He had a perfect opening here that would have made the reference to Granny not only reasonable but admirable.
Granny is scared of young, thuggish-looking black men. BOH could have pointed out that Granny has damn good reason to be scared, and what does it say about black people that old women are quite rationally frightened of them? That an unfortunate number of young black men prey on old women? How embarassing is that?
We are always supposed to understand and make allowances for the legitimate grudges and fears of black people. But nobody ever attempts to understand and makes allowances for the at least equally valid fears and grudges of many white people.
Interesting that this comes up at this time.
It's not only women
And it's not only whites
Some time ago the Irreverent Jesse Jackson made almost the same statement.
I wonder if when Obama finds out about that if it will make him cringe as much as his white Grandmother did.
Somehow I doubt it
It's downright that a person would express his racism against his own family, let alone a little old white lady that brought him up when his black/arab father deserted him.
Hey, I know a few elderly black women that don’t feel comfortable driving thru some areas where there’s rough looking black men standing on the corners...they asked me to make sure the car doors are locked, or to speed up.
And if those same rough looking men were white I would be equally as concerned for my safety. Maybe BHO’s granny thought those black mean were rough looking, maybe she had been mugged before ... rough looking male teens are scary too, white or black especially if their pants are hanging down to their knees and are listening to that music that says the “f” word over and over. SO—it’s an oversimplication to apply the sterotype that white women are afraid of black men ... that’s a cheap shot on Obama’s part. Race card and sterotype card, he’s pathetic.