Black men's "disillusionment" with Obama

[andwhat]

I can't think of a better word. 

So a few of my black male FB friends seem to have big issues with Obama. They don't think he did enough for the black community during his presidency. Since FB has stupid settings I was able to see the back and forth between a friend and one of his friends on the subject. So the one person was saying that a president is supposed to be for all people and that they shouldn't ever push legislation for the benefit of one particular group. And that many of the initiatives Obama made benefitted many black people, although not solely them. My friend responded that presidents (and other politicians) in the past have made legislation that specifically excluded black people from benefitting (like FDR and the New Deal) and that as the first black president he should have done more even if it was through executive order. I seem to have quite a few black male FB friends who feel this way. I thought their discussion was pretty interesting.

Have you experienced this?

[sunshine608]

Yes! I was just thinking about this over the weekend. A few of the BM on my FB friends are always posting articles very dismissive of Obama but from a different lenses than the mainstream. I know that many of them voted 3rd party in the election. I wonder if we have some of the same friends haha.

Its such a unique perspective that I admit I don't engage, I just tend to read.

[LLL]

I'm not familiar with this. Can you give an example of the sort of legislation or initiatives they would have liked to see that would have specifically benefitted BM? 

[threejs]

I think this was also Tavis Smiley's and Cornel West's criticism of Obama.

While I agree that former presidents created policies that excluded people of color, I can't get behind the notion that this president should have singled us out to help. Had he done that, race relations in this country would be far worse than they are now.

[andwhat]

Jan 17, 2017 10:29:15 GMT -5 LLL said:

I'm not familiar with this. Can you give an example of the sort of legislation or initiatives they would have liked to see that would have specifically benefitted BM? 

I'm trying to think of more, I will have to go look at the interaction again, but they think he should have completely ended the War on Drugs, and that there was a lot of lip service to killings of black boys/men. I know the Ta-Nehisi Coates article "My President was Black" (I think that was the title), pissed my friend off. Especially the part about how Obama was raised thinking white people were good and so it took him a long time (too long) to realize that people just weren't liking him for being black. 

I think in general they think Obama was all talk, no action. But like capscapscaps said I think they mistake the power the President actually has. I did mention that to my one friend who also feels this way.

I know the one friend did not vote for Obama either election (always 3rd party) and I am not sure about the other most vocal one.

[LLL]

Jan 17, 2017 11:20:50 GMT -5 andwhat said:

Jan 17, 2017 10:29:15 GMT -5 LLL said:

I'm not familiar with this. Can you give an example of the sort of legislation or initiatives they would have liked to see that would have specifically benefitted BM? 

I'm trying to think of more, I will have to go look at the interaction again, but they think he should have completely ended the War on Drugs, and that there was a lot of lip service to killings of black boys/men. I know the Ta-Nehisi Coates article "My President was Black" (I think that was the title), pissed my friend off. Especially the part about how Obama was raised thinking white people were good and so it took him a long time (too long) to realize that people just weren't liking him for being black. 

I think in general they think Obama was all talk, no action. But like capscapscaps said I think they mistake the power the President actually has. I did mention that to my one friend who also feels this way.

I know the one friend did not vote for Obama either election (always 3rd party) and I am not sure about the other most vocal one.

Gotcha. That makes sense, I do think think that Obama's background has a lot to do with perspective on race relations. You're going to have a hard time trying to convince someone whose mama is white and has achieved the level of greatness he has on the backs of all kinds of strong people (both black and white) that white people are "not good". I agree with you that people mistake the power the president actually has, I also think that (and especially for those Black American males) although this president may look like them he is not their mirror. He can empathize, he can agree but it will never completely be his struggle. 
I feel that way sometimes being a naturalized American. You get the sense that although you can 'ride or die' for a cause/country some people can be upset that you're not *more* upset or you look at things a different way. Does that make sense?

[andwhat]

Yep. That makes sense LLL. I even told my friend that I could understand Obama's perspective on white people being inherently "good" because growing up I really felt like my race didn't matter. That could be because I have always lived in a majority black area. But I really felt like my achievements were based on my merits. It wasn't until adulthood and getting into my profession that I started to really see discrimination. Or at least overt discrimination. So my perspective has greatly changed. Reading that article about Obama reminded me of HS me in that aspect. And I think while there is a lot that I wish Obama did do, I can sympathize with his perspective because I grew up thinking that way.

