So, when are we going to realize that Obama isn't a Civil Rights leader

[Broke Wave]

that's not the president's job! the tools needed to reverse these issues are already out there. a lot of people just trapped in a cycle of ignorance and poverty that they don't want to break out of themselves. he can't hold every black person's hand and drag them to success. he can't make goons stop being goons. he can't make the ignant cats stop being ignant. he can't make lazy azz men and women in the hood get up and do something other than waiting for the ebt card to re-up.

where is the expectation for people to take responsibility of their own lives in all of this?

Let me entertain this childish assertion for a second.

Lets suppose black poverty and unemployment has been trending upwards, and black networths have been going down.

Is this a result of black people being more "ignant" and "lazy" in the last 3-4 years?

What triggered this remarkable increase in laziness?

If it isn't an increase of laziness which has adversely affected these statistics, maybe it was something else?

Perhaps, policy?

Maybe something that President of the United States can influence?

Hmm.

 

[NYC Rebel]

you may have selective hearing. obama has directly addressed black folks several times. commencement speeches at hbcu's, nationally televised speeches, and in writing.

No president has spoken less about race this this man. He's barely uttered anything specifically addressing blacks other than a few utterances trying to sound like a black preacher to tell folk to take off their bedroom slippers and put on their marching shoes.

there are more than enough initiatives in place to help black folks and other minorities. we have to start taking responsibility for ourselves. and stop expecting obama to...

See...this is the start of where you get on your self created soap boxing. Asking elected officials for a return on their voting investment isn't asking Obama to heal old ills that have effected the black community long before he got here and will be there after he leaves. So this shyt here you posted below.......

that's the problem with our black community now. expecting others to save us instead of bustin our azzes and saving ourselves. it ain't easy and it ain't fair, but it's entirely possible. excuses need to stop.

.....is nothing but some soapboxing bullshyt I'm sick and tired of hearing middle class blacks repeat over and over again while being the biggest do nothing folk there is.

 

[bzb]

Let me entertain this childish assertion for a second.

Lets suppose black poverty and unemployment has been trending upwards, and black networths have been going down.

Is this a result of black people being more "ignant" and "lazy" in the last 3-4 years?

What triggered this remarkable increase in laziness?

If it isn't an increase of laziness which has adversely affected these statistics, maybe it was something else?

Perhaps, policy?

Maybe something that President of the United States can influence?

Hmm.

policy? have you paid any attention to the global economy? i thought not...

or maybe you think presidents can single handedly fix recessions and make corporations hire only black people out of the saturated talent market..

 

[NYC Rebel]

I shytted on Charlie Rangel back in 98 when my father had political pull due to him being an elected Nigerian official and tried to get me to work for him. I refused because he for years sold his constituents short selling wolf tickets when he and David Dinkins had an opportunity back in the 70's to buy the then dilapidated brownstones at a $1 a piece for the locals but sold out to real estate developers.

I'm not going to sit here and act like what I expect of the president I helped to elect is any different than my expectations from others I voted for.

 

[TLR Is Mental Poison]

no he cannot. the president doesn't create laws. that's the job of congress.

obama does enough for black america. he leads by example. he has done more than any other president has to directly address racial issues, without disenfranchising the rest of the country. he is after all, the President of the United States. mot the President of the United States for black folks.

he can't make black people take control of our lives and our future. we at some point have to realize that obama can't focus on issues that affect the black community. that's our job, not his.

President can't create laws, but he can lean on lawmakers from his party to sign things he wants into law. Likewise he signs or vetos laws they make. This has happened time and time again throughout the country's history. So lets not play coy. You act like he had nothing to do with shyt like.... Obamacare

And your other points aren't relevant to what I am talking about. Obama addressing black issues doesn't prevent him from being an equitable president for the whole country.

 

[Broke Wave]

policy? have you paid any attention to the global economy? i thought not...

or maybe you think presidents can single handedly fix recessions and make corporations hire only black people out of the saturated talent market..

The global economy ahhh I totally forgot about this scapegoat my bad.

