Know When To Speak Up Or Shut Up

At the end of his press conference on the Healthcare Bill being written, President Barack Obama surprised many, as well as, me with a comment about race relations. The statement was in response to a question about an incident involving a Harvard Professor and the Cambridge Massachusetts Police Department. The following are excerpts of his answer, as provided on Bloomberg.com by writer Edwin Chen;
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aqSwABfzJgs0
President Barack Obama said police officers in Cambridge, Massachusetts, “acted stupidly” in their arrest of Harvard University African-American studies professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. after responding to reports of a burglary at his home…………….Obama, 47, began his comments by saying Gates, who he referred to by the nickname Skip, “is a friend, so I may be a little biased here.”
The president said that while “I don’t know all the facts” of the arrest or the role race played in it, the case highlighted “a long history in this country of African- Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately.”
He added: “That’s just a fact.”
“I am standing here as testimony to the progress that’s been made” on race relations, he said. “And yet the fact of the matter is, is that, you know, this still haunts us.”

I believe these comments about the incident were inappropriate for a man of his position and were stated at the inappropriate time. First of all, when the President called Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., by his nickname Skip, this should have been a warning to him, to take a no comment. When the President than stated that he might be a little biased about the case, since Professor Gates was a friend, should have set off alarms in his politically savvy head. Finally, to admit he did not know all the facts should have been a slam dunk (to coin a phrase) in SHUTTING UP!

We are at a point in our great nation where race is becoming a dying issue. The generations coming up behind mine, which is the baby boomer generation, could care less about the nationality, color of one’s skin or religious beliefs of any individual. To comment as the President did last night, will only instigate and continue an issue that is long on the road to being a dead one at best. So, shame on you Mr. President, for the showing of low class to no class in your behavior. Being a middle aged white male, growing up in a racist family, I overcame many racist beliefs and voted for you because I felt you could lead us in a new direction. But, rest assured, if you are nothing more than the same old story with a different face, me and many like me will turn away from you in a heartbeat. That would be something the GOP would relish.

That’s How I See It.

Websites of reference;
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/25329.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/22/AR2009072203871.html?hpid=topnews
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aqSwABfzJgs0
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama-gates-analysis24-2009jul24,0,2990550.story