I've had both of those things happen to me and I'm a white male.
The Obamas: How We Deal with Our Own Racist Experiences
Happens to me about a dozen times a year. The first lady and I are both taller than the average and, from time to time (well, apparently me more than her because she "...tell[s] this story."), we find ourselves near people who can use a hand reaching something up high. You know what I do? I help and think nothing of it. I don't get a burr under my saddle thinking, "I don't work here!," or " I'm not some commoner!" I've got no chip on my shoulder."I tell this story – I mean, even as the first lady – during that wonderfully publicized trip I took to Target, not highly disguised, the only person who came up to me in the store was a woman who asked me to help her take something off a shelf. Because she didn't see me as the first lady, she saw me as someone who could help her. Those kinds of things happen in life. So it isn't anything new."
Guess what, President Obama; there's not many men our age who haven't stepped out of Restuarant with valet parking, while their spouse is in the restroom and the valets are off retrieving or parking cars that they haven't been treated as a valet. It happened to me on Valentine's Day this year. After all, we're standing there, by ourselves, at the valet booth."There's no black male my age, who's a professional, who hasn't come out of a restaurant and is waiting for their car and somebody didn't hand them their car keys," said the president, adding that, yes, it had happened to him.
These people are ridiculous.
pussy eater never saw an ankle he wouldn't nip at
so white people are assumed to be The Help, or criminals, as often as black people!
astrophysicist de grasse Tyson has a story. Walking into the university physics building, security frequently stopped him. Walking into the university gym, security didn't stop him.
"Boy, n!gg@s ain't smart enough to be physicists."
the same was said years ago about blacks not smart enough to be pro quarterbacks.
I don't know, do a study. Black people certainly complain about it more.pussy eater never saw an ankle he wouldn't nip at
so white people are assumed to be The Help, or criminals, as often as black people!
And, the only reference from the article suggesting an incident where a black was assumed to be a criminal was in the last paragraph:
If he's referring to Michael Brown; well, he was a criminal."It's one thing for me to be mistaken for a waiter at a gala. It's another thing for my son to be mistaken for a robber and to be handcuffed, or worse, if he happens to be walking down the street and is dressed the way teenagers dress."
Is that true? Someone actually said that to NDT "Boy, s ain't smart enough to be physicists?"
...
I guess the conservative blogosphere is now plumbing People Magazine for things to about...
No doubt. When this happens:
just bring the person coffee and quit ing.
OMG! That's horrible!
Without ridiculously trying to determine the context, what does this even mean? I, as I'm sure many people of all races, have on occasion, been mistaken for being something we're not. Was he standing next to the coffee looking like he was there to serve? Was he alone or talking with someone? Was the person elderly or have poor sight? There are a million reasons -- other than the fact he is black -- that might cause someone to believe he was a server.
Exactly, what's to about? That's what I would have done; I would have got the person a cup of coffee.
To pretend blacks are the only people mistaken for "the help" is stupid; and racist.
FLASHBACK: Valerie Jarrett Mistakes 4-Star General For Waiter
What does that make Valerie Jarrett?
Funny how differently Mic e Obama viewed her Target experience when relating it to David Letterman.
Mic e Obama talks Target and her dad on Letterman's couch
"That’s my Target run. I went to Target," she said. "I thought I was undercover. I have to tell you something about this trip though. No one knew that was me because a woman actually walked up to me, right? I was in the detergent aisle, and she said — I kid you not — she said, ‘Excuse me, I just have to ask you something,’ and I thought, ‘Oh, cover’s blown.’ She said, ‘Can you reach on that shelf and hand me the detergent?’ I kid you not.”
As the audience laughed, she went on, “And the only thing she said — I reached up, ’cause she was short, and I reached up, pulled it down — she said, ‘Well, you didn’t have to make it look so easy.’ That was my interaction. I felt so good ... She had no idea who I was. I thought, as soon as she walked up — I was with my assistant, and I said, ‘This is it, it’s over. We’re going to have to leave.’ She just needed the detergent.”
