July 19, 2013

Obama's statement on Zimmerman-Martin

A downbeat Obama appeared before the press today:
You know, when Trayvon Martin was first shot, I said that this could have been my son.

Yeah, I know it was kind of cheesy, but Michelle loved that line.

Of course, if I'd married my old girlfriend, Genevieve, our son would have looked more like George Zimmerman, but, then, Genevieve and I never would have allowed our son to live in some crime-ridden exurban sticksville, so that's irrelevant.

Still, I wonder what Genny's up to? I saw in the Times where she married that Egyptian guy, but that couldn't have lasted, could it?
Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago.

When I was a preppy at Punahou and a liberal arts major at Oxy, I was quite the badass.
And when you think about why, in the African- American community at least, there’s a lot of pain around what happened here, I think it’s important to recognize that the African- American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that -- that doesn’t go away. 

It used to be Civil War-obsessed white Southerners who said things like, "The past is never dead. It's not even past." Should I cite Faulkner for the literary cred, or is it too uncomfortable?
There are very few African-American men in this country who haven’t had the experience of being followed when they were shopping in a department store. That includes me. 

Note to self: include a searing chapter in my post-presidential memoir on that security guard at the State Street Marshall Field's who eyeballed me in a suspicious manner while I was in the scarf section. Leave out the part about her being black. (My agent says an 8-figure advance is possible. Note to self: Find a new agent who will take on the ex-President for the prestige plus a 2.5% commission.)
And there are very few African-American men who haven’t had the experience of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars.

As you'll recall, Zimmerman got out of the car even though the police ordered him not to. But locking yourself in your car is also racist ...
That happens to me, at least before I was a senator.

Have I ever mentioned how fascinating the young me found the ice machine in motels? I did? Hmmhhmm, my next book about me is going to be a struggle. I should have tried to lead a more interesting pre-Presidential life.
There are very few African-Americans who haven’t had the experience of getting on an elevator and a woman clutching her purse nervously and holding her breath until she had a chance to get off.
That happens often. 

What the hell is wrong with women anyway? Look at my harpy grandmother, demanding my poor grandfather get up off the couch and drive her to her bank veep job to keep her from being mugged by some black drifter at her bus stop. Did I mention she was an alcoholic? I shouldn't have mentioned that to Maraniss, but nobody read his book anyway, so I can easily get a chapter out of her losing her struggle with the bottle.
And you know, I don’t want to exaggerate this, but those sets of experiences inform how the African-American community interprets what happened one night in Florida. And it’s inescapable for people to bring those experiences to bear. ...
The African-American community is also knowledgeable that there is a history of racial disparities in the application of our criminal laws, everything from the death penalty to enforcement of our drug laws. And that ends up having an impact in terms of how people interpret the case. 
Now, this isn’t to say that the African-American community is naive about the fact that African-American young men are disproportionately involved in the criminal justice system, that they are disproportionately both victims and perpetrators of violence. It’s not to make excuses for that fact, although black folks do interpret the reasons for that in a historical context. 

Remember that David Remnick bestseller that was supposed to be about me but was mostly about a bunch of historical context stuff that happened in Selma while I was making sand castles on Waikiki Beach? Maybe I should write my next autobiography like that?
We understand that some of the violence that takes place in poor black neighborhoods around the country is born out of a very violent past in this country, and that the poverty and dysfunction that we see in those communities can be traced to a very difficult history. 

I could do a series of PBS specials where I visit landmark sites in the history of the civil rights struggle and then talk about my feelings when I first heard about them during class discussions at Punahou. We could do dramatic re-enactments of key scenes in American history like the murder of those four little girls and that classmate wanting to touch my hair. Who should play me at Punahou? Does Will Smith have any more sons?
And so the fact that sometimes that’s unacknowledged adds to the frustration.

The media doesn't talk about the KKK enough. We need more movies like Django Unchained. (How about Obama Unchained, where I'm finally free of the stifling White House living quarters. Do you realize I have to live with my mother-in-law? On January 21, 2017, I will -- free, free at last -- walk to the bookstore and spend the afternoon browsing in the lit fic section. But will there even be bookstores in 2017? Or will I be condemned to spend the rest of my life like Bill Clinton, checking my iPhone and talking to people?)
And the fact that a lot of African-American boys are painted with a broad brush and the excuse is given, well, there are these statistics out there

What organization puts these statistics out there anyway?
that show that African-American boys are more violent -- using that as an excuse to then see sons treated differently causes pain. 

You see, harping on white racism several generations ago is providing "context" for black criminality today, while pointing out the high rate of black criminality today is making "an excuse" for racial profiling. It's really quite simple when you stop and think about it: just ask, "Whose side am I on?" and you are 90% of the way there.

Can you imagine where I'd be if I had never figured that out?
I think the African-American community is also not naive in understanding that statistically somebody like Trayvon Martin was probably statistically more likely to be shot by a peer than he was by somebody else. 