Does the global economy discriminate between African Americans and other groups? Are they especially lazy? If so or if not, why are their numbers significantly worse than the other groups? Maybe there is a new macro-economic variable I have missed maybe you can explain it to me

 

[bzb]

No president has spoken less about race this this man. He's barely uttered anything specifically addressing blacks other than a few utterances trying to sound like a black preacher to tell folk to take off their bedroom slippers and put on their marching shoes.

what more needs to be said? matter of fact what can he say that will change the action black people need to take for themselves?? please expound...

See...this is the start of where you get on your self created soap boxing. Asking elected officials for a return on their voting investment isn't asking Obama to heal old ills that have effected the black community long before he got here and will be there after he leaves. So this shyt here you posted below.......

so what type of return are you insinuating? black people didn't vote for obama on the premise that he would in turn provide favors specifically to the black community.

.....is nothing but some soapboxing bullshyt I'm sick and tired of hearing middle class blacks repeat over and over again while being the biggest do nothing folk there is.

doesn't change the truth of the matter.

getting on your grind is the best (and sometimes the only way) to create success for yourself. the black people who need it the most have 0 motivation to do so.

 

[MeachTheMonster]

The global economy ahhh I totally forgot about this scapegoat my bad.

Does the global economy discriminate between African Americans and other groups? Are they especially lazy? If so or if not, why are their numbers significantly worse than the other groups? Maybe there is a new macro-economic variable I have missed maybe you can explain it to me

Their numbers have always been significantly worse. Has nothing to do with Obama. If anything this is the issue where he has helped black people the most. He's concentrated on educational and economic opportunity which is exactly what black people need to move from poverty.

 

[bzb]

The global economy ahhh I totally forgot about this scapegoat my bad.

Does the global economy discriminate between African Americans and other groups? Are they especially lazy? If so or if not, why are their numbers significantly worse than the other groups? Maybe there is a new macro-economic variable I have missed maybe you can explain it to me

lol @ scapegoat. putting your head in the sand and ignoring reality doesn't change the facts. between 2007 and 2011 more people lost their jobs, homes, and livelihood than any other time in recent history. fact

minorities are impacted the most because we are historically the lowest educated group (meaning we're not going to be the first to be re-hired), lowest income (making our financial situation already dire), have the least amount of savings (can't weather the employment droughts), and more likely to live paycheck to paycheck.

dude, this argument is a losing proposition for you. go arm yourself with facts and then bring it back.

 

[Broke Wave]

Their numbers have always been significantly worse. Has nothing to do with Obama. If anything this is the issue where he has helped black people the most. He's concentrated on educational and economic opportunity which is exactly what black people need to move from poverty.

Their numbers have ALWAYS been worse. This has nothing to do with Obama, in fact, this is where he has helped black people the MOST. He's concentrated on EDUCATIONAL and ECONOMIC opportunity, which is what black people need to move from poverty.

Let's take this apart.

1. Their numbers have always been worse, this has nothing to do with Obama.

This is nonsensical... every problem in America has something to do with Obama now, he is the president. Just because it was like that before he entered office doesn't mean he has no obligation to fix it. Should he have left Terrorism alone simply because it existed before his presidency? Is his presidency the genesis for all things relevant?

2. This is where he has helped black people the most.

Can you show me a single example of Obama helping African Americans in poverty not as a side effect of a totally unrelated policy? Can I please see a specific poverty related policy or provision from the president?

3. He's concentrated on EDUCATIONAL and ECONOMIC opportunity.

Same as above... can I see a single specific educational or economic opportunity policy which the president has directed towards black people... I am using this stipulation because you are saying this is what they need most to move from poverty, lets see the president echoing your sentiments in policy. Where is the policy to support this?

lol @ scapegoat. putting your head in the sand and ignoring reality doesn't change the facts. between 2007 and 2011 more people lost their jobs, homes, and livelihood than any other time in recent history. fact

minorities are impacted the most because we are historically the lowest educated group (meaning we're not going to be the first to be re-hired), lowest income (making our financial situation already dire), have the least amount of savings (can't weather the employment droughts), and more likely to live paycheck to paycheck.

dude, this argument is a losing proposition for you. go arm yourself with facts and then bring it back.

