Walter Vincent Brooks – The Brooks Report, Guest Commentary
Well, wow, my oh my! Where do I begin? The Democratic presidential candidacy of U.S. Senator Barack Obama has galvanized all kinds of interests in the country. Both Obama and his wife, Michelle, have been suffering through some mighty slings and arrows lately, but most have come from white people. Yes, blacks, especially in the early stages of his campaign to win the nomination, have tried to slam him – most distastefully among those individuals was BET founder and billionaire Robert Johnson who publicly supported Hillary Clinton and tried to say that Obama was unfit because he snorted coke while in college.
But two days ago, none other than venerated civil rights giant, Jesse Jackson, foolishly ran his mouth in a Fox network studio (of all the studios to slip in) and thought he wasn’t talking near a “hot” microphone. He was. And his comments that Obama’s slamming irresponsible black fathers at a Father’s Day speech to a black church was “talking down to black people” and that Obama needed his sexual organ cut off (castration). Gee, Jesse.
Obama’s primacy as a “black” leader is going to draw more and more fire eventually from the African American community. Especially from me in this blog. And that is as it should be.
But, the Jackson-Obama fiasco is actually a case of both individuals being wrong. And as the old saying goes, two wrongs don’t make a right.
First of all, I have been fairly livid at Obama choosing Father’s Day to deliver another one of his black-fathers-need-to-get-their-act-together speeches. So, I think Jackson’s criticism about Obama “talking down to black people” is absolutely correct. Obama, since delivering his now historic speech on “race” in February has basically not said another word about racism in his campaign and it is assumed he will not discuss race in any capacity until after the election. His abiding fear and concern that he will alienate critical pockets of white voters is palpable and a little too slavish for my taste. But, I believe that as long as Obama is not going to address racism and its long term affects on the African American community, particularly on black males, and then he also should have a moratorium on criticizing black people. For anything. It’s not right and it looks like he taking cheap shots at black people in order to score points with white people.
However, Jesse Jackson is extremely well versed on the history of racism and violence against African Americans by the white race in this country, particularly lynching. So, no reference to castration or cutting anything off Barack Obama can ever be acceptable. I wouldn’t castrate my worse enemy. No. Jesse is way out of line. And point in fact, he also risks coming across as a hypocrite on this issue. It wasn’t that many years ago that he was quoted across the nation as basically saying he supports racial profiling, too.
Here is the comment he made:
“There is nothing more painful for me at this stage in my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery—then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved.”
Well, damn, Jesse. White people say the same thing about black men all over the country. And he endorsed their fears to the max when he made that comment. So Jackson probably shouldn’t have be throwing stones at Obama. Not because Obama was right, he wasn’t. But because Jackson also has had his moments to confess to some highly critical feelings about black Americans, especially black men.
In the final analysis, Black people are going to have to accept that Barack Obama is not going to be a “Black President.” Okay? Just get that out of your mind. He is going to be another politician who was voted into the White House to do the bidding of his financial backers and policymakers. Bill Clinton was the first American President who never went into the military. Obama will be the first truly high ranking black political official who has no generational experience with the civil rights movement, or the masses of black people.
So, I’m not mad at Jesse for what he said. Obama needs to stop beating up on black men until he’s ready to beat up on racists, too. And, Jesse, my brother, treat every microphone like a loaded gun. They’re all hot. You should know better after “Hymie-town” sent the Jewish community after you with a flame thrower that there is no off- the- record conversation. So a slap upside your nappy Civil Right Old School head for such lax media security. Again.
I’m Walter Vincent Brooks for The Brooks Report. Let me know what you think. Holler back!