Okay, a pre-emptive concession to Limbaugh and Coulter, and the MSNBC crowd won't comprehend that sentence -- their brains turn off when they hear "statistically," and I used it twice -- so it's win-win. You know, if you are a good enough lawyer, you don't have to, exactly, lie.
So -- so folks understand the challenges that exist for African- American boys, but they get frustrated, I think, if they feel that there’s no context for it or -- and that context is being denied.

In other words, there is much frustration that George Zimmerman wasn't railroaded in 2013 for what white people did in 1913, that The Narrative wasn't allowed to overwhelm minor matters such as the rule of law and individual questions of guilt or innocence in the name of context. I can live with that.
And -- and that all contributes, I think, to a sense that if a white male teen was involved in the same kind of scenario, that, from top to bottom, both the outcome and the aftermath might have been different.

Yeah, like if Travis Martin had gotten shot by Paul Blarto, condo cop, I never would have heard about this whole fiasco. Of course, as Axelrod kept insisting, we needed massive black turnout in Cleveland, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Miami to win re-election, so it's all for the best, but still, can't we just move on? Can't we get back to talking about Emmett Till, or me, instead of about the present?
... But beyond protests or vigils, the question is, are there some concrete things that we might be able to do? I know that Eric Holder is reviewing what happened down there ...

Like Holder's really going to find out anything new and useful. Every damn thing that's come out in the last 15 months has been unhelpful. Why did I ever get myself into this tarball, anyway? I mean, besides re-election ...
... but I think it’s important for people to have some clear expectations here. Traditionally, these are issues of state and local government -- the criminal code. And law enforcement has traditionally done it at the state and local levels, not at the federal levels. 
That doesn’t mean, though, that as a nation, we can’t do some things that I think would be productive. So let me just give a couple of specifics that I’m still bouncing around with my staff so we’re not rolling out some five-point plan, but some areas where I think all of us could potentially focus.

1. Spend more on diversity sensitivity training
Number one, precisely because law enforcement is often determined at the state and local level, I think it’d be productive for the Justice Department -- governors, mayors to work with law enforcement about training at the state and local levels in order to reduce the kind of mistrust in the system that sometimes currently exists. ...
So that’s one area where I think there are a lot of resources and best practices that could be brought bear if state and local governments are receptive. And I think a lot of them would be. And -- and let’s figure out other ways for us to push out that kind of training.

Hey, look, all the reporters are writing down what I just said, as if diversity sensitivity training is some groundbreaking new Nobel-worthy idea I just came up with. If I weren't so bored and depressed, I could have some fun seeing seeing what I could get reporters to write down like I'm Moses come down from the mountain.

2. Stand Your Ground Laws
Along the same lines, I think it would be useful for us to examine some state and local laws to see if it -- if they are designed in such a way that they may encourage the kinds of altercations and confrontations and tragedies that we saw in the Florida case, rather than diffuse potential altercations. 
I know that there’s been commentary about the fact that the stand your ground laws in Florida were not used as a defense in the case. 

But that's not the point, is it? The point is that we need to be talking about what I want to talk about, not some technicalities about what actually happened.
On the other hand, if we’re sending a message as a society in our communities that someone who is armed potentially has the right to use those firearms even if there’s a way for them to exit from a situation, is that really going to be contributing to the kind of peace and security and order that we’d like to see? 
And for those who resist that idea that we should think about something like these “stand your ground” laws, I just ask people to consider if Trayvon Martin was of age and armed, could he have stood his ground on that sidewalk? And do we actually think that he would have been justified in shooting Mr. Zimmerman, who had followed him in a car, because he felt threatened?

Zimmerman should have unlocked his doors and driven in the opposite direction.
And if the answer to that question is at least ambiguous, it seems to me that we might want to examine those kinds of laws.

Because what else do we have on our plates at the moment? Do you have some higher priority than Florida laws?

3. Bolster young black male self-esteem
Number three -- and this is a long-term project: We need to spend some time in thinking about how do we bolster and reinforce our African-American boys? And this is something that Michelle and I talk a lot about. There are a lot of kids out there who need help who are getting a lot of negative reinforcement. And is there more that we can do to give them the sense that their country cares about them and values them and is willing to invest in them?

Maybe we should try to help young black males get fast food starter jobs instead of just employing illegals at McDonalds? Oh, wait, don't go there ...
You know, I’m not naive about the prospects of some brand-new federal program. 
I’m not sure that that’s what we’re talking about here. But I do recognize that as president, I’ve got some convening power. 
And there are a lot of good programs that are being done across the country on this front. And for us to be able to gather together business leaders and local elected officials and clergy and celebrities and athletes

I should have LeBron over. Sweet. You know, I always felt that he got a bad rap over going to Miami. I mean, if Nowitzki didn't have that epic shooting streak in the 2011 playoffs, LBJ would have three straight rings. Oh ... where was I?
and figure out how are we doing a better job helping young African-American men feel that they’re a full part of this society and that -- and that they’ve got pathways and avenues to succeed -- you know, I think that would be a pretty good outcome from what was obviously a tragic situation. And we’re going to spend some time working on that and thinking about that.

