Obama calls for persistence in confronting 'deeply rooted' racism

[Baitball Blogger]

President Obama, responding to the wave of protests and racial tensions across the country in recent weeks, appealed for patience and persistence in solving what he described as an issue “that is deeply rooted in our society ... our history.”

“When you're dealing with something as deeply rooted as racism or bias in any society, you got to have vigilance, but you have to recognize that it's going to take some time,” Obama said in an interview to be aired Monday evening on BET Networks. “You just have to be steady so you don't give up when we don't get all the way there,” he said in a short video clip of the interview released Sunday.

Obama has come under increasing pressure to speak out after a grand jury declined last week to indict New York police Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the death of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man who was being arrested on suspicion of illegally selling loose cigarettes. The Staten Island grand jury’s decision came little more than a week after a St. Louis County grand jury failed to indict Ferguson, Mo., police Officer Darren Wilson for fatally shooting Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old whose death prompted unrest.

Responding to these cases has proved challenging for Obama. As the first African American president, he has in the past addressed America's racial tensions in a personal way, saying after the 2012 shooting death of black teenager Trayvon Martin that the victim would have looked like Obama’s son, if he had one — or even Obama himself 35 years ago.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/nationworld/la-na-obama-race-police-bet-interview-20141207-story.html

[KMOD]

1. The pressure, and criticism, some people put on President Obama

regarding race relations is unbelievable.

His Trayvon Martin comments were taken out of context by so many, purposefully, I believe. The beer gate summit, Michael Brown and now Eric Garner. The expectations are for him to solve all immediately, or bait him into playing the so-called race-card.

I'm still shocked at how he can stay so cool. It must be extremely frustrating for him.

[Baitball Blogger]

2. It is amazing how composed he is given the amount of undeserved criticism he has

received based on the color of his skin.

I will say that the discussion of race relations is finally getting the attention it deserves. And it evolved in the strangest of ways. It's like the racist's heads began to pop off once we had a black president. It's now out in the open, and there's no taking it back.

[KMOD]

3. I'm so very happy that the President has kept race relations

in the conversation topics.

I truly believe the Eric Garner case will be the catalyst in it all.

If eyes weren't opened after Trayvon Martin, or Michael Brown, or the heartbreaking case of 12 year old Tamir Rice, etc., well, everyone's eyes are certainly open wide now.

[AverageJoe90]

15. I'm seeing that, too.

I think what really got to a lot of people, is that Garner was a loving father and husband, who not only happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but that all he was being harassed for was allegedly untaxed cigarettes.

[KMOD]

21. and stressing "alledged"

waving back, because I always find you to be a cool, level headed poster, Average Joe.

[loyalsister]

5. I think it must be painful for him, too

We are seeing more extreme racism proudly on display since he was elected. I don't think he had any idea that such a monster would be turned loose.
Imagine how it must feel for him to see this backlash and think of his daughters. Parents worry enough about whether they do things right. The questions he might have regarding his contribution to the possibility of a welcoming country for his own and other children.
His daughters are certainly privileged, but I have read and heard many times about how nothing provides full insulation to protect people of color from racism.

I am happy to see him using words like vigilance, steady, persistence.... The words he is using seem to me to be a cautious call for action, telling us to "commit for the long haul, and don't stop."
What is included in the OP is heartening to me and may turn out to be truly significant.

[KMOD]

9. great thoughts

[Baitball Blogger]

27. Well, Obama represents something that the status quo feared.

Every right-wing anglo American that I ever spoke to feared the loss of their way of life and they knew it was coming once the proportion of minorities outnumbered them. We now know that their way of life involved white privilege. In other words, they knew not only how to skirt the law, but how to enrich themselves by taking over government through small government measures. In case anyone hasn't figured it out yet, small government requires control by plutocrats. It's anti-democratic. People who support this form of government are not concerned about fiduciary responsibility. They just know how to motivate and maneuver the greedy and the followers in a community to undermine the legal documents that protect everyone's rights.

I say there is a narrow window of time to set the right example before karma bites them in the ass.

[Skittles]

4. it's been enough time

racists, like homophobes, need to fucking EVOLVE already

[KMOD]

7. Easy.

It becomes a problem when it is mostly focused on race.

[KMOD]

12. Easier to blame white people, huh?

I'm not sure where to begin with this, so I'll ask?

How do you feel about Eric Garner's detainment and death?

Once you answer that, we'll take it from there, ok?

[KMOD]

16. Are you kidding me with this?

Pantaleo didn't choke him, he "took him down" by the neck. Once Garner was on the ground, Pantaleo, released the choke hold and placed his hands on the side of Garner's head while his accomplices cuffed him.

It wasn't until Garner was down on the ground with Pantaleo's hands on his head, that he started indicating that he couldn't breathe. That he was able to clearly state 11 times that he couldn't breathe is very strong evidence that he was, in fact, able to breathe as there had to be air moving in and out of his lungs for his larynx to function. What he was actually reporting was "difficulty breathing" which is a completely different phenomena than "inability to breathe". This is significant because the coroner has listed the cause of death as "heart attack" and further claims that Garner died of this heart attack in the back of the ambulance. Difficulty breathing, incidentally, is one of the classic symptoms of a heart attack. Inability to breathe is a classic symptom of airway obstruction/compromise.

