The only thing she remembered from being threatened by the man at the bus stop was that he was black
That wasn't in the pages that I read. If it had been I would have related to it differently. And the reason I don't think it could possibly be true is because Obama at this point in his life was between 16-18 years old (it's not clear from the passage). And if this is her regular demeanor as opposed to an irregular event, why is everyone in the family so upset and why does it provoke a crisis in him such that he has to go off and see his mentor.
In fact, in thinking about this today, it struck me that he was from an incredibly sheltered background if this is the first time race impacted him negatively - perhaps that's why he was so shocked. Back in the 1970s, when I was growing up in NYC, everyone was conscious of race. I went to public school and the lines were perfectly clear to everyone. The city was a lot more dangerous then, not at all like today, and there was a lot of anger.
In any case, back to Obama. This is how it is described in the passage I saw: "Her lips pursed with irritation. 'He was very aggressive, Barry. Very aggressive. I gave him a dollar and he kept asking. If the bus hadn't come, I think he might have hit me over the head."
You think she was making this up - or heightening it - merely because the guy was black? According to what is quoted, she felt like the guy was going to hit her over the head. Why is your assumption that she only felt this way because he was black? She could have felt this way AND he was black. You know what it's like, no doubt, to be in the subway late at night or waiting for a bus, when the place is deserted, and to be approached by someone who threatens you. So if the person threatening you is black, and you don't want to go back again the next day at the same time because you fear a repeat of the situation, because you were threatened and you are still anxious, does that make you a racist? Sorry, I don't see it. Anyway, that's how I construed the passage.
Now, if she only felt this way because he was black, and she dealt with white and Asian panhandlers all the time who were equally aggressive, and wasn't worried about them, I'd agree with you.
In any case, his grandmother at this point is approaching 60, if not there yet, so may feel genuinely physically fragile around a threatening male. Here's a picture (http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2007-03/28585928.jpg) from a while back. She looks tiny compared to him.
I do wonder, however, at why there is such a difference in the account he gave in his book and in his speech. In the book he was explaining his genesis of consciousness about his particular existential situation. In the speech, though, his agenda was to turn the political tide - and there he has something to lose if he doesn't succeed and his grandmother is portrayed worse. Which gives me pause.
I assuming of course that he could have gone - having not read the whole story. Based on that assumption? It still would not have changed anything - she'd have felt safe maybe with him, but still cringed away from the threatening black men.
Boy, the grandmother is really the bad guy in your book. How do you know? If she was so prejudiced, as I said before, it seems to me it would have come across loud and clear before this incident. He describes a one-off situation, not a pattern of behavior.
As for your parents, I wonder they don't change congregations, if they disagree so much with what they are hearing preached at them - or leave before the sermon begins - or, if it's in the middle of the sermon, take a time out and go chat with friends or bring a book or something if it is the only Catholic church in town.
I've changed synagogues when I've disliked what I was hearing. Or decided not to join that particular congregation. Etc. So my experience is different.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2008-03-20 02:43 am (UTC)That wasn't in the pages that I read. If it had been I would have related to it differently. And the reason I don't think it could possibly be true is because Obama at this point in his life was between 16-18 years old (it's not clear from the passage). And if this is her regular demeanor as opposed to an irregular event, why is everyone in the family so upset and why does it provoke a crisis in him such that he has to go off and see his mentor.
In fact, in thinking about this today, it struck me that he was from an incredibly sheltered background if this is the first time race impacted him negatively - perhaps that's why he was so shocked. Back in the 1970s, when I was growing up in NYC, everyone was conscious of race. I went to public school and the lines were perfectly clear to everyone. The city was a lot more dangerous then, not at all like today, and there was a lot of anger.
In any case, back to Obama. This is how it is described in the passage I saw: "Her lips pursed with irritation. 'He was very aggressive, Barry. Very aggressive. I gave him a dollar and he kept asking. If the bus hadn't come, I think he might have hit me over the head."
You think she was making this up - or heightening it - merely because the guy was black? According to what is quoted, she felt like the guy was going to hit her over the head. Why is your assumption that she only felt this way because he was black? She could have felt this way AND he was black. You know what it's like, no doubt, to be in the subway late at night or waiting for a bus, when the place is deserted, and to be approached by someone who threatens you. So if the person threatening you is black, and you don't want to go back again the next day at the same time because you fear a repeat of the situation, because you were threatened and you are still anxious, does that make you a racist? Sorry, I don't see it. Anyway, that's how I construed the passage.
Now, if she only felt this way because he was black, and she dealt with white and Asian panhandlers all the time who were equally aggressive, and wasn't worried about them, I'd agree with you.
In any case, his grandmother at this point is approaching 60, if not there yet, so may feel genuinely physically fragile around a threatening male. Here's a picture (http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2007-03/28585928.jpg) from a while back. She looks tiny compared to him.
I do wonder, however, at why there is such a difference in the account he gave in his book and in his speech. In the book he was explaining his genesis of consciousness about his particular existential situation. In the speech, though, his agenda was to turn the political tide - and there he has something to lose if he doesn't succeed and his grandmother is portrayed worse. Which gives me pause.
I assuming of course that he could have gone - having not read the whole story. Based on that assumption? It still would not have changed anything - she'd have felt safe maybe with him, but still cringed away from the threatening black men.
Boy, the grandmother is really the bad guy in your book. How do you know? If she was so prejudiced, as I said before, it seems to me it would have come across loud and clear before this incident. He describes a one-off situation, not a pattern of behavior.
As for your parents, I wonder they don't change congregations, if they disagree so much with what they are hearing preached at them - or leave before the sermon begins - or, if it's in the middle of the sermon, take a time out and go chat with friends or bring a book or something if it is the only Catholic church in town.
I've changed synagogues when I've disliked what I was hearing. Or decided not to join that particular congregation. Etc. So my experience is different.