Okay, what I'm deep down talking about here is that horrible rap music (why doesn't today's youth like Stevie Wonder, anyway?) teaching black teens stupid lessons about never letting a diss go un-answered, but my NPR audience will never notice this. Hell, Sharpton craps on rap better than I ever could, but nobody pays attention to him when he's telling black people something that would be good for them, so I can't blame him for whipping up this fiasco. (But, I won't forgive him, either.)

4. Don't have a conversation about race, just silently stop noticing patterns.
And then finally, I think it’s going to be important for all of us to do some soul-searching. You know, there have been talk about should we convene a conversation on race. I haven’t seen that be particularly productive when politicians try to organize conversations.

Diss on Bill and Hill, and Holder, too. Have you noticed that Holder's getting on my nerves?
They end up being stilted and politicized, and folks are locked into the positions they already have. 

In other words, how did this whole Martin-Zimmerman conversation work out for my side (I mean, other than the re-election thing)? It turned out to be just every stereotype imaginable come to life. So, let's not discuss any lessons learned from this.
On the other hand, in families and churches and workplaces, there’s a possibility that people are a little bit more honest, and at least you ask yourself your own questions about, am I wringing as much bias out of myself as I can; am I judging people, as much as I can, based on not the color of their skin but the content of their character? That would, I think, be an appropriate exercise in the wake of this tragedy. 

"Am I wringing as much bias out of myself as I can?" If I say so myself, that one isn't bad! More Congregationalist than Maoist. That will give the post-Puritans something to do with their time.

#5. At least most people these days aren't as racist as my grandmother
And let me just leave you with -- with a final thought, that as difficult and challenging as this whole episode has been for a lot of people, I don’t want us to lose sight that things are getting better. Each successive generation seems to be making progress in changing attitudes when it comes to race. I doesn’t mean that we’re in a postracial society. It doesn’t mean that racism is eliminated. But you know, when I talk to Malia and Sasha and I listen to their friends and I see them interact, they’re better than we are.

You'd be surprised how few KKK members there are these days at a $35,000 per year Quaker school.
They’re better than we were on these issues. And that’s true in every community that I’ve visited all across the country. 
And so, you know, we have to be vigilant and we have to work on these issues, and those of us in authority should be doing everything we can to encourage the better angels of our nature as opposed to using these episodes to heighten divisions.

I'm the Divider. I get to use this fiasco, not you. I used it, so let's move on.
But we should also have confidence that kids these days I think have more sense than we did back then, and certainly more than our parents did or our grandparents did, and that along this long, difficult journey, you know, we’re becoming a more perfect union -- not a perfect union, but a more perfect union.

Remember how much everybody liked my "Toward a More Perfect Union" speech back in 2008 right after those awkward Rev. Wright tapes got aired? Let's try to recapture that feeling, people!

87 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bridge has turned into a plank.

Anonymous said...

do we actually think that he would have been justified in shooting Mr. Zimmerman, who had followed him in a car, because he felt threatened?



What a pathetic numbskull our Dear Leader is. Zimm was not justified in shooting Martin because he "felt threatened", he was justified in shooting Martin because Martin was actively engaged in trying to kill or seriously injure him.

Anonymous said...

"As you'll recall, Zimmerman Got Out of the Car After Though the Police Ordered Him Not To...."

???

Anonymous said...

How symbolic.

Detroit declares bankruptcy.

Obama utterly bankrupt on his 'leadership'.

Anonymous said...

One of the all time best Steve Sailor pieces of work.

Anonymous said...

Some of your best stuff Steve. Hysterical!

Laguna Beach Fogey said...

Classic, Steve, you made my day.

Anonymous said...

With all his trigger happy body guards and secret service agents armed to the teeth profiling everyone by race, age, sex, appearance, and etc, you'd think Obama would say "I am like Zimmerman and Bloomberg."

Well, if Zimmerman's neighborhood could have the protection Obama alone gets, I'm sure this incident could have been avoided.

Cail Corishev said...

Nicely done, Steve.

If people think there's "no context" for young black men getting shot, that only shows how well the media pushes under the rug something that's going on every day. There's lots and lots of context out there; people just aren't allowed to talk about it.

This is one long incredibly disingenuous ass-pull, but the message between the lines is clear: "It's time for this case to go away before it backfires on us any worse."

Anonymous said...

Commuting home tonight and listening to clips from this latest outrage by BO, I realized that I was wrong in my assumption that my contempt for the man, his administration, his party, and his ideology had already reached unsurpassable depths. Twice now this megalo-monomaniacal excuse for a leader has used Zimmerman's justified shooting of Martin as an opportunity to throw gasoline on the dying embers of a blaze. This appearance by BO was unneccessary and served no purpose but to agitate the country in extremely vicious and dangerous ways. Only a moron or a morally bankrupt individual would not be aware of this. I'm sure its a harbinger of a continued persecution of Zimmerman by BO's racist AG. And I also suspect that even if it does not cause further race riots it will increase the levels of local racial violence in this country by a very significant amount.

Anonymous said...

Too snarky Steve.

Anonymous said...