How absurd. So because a lot of people lost their jobs, and minorities were most hit by the recession, the sitting president during the recession is excused from trying to rectify the situation. You describe the situation of minorities, but have yet to describe anything president Obama has done to solve this problem, you only keep insisting that I recognize that a problem exists, something I have not denied. I think if anyone here is unarmed with facts its you, friend, because you consider this to be an argument. How can I argue with someone who considers a rebuttal to be a regurgitation of historical facts without any perspective? How can "the recession lost a lot of jobs" be an excuse for inaction on poverty? This is not an argument this is me educating you.

 

[bzb]

President can't create laws, but he can lean on lawmakers from his party to sign things he wants into law.

takes both branches of congress for a law to make it to the pres for signing. care to guess the last time the president's party controlled both sides of congress? do your legwork and then you'll understand why obama just can't do sh1t to help the underprivileged.

Likewise he signs or vetos laws they make. This has happened time and time again throughout the country's history. So lets not play coy. You act like he had nothing to do with shyt like.... Obamacare

obamacare wasn't race specific. let's stay focused.

another example please...

And your other points aren't relevant to what I am talking about. Obama addressing black issues doesn't prevent him from being an equitable president for the whole country.

they are very relevant. congress isn't going to legislate based on race.

but just for sh1ts n giggles, what laws or actions would you propose obama take to help black people specifically? just don't propose anything that's already in place...

 

[bzb]

How absurd. So because a lot of people lost their jobs, and minorities were most hit by the recession, the sitting president during the recession is excused from trying to rectify the situation.

don't tell me you're one of the people that think the president can fix an economy overnight. you seriously think he has a magic wand for fixing an economic problem caused by two costly wars and the collapse of the banking institutions overnight?

You describe the situation of minorities, but have yet to describe anything president Obama has done to solve this problem, you only keep insisting that I recognize that a problem exists, something I have not denied. I think if anyone here is unarmed with facts its you, friend, because you consider this to be an argument. How can I argue with someone who considers a rebuttal to be a regurgitation of historical facts without any perspective? How can "the recession lost a lot of jobs" be an excuse for inaction on poverty? This is not an argument this is me educating you.

you have this silly idea that the president can fix those problems. go back to each one and think to yourself how they can be fixed. i promise you there won't be one example where the president can fix them by himself. that's why i listed them for you. you seem to be ignorant of the issues and ignorant of the president's ability to impact them. you're lacking a great deal of perspective here, friend.

 

[MeachTheMonster]

Their numbers have ALWAYS been worse. This has nothing to do with Obama, in fact, this is where he has helped black people the MOST. He's concentrated on EDUCATIONAL and ECONOMIC opportunity, which is what black people need to move from poverty.

Let's take this apart.

1. Their numbers have always been worse, this has nothing to do with Obama.

This is nonsensical... every problem in America has something to do with Obama now, he is the president. Just because it was like that before he entered office doesn't mean he has no obligation to fix it. Should he have left Terrorism alone simply because it existed before his presidency? Is his presidency the genesis for all things relevant?

You can say he should try to fix it which he should. But you can't fault him for the GLOBAL recession and the natural course of economics. Your argument was that its obamas fault that black people are worse off than other groups.

2. This is where he has helped black people the most.

Can you show me a single example of Obama helping African Americans in poverty not as a side effect of a totally unrelated policy? Can I please see a specific poverty related policy or provision from the president?

What do you consider a "poverty related provision"? No there is no "get you out of poverty bill" but people in poverty need educations and economic opportunity and those issues have been a very important part of his presidency.

3. He's concentrated on EDUCATIONAL and ECONOMIC opportunity.

Same as above... can I see a single specific educational or economic opportunity policy which the president has directed towards black people... I am using this stipulation because you are saying this is what they need most to move from poverty, lets see the president echoing your sentiments in policy. Where is the policy to support this?