So, the coroner confirms that he died of a heart attack and further states that he dies of this heart attack in the back of the ambulance. And that seems like bullshit to me.

Once Eric Garner stopped saying "I can't breathe, he was unconscious and rapidly dieing from the heart attack he was experiencing.

Especially the

"That he was able to clearly state 11 times that he couldn't breathe is very strong evidence that he was, in fact, able to breathe as there had to be air moving in and out of his lungs for his larynx to function. What he was actually reporting was "difficulty breathing" which is a completely different phenomena than "inability to breathe".

Yeah, there's no way they damaged or injured his windpipe, when they choked him, right?

Mr. Garner was asthmatic. That ass cop put him in a choke hold. He stated many times, that he couldn't breathe. They didn't render any oxygen. They didn't attempt to resuscitate him. They did nothing.

Mr. Garner would not have died, if the police didn't harass him that day, period.

[KMOD]

18. The heart attack was certainly caused by lack

of oxygen, no?

[KMOD]

20. Oh please, Mr. Garner died that day because

of police actions.

He had health issues, but if they didn't harass him and choke him, he would most likely be alive.

It's pretty clear he had a heart attack due to lack of oxygen. Hmmmm, what did he say, oh yeah "I can't breathe".

[KMOD]

24. I agree with nearly everything you wrote, except

I don't see where white people are being blamed.

I am so saddened that Eric Garner died. He shouldn't have died. The only solace I can take is that the general public is very angry over his death. And that I hope his death is not in vain and that something, somehow may come from it.

I believe that to be true. This was the catalyst. People are done, people are angry, people are awake.

To call this a white/black issue is to lower all of our standards. Everyone is angry. Everyone has had enough.

This is a civil rights case, against a black man. Something we should have been over long, long ago.

And if there are "white people" who are upset for any reason about this, they should also be supportive in this case.

It ultimately is about civil rights, for all. All. Not just black or white people.

[Cha]

23. THe WHITE COPS are the ones who are doing the Terrorizing.. Anyone can see that.. well most

anyone except racist bullies.

[Chakab]

8. Why don't you post under your real username instead of the alias?

[AverageJoe90]

14. TBH, there IS a LOT of evidence out there.....

That does tell us that minorities ARE significantly more likely to be affected by this than white folks.....but yes, white folks are also not immune. It could happen to any one of us, sadly.

[Cha]

25. Mahalo Baitball Blogger.. The President is

right of course "...that racism is deeply rooted in our society ... our history.” and, we're going to "need vigilance and patience.."

And, thank Goodness people are out there peacefully protesting(for the most part).. except the disruptors.. there will always be destroyers.. anywhere at anytime.

[Cha]

26. KICK!

[woo me with science]

28. Protesters also demand this administration reverse its escalation of police militarization.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/protests-break-out-nationwide-for-third-day-1417825427

The Ferguson Action website lists several goals, including “demilitarization” of law enforcement, a congressional hearing on alleged racial profiling by police and creation of a National Plan of Action for Racial Justice.

The Obama Administration's Escalation of Police Militarization
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/06/aclu-police-militarization-swat_n_2813334.html

It's almost certain that if the police agencies cooperate, the ACLU will find that the militarization trend has accelerated since Kraska's studies more than a decade ago. All of the policies, incentives and funding mechanisms that were driving the trend then are still in effect now. And most of them have grown in size and scope.

The George W. Bush administration actually began scaling down the Byrne and COPS programs in the early 2000s, part of a general strategy of leaving law enforcement to states and localities. But the Obama administration has since resurrected both programs. The Byrne program got a $2 billion surge in funding as part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, by far the largest budget in the program's 25-year history. Obama also gave the COPS program $1.55 billion that same year, a 250 percent increase over its 2008 budget, and again the largest budget in the program's history. Vice President Joe Biden had championed both programs during his time in the Senate.

The Pentagon's 1033 program has also exploded under Obama. In the program's monthly newsletter (Motto: "From Warfighter to Crimefighter&quot , its director announced in October 2011 that his office had given away a record $500 million in military gear in fiscal year 2011, which he noted, "passes the previous mark by several hundred million dollars." He added, "I believe we can exceed that in FY 12.”

Then there are the Department of Homeland Security's anti-terrorism grants. The Center for Investigative Reporting found in a 2011 investigation that since 2001, DHS has given out more than $34 billion in grants to police departments across the country, many of which have been used to purchase military-grade guns, tanks, armor, and armored personnel carriers. The grants have gone to such unlikely terrorism targets as Fargo, N.D.; Canyon County, Idaho; and Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Seven ways the Obama administration has escalated police militarization
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/10/obama-police-militarization_n_3566478.html

[steve2470]

29. big kick and rec nt