Bi-Polar Bear wrote:
I find it hard to believe that if no one tried to off the current shitheads anyone else could possibly be in danger.
Yeah, that's my take too.
And I do worry about the effect of people worrying about it. Not to say don't talk about it, but I actually worry about the effect of talking about it on Obama's chances more than I worry about an actual assassination.
My brother and I talked about this the other night. It's a horrifying reality, the possibility of it, but fear can't get in the way of progress. We can't allow it. ****. We'd still be living in caves if that were the case.
Damn straight. <nods emphatically>
I remember in Chicago when Harold Washington, a black man, won the vote for mayor. I was very frightened for him and for our city, expecting it all to explode in racist terror and slip into the lake but what happened? He was one of the most popular mayors ever, re-elected for a second term and died in office, on the job, at his desk. So much for that kind of fear.
Yep. I still have vivid memories of Washington singing "Chicago, Chicago, you're my kinda town" at his victory party. I was in Minneapolis at the time but had a lot of ties to Chicago -- friends there, had visited often, etc. It was so cool.
Meanwhile, Obama's campaigning his ass off but still doing "diplomatic scut work" re: Kenya:
http://www.time-blog.com/swampland/2008/01/obamas_other_life.html
Excerpt:
Quote:On January 3, the day of the caucuses, he had a conversation with Bishop Desmond Tutu, who had flown to Nairobi to see if he could begin negotiations with the factions. In the days since his Iowa victory, Obama has had near-daily conversations with the U.S. Ambassador in Kenya or with opposition leader Raila Odinga. As of late this afternoon, before his rally in Rochester, N.H., Obama was trying to reach Kenyan President Kibaki.
I haven't been able to talk to Obama directly about this--he is sort of busy right now--but it does seem noteworthy that, in the midst of the most amazing week of his life, Barack Obama has found the time to do a some diplomatic scut-work. I suspect we'll be seeing a lot of this sort of thing if he wins the nomination and is elected President.
This is just a plonk, found it while trying to find something about whether that is in fact what Washington sang (it's a vivid memory but not necessarily accurate!):
http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/archive/barackobama/
(I didn't find anything about what Washington sang -- do you remember, eoe?)
http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/archive/barackobama/
Oh man, this is a gem!!!! I highly, highly recommend it. It's long but it's not as long as "Dreams from My Father" and pretty much all the good stuff is there. The article is from 1995. If nobody wants to read it I'll start quoting, but pretty much the whole thing is good stuff.
OK, just the end:
Quote:Obama took time off from attending campaign coffees to attend October's Million Man March in Washington, D.C. His experiences there only reinforced his reasons for jumping into politics.
"What I saw was a powerful demonstration of an impulse and need for African-American men to come together to recognize each other and affirm our rightful place in the society," he said. "There was a profound sense that African-American men were ready to make a commitment to bring about change in our communities and lives.
"But what was lacking among march organizers was a positive agenda, a coherent agenda for change. Without this agenda a lot of this energy is going to dissipate. Just as holding hands and singing 'We shall overcome' is not going to do it, exhorting youth to have pride in their race, give up drugs and crime, is not going to do it if we can't find jobs and futures for the 50 percent of black youth who are unemployed, underemployed, and full of bitterness and rage.
"Exhortations are not enough, nor are the notions that we can create a black economy within America that is hermetically sealed from the rest of the economy and seriously tackle the major issues confronting us," Obama said.
"Any solution to our unemployment catastrophe must arise from us working creatively within a multicultural, interdependent, and international economy. Any African-Americans who are only talking about racism as a barrier to our success are seriously misled if they don't also come to grips with the larger economic forces that are creating economic insecurity for all workers--whites, Latinos, and Asians. We must deal with the forces that are depressing wages, lopping off people's benefits right and left, and creating an earnings gap between CEOs and the lowest-paid worker that has risen in the last 20 years from a ratio of 10 to 1 to one of better than 100 to 1.
"This doesn't suggest that the need to look inward emphasized by the march isn't important, and that these African-American tribal affinities aren't legitimate. These are mean, cruel times, exemplified by a 'lock 'em up, take no prisoners' mentality that dominates the Republican-led Congress. Historically, African-Americans have turned inward and towards black nationalism whenever they have a sense, as we do now, that the mainstream has rebuffed us, and that white Americans couldn't care less about the profound problems African-Americans are facing."
"But cursing out white folks is not going to get the job done. Anti-Semitic and anti-Asian statements are not going to lift us up. We've got some hard nuts-and-bolts organizing and planning to do. We've got communities to build."
Bi-Polar Bear wrote:Surely we're not already talking about Obama being assassinated ?
You say "already"? When Obama first considered a move into the presidency, many Black Magazines commented on the resistance of Mrs Obama to this move.
Why?
Mrs. Obama worried about her husband being murdered.
