Barack Obama and the Fallacy of Elitist Thinking

Entitlement Syndrome ^ | 07/28/2009 | Admin

[BigKahuna]

We received a comment the other day from a reader who thought the only mistake U.S. President Barack Obama made during his press conference last week -- when he was asked about the arrest of his friend, Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (whom the President referred to as “my friend, Skip Gates”) – was a lack of “calibration” in stating what he really thought.

…Setting aside the fact of the statements of both the lone Hispanic police officer on the scene and also the statements of an African-American police sergeant on the scene, both of whom back Sergeant Crowley’s handling of the case “one-hundred percent” (their words), we believe this unfortunate – but highly illuminating, nonetheless – incident reveals far more about class prejudice far more than it ever will about race.

…By now, and with each passing day, Professor Gates is revealing more about himself and his failure to let the ghosts of a racially-divided America die a well-deserved death than anything about what might or might not “happen to a black man in America,” as he so eloquently put it when asked for ID by police sergeant James Crowley.

…We also feel that the President's casual slander of the police and his seeming willingness to take sides in the matter also served as a betrayal, at least temporarily, of the work done by him and on his behalf, by others, to convince a large segment of the population that he was above racial politics and that he, in fact, transcended such vulgar pursuits.

…If we had to sum it up, somewhat vulgarly (but no less honestly), we'd have to say that he did a fine job of scaring all the white Americans who matter (independent voters) and a pretty poor job of later soothing their fears.

[xcamel]

“Elitist Thinking” - another perfect oxymoron.

[stephenjohnbanker]

And that brain-dead cop is going to the White House where 2 Black Nationalists will eat him alive.

[griswold3]

Everyone should know by now that the President’s comments were due to the argument made on Al Sharpton’s radio show that Obama ‘wasn’t down with the struggle’. Barack was just trying to boost his street cred with his peeps.

[anglian]

“That’s just how white folks will do you.” — Barack Obama http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI77cU3jsFs&NR=1

[Uncle Ike]

” was a lack of “calibration” in stating what he really thought “

Don’t let Obama off the hook there...

The exact wording of his non-apology was “...could have calibrated it differently...’, whicn implies that his original statement was, repeat, *was*, ‘calibrated’.....

He meant what he said!!!!

[MrB]

The elites who are elitists are not dumb, and do not forsake logic,

they just start from the wrong assumption,

and conclude that the elites can, and have a duty to, make decisions for everyone else.

It’s very difficult to change this viewpoint, because of the underlying assumption that they cannot and will not address.

[Mamzelle]

re: And that brain-dead cop is going to the White House where 2 Black Nationalists will eat him alive.)))

I think that's crazy, too. He should find a way out of this event. It's clearly stakced to make Crowley take some kind of fall, or act as a whipping boy or scapegoat.

[ladyjane]

There’s been some positive fall-out from the incident: ammunition sales are up and the Cambridge liberals are falling all over themselves trying to convince each other they’re not racist. LOL

[stephenjohnbanker]

“It’s clearly stakced to make Crowley take some kind of fall, or act as a whipping boy or scapegoat. “

BINGO!!

[xcamel]

You make my point perfectly.