[05heel]

I can't really answer objectively, because the black men in my life who feel this way are idiots. They may be idiots who've stumbled upon a valid argument here, but I can't discount their overall whackassity.

[thejackpot]

I get a little pissed at this line of thought, well a lot pissed actually. What did they want him to do? I mean specific things. He achieved a lot for all Americans and that is more than enough to make me proud.

[LLL]

Jan 17, 2017 16:57:59 GMT -5 thejackpot said:

I get a little pissed at this line of thought, well a lot pissed actually. What did they want him to do? I mean specific things. He achieved a lot for all Americans and that is more than enough to make me proud.

I was one of those people that was super apprehensive during the start of his administration, I just felt that people set him up to be this second coming of Christ and had so many unrealistic expectations of what he was meant to be and represent. I'm completely blown away by the kind of person he seems to be, I really don't think it's all lip service I do think he strived to help all Americans because it was the right thing to do. How lucky are we?  

[thejackpot]

I agree people wanted so much from him. He faced so much resistance and yet he always held his head high and worked hard for the people. Good work.

[cookiemdough]

I do wish he had done more as it relates to drug sentencing and the for-profit prison complex. Maybe he thought HRC was going to be next and he felt comfortable that she was going to move in this direction. I can't help but think now that it will be years before these issues are even on the radar of another president. That is disheartening and I get really annoyed every time is see a state legalizing marijuana knowing that prisons are housing people for marijuana infractions. I know it is at the state level, but I wish there was some mechanism to prohibit continued incarceration when the offense is no longer illegal.

[andwhat]

Jan 17, 2017 18:06:24 GMT -5 cookiemdough said:

I do wish he had done more as it relates to drug sentencing and the for-profit prison complex. Maybe he thought HRC was going to be next and he felt comfortable that she was going to move in this direction. I can't help but think now that it will be years before these issues are even on the radar of another president. That is disheartening and I get really annoyed every time is see a state legalizing marijuana knowing that prisons are housing people for marijuana infractions. I know it is at the state level, but I wish there was some mechanism to prohibit continued incarceration when the offense is no longer illegal.

He has commuted many drug sentences for those with no other convictions. I don't know how that works though. Like do you have to just have one conviction. What if you have multiple drug convictions for what would not be considered recreational marijuana? I really wish he would have done more to curtail the war on drugs. And while I know healthcare was his number one priority and I know it helps millions of black people. I do wish his "main" focus would have been on something like War on Drugs or something more minority focused. But I don't hold it against him. I don't see any president of any party putting what I feel is #1 as theirs.

[andwhat]

So here is the list of things my one friend wishes Obama would have done. I will admit I agree with some of this, but I understand that some of this he didn't have the power to do as President.

He changed the crack to cocaine sentencing from 100 to 1 to 18 to 1! Why not 1 to 1 or 100 to 100?

He could have done a new deal for black People since white folks have had several with legal discrimination so blacks could not get anything.

Have a federal investigation of redlining in Chicago

Stop police military weapons funding

Call out Israel as a racist state and stop selling them weapons

Stop funding bombs

Stop over throwing governments and rigging elections.

Find out what happened to the 6 billion dollars in donation made to the Clinton foundation for Haiti.

Pardon Aseta Shukur, Mumia and Geronimo Pratt

Use FEMA funds to fix the water system in Flint

Declare Chicago Southside, New Orleans 9th ward and Baltimore West and east side disaster areas and use reconstruction funding to fix it.

Change school funding from 8% to 38% for areas where the income avg is less then $8000 per year

Don't back Rom Emmanuel as Mayor in Chicago

Acknowledge institutional Racism in this country.

[cookiemdough]

Is he backing a Rahm re-election for mayor? If so that would be disappointing. Wasn't he a Clinton guy?

[andwhat]

Jan 17, 2017 19:48:33 GMT -5 cookiemdough said:

Is he backing a Rahm re-election for mayor? If so that would be disappointing. Wasn't he a Clinton guy?

I think he means he shouldn't have backed Rahm ever, but I am not sure.