Where’s My Thug At? (A Black President’s dilemma)

Maybe Barack Obama didn’t realize that he was chosen more because of his color than his eloquence. Don’t get me wrong; he wowed everyone at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. I knew he would be a great senator, but I truly believe that he was chosen because the Democrat Party needed some muscle. The party is full of politicians who can give good speech, but the first Black (African American) President by virtue of being Black, would most certainly bring with it some of the physical and mental toughness afforded to our Black athletes in this country, or even some of the “bust a cap in your ass” generalizations that some Whites have held onto even in this supposed “post-racial” America. The fact that he’s also from Chicago must have been the tipping point. Now, many people are expressing disappointment in his unwillingness to jump into the fray and throw punches. It would surprise no one in the Black community that he wouldn’t conduct himself in that manner. Mr. Obama is a highly educated man with a family. Not a street thug. Have we ever stopped to think that he’s playing the game? He’s been in office for 9 months and the fact that he hasn’t used his A-K is surprising to some. When Blacks won the right to vote, they were subjected to lies and misrepresentation when they showed up to polling places. “If you can’t read, you can’t vote.” was one of the lies told at the polls. When Blacks cry racism these days, they are met with a reverse racism label and told to be quiet. I think Mr. Obama is playing the game. We voted for him. We put him in office with a mandate. Now after less than a year we are swayed with untruths and intimidation. The “Right” Whites in this country who will never vote for anything he puts forth and are trying to bring him down at all costs are happy that we are silent. We stand idly by and watch while the big corporations in this country use their considerable wealth to hold onto power and the status quo by trotting out the same old fear and intimidation tactics they always use. Why? Is it because we expected Barack Obama to run the White House like the thug brothers we see in movies or on television? Did we expect him to call out the name callers and the “Deciders” for a game of one on one? What is it that we want from a man who has been in office for 9 months, has two wars, a failed economy, record unemployment, and a 1.3 trillion dollar deficit (none of which happened on his watch)? We truly are spoiled children who want everything and are willing to do nothing for it. If we don’t stand with our president, if we don’t push back in numbers against those who clearly have a BIG problem with a Black man living in the White House, then we have gone back on our word. Our promise. Our vote. With our vote we promised that we would help Barack Obama bring change to this country. And EVERYONE from age 18 to 100 plus has a responsibility to help this country back to health. HE CANNOT DO IT ALONE. We complained for eight years about an administration that bullied us and ran the country into the ground. We now have someone in office that is willing to work with us. Are we willing to work with him? The Democrats don’t have backbone. They run full tilt when the Republicans pick on them and call them names. I believe Barack Obama has shown his backbone simply by running and actually winning the White House in a country where white and black, white and brown, white and yellow is still the underlying issue.