Madeline
Rookie
- Banned
- #61
Flayglo, I doubt anyone in the US dislikes Palin more than I do, but her comments about the First Lady are not indefensible if your reading of the quote in question is as strained as Palin's apparently is. Like it or not, the future First Lady was in error/chose her words badly when she said "And let me tell you something -- for the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country."
Palin exploited this obvious speech error by suggesting that the First Lady is not patriotic, which BTW is not a racially charged POV.
You need to read from sources other than HuffPo, Flayglo....they ain't been doing a great job lately.
Try the Cleveland Plain Dealer.......
Sarah Palin quotes Ronald Reagan a lot; she should study him more: an op-ed | cleveland.com
Well I feel African Americans have a right to that opinion even if we take Palin's interpretation of Michelle Obama's quote, African Americans were treated as less than second class citizens for years, so if it makes some of us finally have some pride to have a black President so be it, if we were treated as equals the entire time we were in this country that would be a different story. What she said was not unpatriotic if viewed in a historical context to African Americans, on the contrary, we've been the most patriotic people in America, when the black separatists and white supremacists said go back to Africa or separate the overwhelming majority of African Americans stayed in America and fought for their rights as Americans and asserted that they were US citizens, when we were forced to live under racist segregation and to ride in the backs of buses and deprived of equality in our own country we served our country in WW1, WW2, Korea, Vietnam, so don't dare even think Michelle Obama or any other black is somehow unpatriotic for finally "feeling proud" of their country.
EDIT: My response wasn't directed at you, it was directed at that monkey who replied after you.
In 2008, Mrs. Obama had two choices with regard to speaking on race, IMO. She could have said not one word on the subject and been Mrs. USA to us all -- the choice she has, for the most part, made. Or she could have spoken from the heart to both white and black Americans about race, about how it feels to be a black women in the US, etc.
The second conversation is very nuanced, requires maturity to hear and was not politically feasible for a candidate's wife. Mebbe after 2016, Michelle will share her inner life with us -- God willing, by then, we'll be ready to listen.