PolitiFact | The Obameter: Increase minority access to capital

Obama launches African-American education initiative – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs

 

[No1]

Hold up.

Here's the thing that sickens me coming from folk like you and the @BarNone of the world.

The angle that speaking or doing things for black people automatically segregates itself from helping others. The point is, no Democratic President since 1961 has talked LESS about race than this man.

No one is asking him to do anything but speak to our issues and stop being afraid to do so.

The point is, he doesn't TALK to or ABOUT us. It's always his online proxies that seem to be doing all the talking.

And YES @BarNone, there is statistical data backing the assertion that low income blacks voted more for this President than Middle or Upper income blacks, the ones least likely to come out and vote. I know you don't like the idea of Middle to Upper Income blacks at their $500 a plate chicken dinner functions are least likely to go to the polls, angry that Lecretia from around the way is most likely to go out and vote, but it's there.

Number 1, this is vintage Reb. You continue to talk around what I said instead of at what I said. Really read what I said and you'll notice that there's nothing unreasonable about it. For some odd reason you're trying to equate me with the OP and the first 3 posters in here, when I just straight up said that ilk is wrong and part of the problem. You know what I'm talking about, but in tested Reb fashion you prefer to argue your talking points and stick to your guns then actually argue what your detractor is saying. So let me reiterate this shyt in bold and underline it for you and maybe you'll under better.

You cannot take the statistics that show that poor black people, even if we take them as true, vote more than middle class people to then extrapolate that middle class black people are the most ardent Obama supporters. Your data proves one group votes more than the other, but you have failed to provide accompanying data to prove that middle class blacks are then also the biggest supporters of Obama. It is possible, but you have yet to provide the data to show that he has a higher approval rating among middle class black americans than he does among poor black americans. Apparently, you think that we're just supposed to take your word for something that is not conventional wisdom. LASTLY, your hyperbole about 500 dollar dinners makes your entire argument seem sophomoric, petty and is overall hyperbole. You're getting @ me, a guy who argues for poor people on this board as much as anyone and gets told he's making excuses for them to make whatever point you believe it is your making. In the midst of that you somehow decided that middle class people can afford 500 dollar dinners and that we're not talking about affluent people, which is an entirely different discussion. I must say, you're in rare form...so rare that you didn't even realize that I'm very nearly basically on your side.

Last, you keep harming on these clutch key facts that you've found out, "since 1961" but then run away from facts that would explain why, but I'll let you have that. All I care about is actual policy all this other shyt is political noise. Invite to that conversation when we start talking about how his homeowner's shyt didn't work out and how they couldn't get that jobs bill through.

 

[TLR Is Mental Poison]

takes both branches of congress for a law to make it to the pres for signing. care to guess the last time the president's party controlled both sides of congress? do your legwork and then you'll understand why obama just can't do sh1t to help the underprivileged.

Presidents have got laws through w/o controlling both sides of Congress. Again, case in point, Obamacare.

obamacare wasn't race specific. let's stay focused.

Never said it was

another example please...

Bank bailouts
Reagan tax cuts
Medicare Part D

Etc. President doesn't make laws but to act like no president has ever had any influence on the laws that Congress made is ridiculous

they are very relevant. congress isn't going to legislate based on race.

Never said they should I am not suggesting Obama push for laws that are fair for black people and unfair for everyone else, again you seem to be missing my point

but just for sh1ts n giggles, what laws or actions would you propose obama take to help black people specifically? just don't propose anything that's already in place...

He has made some headway on sentencing guidelines but there is still a disproportionate amount of guilty verdicts handed to blacks vs others for similar crimes. That is tough to tackle but is something I would like to see him address.

Schools are local but Bush was able to push NCLB (another example of a president having his plan put into law)... I would like to see Obama work to equalize resources among schools, which is a problem that affects us

Gentrification and displacement are an issue affecting us in inner cities, that would be something else I would like to see addressed.

I can't lay out the specifics because I am not an expert on these issues, but I know these are things that affect us that Obama hasn't really prioritized.