what makes a candidate electable. biden shouldn't have said anything, but i really only fault him for the bit about being "articulate." Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are better with words than any political candidate we've had in YEARS, and that goes for both parties. Sharpton is witty and one of my favorite politicians cause he doesn't bullshit. Him and Jackson were not mainstream candidates though and that is what Biden was really getting at. Obama is a state senator. End of story. Biden didnt need to point out the obvious. I agree that this will hurt his campaign big time.

are you high? reverend al is a charlatan. he's the very definition of a bullshitter.

Only 37% of the black community looks upon him as "favorable" [2000 poll, latest I could find]. I saw him on CNN trying to get airtime for some woman that didn't get seated in a restaurant for 30 minutes and now is filing charges against the chain. There was no overt racism AT ALL. Her only evidence of racism was not being seated and it taking a long time to get their food. That's it. So Sharpton leaps into action to get her "story" on the air. Thank god for him, or we might not know that a certain restaurant has poor service. Kudos Reverend!

So you watched a 2 minute clip on CNN and can now say with definity that there was "no overt racism AT ALL"?? oh, and i guess that clip also shows that Al Sharpton has never done anything positive and that he is wrong for speaking up for someone who claims to be the victim of racisim...but clearly isn't based on all the evidence. Thank god for you're analysis of CNN or we might not know the real truth.

Fat Al lost a defamation suit for the things he said during the Tawana Brawley hoax. And, don't say he was just speaking up for someone who claimed racism, because when he lost, he turned around and tried to sue her for damages.

I must not have been that wrong. All I know from the clip was that the woman's argument was "it was taking forever to get seated and then get food." Sharpton to the rescue! It gots to be racism if you don't get your food fast. Unless you're white.

 

[Guzzo]

Biden sounds white

ummm he is

can you clarify what "sounds white" means to you?
It is an off repeated joke on the strut. Does it offened you?
depends on how its being used.

 

[LaserWolf]

I must not have been that wrong. All I know from the clip was that the woman's argument was "it was taking forever to get seated and then get food." Sharpton to the rescue! It gots to be racism if you don't get your food fast. Unless you're white.

A little history is a good thing. Whether or not there was racism in this case is for the courts to decide. But in the past it has been shown that this type of discrimination is common. Remember the case of the Secret Service agents and Denny's Restaurant?

One of the more infamous cases in recent years involved six black Secret Service agents who were denied service at a Denny's restaurant in 1993. While they sat, deliberately unattended, a group of white Secret Service agents were served. When lawyers for the Secret Service agents sued, they found that race discrimination pervaded the restaurant chain. For example, in a court document, a white waitress who worked at several Denny's in California reportedly said that the use of the terms "nigger," "them," "those people," and "that kind" were "not uncommon." The waitress said, "I was told by management that we did not want to encourage black customers to stay in the restaurant."

Another white witness said that at a Denny's he managed in San Jose, employees "routinely" closed the restaurant when "they were concerned about the n.....

http://www.bookrags.com/researchtopics/bigotry/04.html

Racism is not something from the distant past.

I seem to always be writing these things here. A person could easily think that I spend my time obsessing on race issues. That is not true at all. It is just that Soulstrut is the only place where I commonly come across people spouting opinions about race that are wrong and often offensive. This does not happen to me as I go about my daily life. Most people I am around know a little history. I rarely come across the attitude that racism ended when MLK gave the I Have A Dream Speech, an attitude that seems to permeate here at Soulstrut.

 

[Mad Drama Teacher]

I rarely come across the attitude that racism ended when MLK gave the I Have A Dream Speech, an attitude that seems to permeate here at Soulstrut.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[keithvanhorn]

I must not have been that wrong. All I know from the clip was that the woman's argument was "it was taking forever to get seated and then get food." Sharpton to the rescue! It gots to be racism if you don't get your food fast. Unless you're white.

if that's all you know, then why are you voicing an opinion???

you sound ignorant.

 

[Fatback]

i din't read all this thread, but i recall the whole denny's shit was about franchising and some black owned franchises were trying to augment (no Condi) their menus with more soul food.

sharpton is too much. he killed it in the 04 primaries imo. i also met him once and he was a total fucking asshole. i'm white.

 

[Rockadelic]

I think there are two extremes when it comes to the way racism is viewed in America circa 2007.

One extreme represents a stance that all racism ended the day MLK made his legendary speech.

The other extreme is that racism is as bad today as it was 50, 100, 200 years ago, it's not getting any better, and it's never going away.

The reality is somewhere in the middle, where things have indeed improved since the Civil Rights movement of the 60's, are continuing to improve, and hopefully will be a thing of the past 50, 100, 200 years from now.