What I'm about to suggest is based on my impression that BO is a morally and politically obtuse near sociopath. BO's latest appearance will likely lead to new outbreaks of major violence just when the aftershocks from the Zimmerman trial seemed to be diminishing. On the other hand, BO and members of his administration are facing many impeachment level scandals at the moment, e.g., Benghazi, IRS, and others less familiar but just about as bad. New information is just coming out on Benghazi and the IRS scandals which could utterly derail leftwing hopes for electoral successes in the next several years. What better way to push theses scandals into the background than to foment a series of headline-grabbing race riots?

Anonymous said...

Steve,

You're losing it on Obama and this case this time. Take some distance, for your own sake.

Obama should too, btw.

Baloo said...

That does it. I'm putting you in for a Pulitzer. Where are the forms? Linked and riffed here:
http://ex-army.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-pulitzer-for-steve-sailer.html

Anonymous said...

That was very satisfying. Going out for a cigarette.

--gainny

Anonymous said...

http://www.occidentaldissent.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/trayvon-martin.jpg

Wow, if Trayvon Martin could have been Obama, I guess he could have been president in the 2030s.

I mean he did call himself the 'no limit negro'.

And maybe he could have been president for life as, being of 'no limit', there would have been no term limits.

Anonymous said...

The Star Trek mirror universe version of that speech would mention how whites have a history of being mugged, or their neighbors being mugged, or hearing about muggings by those like Trayvon and how that informs their experience of the case.

Bill Ayers said...

Maybe I should write my next autobiography like that.

Uh. Yeah. Right.

Norma Jean Young said...

You know, when Donald Young was first shot, I said that this could have been my son.

But then I realized that this really was my son.

Otis McWrong said...

Normally I'm quick to bash BHO but I thought his speech wasn't too bad.

He basically said:

1) There was a legal process and the bad guys won, but that's the way it goes.

2) I could have been Trayvon when I was young. Except we got away with smoking weed. And I had a white mother that wouldn't let me get gold teeth and beat up random people and get suspended from school. And while my folks didn't give me a silly name like Trayvon, I changed from Barry to something even sillier: Barack

3) A lot of blacks feel bad when white people or even other black people fear them or think they might be a criminal. This is bad.

4) Black people pretty much bring this on themselves and know it. This is also bad.

5) Eric Holder is looking into it, but don't expect anything other than more blather.

6) Stand Your Ground laws are bad because it doesn't cede huge swaths of public space to marauding hoodlums. But they're a State thing so I can't do much but stand here and blather. Don't expect much beyond that.

7) White people would like black people more if more black people were like my daughters.

Thank you.

Cleopatra Harris said...

You know, when Lt Quarles Harris Jr was first shot, I said that this could have been my son.

But then I realized that this really was my son.

Shouting Thomas said...

One interpretation of this incoherent speech is that Obama is back away from doing anything further to advance the great cause of lynching Zimmerman, while throwing a sop to the lynch mob.

We shall see.

Anonymous said...

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=587398101310371&set=a.382707855112731.96295.100001205606869&type=1

Maybe Obama could have said of this incident...

"I could have been the shooter."

Uncle Elmer said...

I walked into a well-known mega electronics outlet with my son. I was thumbing through some "CDs" and he went to ask the info desk some question. They had the security cam on me, the middle-aged white man. He thought that was pretty funny.

Anonymous said...

http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/tampa-bay-residents-to-participate-in-rev-al-sharptons-nationwide-trayvon/2132177


We Shall Overreact.

Anonymous said...

He doesn't recommend any policy changes which actually would diminish racism, like ending the war on drugs or discouraging single motherhood.

Anonymous said...

"Hear ye! Hear ye! The King has proclaimed all citizens (and misc.) must wring out their bias."

"Wring out your bias!"

"Wring out your bias"

Ding! Dong! Ding! Dong!



Geoff Matthews said...

I'm pretty tired about the Pres' ability to make everything about him. Trayvon could be HIS son. Trayvon could have been HIM.

But if we do have this conversation about race, and it is a two-way conversation, can I just say that if people follow you in a store, but don't catch you stealing anything, after a while, they'll stop following you. Being followed isn't a big deal, so get over it.

Kibernetika said...

Never thought I'd find myself so disinterested in what a president says. What a brave, common bore he is.

Ego Unchained said...

BHO, through surrogates, has self-pityingly remarked about his longing to "go Bulworth." This press conference demonstrates how lame he sounds once the opportunity is handed to him

Anonymous said...

http://cavnews.wordpress.com/2013/07/16/21-pictures-that-will-restore-your-faith-in-humanity/

The first two photos make you lose faith in humanity.

Anonymous said...

Disappointingly this time the moment never came when a journo-courtier asked him sympathetically what maneuvers he was considering & he retorted petulantly, "What would you have me do"

William said...

Once left-liberal writers and politicians believe they have gotten the appropriate angle on an event, any further evidence to the contrary only causes them to chomp down with all the tenacity of a pit-bull.

