Kevin's Watch

Barack Hussein Obama is now the President of the United States.

There were no riots.

No one took a shot at him.

Bush didn't declare martial law and stay in power (told you so).

It was just another inauguration in nearly every way save one.....

The United States of America has inaugurated a black man, less than a half-century since that man would not have been able to use the same restroom as me.

Politics suck, politicians suck, and I doubt that Obama will affect any sort of meaningful change, however for this moment....

AMERICA! FUCK YEAH!

I was very impressed with his inaugural speech. So it begins sounds about right.

I didn't care too much about being scolded in the inaugural benediction, something to the effect of, ". . . pray that white people do the right thing . . . "

Didn't we just elect the first black president? Why are we still being scolded for being racists during this historic moment?

How about John Roberts screwing up the Oath of Office?

But yeah, it's a great day to be an American, to watch history in motion.

Malik23 wrote:I didn't care too much about being scolded in the inaugural benediction, something to the effect of, ". . . pray that white people do the right thing . . . "

Didn't we just elect the first black president? Why are we still being scolded for being racists during this historic moment?

That didn't sit well with me either.

Still and all, I think Obama did a good job today.

Perhaps even more offensive--he prayed for the day when "yellow people will be mellow."

Aside from the cheesiness of finding a word that rhymes with the skin color of Asian people, is there really a problem in this nation with Asian people not being "mellow?" Why do we need such cheesy offensive racial stereotypes in this historic moment? Definitely not on par with "I have a dream."

Oh well, I don't mean to bring anyone down. This is a great day for America, in terms of race relations. However, we have a lot bigger problems than race. It's those problems I have doubts that Obama can solve.

One thing stuck out to me in Obama's speech. He said that if a government program isn't working, he would end it. Not fix it, but end it. If a Democrat (or Republican, for that matter) ends a single government program, I will be astonished. I guess we'll wait and see.

you said it, Tennessee! its a great day to be an American! and truly, for the first time in my life i feel proud to be a white american. i realize i'll probably take some flack for that statement but its the truth.

and thanks cail for making this thread.

since the first time i realized that there was racial injustice in this country (when i was about 7 years old and my own grandmother told me to wash the seat of my bicycle after my black friend, Priscilla, rode it) i have felt ashamed that i was a white girl. i've felt guilt. over the treatment of the indigenous peoples of this continent and over the enslavement of peoples brought, against their will, to this contintent.
i've had a very difficult time finding reasons to be proud of who i am.
today, for the first time in my life, i feel like i might be able to find a reason to be proud to be an american. for the first time since Jack Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr, and Robert Kennedy were killed, i feel
like i have reason to hope again, for this country.

okay so we're not The Jetsons flying around in little hovercraft cars.
so politicians can be corrupted, people will still be racist, the economy
is not in such hot shape, public education is still in a shambles, people are still poor, and we're still at war.

i'm hopeful that Obama's administration will be able to affect some changes for the better.

I just can't believe Bush isn't President anymore. He was elected when I was in 5th grade -- meaning, for the entirety of the history of my political consciousness. My President will now share a lot of my own political convictions. It's a strange feeling and when I watched Obama sworn in I felt that sweeping shift.

That must be a great feeling, Mhoram. I'm happy for you, and all the people who share your feeling. I don't have much hope for ever experiencing that myself, so I'll have to live vicariously through you guys.

Damn, I sometimes forget how young you are, LM. Or maybe I'm old. I can remember the day Carter was inaugurated.

Yes I found those passages in the inaugural benediction "yellow will be mellow" and "white people do the right thing" to be pretty offensive. That guy was definitely not channeling MLK.

And I, too, will be amazed if Obama ends a single government program ... outside of the military.

LM, you have not had the benefit of the cynicism that comes with the many changes in power showing us that the more things change, the more they remain the same. This is the 10th transfer of power in my lifetime... I think I can speak with some experience here.

That said, Cail is right ... the true miracle of the day is in that peaceful transfer of power. How many countries can sport 4 living ex-heads of state?

So for today, I'll hold back on my differences with the new administration.

Farsailer wrote:Yes I found those passages in the inaugural benediction "yellow will be mellow" and "white people do the right thing" to be pretty offensive. That guy was definitely not channeling MLK.

I managed to find the actual quote:

"We ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man and when white will embrace what is right."

If there were a single day in U.S. history when we shouldn't be making divisive, racial remarks, you'd think that swearing in our first black president would be that day. It's truly sad this civil rights leader can't celebrate this historic moment with the rest of us, without still painting black people as victims and still portraying whites as not embracing what is right. I mean, if electing a black man as president isn't a sign that blacks have made HUGE progress and that whites aren't nearly as prejudice as we are portrayed by civil rights leaders who apparently think it's still 1950, then what in the world will end this? Doesn't he realize he's contributing the racial divide he ostensibly wishes to abolish?

And chiding Asian people for not being mellow is just bizarre. It's pathetic that in the futile search for a point, he resorted to that word simply because it rhymed with a caricature of their skin tone. I mean, they don't really look yellow to me--but then again, I'm more "rose-ochre" than than white . . . but if we actually used accurate skin color descriptors, then we'd probably get even worse and lame Civil Rights Rhymes, like, ". . . one day the rose-ochres will stop being such racist-bastard-ogres. . . "

Farsailer wrote:Yes I found those passages in the inaugural benediction "yellow will be mellow" and "white people do the right thing" to be pretty offensive. That guy was definitely not channeling MLK.

The audience appreciated the humor in that passage, and laughed.

When black will not be told to get back
When brown can stick around
When yellow can be mellow
When the red man can get ahead, man
and when White will embrace what is right.

I can't help but notice how your "unintentional" misquotes add a nefariousness that wasn't actually present.

Thank god it was the Chief Justice, not Obama, who messed up the pledge. Oh, how some would run with that!

The fact that people laughed at these inaccurate and inappropriate racial stereotypes is a good thing? I don't see what's so funny with portraying black people as victims during the moment when our first black president has just delivered his inaugural speech.

Maybe it's time the civil rights movement moved beyond Dr Seuss-isms and opened its eyes to what is happening around them.

wayfriend wrote:

Farsailer wrote:Yes I found those passages in the inaugural benediction "yellow will be mellow" and "white people do the right thing" to be pretty offensive. That guy was definitely not channeling MLK.

The audience appreciated the humor in that passage, and laughed.

When black will not be told to get back
When brown can stick around
When yellow can be mellow
When the red man can get ahead, man
and when White will embrace what is right.

I can't help but notice how your "unintentional" misquotes add a nefariousness that wasn't actually present.

Thank god it was the Chief Justice, not Obama, who messed up the pledge. Oh, how some would run with that!

Actually your original quote is worse than nefarious. On this historic day of days, why must someone persist in perpetuating the racial dialog of the past? Obama would not have chosen those words and I can't imagine that MLK would have gone there either.

Today, of all days, there is no reason...no excuse for such speech. Obama's address didn't pander to this culture of victimization, and it's shameful that it needed to be rehashed in the benediction.

Its one of the things that I find bittersweet about Obama's election. Its a great moment for this country, but on the other hand, it seems to trump his actual responsibilities for the job. It seems more important that he's black, than that he'll make a good President. And I'm torn about whether that's a good thing.

Congratulations America, you finally got the monkey off your back!

dlbpharmd wrote:Damn, I sometimes forget how young you are, LM. Or maybe I'm old. I can remember the day Carter was inaugurated.

How young you people are. I remember Ike being President and JFK being sworn in.
I even voted for Carter at the time.

plus I remember all the major events after that.