With the level of "latent racism" in this country, can anyone really blame Mrs. Obama's feelings.
Miller, you keep saying that and I keep rebutting it. Not that it really matters, but what she actually said when asked was "as a Black man, he could get shot at a gas station." This has a clip:
http://www.racewire.org/archives/2007/05/michelle_obama_for_president.html
Where do you get the "murdered" thing?
Soz & Miller
Miller is probably thinking of Alma Powell. Colin powell said he would not run for president because his wife feared he would be murdered. Powell didn't want to put his wife through the stress and he didn't run.
BBB
Re: Soz & Miller
BumbleBeeBoogie wrote:
Miller is probably thinking of Alma Powell. Colin powell said he would not run for president because his wife feared he would be murdered. Powell didn't want to put his wife through the stress and he didn't run.
BBB
No, I'm talking about Mrs. Obama the wife of Mr. Obama.
sozobe wrote:Miller, you keep saying that and I keep rebutting it. Not that it really matters, but what she actually said when asked was "as a Black man, he could get shot at a gas station." This has a clip:
Soz, I didn't watch the clip (can't at the moment), but what was the context? Pretty strong racial tone there, innit? I mean, what's she saying, a white man can't get shot at a gas station? Please explain.
The context was being asked whether she was worried about Barack's safety. The interview happened shortly after Obama decided to run. She shrugged it off -- "he could be shot at the gas station." The main point was that dangers lurk many places, and she's not worried enough about his safety to tell him not to run.
Soz
sozobe wrote:The context was being asked whether she was worried about Barack's safety. The interview happened shortly after Obama decided to run. She shrugged it off -- "he could be shot at the gas station." The main point was that dangers lurk many places, and she's not worried enough about his safety to tell him not to run.
I remember Michele Obama's comments. The following may be of interest.
This long article makes no mention of Michele Obama publically expressing fear of Barack being murdered. She expressed several concerns, but not murder, other than the gas station comment. ---BBB
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/08/AR2007080802038_pf.html
Assassination fears follow Barack Obama
Assassination fears follow Barack Obama
By Toby Harnden in Nashua, New Hampshire
Last Updated: 1:53am GMT 08/01/2008
Security surrounding Barack Obama has been stepped up amid fears he could be an assassination target.
Massive crowds across New Hampshire following the Illinois senator's stunning victory in the Iowa caucuses last week have caused major headaches for his Secret Service bodyguards and led to extra agents being drafted into his detail.
Mr Obama was given Secret Service protection last May, far earlier than previous presidential candidates
Tensions have flared at events when crowds of people have swarmed around Mr Obama or tried to get into venues that were already crammed full.
At a school in Salem on Sunday, a policeman ordered an Obama supporter to get back and shouted: "Do you want me to arrest you in front of your kid?"
Mr Obama was given Secret Service protection last May, far earlier than previous presidential candidates, after indications of threats against him.
Hillary Clinton already had a Secret Service detail because she was a former First Lady but John Kerry, Democratic nominee in 2004, did not get one until after he won the New Hampshire primary.
advertisementSecret Service agents, conspicuous because of their suits, lapel badges and earpieces, are noticeably more jittery than before.
On the eve of the Iowa caucuses they froze as a man shouted "Obama, Obama" and ran towards the senator in corridor after he had just finished a speech at a Des Moines high school.
But as the agents prepared to draw their weapons, it became clear that the man was simply an enthusiastic Obama supporter who wanted to shake the candidate's hand. Mr Obama, who had seemed surprised at the shouting of his surname, recovered quickly and shook the man's hand.
Afterwards, an Obama aide told the supporter: "Hey, you can't do that man. Be careful. You freaked those guys out." The incident was witnessed by The Daily Telegraph.
Jesse Jackson was given Secret Service protection when he ran for president in 1988 after racist death threats against him while Colin Powell is believed to have decided against a White House bid in part because of the fears of his wife Alma that he might be murdered.
A few voters even say they are reluctant to vote for Mr Obama because a Southern racist might shoot him.
"There are people in this country who will not accept a black president," said Marvin Henderson, 32, at a Bill Clinton rally in Amherst, New Hampshire.
"Even before he got elected, I think some redneck or the Ku Klux Klan would try to do something about it."
And none of you suspect there have been assassination attempts against Bush?
How contrite and dismissive of you.
Well no, just the opposite. That's what Bear and I were saying last page. (If Bush is still alive, I'm not that worried about Obama.)
If we let the invisible threat of assasination stop our leaders, what next?
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sozobe wrote:Well no, just the opposite. That's what Bear and I were saying last page. (If Bush is still alive, I'm not that worried about Obama.)
I don't think the opposition to Bush and his crew are on the same level as the KKK or other racist organizations.
I'm not saying that I think Obama should be worried...but if Vegas was laying odds, Obama would be the favorite.
I wonder how much money is gambled on in Nevada on the US elections?
T
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