The shooting in Tucson, AZ, was supposed to be about an obscure ad on Sarah Palin's website and the need for "civil discourse." Of course, the shooter turned out to be an unhinged pothead who couldn't have cared less about Sarah Palin, but that didn't stop the hivedmind from droning on about "civil discourse."

Newtown was supposed to be about gun control. Of course, it later came out that Lanza had used his mother's guns, and that nothing short of confiscatory gun control could have prevented the shooting. None of this stopped the hivemind in its agitation for background checks and low-capacity magazines.

And now we have the shooting of Trayvon Martin and the Stand Your Ground laws. From the beginning, liberals just assumed -- why I do not know -- that the shooting must have had something to do with Stand Your Ground. Yet no one has shown the slightest evidence that Zimmerman provoked a confrontation with the intent to kill Martin and then claim self-defense under Stand Your Ground. Zimmerman's attorneys didn't even invoke the law during their defense. Yet the inability of liberals to admit that they were wrong is so endemic that our President can address the nation on this subject, begging the question all the while by assuming that Stand Your Ground had something to do with this incident.

Anonymous said...

Please sign this petition to kill the amnesty bill

http://killthebill.us/

Alcalde Jaime Miguel Curleo said...

Huey Long this guy is not. He doesn't seem to relish or even understand political combat but he does love the seminars with the dutiful press

Alcalde Jaime Miguel Curleo said...

"It's bad enough statistically he was probably statistically more likely to be shot by a peer but then, the added insult of this George Zimmerman shooting him"

Barack Nifong said...

There's been a distinct loss of institutional knowledge or just plain craftsmanship among political leaders/machers in this country. Generally when you're searching for a case to exploit populism with, as a ground rule skip the factually weak ones which might blow up in your face. Also don't rely on the sensationalist media to "vet" the narrative pawns for you. It's amateur hour over here.

Anonymous said...

In Dreams from My Father,Obama tells of his visit to Kenya, and laments that Kenyans generally have less social status than Europeans or Asians (mostly Indians) in that country. He refers to the Europeans and Asians as being from "imperial cultures".

Nowhere does he say simply that ethnic sub-Saharans are genetically inclined to be less intelligent and more impulsive than people from other major racial groups.

At least James Heckman, economic adviser to Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign, acknowledges that a difference in average intelligence already exists at age 3, and that this difference is a more important factor for explaining earnings differences than enforcement or nonenforcement of "civil rights" laws.

Andrew said...

Old Gasbag at it again.

Anonymous said...

Sounds to me like

Our attempt to criminalize self-defense for white people messed up so now could everyone pretend it never happened until we try again with an actual white guy and an actual 12 year old.

hbd chick said...

ot (mostly): http://malcolmgladwellbookgenerator.com/

(^_^)

Disgruntled said...

I interpreted the "Trayvon Martin could have been me..." line exactly like Steve. But how stupid does Obama think we are?

I doubt that Obama has been in many fights and I'm fairly certain he has never sucker punched a stranger and moved to the ground-and-pound. Controlling for age, I'd take odds on any of the four previous presidents versus Obama in a fight.

Anonymous said...

... But beyond protests or vigils, the question is, are there some concrete things that we might be able to do? I know that Eric Holder is reviewing what happened down there ...

Like he's really going to find out anything new and useful. Every damn thing that's come out in the last 15 months has been unhelpful. Why did I ever get myself into this tarball, anyway?



Another translation: We're still waiting on the national polls to see if we should really go forth and charge ZIm with civil rights violation. The evidence is weak on our side but if most Americans don't want me to do it I can always blame Holder and come in later and exonerate Zim completely, like a presidential pardon from all federal charges.

Thats it

Next month, August 28, marks the 50th anniversary of Dr King's I have a Dream speech at the Washington Mall. Since I'm expected to make a big production out of it and the fact I will be the cumulation of what the Civil Rights fought and struggled for, to put a man of color like me into the White House, I can play Dr King and officially give another variant of this speech (which is just a trial run to see how it plays) and at the end of the speech, "magnanimously" pardon George Zimmerman (as well a few black teenagers who stood trial for something or other). THIS way, I will be enacting a "forgiveness" and helping the "healing process" on our national discussion of equality before the law regardless of color and creed by offering a concrete example (namely, me) of moving toward a more perfect union. With me of course as the leader paving the way toward that more perfect union.

50th Anniversary of Civil Rights Speech = Me giving a Toward more perfect union speech AND visibly concretely demonstrating how we are moving toward that union, with me of course providing the necessary direction.

Brilliant. Ought to be good for a couple points in the labor day/autumn polls which might mitigate a bit my party's coming losses in the 14 midterms.

gps said...

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx/woman-57-robbed-attacked-elevator-article-1.1225827

" Cops are looking for a fiend they say brutally attacked a 57-year-old woman during a robbery in her Bronx apartment building.

The suspect, described as a black man between 17 and 20 years old, followed the victim onto an elevator inside her Washington Ave. building about 9:25 a.m. Thursday.

He got off on the 11th floor and then ran one flight up to meet her on her floor. The thug then pushed her back onto the elevator and punched her several times. He stole her earrings, a necklace and $45."