FromWayDowntown, I'd be interested in knowing if Mic e's fabrication shakes your faith in the racism of America.
Here we have an African American woman who, when asked to recount a racist act that is seared her memory, choose to talk about an encounter she experienced that "felt so good."
Democrats are stuck in the early 60's. What's significant about Mic e's story is that it shows how far the country has come that the best she can come up with is a lie.
Holy , yoni is serious about this.
I'm as serious about her fabricating acts of racism as she is about advancing the narrative that blacks still experience racist acts by fabricating them.
Last edited by Yonivore; 12-17-2014 at 11:13 PM. Reason: More precise wording.
Is it your contention that there is virtually no racism in this country and that any perception of such by minorities is, in most (if not all) cir stances, completely imagined or fabricated?
I don't really care particularly about Ms. Obama's statement -- it's unfortunate that she cost herself credibility if the events described in her statements to People and Letterman are one and the same. But the fact that Michele Obama might have exaggerated her perception of an event doesn't strike me as particularly compelling evidence that there's little to no racism in America and that any belief that there is racism is wholly imagined.
I've seen those things happen too often in my own life to blithely conclude that there would be no racism if black people would just stop pretending that it exists.
But maybe we should just proceed to impeachment of the First Lady.
No, it's my contention that racism must be pretty damn rare if two prominent African Americans have to fabricate racist acts from their past to demonstrate they were discriminated against.
Well, it strikes me as a compelling reason to believe she, personally, has not experienced racism if, in fact, this (and the other non-racist acts in the article) are the best she can muster when asked to give such examples.
Perhaps we could start calling people out on the faux racism so the true acts can be the focus.
Do I believe racism exists? Absolutely. Do I believe it has any power over society or individuals? No.
Government racism was outlawed in the 1960's. Since that time, private racism has been relegated to the few groups that still declare some supremacy over another race; the KKK, NBPP, etc...
Individual racists have been sufficiently cowed by the public condemnation of being racist so, unless you impute racism on someone -- simply by their race (white) or their location (The South) or their position (Conservative) -- it barely shows it's ugly head.
Seriously, give me 3 examples of true racism that has occurred in this century that wasn't universally condemned by the vast majority of Americans?
I'll give you three:
Preferential Admission to Universities for African Americans, Preferential hiring of African Americans in government ins utions, and The Congressional Black Caucus (and all other exclusively black organizations that discriminate in their admission, based on race).
Where does that occur in the White world? I almost said, where does that occur anywhere else, but Latinos and Asians have, to some degree, segregated their associations to exclude other races.
I wasn't suggesting that; why be ridiculous? Why not just confront her about her apparent lie? Why not just ask the question, why -- when you believe racism is so pervasive -- would you make up a story about being discriminated against at a Target store?
There are no bounds to your ignorance and obtuseness.
..........
Unreal. It's like you don't even live on this planet.
Same challenge I gave FWD; name three racist acts that have occurred since 2000 that have not received universal condemnation from the American people.
I'm just going to choose to believe this is a schtick. You can't be this idiotic. You can't be.
If racism is so pervasive, you shouldn't have any trouble pointing it out to me.
But, if you choose to ignore the challenge and believe this is some kind of "schtick," so be it. I wasn't addressing you anyway.
It's so pervasive that I find it an affront to your frontal lobe's processing abilities that you can make that request with a straight face.
I'm just asking for examples.
Are you asking because you don't think they exist or because you're curious about personal experiences on this board?
As I've already stated, I believe racism exists. I just don't believe it has the power being ascribed to it by those who believe they're victims of it. Mic e Obama's examples being indicative of the type of "racism" that has to be manufactured for some people to be able to claim their victims of it.
So, I asked for examples of actual racism that isn't universally condemned by Americans.
Define "universally condemned", then, since obviously any example someone uses you could sweep that under the rug with "condemned!", fingers in your ears the entire way.
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