Eugene Robinson: "But he was wrong about one thing: On race, sadly, we are as divided as we seem."

[kpete]

Obama has helped us peer into the racial divide

..............

This condition is not due to anything Obama has said or done. He bends so far backward to avoid giving offense, even to those who richly deserve offending, that he must need regular sessions with a chiropractor. The racial divide, which has its roots in lingering claims of white supremacy, has been there all along. It was mostly silent and unacknowledged until the very fact of the Obama presidency cast it in stark and unforgiving light.

...........

It is as though a dark corner has been illuminated to reveal the mess that was swept there long ago and willfully ignored.

..............

When the next president is sworn in, Obama will leave office without having healed the nation’s festering racial wounds. He will not have made them worse; rather, he will have allowed us to see how deep they remain and how much healing still needs to take place. It may take years to fully appreciate how dramatically this presidency has bent the arc of history toward justice.

MORE:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/obama-has-helped-us-peer-into-the-racial-divide/2016/07/14/5794b840-49f3-11e6-90a8-fb84201e0645_story.html

[Hortensis]

1. So disagree, and Obama is proof of that.

We are affected by the bad ones nationally the same way a roomful of appalled diners would be affected by a nasty racial incident in a restaurant.

Even conservatives, the origin of most racial bigotry, come in various types. Also various degrees, everywhere from very moderate to extremely hard core. Large numbers are mainly allergic to change, not differences among people, and are as comfortable in a diverse society as anyone else if that's what they come from or have been given time to become used to it.

The genuine troublemakers are absolutely a minority of us, mostly strong social and/or religious conservatives, and they come in all colors btw.

While we're observing these events of a hot summer, let's remember that Obama was elected by a solid margin and that his election would have been unthinkable only a short generation ago.

[1StrongBlackMan]

2. Posted to for later.

[Chemisse]

3. Sadly true.

It seems we get more divided every day.

[coco77]

4. I am so tired of hearing about how if Obama can

Heal this nations racial wounds. No one can. Many think because he is black that he can wave a wand and everyone in the black community will bow and do whatever he says. He is black and white and if he can't do it who will. The republiCONs and the media try to pretend they have no part in it as well as many of the DEmocrats.

Many of our so called leaders are racist as hell. Many whites,think they are superior to everyone in the world they are in every country destroying cultures and have the fucking nerve to say they want their country back. So,if they want it back go to England,Ireland,Scotland,Poland. White people want to be in control of every country in the world and want everyone to act like them. When I say white people I don't mean all but people with common sense know what I am talking about.

[tman]

5. We're divided but

not as divided as a 48 hour news cycle would make it seem.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

6. K&R