What does it matter?

He's the President and I'm just a schmuck who comments anonymously on a blog.

Anonymous said...

i agree with commenters who say this speech was totally unnecessary. Sharpton and co. were going to have their protests tomorrow where everybody could have one last group vent and then it could sort of sizzle out over the next couple weeks.

This adds fuel to fire.

Hopefully some of the few gutsy mainstream commentators out there will call out BO for the horrible inappropriateness of giving his historical context speech (which I have to admit, he is very, very good at) in response to a shit-case fiasco like the Zimmerman trial.

Anonymous said...

Did Obama call for any kind of calm in regards to all the violence that's gone on since the verdict?

I'm guessing not.

What a pathetic, smug, race-baiting jackass.

Misophile said...

Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago.

The audacity of hope...

Jefferson said...

I wonder if the gated community George Zimmerman lived in was only a few blocks away from the housing projects or section 8 housing.

That would explain why his gated community was always being terrorized by Black burglars.

Porter said...

Memo from black to white America: The savagery will continue until attitude improves.

Big Bill said...

So let me get this straight.

1. Barry is one-half white.

2. Zimmerman is one-half white.

3. Barry is one-half black.

4. Zimmerman is one-quarter black and one-quarter Indian.

5. Barry takes a white girl to Prom.

6. Zimmerman takes a black girl to Prom.

I guess we don't have a "one-drop" rule anymore.

It looks like we have a "somewhere-between-one-quarter-and-one-half" rule.

These crazy black and indian dudes with their colorism are going to get us white folks killed.

Anonymous said...

Fn genius Steve, you need to move to a pay site because there is no way these cheap bastards are donating enough to get this inspired content.

Dan in DC

Anonymous said...

Good thing Obama didn't marry a white woman.

He could have been OJ.

Anonymous said...

Good thing Obama's father split from his like. Obama could have ended up like Marvin Gaye.

Anonymous said...

Obama and the media should apologize to Zimmerman, to white gentiles, and to Hispanics.

Obama-mass-media-court collusion nearly destroyed a man's life, and the mad ordeal is not over.

I respect Zimmerman for keeping cool and rational through all this madness though he could have been sentenced to 30 yrs to life for defending himself from a thug.

totally OT said...

AP write-up of Winchester sentencing, scrupulously avoiding racial identification of any black men who might be perpetually in fear for their own lives.

rightsaidfred said...

Excellent piece, Steve.

We have the elephant in the room here of Black criminality, and Blacks play defense by going on offense about the thing, and now Barack joins in, which indicates tribal/ethnic solidarity in the Black community trumps national cohesion, but I guess we all knew that.

Chicago said...

They are all being followed. They can hear the click of car doors up and down the street from far away. Women in elevators clutch their purses tightly and are nervous whenever they enter. Paranoia and megalomania seem to be fused together in this toxic, heady brew where nothing on this planet is more important than them and yet the world conspires to thwart them. Whining has been refined into a full time line of work.
Only about 25% of last year's 514 homicides in Chicago were cleared. This means that hundreds of people, mostly black, who committed murder are running around loose on the streets. They are not incarcerated too much but too little. According to the number of serious crimes committed by them there should be many more that are incarcerated.

Zoink said...

You're being a bit unfair here. It is extremely rare for a Democrat, especially a black democrat, to explicitly acknowledge the high violent crime rate of black males. I'm shocked to see Obama doing it, in particular in this context.

Admitting this is a real issue, not the result of racist police and prosecutors, is the first step to addressing it.

Anonymous said...

Isn't it apparent by now just how much this guy loves acting. Swear, he would have done well in HWood.

I love his pregnant pauses to suggest he's in a contemplation so deep he can barely form words to begin speaking anew. I also love his downcast eyes, meant to suggest pain, but really to hide the smirk forming on the corner of his mouth. There are times when he's performing like this that I get the feeling he's about to lose all control and burst out laughing.

Today was one of those occasions.

Do you think when he leaves the lecturn and disappears backstage that he giggles uncontrollably with Valerie?

Dr. Stephen J. Krune III said...

Obama is really too much of a pussy Urkel for those things to have happened to him. He comes off about as masculine as Woody Allen in the Bananas subway scene.

Anonymous said...

If it's so terrible that blacks have been treated with suspicion, how does he justify the TSA and the other elements of the surveillance state that treats us all as would-be criminals?

Is it simply a matter of payback? Obama doesn't really think we're all terrorists, but he relishes the idea that white folk are being treated the way he thinks blacks always have been?

Anonymous said...

"Once left-liberal writers and politicians believe they have gotten the appropriate angle on an event, any further evidence to the contrary only causes them to chomp down with all the tenacity of a pit-bull."

Even before knowing the facts, they PROFILE the information to fit the NARRATIVE.

Blanket?

KKK AT OBERLIN!

Privileged white guys at Duke?

RAPISTS OF A DARLING BLACK WOMAN, A HOOKER WITH THE HEART OF GOLD.

Anonymous said...

"I'm shocked to see Obama doing it, in particular in this context."

Only to sound 'fair' and 'thoughtful'. I can't believe you're falling for this shit.
It's basically his regurgitation of the speech about Wright.

"Uhhh, Wright said some bad things but... let's think about the context..."

In that case, why not contextualize white hatred and fears too since blacks are stronger and more criminal?

The fact is Obama abused his power big time--as with the Henry Gates case--but wont apologize and instead pretends to be the 'thoughtful' observer of events with, again, full collusion of the dirty media tt acts worse than Mccarthy.

F him.

soft bigotry of low expectations said...

It is extremely rare for a Democrat, especially a black democrat, to explicitly acknowledge the high violent crime rate of black males.

Jesse Jackson notably beat him to that. I think Bam felt opportunistically alert, after Charles Barkley's interview yesterday. Anyway you're giving him credit for delivering a choreographed "Je vous ai compris" to the pups of the press corps? And Toure...

Anonymous said...

This from a man who will be spending his vacation on Nantucket and will not sense the irony.

I'm thinking room temperature I.Q. His only talent is manipulating the feelings of idiots and the demographic that spends its life in denial.

Harry Baldwin said...

Disgruntled said... I doubt that Obama has been in many fights and I'm fairly certain he has never sucker punched a stranger and moved to the ground-and-pound.

In "Dreams From My Father," Obama describes shoving a black girl on the school playground when the other kids said she was his girlfriend. So we know he's been in one fight.

We also know he is a physical coward because when he heard about an aggressive panhandler making his grandmother nervous at the bus stop, his reaction was not to confront the bum, but to be ashamed of his grandmother because she was afraid of black man. (Not much has changed since; his instinct is always to side with the black guy.)

Anonymous said...

"And do we actually think that he would have been justified in shooting Mr. Zimmerman, who had followed him in a car, because he felt threatened?"

No, and neither do any Stand Your Ground laws. Lookin' at someone funny is not a threat, despite what younger brothers across America might content when complaining to mom & dad in the front seat.

E said...

Jefferson said...
I wonder if the gated community George Zimmerman lived in was only a few blocks away from the housing projects or section 8 housing.

That would explain why his gated community was always being terrorized by Black burglars.


Not quite his development was becoming Section 8. Zimmerman's development was a victim of the real estate bubble. The homes went for 300-400K or so before the bubble. The development was mostly White. Then the bubble burst, values plummeted and homeowners either bolted or rented their units out. The development became more enriched with diversity and that's when the burglaries occurred. The suspects actually lived or were guest of residents all were Black except one. Some White boy rolling with Black boys.

You can read some of details here including a Black woman matter of factually saying the black boys were robbing the place.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/25/us-usa-florida-shooting-zimmerman-idUSBRE83O18H20120425

I looked online the homes now fetch about $100K. It's quickly deteriorating.

Anonymous said...

Controlling for age, I'd take odds on any of the four previous presidents versus Obama in a fight.

Interesting question.

Bush 2: he'd smack Barack with a long neck beer bottle and laugh about it afterwards

Clinton: Can''t see him in a real fight. He'd get the Sgt at Arms involved and have him cuff Barack on his behalf.

Bush 1: Even fight. I think a slight edge to Bush.

Reagan: would wipe floor with Barack

Carter: Narrow victory for the peanut farmer. He'd pray about it afterwards.

Ford: Not even close. The former football lineman would smack him around.

Anonymous said...

It wasn't too bad. His speech did something to quell the psychosis coming from the black community (and to a great extent the MSM) and to reassure someone like me who am rubbing my eyes in disbelief (naïf I know).

But there's something about Obama when he's being all solemn that makes my skin crawl. He's at his most charismatic singing Al Green, dancing on Ellen or chewing the fat with Conan, more so than during his empty and populist speeches in my opinion. He couches what uncomfortable truth he has to say in circumlocutions like "not naive about" and buries it two or three ponderous subordinate clauses deep. A born politician.

By the way Steve, have you seen this soul sister Anderson Cooper had on tonight talking about the Zimmerman trial? Apparently she's Editorial Brand Manager at BET and a writer on 'urban' topics. A picture.

http://b.vimeocdn.com/ts/319/178/319178725_640.jpg

Anonymous said...

Well, I asked what would be the White House's response.

Be careful what you ask for...

Anonymous said...

just imagine a white prez reacted like this every time a white person gets killed.

I could beat up Joe Biden said...

Anonymous said...Controlling for age, I'd take odds on any of the four previous presidents versus Obama in a fight.

Bush 1: Even fight. I think a slight edge to Bush.

Ford: Not even close. The former football lineman would smack him around."

Controlling for age, I can't beliee anyone would give the slacker W more cred than his Dad.

Ford would destroy Barack as well most other Presidents. He played football at Michigan (number retired). Plus he roomed on the road with the team's only black player, so Barry's race card wouldn't work with him.


Bush I would smash Soetero as well. He is 6'2" and was a pretty active guy. Big hunter and fisherman and always moving around. Guys like that would wipe the floor with faux intellectual dweebs like Obama. Plus he was a Naval Aviator that saw a good deal of combat. I know flying Naval airplanes isn't hand-to-hand fighting, but you can't be a total pussy and do it. Especially back in the day when everything had to be flown by hand.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TBF_GeorgeBush.jpg

The only Presidents that the effete Obama might be able to handle would have been 5'3" James Madison, the cripple FDR and probably the sickly and weak Teddy Roosevelt as well. Kennedy after his bad back - before his back went JFK would pummel him. Maybe the Adams...those guys were fairly prissy.

The guy Obama would run for his life from? Andrew Jackson. Jackson would gut the uppity negro like a fish.

Auntie Analogue said...


Just more Obama b.s. to keep the races agitated, divided, ruled, and distracted from what the House is scheming to do to enact piecemeal illegal alien amnesty.

A president who stoops to comment on what should be and what should remain local issues (Henry Louis Gates beer summit, Trayvon-Zimmerman) is stooping to comment for a reason that suits and advances, or allows to advance, his agenda. Same goes for Obama calling Nidal Hasan's Fort Hood jihad murders and maimings "workplace violence."

David said...

I don't understand what business it is of the POTUS to comment on this case.

Unlike the pathetic Obama, Fred Reed understands the important point:

"How many of those emoting about who threw the first punch have read Florida's case law on the question? For good reasons, it doesn't matter who punched whom first. (You don't like my looks and spit in my face. I punch you in the nose. You pull a switchblade and lunge at me, whereupon I shoot you dead. That's legitimate self-defense, because I believed myself to be in imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm, this being the threshold for use of deadly force. That I threw the first punch doesn't matter.)"

No matter what went on, Martin doubled back to chase Zimmerman and wound up repeatedly smashing Zimmerman's head against the pavement. Self-defense says pull the trigger.

Anonymous said...

The whole speech was cheesy bs but this is what his people want. Sappy stupid lies and some lying life narrative from this fraud with zero slave blood. With zero black-American heritage.

Anonymous said...

weak Teddy Roosevelt as well.
when he was state legislator, TR decked an irish politician who was calling him a dandy.
he boxed at harvard.
strenous life and all that..

Sideways said...

As you'll recall, Zimmerman got out of the car even though the police ordered him not to

Repeat a lie long enough and even the debunkers will believe it, I guess.

No, Steve, he received no orders to do anything from the police until after Martin had been shot.

Anonymous said...

Oh pleeeease, make some crafted barackoni and cheese.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUQ1VOoCNsY

Anonymous said...

or blackaroni and cheese.

Anonymous said...

Awesome job, Steve.

This speech is breathtaking. He is not our president. He is a special interest president. This has got to turn off a massive swath of the population. Will it matter?

Anonymous said...

How a libber 'thinks'.

From facebook:

"Another reason I'm still glad Obama is our president. While respecting our judicial process, he is able to empathize and shed light on national pain like no one else possibly could. An incredibly thankless position to be in once again handled with wisdom and grace. He isn't perfect but he's the best we have and I'm thankful."

"What's to be done about Detroit? The liberal Democrat in me says we have to bail it out as though it was hit by a natural disaster. Other instincts in me want a creative, more long-term solution. With Greece teetering, I jokingly suggested we all go there (and now we are in 10 days!). Not sure tourism is the answer for Detroit. I suggest a competition and award for the best long-term solutions for Detroit (sponsored by the bailed out and now solvent automakers). Any preliminary ideas for saving this proud American city?"

Liberals talk in a way that has the air of being open-minded, but that's what it is: nothing but air, and it's air trapped inside the iron box of political correctness.

So, even though Detroit stinks because it's a pile of shit, the intellectually vain/fancy and morally narcissistic liberal only smells foul odor in the air and cannot fix his eyes on the solid pile of shit material that is causing the stink.

So, he gets some air spray and sweetens the air, but the foulness returns since the shit is still there. Then he figures maybe another brand of spray will do the trick.

Part of the liberal mentality owes to cowardice but the other part is vanity and narcissism. It thinks sweet ideas and posturings can sweeten the world.

Anonymous said...

Obama's problem:

He's not really an American. He's not even really a black American.

(He's only black on his dad's side and he was an immigrant. No slavery. No Jim Crow. Nada. No victim story. He isn't even from tha same part of Africa as black Americans were from.)

And as for his white mom, Stanley, she was a basketcase even by white liberal standards.

Anonymous said...

"Ford would destroy Barack as well most other Presidents"

What about Barry vs Putin?

This video cracks me up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F89HiVJr0C0

The thing about the video is that you know it's slanted to make a point - but it's one of those situations where even knowing that doesn't matter because the truth of it is so overwhelming. And that makes it even funnier

Thales said...

Tears of impotent rage are even more delicious when presidential.

Mr. Anon said...

"Thales said...

Tears of impotent rage are even more delicious when presidential."

"Tears of impotent rage" - sounds like the title of a King Crimson album from the early 70s.

David said...

Steve, your portrait of Inner Obama and his mental monologue is great and is similar to this comic's "The Producers"-like portrayal of Hitler (Hipster Hitler).